The Godfather is the quintessential example of the gangster genre, which includes “films that deal with organized crime, often with mob families,” (Chapter 4). In fact, The Godfather also fits squarely within the gangster genre because it is nostalgic and romanticized, offering “recreations of past eras” in which Italian-American mafia families like the Corleones did dominate both licit and illicit business activities and politics in American cities. A sub-genre of the crime film, gangster movies like The Godfather are unique because the audience is rooting for the bad guys, not the cops. Even when the protagonists of the film kill people, they are still tragic heroes. “Many gangster characters then had a certain mystique that made them appealing, almost heroic, in their ability to overcome youthful poverty and oppression to rise in power and wealth,” (Chapter 4). In The Godfather, Michael Corleone did not necessarily overcome poverty, because he was born into the biggest family in New York. This is evident immediately from the opening scene of the film that shows the great wealth and power his family amassed (For example, the opening scene shows the Don Corleone seated in his position of power (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96VS_z8y7g). What makes Michael a hero...
Michael’s brothers are incapable of leading the family, but he also recognizes that if he does not rise to the occasion, the consequences would be far worse for his community. Therefore, The Godfather shows that family ties and loyalty create different and equally as important ethical frameworks than the prevailing norms of behavior and criminality in the dominant culture. For example, the opening scene shows the Don Corleone seated in his position of power telling the petitioner that he will not do him a favor because he has failed to show himself to be a true friend of the family (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96VS_z8y7g).
Genre theory offers a useful means of classifying films according to their tropes and conventions. Although films constructed purposely to fit into a specific genre can be criticized for being overly commercial, genre theory does reveal how American audiences do react favorably towards familiar themes, actors, directorial styles, plots, and imagery (“Movie Genres”). Moreover, genres reveal the power of archetypes in storytelling. Even when a film does not fit neatly
Genre: The Conventions of Connection" by Leo Braudy is a bold and well-written article which acknowledges how too often in film theory and criticism, genre films are dismissed as fluff and all-together one-dimensional pieces of art. Braudy makes a strong case for genre films explaining how they actually represent intricate subversions or indictments of reality and he uses specific examples from westerns or musicals to support his case. Braudy acknowledges that
EDSE 600: History and Philosophy of Education / / 3.0 credits The class entitled, History and Philosophy of Education, focused on the origin of education and the "philosophical influences of modern educational theory and practice. Study of: philosophical developments in the Renaissance, Reformation, and revolutionary periods; social, cultural and ideological forces which have shaped educational policies in the United States; current debates on meeting the wide range of educational and social-emotional
The spectator is unwittingly sutured into a colonialist perspective. But such techniques are not inevitably colonialist in their operation. One of the innovations of Pontocorvo's Battle of Algiers is to invert the imagery of encirclement and exploit the identificatory mechanisms of cinema in behalf of the colonized rather than the colonizer (Noble, 1977). It is from within the casbah that we see and hear the French troops and helicopters. This
genre" to frame your analysis to compare "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "Iron Man 2" (2010) in relation to popular film culture A comparison of 'the dark knight' (2008) and 'iron man 2' (2010) In relation to popular film culture The film technology has taken a center stage in many discussions concerning the film culture in the world today. With advancement in technology especially in relation to computer programs, film writers
Genre Systems: Structuring Interaction through Communicative Norms" by JoAnne Yates and Wanda Orlikowski (2008) Because all organizations are comprised of people, developing and sustaining effective organizational communications represent a timely enterprise for businesses of all sizes and types today (Miner, 2002). In their study, "Genre Systems: Structuring Interaction through Communicative Norms," Yates and Orlikowski, professors and researchers at MIT's Sloan School of Management, describe the results of their innovative experiment
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