Section C: US Cinema Comparative Study

ROBERT MULLIGAN, 1962JOEL SCHUMACHER, 1996

MONDAY 14th MAY4 WEEKS

Section A – Film IndustrySection B – British Film (Horror)Section C – Comparative Study

Section C: US Cinema Comparative Study

• Candidates are required to answer one question from a choice of two. Candidates are required to compare and contrast two films either from the same genre or dealing with a specific theme. Both questions will have an emphasis on the relationship between aspects of the films' narrative in relation to generic characteristics. The first question will be based primarily on narrative study. The second will be based on contextual study. Issues of representation will be common to both questions.

HOW TO APPROACH REVISION

• The best way to revise is to review past exam questions and apply your knowledge to them, this way you can check how confident you are with regard to your knowledge of the films and also fill any gaps that you feel you may have.

PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

1. Compare the ways in which key themes in your chosen American films are presented. (HOMEWORK – DUE MONDAYY!)

2. With reference to your chosen American films, compare the extent to which their messages and values reflect the times in which they were made

3. How important is place in contributing to key themes in the American films you have studied for this topic?

4. Discuss similarities and differences in the representation of masculinity in your chosen American films.

5. How far do the American films you have studied for this topic depend on well established narrative and/or genre conventions?

6. How far do the American films you have studied for this topic express similar messages and values to one another?

7. Compare the ways in which narrative is used to create dramatic conflict in the American films you have studied for this topic

8. How far do your chosen American films portray themes and ideas in similar ways? (HOMEWORK – DUE MONDAYY!)

PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

• When looking at these questions it’s apparent that your knowledge of the films must cover:

• Key themes/ Messages and Values

• Narrative and Genre Conventions

• Contextual Knowledge (place and time)

• Representation

• We will be looking at the questions to see what you know and also try to fill gaps in knowledge (as there are some things we haven’t covered yet!)

Question 2Timed practice exam on Thursday,

check the blog!

With reference to your chosen American films, compare the

extent to which their messages and values reflect the times in

which they were madeAll knowledge applied to specific questions can be interchangeable and in applicable to all

WHAT IS THE KEY LINK BETWEEN THE TWO FILMS?

DO THEY HAVE SIMILAR MESSAGES AND VALUES?

DO THESE MESSAGES AND VALUES REFLECT THE TIMES THE FILMS WERE

MADE?

ROBERT MULLIGAN, 1962

Set in the 1930s made in 1962

What is happening in 1962 that would reflect the messages and values of the film?

The Civil Rights Movement (1955 – 1968)

The Civil Rights Movement was characterised by major campaigns of civil resistance serving the purpose to outlaw racial discrimination and freedom from oppression by white Americans

During the Civil Rights Movement tens of thousands of people of all races risked not just their standing in the community, but also their lives, in the hope of building a coalition for racial equality.

This ideology of the Civil Rights Movement can be said to be reflected in the messages and values of To Kill a Mocking Bird the film has been described as a progressive, enlightened 60s message about racial prejudice, violence, moral tolerance and dignified courage

1. How are the messages and values communicated in the film?

2. Provide textual examples of how the film reflects messages and values of the early 1960s? (themes!)

JOEL SCHUMACHER, 1996 Set in the 1995 made in 1996

What is happening in the 1990s that would reflect the messages and values of the film?

released four years after an all-white jury acquitted the four LAPD police officers who assaulted the black driver Rodney King in 1992 [which lead to the Los Angeles riots], and two years after a mostly black jury found O.J. Simpson not guilty of the charges pressed against him during his criminal trial in 1994, while a mostly white jury found him guilty during the civil trial.

Since January 1995, more than 100 churches have been burned. The burnings were predominately in black congregations. . “the church burnings were symptomatic of the larger racial problem in America”

Race relations are prevalent in 1996, and the film portrays the injustices that are happening in the community of Alabama. The rural areas seem to hold the most extreme amount of racial tension. Rural areas contain a great deal of joblessness and lack of economic opportunity. It seems that economic hardship exacerbates racial tensions in many areas.

There are also studies going on about how the judicial system is controlled by affluent white people who are not willing to treat African American people fairly. The judicial system is being called “the new enslavement of coloured people.”

In 1963, Martin Luther King described Mississippi as “a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression.” The sobering question suggested by the film is how much has Mississippi really changed?

1. How are the messages and values communicated in the film?

2. Provide textual examples of how the film reflects messages and values of the 1990s? (themes!)

The key is to think about what parts of the film reflect the reality of what

was going on at the time

Question 1Homework question

How far do your chosen American films portray

themes and ideas in similar ways?

INDIVIDUAL TASKYou 10mins to come up with a

plan/ structure for this question

Question 1Homework question

How far do your chosen American films portray themes and ideas in similar ways?

TOP TIPS FOR REVISION

READ!!!!!!It’s a simple as that there is a lot to remember

for the section and there is more to say than you think so read EVERYTHING I give you and use the

materials I will be posting on the blog from today!