Verified Document

City As A Character In Film Research Paper

¶ … imagery in the movies Chinatown and Blade Runner and compare the film-noir type of imagery against the actual statistics available in the latest Census results from Los Angeles that characterize the complexion of Los Angeles in 2010. In all three arenas, we see a Los Angeles area that is multi-ethnic, grime and dirt included. In many ways, while the movie imagery is different, in many ways all three characterizations have more in common than have differences. In all three portraits, the dirty, gritty and repressive city scape has the potential to swallow up the inhabitants in the Los Angeles darkness that is almost as thick as palpable as the ninth Egyptian plague of darkness. The films accurately and effectively discuss the "feel" of the city and the city's neighborhoods. The author will provide examples from the films to illustrate this, as well as the similarities and differences. Analysis

In all three portrayals, despite the technological differences in the times represented, the "feel" of the city and its neighborhoods portrayed in each of the films and the present reality is amazingly similar. The movies portray a multi-ethnic underclass that is ruled over by a wealthy elite that have gained an incredible amount of power and there is a great gulf between the rich and the poor.

with the U.S. census data.

Technology and Poverty

In both Blade Runner and in Chinatown, the impact of rampant, out of control

In Chinatown, the city of Los Angeles water district has chained the panorama of desert into an artificial place where cynicism and sexual attitudes prevail. The people at the top of the heap are white, while those at the bottom who are poor. In both movies, water is a primary force of nature that is being unleashed from or into the environment. For instance, in Chinatown, Cross admits that he intends to incorporate the Northwest Valley into Los Angeles, afterwards irrigating and developing it. Those who have the power are using it to overrun and take over the land of the poor. In Blade Runner, the poor replicants make the world run, but can not enjoy it. Rather, they are "retired" (executed) on the streets of a Los Angeles that is being washed away in the acid rain brought about by human pollution and exploitation of the city and the earth's environment. The only place that people can seek refuge is to get out of the city to the off-world to start their lives over again. Poverty also reigns at present in Los Angeles as we…

Sources used in this document:
References

U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Dept of Commerce. Los Angeles city, California QuickLinks. Washington,

D.C.: U.S.G.P.O., 2012. Web. .
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

City Character and Attraction of People and
Words: 1200 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

City Character and Attraction of People and Industry and City Project Planning Success The character of a city serves to attract or to repel both people and industry. The work of Caves (2005) states that the term 'city "means anything and everything" or in other words Caves speaks of the many activities and events that are conducted within a city including art, film, written publications, location, culture, institutional governance environmental and

New York City/Character New York
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

This world that Scorcese has depicted in the city is one that is marvelously cruel, intensely chaotic and completely imbued with his own musings on what he believes that period in time would have been like. The movie is completely modern and relevant today because it reflects on some of the same issues of race, class and ethnicity that we are struggling with today. While Gangs of New York

Film Discussion Early View of
Words: 1676 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

The natural world allows us to show of more of our individual talents, whereas the urban landscape seems to only allow us to show what is needed of us in terms of industry. Modern Times echoes these themes and images of the early representation of the modern city. However, the film is much more comedic, but with the same message. For example, the factory scene shows the same monotony. It

Film Theory and Criticism Hitchcock
Words: 1278 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

She must deliver the government plan to an end and be successful. She is determined and uses all her feminine best cards. At the beginning of their meeting she seems to be a superficial, sex interested woman, giving a slight sense of nymphomania. During her adventure with Roger Thornhill she falls in love with him. A theme frequently used in American films (take for example all James Bond films,

Film Analysis From a Design Perspective: Reading
Words: 1820 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Film Analysis from a Design Perspective: Reading Raging Bull Elements of Design The focus of this paper is a pivotal scene from the film Raging Bull, starring Robert DeNiro as real life middleweight boxer, Jake La Motta. Jake's emotional status is reflected in multiple aspects of the film production, such as his physique and costuming, the cinematography, the editing, and the direction. Film communicates the narrative's physical reality and psychological reality with

City of God Third-Party Individuals
Words: 875 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

For example, it is very probable that Ferreira Meirelles would have had trouble producing a motion picture on life in the favelas if he did not have access to Lins' manuscript. However, a successful artist needs to gather information from immediate sources in order to be able to efficiently tell a story from his perspective. This is basically what Ferreira Meirelles did at the time when he used Lins'

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now