Term Paper on "Hero in Popular Culture"

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Hero in Popular Culture- One very interesting aspect of the human experience is the manner in which certain themes appear again and again over time, in literature, religion, mythology, and culture -- regardless of the geographic location, the economic status, and the time period. Perhaps it is the innate human need to explain and explore the known and unknown, but to have disparate cultures in time and location find ways of explaining certain principles in such similar manner leads one to believe that there is perhaps more to myth and ritual than simple repetition of archetypal themes. In a sense, then, to acculturize the future, we must re-craft the past, and the way that seems to happen is in the synergism of myth and ritual as expressed in a variety of forms (Bittarello, 2008). What then, does myth have to say to modern humans about defining and living a successful life and building the appropriate intellectual discourse between people and preparing dialectical expertise in the individual? In myth, for example poems like Beowulf, Gilgamesh and the Iliad and Odyssey, especially as oral tradition, frame the journey of the hero through trials and tribulations to, eventually success. A popular archetype for film, too, showing this same trend, pits the reluctant hero in situations that require extraordinary efforts from ordinary people that transform their actions into the "heroic." For this essay, we will concentrate on four films that epitomize this complex, yet often repeated, theme: The Patriot, Lion of the Desert, Tarus Bulba, and Michael Collins.

TARAS BULBA- History is filled with stories that combine heroism with nationalism. Such a tale is that of Tarus Bulba, a 2008/2009 film based on the R

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ussian writer Gogol's famous story. This is part of Russia's historical past, the Cossack era, and has numerous similarities to the story of William Wallace and the movie Braveheart. In general, the family of Cossack leader Taras Bulba is deep in turmoil and political/cultural intrigue which threatens the hegemony of the Cossack race, as well as their ability to control the important trade routes of the time. The Polish State, quite powerful at the time, has designs on both land and the economic wealth of the Rus' -- and will do most anything to ensure the demise of the Cossacks. There are a number of sub-plots, fewer in the film than the novel, but when Bulba's son falls in love with a Polish princess and wishes to abandon his people another dimension is added -- duty or family?

There have been a number of film and television versions of the work, among which the most recent was released in 2009 from director Vladimir Bortko. However, the version likely most familiar to the American audience, if not as historically accurate, is the 1962 version that focuses more on the Romeo and Juliet themes than the historical nationalism of the Gogol work. Yul Brynner stars as Taras, with Tony Curtis as son Andrei. In this version Taras has retired and Poland controls most of the Ukraine -- the struggle is between the Ukrainian serfs and the Polish landowners (again paralleled with the Scottish against the English landowners). Since Andrei must choose between his love for the Polish princess and his people, Taras must choose between the love he has for his son and his commitment to retaining the hegemony of his people (see imbd.0056556).

Much like many of the so-called historical epics of the time (e.g. Spartacus, etc.) the film portrays the characters in a rather one-dimensional manner. There are not complex issues at stake, but instead, grand decisions that have epic repercussions. Costumes, sets, and dialog are also one-dimensional, seemingly aimed more at what the audience expected to see as opposed to a greater sense of reality. For instance, when one compares the basic film elements to the 2007 film Mongol, the differences are dramatic. Taras is filled with scrubbed faces, bright colors, shiny weapons and dinner ware; one can scarcely imagine any of the cast living outdoors, much less being warriors of the plains. Given that historical accuracy was less important to the filmmaker or audience of the time, though, one must ask -- did the film accurately represent the conflictual nature of the story and characters?

The characters are not developed within the film, nor is the conflict -- it is apparent from the opening scenes to the closing credits -- we know the choices, we know the small seeds of conflict that erupt between father and son, and the theme of oppressor (royalty) versus oppressed (Cossack/serf) is black and white with absolutely no grey interpretation available. The camera follows a similar point-of-view -- the facial shots meant to show emotion and pathos are typically reserved for the Cossacks, and the broad long shots of pristine mountains and fields are meant to show that the Cossack is the true steward of the land (forgetting their own brutality towards other cultures). The audience is lured into the story, but in the sense of a romance, not of the urgency of a people's struggle, as with Braveheart. The Cossacks, like the Scottish, are portrayed as brave, loyal, heroic patriots that are undermanned and under armed, but fight the overload Polish who are pristine in their armor and technology. Too, the masterful score by Franz Waxman communicates most of the emotion in the movie through the use of themes that actually "tell" the audience what to feel and when. Despite the fact that the movie is really one long romance, the scene that epitomizes the real tone of the movie, is an early scene called "Cossack Brotherhood" in which a swaggering Taras swears that his son will never bow before Polish power and cuts his hairy lock, then repeated by his tribe, as a pledge to warn against incursion and provide fuel for the next two hours (See: http://www.tcm.com/video/videoPlayer/?cid=253615&titleId=17795).

THE PATRIOT- Directed by Roland Emmerick and starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger, the 2000 epic The Patriot is likely more about the American Revolutionary War than most students remember from school. Nominated for Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Music Score, the hero, Benjamin Martin, is loosely based on a real Continental Army Officer named Francis Marion and other Revolutionary War figures.

The plot centers around Martin (Gibson), a South Carolina veteran of the French and Indian War, is a widower raising seven children. His eldest son, Gabriel (Leger) wants to join the Continental Army to fight the British. Martin is anti-war; knowing that the grandeur and glory promised from the rhetoric is rarely what war reality is like. Gabriel, however, enlists anyway, and some months later returns home wounded, but carrying military dispatches. Almost like a Greek drama with the Gods manipulating humans, Gabriel is thrust into the conflict when the British Green Dragoons burn his house down, arrest Gabriel, and shoot his next eldest son, Thomas.

Enraged, Martin becomes a vehement guerilla warrior, making use of his skill as a woodsman who, along with his two younger sons, seek out and kill British patrols. The children are horrified at the manic nature of their father as he hacks a fleeing solider to death with a tomahawk -- it is something they have never seen in their Father. Martin eventually, and predictably, becomes the leader of a militia unit that uses Martin's guerilla tactics to decimate the formal British warriors. The movie culminates with the death of Gabriel, his father's renewed lust for revenge, and the defeat of British General Cornwallis and the gallant French Navy sailing into Yorktown to save the day. The last scene of the movie, quite Hollywoodesque, finds what is left of the family ready to rebuild their devastated home and build "a whole new world."

Like Taras, the protagonist in the film is forced to act because of the love he has for his son. In the case of Taras, it is between his grand nationalism and love, in The Patriot between and understanding of the futility of warfare and a desire to bury the violence within him vs. The need to protect his family and help his son escape, combined with revenge for the senseless death of his 2nd born.

The movie is epic in proportion, with some of the more powerful scenes the large forest and plain battles. Far more realistic in nature, a modern audience is likely shaking their heads as the British line up in rows to be slaughtered by the hidden American "patriots." This, however, brings up a secondary theme that is well thought out in the film. Who are the "patriots?" To the British, the American colonies are the property of the British Empire, with requisite rights and duties; to the American Continentals, the British are invaders; The Patriot asks the audience to consider -- when is patriotism terrorism, or does it depend on one's political belief and the justification of conflict?

We do find pathos and character development throughout the movie, in particular the cost of… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Hero in Popular Culture" Assignment:

“

Hello technically i will be needing 4 papers. 2 pages each.

I will be needing movie critiques/reviews for the following list of movies.

Taras bulba

Patriot

imdb.com/tt017393

the lion of the desert imdb.com/title/tt0081059.

If possible to compare the movies to each other in each of the papers then please do.

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Discuss in the movie :

1.Summary of the Film

2. Point of the film

3. Cinematic representations of the film: how are the characters developed and depicted, what are the technical methods that are used.

4. Define the nature of the insurgency and/or resistance and identify the mechanism such organized terror/ guerilla warfare, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS :

1) After watching the entire film, immediately watch the opening segment of the film again (ten minutes or so, roughly the equivalent of the opening chapter of a book) to see how the filmmakers foreshadow coming events. The opening scenes of a film usually tell the whole story in a broad, general, &/or symbolic way that can be seen clearly in retrospect. Note how the film lures you into the story.

2) Watch the closing scene with an eye toward how the filmmaker reaches closure (usually by circling back to the beginning and/or zooming out).

3) What range of feelings did you experience when watching this film? How do you think you were made to feel that way? Music? Lighting? Dialogue? Camera angles? Color?

4) Select the one scene that seems to reveal the heart of the story. There may be several, but I want you to choose the one that you feel is most significant.

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FILM CODES & TECHNIQUES

Sound--How do the music/sound effects manipulate your emotions or mood? Instruments? Lyrics? Volume? Intensity? Tempo? Rhythm? Background or foreground?

Mise-en-scene--whatever appears within the frame of the shot (includes things like stage props, acting, lighting, makeup, costumes, etc.)

Lighting*****can be used various ways and varying degrees to create particular moods; can be used symbolically Â· High-key lighting: brightly lit scene; creates cheerful, light atmosphere Â·

Low-key lighting: illuminations create contrast and a chiaroscuro effect; creates a

mysterious, suspenseful, eerie, or ominous mood

Front lighting*****softens or flattens; may suggest innocence by casting a halo effect

Bottom lighting*****casts shadows from below; eerie, ghoulish, sinister effect

Side lighting*****casts images in light or shadow

Camera Angles:*****can be used various ways and varying degrees; can be used to show power or vulnerability

Low angle shot from below*****shows power or status of the subject or object viewed from that angle, and conversely, the possible vulnerability or powerlessness of the POV the camera is reflecting (this can be the viewer or a character in the story).

High angle shot from above*****shows weakness or vulnerability or an objective overview, i.e., God*****'s eye view. If you*****'re looking into a small space, like a jail cell, it intensifies the claustrophobic feel of the cramped space.

Dutch angle shot tilted sideways on the horizontal axis--creates a sinister or distorted effect that skews the view of a character and perhaps indicates a distorted viewpoint or confused state.

Eye-level angle shot (90-95% of all shots used)--camera is level with the key character*****'s point of view

Framing/Shots: what the camera sets as the perimeter of our view. What*****'s in and what*****'s out?

Establishing shot: shot taken from a distance that establishes important locations or situates/contextualizes important characters in place, time or in relationship.

Long shot: shot from far away; gives overview and is often used in establishing shots at

beginning and final shot.

Medium shot: shot that*****'s neither near nor far

Close-ups: used to impart an emotion, to show us inside a character*****'s thoughts, or to

emphasize a particular aspect of something/someone.

Matching shot*****change from one scene to the next by matching images and placement.

Pan*****the stationary camera moves from left to right or right to left

Tilt*****the stationary camera moves up or down

Tracking or dolly shot *****the camera itself moves in or out by traveling rather than using

the zoom feature

Following shot*****the camera keeps pace with a moving figure

Crane shot*****the camera is attached to a crane and moves up or down

Hand-held shot*****the camera is carried or strapped onto a character or camera operator

Point of view shot*****the camera films something as if looking through a character*****'s eyes so

that when the camera movement reflects the gaze of the character; forges an identification with character and puts us inside the character*****'s mind &/or experience.

Shots & Transitions

Fade in and out--scene fades to black or white; usually implies the passage of time or a lapse of consciousness

Jump cut*****most commonly used transition where the camera shot jumps from one thing to another without benefit of fading or superimposition

Dissolve*****one image fades out over another image that is simultaneously fading in*****sometimes used to show the unfolding or condensed passage of time.

Rack focus*****an obvious shift in focus from foreground to background or vice versa. This shifts your attention from one thing to another and directs your focus. Shifts in perspective.

Eye-line match *****a shot that begins with what the person is looking at that then shifts to what they are seeing; usually followed by a response or reaction to what they have just seen.

Crosscutting*****cutting to action that is happening simultaneously; also known as parallel editing

Montage sequence*****events are connected by circumstance, theme, or idea but are disconnected physically; spliced together to show movement toward one another or parallel or converging events unfolding.

NOTES:

Pay careful attention to Â· Costumes & props

Â· Movement on the set / camera movement / body movement and facial expressions

Â· Rhythm and timing of actions and events (real time, condensed time, elapsed time--how are these shown?)

Â· Color*****visually imparts emotional, symbolic, and cultural perceptions

Â· Narrator/point of view character, allusions, symbolism, character development, passage of time, names, setting (historical, cultural), circularity.

Contemplate these questions:

--What is the generating circumstance leading into the story?

--What is the plot structure--what parts of the story comprise beginning, middle, end?

--How do films reflect and inform culture?

--How do films translate stories from page to screen?

--How do filmmakers deal with the rhythm and passage of time within the narrative flow of the story?

--What qualities does film have that literature does not and vice versa?

--What is the mythic quality of film?

--What is it about particular films that qualify them to be considered works of art?

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