Under the belief system that sponsors violence, there were some scenes in the movie that showed no ground on a transcendent being. That was when a preacher suddenly came out of nowhere and delivers sermons in sidewalks. We have learned that one of the sources and reasons for violence is having a wrong God or no God at all. The preacher believed that Venice could be saved if people repent, and this proved Gandhi's philosophy that prayer is the core of life. Structural violence was also present when the people of Venice didn't know whom to blame directly for the cause of the plague. This led to the blaming of the courtesans to be the source of the deadly contagious disease that was contaminating the entire Venice. The people and the government showed violence against the courtesans by brutally punishing them in public, accusing them of witchcraft and sorcery. However, on the other hand, Veronica Franco clearly presented an act of nonviolent resistance, effective enough to be a force that destroyed the evil system. It was during her trial when she spoke about the power of love as God's gift being able to solve social problems of Venice, and the questioning of what profession they will give women in order to survive. She did not show any physical aggressiveness but instead, verbally assaulted those who were in the court. This convinced that their accusations of her were wrong. When Marco Venier asked the accomplices, or those who love Veronica, to stand up for her, he did not wish to make them feel disgraced, but to win support and understand the situation.

The ideology of capitalism was manifested in the kind of job that the courtesans do. In the commodification or alienation of labor, the product is more important than the laborer, and the labor has a price. Courtesans, as laborers, were getting paid with material things in exchange of men's lusts and desires. They say all men dream of the temptress, but it is what the temptress does to them that they desire. Also, there were levels of courtesans at that time - those on the higher level were managed by a pimp and received lots of invitations from the richest and most powerful men in society, while those low class courtesans spend their time on streets and in brothels with low class men. Under forced labor, Karl Marx said that work should never be a means of living. However, Veronica's mother, who was once a big time courtesan herself, taught her to become one in order to provide for their family. Although the mother stressed on the importance of education, sensuality, and grooming, they ran after the wealth that a courtesan could get once she satisfied her client. The Marxist critique of private property was that there's no such thing as a private property, but during the period of the movie, which was the post-medieval times, women were treated as things owned.

During those times, they considered marriage as a profitable union, a state of perpetual inconsequence, a contract, and must only be a marriage for political reasons according to family's will. This caused a ressentiment between those who cannot marry and those who can marry. The revenge of those who cannot marry was to seek an alternative to marriage, and that was to be a courtesan. It was their option for survival since they cannot wed. On the other hand, the ordinary wives against the courtesans showed anger by repressed envy. In the scene where there was a meeting between the wives and Veronica, the other women were obviously insecure of the fact that their husbands spend more time with the courtesan, and that Veronica knew better about the men. The idea of the courtesans being the most educated women in the world and can spend time in the library also alleviated not only the envy of women but some men as well. There was also an ideology of ressentiment between the state and the church, which was demonstrated during the inquisition. Marco, as a senator of Venice, was not allowed to complain throughout the trial just because it was an ecclesiastical court. In the end, the greater ressentiment in the movie was that of the courtesan's freedom and the wife's obedience.

There was a scene in the movie wherein Veronica used her charms to help convince the king of France to lend some ships. At that time, Venice needed the French navy to help fight off the Turks, and King Henry was so pleased by her efforts that he immediately allowed the alliance. She successfully had a one-night stand with the French King, which saved Venice. This was an example of how evil systems support each other. Through a courtesan, the course of history and the government could change. In these times, the social machinery actually endorses prostitution as an attractive career choice for women and a ladder to reach different societies as well. The courtesans or prostitutes during these times were often highly educated, like Veronica being into literature and poetry, and could perhaps infiltrate the male-dominated politics. It was clearly observed during her trial when she used her feminine side to reveal the gender prejudice, ignorance, and hypocrisy of the people and government.

The movie just pointed out that at that time, women had so little options in life. Though they can wed, money and position were the important things to get a good marriage. But Veronica illustrated in the movie that love is the capital virtue and altruism is needed in a marriage.

The prologue in the movie was when Jane was in a videotape talking about how awful her dad was and wanted someone to kill him. Then it faded to a scene of the street they live in with Lester's voice-over, and then showed him lying in bed alone.

The inciting incident that led to the conflicts was when Lester first laid eyes on Angela then fantasized about her all the time, and seemed to be obsessed with her. This became the means of arising disputes among the characters.

There were a whole lot of conflicts in this movie, most of which were character versus character, and character versus his self. There were these unhealthy marriages between Lester and Carolyn, and Col. Fitts and his very silent wife.

The pinch, wherein it leads to take action for resolution, was the part where Lester wanted to change and be happy for once.

The false resolutions were seen in the part where Lester notices how beautiful Carolyn was and began kissing her. We thought they were OK, only to be stopped because of an Italian-upholstered couch. Another was when Col. Fitts kicked Ricky out of his house because of his suspicion that his son was doing secret services to Lester. We thought nothing else would follow that event until the next surprising revelations.

The climax was when finally, Lester becomes honest, sincere, and caring. This was during his solemn and heart-to-heart talk with Angela in the kitchen. After the very short moment of realizing his true happiness and telling Angela that he feels great after all those years, he was shot dead.

The resolution was when Lester decided not to continue having sex with Angela after learning that she's still a virgin. It was a tough decision for him since he liked the girl so much and they were already in the middle of a passionate state. But this resolved all his misery. With this event, he was able to connect to his inner self and tell that he was indeed feeling grateful for his life.

The epilogue made it clear who fired the gun, and how Lester's death affected himself. Then it showed the shot of the street with the voice-over of Lester once more. This time giving moral lessons in life - like having so much beauty in the world, and being grateful for each moment of our lives.

There were several turning points in the film. First was, of course, Lester's seeing Angela and said that she had awakened him from many years of coma. Another was when Lester argued with Carolyn in the bedroom, speaks his mind, and felt happy about it. When Lester started working out, it suddenly changed the mood of every character in the film. Also, when he quitted from his job, this led to more conflicts, adds to it the hidden affair of Carolyn with his co-real estate agent Buddy. Jane and Ricky's relationship helped turn things around the story as well.

The setup was done well, focusing on each of the characters and introducing their dilemmas in life. For the Burnham and Fitts families, they are somewhat dysfunctional with no emotional attachments among members whatsoever. Each of them has their own problems and secrets, like Col. Fitts hiding his homosexuality behind his military position and his denial when he doesn't want Ricky to become gay. On the other hand, the two Jims in their neighborhood showed a happy disposition despite their sexual preference, which was contradictory to what the families portray.

There were so many choices for the characters to decide on: Lester's choice to save his job or not and fix his miserable life, Carolyn's choice to continue her affair with Buddy and stop being the victim, Jane's choice to go with Ricky, Col. Fitts' decision to reveal his true identity, Angela's choice to have a thing with her friend's father, and the list goes on.

With all these nature of alternatives for characters to choose from, character arcs become possible. Lester changed in the end and achieved happiness even for a very short while. Jane stood up because of Ricky. Carolyn, from projecting a happy marriage and successful as a person, dropped down to one who had an affair and thinks about committing murder, therefore, became more miserable. Col. Fitts, having lost control over his son and his identity as well, murdered Lester and became unhappier than ever.

There were also back stories that helped me understand what their lives were before they became miserable. The Burnham family was once a happy one. Not until love was lost and emotions became mere projections and pretensions. Ricky, on the other hand, was ever since under the control of his father, and was once sent to a mental hospital.

The entire film was a rollercoaster ride of emotional dynamics. In every scene, there was a different feeling. For every character, there was a different perspective. There were lots of surprising and shocking moments as characters reveal their true selves, as what Col. Fitts and Angela did. The very thought-provoking of all was Ricky, who was the weirdest of them all, not to mention his push and use of illegal drugs. It was he who saw what was beautiful and ugly amidst the conflicts. He showed the real beauty even in a simple manner of how the wind blew the plastic and leaves.

This made me like the film American Beauty after seeing the deeper things behind it.

This film takes place in a time which saw the rich get much richer, the poor get much poorer, and the middle class remain the same. These rich getting much richer were for the most part "urban professionals," or, "yuppies," that is stockbrokers, accountants, and company traders. Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko both fit perfectly into the mold created by the yuppies. They are rich, they have very expensive cars, clothes, and houses and they are materialists who had a never ending greed. Fox sees Gekko as one of these yuppies who always smokes very expensive cigars, owns expensive property and is always trying to get richer at any cost; he is extremely greedy. After Gekko takes Fox in, he is immediately seen riding in an expensive chauffeured car, with a very nice suit, and a beautiful girl. Soon after this, Fox buys a very lavish apartment and they show the decorators putting up paintings and painting gold on the walls of part of his house. Showing Fox and Gekko living these yuppie lifestyles, especially with Fox's walls getting painted gold, was a very accurate representation of the time period.

In the beginning of the film Fox fit into the middle class whose wealth never changed. He was unable to buy anything he really wanted and had trouble paying his rent. Fox was a stockbroker who never took risks, only buying very safe stock, so he never made the huge profits like Gekko did. At this point he became discouraged with being in the stationary middle class and developed the greed Gekko had. He saw Gekko living very lavishly, knew he had an enormous net worth, and wanted it. Gekko showed him how easy it was to make large amounts of money under the Laissez-Faire presidency of Ronald Reagan. Reagan believed in not regulating business and so the stock market was also affected by this, only in the end does Fox finally get caught after he and Gekko do hundreds of illegal trades. Through Gekko's help and Reagan's laissez-faire presidency, Fox made the transformation from honest, lower middle class stockbroker, to this greedy upper class stockbroker who violated Securities Exchange Commission rules. The director portrayed this change very accurately at this point in time the U.S. businesses and the stock trading were not regulated well and the yuppies took advantage of this through illegal activities and speculation.

When Bud Fox is walking around New York City, or is ever outside, the atmosphere is of a very bustling, cramped, dark and polluted world. There are always thousands of people talking and walking through the streets and piling into the Wall Street buildings. One good example of this crowded, never sleeping, busy city is when Fox squeezes himself into this very small cramped elevator to go to work and it has a very claustrophobic feeling. Outside there is a shroud of smog to make it seem very dark and polluted, which represents the time period very well, it was one of the most environmentally unfriendly and polluted times in American history.

The 1980's were a time of the yuppies, pollution, and the deregulation of business and the stock trade. This movie represents the time period very accurately, it shows Fox and Gekko doing illegal dealings and finally getting caught by the stock commission, it shows Gekko, and eventually Fox with the lavish lives full of greed, and it shows a dark and polluted world, reflecting the terrible environmental situation at the time. Wall Street portrayed Wall Street and the social climate of the world as it was during the 1980's.

Fear Eats the Soul is the story of Emmi (Brigitte Mira), a German widow who seeks refuge from rain one evening by ducking into a bar. Once inside, she is asked to dance by a man who is called “Ali” (El Hedi ben Salem), a Moroccan immigrant worker 20 years younger than her whose real name is never revealed. The two become friends and soon get married. The rest of the film is about the adversity the couple faces, from both internal and external forces. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is ultimately a noteworthy, great film. Fassbender's portrayal of a relationship based less on genuine love than on desperation, which survives due to the determination of its members to persevere, is convincing, even in its obviously contrived moments.

The level of realism is actually reinforced by the fictional love Emmi and Ali convince themselves exists between them, and the disapproval of the characters outside of the relationship is more than believable. Fassbinder's style of direction and filming techniques emphasize all of the right moments to play on the audience's emotions. A combination of the plot, universal themes, direction, and manipulation of character make this film a good one.

Fear Eats the Soul is a tale told in almost snapshot-like scenes-from Emmi's entrance of the bar, to the scene in which she tells Ali to “get used to German food,” to the part where Emmi is alienated by her friends at work. The plot pieces together the moments that truly impact this relationship between two entirely different people; it shows how unfair both Emmi and Ali can be, and how each is wounded by the words and actions of others. The concept of idealization is significant throughout the film, as the relationship between Ali and Emmi is based on little more than a chance interaction and the simple friendship that evolves over the course of one night. In their loneliness and desperation to find companionship in what seems to each a cruel environment-Emmi's view due to the loss of her husband and distance of her children, Ali's due to a tremendous sense of displacement and a lack of acceptance in German society-the characters construct for themselves a delicate but enduring relationship.

In one scene, Ali brings home his wages for the week, and Emmi fantasizes over their good fortune, exclaiming, “We'll be rich, Ali! And we'll buy ourselves a little piece of heaven.” Ali replies with a deadpan, “Why heaven?” to which Emmi sweetly says, “Oh. Just a fancy of mine.” Emmi's idealism is the stronger of the two, but both believe enough to make a nonsensical relation seem plausible. Their connection is one in which all is forgiven, as is portrayed just when the situation seems irreparable. It is made apparent that there will be no reconciliation between the two, after Ali takes to sleeping with the barmaid (because she cooks him the couscous he is denied by his wife).

Just as the audience feels certain that the two characters have been separated and reunion is impossible, Emmi returns to the bar to reenact the scene of her meeting with Ali. He plays along, repeating his movements to an exact degree, asking her to dance once more. Once the two are together again, Emmi delivers the moral of the story-that nothing matters beyond the two being good to each other. The ending rather fizzles out, with Ali collapsing and being taken to the hospital for an ulcer in his stomach that has erupted. Beyond this, though, the film places on display the truth of humanity by showing the tenderness between two people who would normally never even interact on a basic level.

Fassbender's directorial techniques lend a hand to the fairy tale aspects of the film, as well. His portrayal of so strained a relationship is one only he could achieve. In a situation where each partner involved brings to the table an issue of which he is somewhat ashamed, due to the condition of their society-Ali his status as a foreigner, Emmi her age-it would have been easy to make one monstrous while virtually ignoring the other, but Fassbinder treats both with a graceful and appropriate magnitude. He does not allow one to take center stage without immediately following it with the other-there is a constant duet, so far as the conflicts are concerned. In each problem, though, the characters are shown to suffer, both together and separately. Fassbinder's most effective shots, so far as employing symbolism to convey the innerworkings of the characters goes, are those in which Emmi and Ali each feel isolated.

Making use of framework, Fassbinder places characters in doorways or windows, transmitting to the audience the idea that this person is being outlined physically; the action of standing solitary in a doorframe or sitting alone on a staircase is like a neon sign announcing the severity of the isolation one is feeling. In this same vein, Fassbinder exercises unrealistic scenes in which a character or couple of characters appear to be the only people for miles. The restaurant Emmi and Ali dine in after being married appears to be completely empty, excepting the couple and the waiter who takes their order. Nearer to the end of the film, the pair is seen sitting on the terrace of a café, which is crowded with empty tables and chairs, while the only other people actually present are the wait staff, who stand meters off, staring and whispering at the oddity they see. This technique adds to the concept that the couple is isolated by society and there is a vast distance between their relationship and the mainstream.

Along with this use of scenery as symbolism, Fassbinder utilizes a technique that is the exact opposite of the standard: the extended shot. The durations of several shots cause the audience to feel a level of discomfort, even pain, that is uncommon in cinema. Fassbinder brings a level of reality to Fear Eats the Soul by making use of these involved, stretched and strained scenes, as the degree of “awkward” felt by the audience, due to the technique, is relative to that of the character being held in frame, due to the situation within the plot. Rather than adding to the drama of the moments in question, these drawn out shots relieve some of the weight of the scenes in question by forcing the audience to get involved and figure out why these silent shots are significant.

Even the level of “awkward” achieved by Fassbinder's extended shots would be lesser if the casting were not so realistic. The characters come to life through their imperfections-the bags under their eyes and extra padding around their midsections bring as much to the film as any technique employed in the writing or directing. Were the actors all beautiful model types, the story would hold much less significance for the audience. This physical normalcy is necessary, as the movements made by the characters are deliberate to an artificial degree. In some moments, people start, stop, and stutter in unnatural, almost robotic ways.

This sort of stylization forces the reader to back out of the film, as such actions cause the situation to seem over-dramatized, theatrical even. Fassbinder uses this direction intentionally, as the audience, after pulling away from the story, finds that they are still emotionally connected to the events and characters, even though the stylization seems inauthentic. The conditioning we, as an audience, receive from modern films tells us that action is absolutely vital and that awkward moments are to be avoided at all costs. Fassbinder, on the other hand, insists that silence, a sense of portraiture, and a level of discomfort are all useful tools that should be exercised to teach the audience a lesson.

Through his usage of plot, universal themes, directorial technique, and manipulation of character, Rainer Werner Fassbinder creates a noteworthy film with Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. The lessons learned by the audience in this film extend to the world today, despite it's being made in 1973-from Fassbinder's art, one can learn of risk, overcoming adversity, and, most importantly, the importance of compassion in life.

The story of this movie unfolds in an English country mansion and is set in November 1932. Sir William McCordle and his wife, Sylvia, invite family and friends over to their mansion for a weekend of shooting. As the McCordle's guests and their servants arrive and get settled, gossip evolves in the entire mansion. As they enter the McCordle country mansion for, what is to be a weekend of shooting and gossip, little do they know that a murder plot arises and will soon take place.

The first issue that will be discussed about ideology is the role of men and women. The viewers may notice the differences of the roles of men and women, whether we look at the individuals, who are part of the upstairs or the downstairs. In the "upstairs", the men have the jobs, take care of all the financial affairs and are, in different ways, revealed as the superior sex. As for the women, they are allowed to spend their days not doing much, which is probably one of the reasons why they seem to gossip more than the men do or may even ask one of their servants to tell them what are people gossiping the most about in the "downstairs". The women are considered as the other. Something that is very interesting is that, even when they are not working, the men don't seem to be doing much either.

As for the downstairs, it is quite the opposite of the upstairs. Both sexes are working for most of the day and have not much time to be doing much else. Each individual has a specific job. Each job has a certain position that is seen in the upstairs. For example, the lady's maid has a higher status than the maid. There are more jobs and more people needed in the downstairs than we might normally expext or see in other movies that is set in this kind of place. Though each servant may have one specific job, they have several different tasks that they have to do. Let's take Mary Maceachran, Lady Trentham's lady's maid. During the movie, we see her accomplishing several different tasks. We see her bring Lady Trentham's breakfast, washing her clothes, sowing her dresses, and so on.

Not only do they have different tasks, but also in this kind of occasion they may serve more than one person. Just after they all find out that Henry Denton, some gather together and Mr. Jennings, the butler, redistributes some of the guests' to some of the servants. Jennings assigns Mr. Weissman to Arthur and Robert Parks, Lord Stockbridge's valet, has to see to Lord Stockbridge and Mr. Novello. Of course, in some scenes, we do see the servants relaxing a little, but they can do so, because there doesn't seem to be much to tidy up. For example, when Ivor Novello begins to sing and play the piano, the servants stop to listen behind the doors. Some are even in the stairs that lead to the servants' quarter and are listening to the music.

The second theme that will be discussed is the social classes. This movie may not examine the problems that the lower classes may have, such as in Ford's “Grapes of Wrath” or Mike Leigh's “Life is Sweet”, but “Gosford Park” does show us a bit both sides of what this kind of household was like. It doesn't simply examine the upper class or simply the lower class. A scene that seems interesting that looks at where some of the servants come from is one night where some of the servants are having dinner and Henry Denton asks the others how many of them have a parent or both in service and if that was what influenced to do the same. Many did, few didn't and one knew what his did, but wasn't influenced by it, because he grew up in an orphanage. We later find out that his father was Sir William, played by Michael Gambon, and his mother is in fact Mrs. Wilson, played by Helen Mirren.

A sentence that has really stuck with me is when Elsie and Mary are in the bathroom and Elsie asks Mary “Why do we have to spend our lives living through them?' In a way, these people do spend their lives through their employers and some of them don't necessarily have to. At times, we can see that some of the upper class has very little respect for the servants and that some servants don't have a lot of esteem for their employers. In one scene, we see Barnes, one of the servants, comes out one of the many rooms of the upstairs. Barnes has the time to do a few steps when Anthony Meredith comes out and hands out to Barnes a pair of socks. Barnes apologizes to Meredith, which can make us believe that he forgot them. Then, Barnes continues walking. While he's going back to his room, Meredith starts complaining about how Sir William would try something like this and, while still walking, Barnes calls Meredith “Short arse”, almost under his breath.

Despite the fact that this kind of movie has been done before, "Gosford Park" can make us reflect on our own lives. For instance, many characters have something to hide about something in their past. Jean-Luc Goddard once said, “Each movie has a beginning, middle and end, but not necessarily in that order.” Though, the last shot suggest something a bit different. It may imply that this movie has no definite ending.

The first relationship we are shown is that of William and his mother. William's mom is an extremely overprotective college professor that feels as though she is about to lose her children. She has sheltered William his whole life, primarily as a result of the behavior of his older sister. I believe that if she had her will, William would not be allowed to do anything outside of school or home, and he would remain a naïve teenager for the rest of his life. Their relationship is strained throughout the film as she realizes that she has to let go and give William more freedom. Although William is out on the road, his mother keeps a constant eye on him to make sure he is behaving as he should.

I think that despite his mother's control, William is a relatively well-adjusted 15 year old kid. He realizes that he is “uncool”, and probably thinks in the back of his mind that it is a result of his mother's tyranny. However, he tries to obey his mother to the best of his ability, and does a pretty good job of telling her how much he loves her. We see that he is forced to grow up virtually overnight and finds out who he is while he is out on the road touring with Stillwater. He is finally able to make decisions on his own, and does a pretty good job of making responsible decisions.

William is able to do so in spite of his relationship with Russell Hammond. The lead guitarist of Stillwater is a handful. He spends most of his time in some kind of altered state of mind and wrestles with the inner demons he experiences with the rest of his band members. He initially sees William as the enemy and is very reluctant to confide in him whatsoever. This relationship begins to change as the film progresses and he sees that William is a true fan that only wants to tell the truth.

There is an element in the film of William looking up to Russell because he is a true rock star. I think that at least some part of him wishes that he could live a similar lifestyle, but realizes that Russell is a troubled individual. He has been having an affair with a Band Aid for the last year and a half, and does not like who he is forced to be in the band. He often turns to drugs or alcohol throughout the film, and is rarely happy. William does a wonderful job however of resisting temptation, and never falls into the kind of patterns that Russell exhibits.

Arguably the most important relationship in the film is between William and his mentor, Lester Bangs. The reason the relationship is so important is that he is the one that encourages William to follow his passion as a journalist and helps him along his journey. William calls Lester with a similar frequency to his mother, and constantly asks advice from a person that has been in his situation. Lester displays a slightly jaded outlook on life because he has experienced its highs and lows. He ultimately has William's best interest in mind as he recognizes that he is one of the pure fans left in this world. William's career would have likely suffered without Lester's help because he was so inexperienced when he first took on the job with Stillwater. The film does a good job however of presenting the growth William experiences with the Lester's help, and alludes to the fact that he may become a successful journalist.

The most prominent relationship in the film is that of William and Penny Lane. Penny is a legendary Band Aid, a more devoted form of a groupie. She and Russell have been in some form of a relationship for over a year when she meets William. She assumes a mothering role as she realizes that William really is in over his head when he assumes the role of a rock journalist. She immediately warms up to him because there is something different about him than the majority of people she comes in contact with. He possesses an innocence that no one in the business does and is willing to take in everything he can. In many ways, Penny aims to “free” William from his current state of mind, but addresses the fact that he should not do anything beyond his own level of comfort.

It is evident in a number of instances throughout the film that William and Penny are learning from one another. William is learning what it means to live life outside of the bubble his mother created, and Penny learns what it is like to live in the “real world”; a place she has not visited for quite some time. It is this ability to learn from one another that generates a special bond between the two. William ends up saving Penny's life near the end of the film and professes his love for her. Unfortunately for him, she is unconscious.

It is apparent that Penny does not share the same kind of feelings as William, but does care for him in a different way. She looks to William more as a son than a romantic interest, but appreciates the fact that he is willing to stand up for her. They jokingly plan a trip to Morocco, but I think that each secretly wishes the trip was real. We see at the end of the film that Penny has gained enough courage to actually take this trip, largely in part to the growth she experiences from knowing William.

Finally, we are shown the relationship between Russell and Penny. There is an interesting scene early in the film in which one of the Band Aids narrates the interaction between the two. Their communication is completely nonverbal, and yet we are able to see exactly what she is talking about. It is obvious that they do not share a very stable relationship, punctuated by the fact that Penny is sold for a few dollars and a case of beer. It is at this point that she finally realizes that Russell was just using her for her affection. She invested considerably more effort and emotion into the relationship than Russell, and nearly loses her life over it. I think that by taking the trip to Morocco, Penny is finally able to put her old life behind her, including Russell, and moves on to a life of stability.

Overall, the film was a success on a number of levels. First of all, it was entertaining. I found that I could relate to many of the characters, and each performance was well-executed. Secondly, the film was an interesting exploration of complex emotions and relationships. I think that the film would have been easily forgettable if there was not as much growth from the characters because the film provided a good example of what to do in many precarious situations. Finally, I think the film succeeded in expressing that vulnerability can be a good thing. Without vulnerability, many of the characters would have remained unchanged, and would not have accomplished all that they were able to throughout the film.

The element of mood and symbols displayed in The Chronicles of Narnia adds to the plot and action of the movie. The scene begins and the blue sky filled with clouds, provides the perfect setting and suspenseful mood together with the howling of wolves and sad, haunting music. In this very moment, the viewer is still unsure of what will happen, but has a clue that something has to happen. Edmund steps over the wolf statue and he is caught unawares. The statue turns out to be a real wolf and he soon realizes this along with the viewers. Edmund enters the castle leaded by Maugrim (a wolf), who is the Head of the Secret Police, and not long after, the Witch catches him by surprise as he sits in her throne. She gets angry, when she discovers that Edmund did not do what he was told to do and her voice changes from calm and soothing, to booming and frightful. Symbols in this scene include the crown that the White Witch wears, representing power: winter setting, which is the result of the Witch's ruling over Narnia and Edmund sitting in the throne, as his future role as a king of Narnia.

Place and time is not as clearly defined in the specific scene, as the other elements of drama. The setting for this movie is Narnia is a mystical, enchanted place ruled by Aslan, a courageous and kind-hearted lion. In this amazing place, animals can talk and there are fauns and other half-human half-creature inhabitants roaming about. Narnia is filled with snow and icecaps, because ever since the Witch began her reign, there was no other season, but winter. Edmund enters the Witch's palace and he is greeted by an entirely different array of colors and textures. In front of him is the Witch's throne, which looks and feels like velvet. The castle has high ceilings and is adorned with statues of creatures the Witch froze.

In the scene, the focus is mainly on important characters/ surroundings in Narnia. When Edmund is approaching the castle and Maugrim attacks him, near the entrance, the camera is drawn to the sudden tension between him and Edmund. When the wolf leaves Edmund alone, as Edmund walks up the stairs leading to the entrance of the castle, the focus is on the castle itself, and this is because the castle plays an important role in the story. The statues placed near, are also in focus, and this is because they prove just how powerful and merciless the Witch is. Edmund finally enters the castle and he is drawn to the throne as if it is of importance. Later in the scene, when the Witch yells at Edmund, the camera is drawn to the Witch's face. The focus plays a very important part in this scene as it helps the audience understand what is happening and adds to the suspension.

The elements of drama are successfully represented and demonstrated in this scene, and in the whole movie. The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, is an imaginative and unique movie that involves the audience in the story and puts the viewer on the edge of their seat, in every moment.

Each of Tommy's important character corresponded to a color, which is apparent as each character is introduced. The opening scene shows Tommy's father, Walker, as a silhouette on a mountain, facing a blazing red sky. Subsequent appearances of Walker, or scenes concerning Walker, have noticeable red objects or lighting on screen. Frank, Nora's money-hungry new lover, corresponds to green. He is introduced to the audience in a green blazer and scenes showing Frank's scheming to make money were green. By relating green to scandalous Frank, the audience foresees some tragedy in Tommy's future when his cult associates appear in green uniforms.

As opposed to the other characters, Tommy does not appear to have an assigned characteristic color until he becomes an adult and suffers through traumatizing events. He appears in green as a boy and on stage playing pinball, illustrating Frank's power over him to the audience. However, later in the film, Tommy meets the Acid Queen who allows him to "meet" his father (the scene uses red lighting) during a bizarre "trip". In a later scene that uses yellow lighting, Tommy's cousin, who knows he is vulnerable, physically beats him. Following this, a scene of Tommy being subjected to his sexually perverse uncle, uses blue lighting. The camera then looks over Tommy's shoulder and exposes the mirror, into which Tommy is staring. In the mirror, Tommy sees three of himself: one red, one yellow, and one blue. These images merge to reveal Tommy's characteristic color: white. The conventional use of white in the arts indicates to the audience, the purity and divinity of Tommy's character. Tommy is related to the majestic white as a developing element of the film's farce on Christianity (a topic for another paper). His color was actually revealed at his birth, in the stark white hospital room, but he was next seen under Frank's (green) influence.

A specific example of color is used when Nora and Tommy return from the vacation camp with Frank. As the characters walk up the driveway, the camera reveals that the house's exterior (previously not shown) is green. Nora and Frank are later shown having sex in the green master bedroom. Immediately following, a shot shows Walker, presumed dead, briefly entering and exiting Tommy's bedroom. Tommy walks after him out into the hallway, revealing a bright red carpet. Frank then attacks and kills Walker. Subsequently Nora and Frank, in a green robe, plead with Tommy at the bedroom door to keep the murder a secret; all the while the red hallway carpet behind Tommy is visible.

An interesting use of color is in a scene with Nora, who is depressed about Tommy's state. She sings about Tommy in a room with a white bed, white walls, white satin drapes, and white shag carpet. In an attempt to free her mind of Tommy she gulps the rest of her Dom Perignon, and pitches the bottle at her television. To mark the success of relieving her mind of Tommy, torrents of baked beans and caviar wash out of the television and cover the white floor. Nora then happily writhes around in the muck, throwing globs of it to further cover the white walls.

Throughout the film, a dark crimson red pertains to Nora's romantic or sexual encounters with the movie's male characters. Nora and Walker are seen lovingly embracing in a crimson walled room of their home, Nora falls in love with Frank as they dance in a red ballroom, and a flirtatious moment with Tommy's doctor includes a close-up of Nora's rich, red lipstick. This color correlation, as related to a later, seemingly innocent natured scene, reveals some disturbing incestuous undertones. The previous shot shows Nora in the back seat of their new Cadillac with Tommy, cocktail in hand. She is showing concern for Tommy's state, but appears to be behaving a bit more intimately than a mother normally would with her son. Next, the disturbing scene opens to a view of the same white room that indicates Nora's thoughts of Tommy, but now Tommy is standing in the room gazing into a mirror, and Nora dances around the room wildly in a crimson dress. She dances and sings in front of Tommy, blocking his view of the mirror, appealing to him for some recognition or attention. Having watched the film in a passive state, this scene does arouse some unexplainable unsettling feelings, but actively watching the film and its use of colors in context blatantly divulges the scene's incestuous nature.

The director's control over the visible aspects of a film is crucial to the meaning of any film's story. However, in Tommy, Ken Russell relies heavily on mise-en-scene, due to the fast pace and omitted time of the story, as well as the consistent musical dialog, whose lyrics can be vague. Particularly, the director's use of color and colored lighting allows the audience to relate colors to the personalities of each character. For example, Green implied Frank's menacing, or negative events. Thus, the director's use of a colored visual cue in the frame can elicit an emotional response or expose complex information to the audience.

The newly elected prime minister of Malaysia publicly announces that he will make child labor laws and raise the minimum wage in Malaysia. This hurts the fashion company because most of their products are made in sweat shops in Malaysia or other third world countries. They fear that if Malaysia starts this trend of no more child labor and higher wage then the company will be losing millions of dollars, trying to pay for all of the higher wages. In retaliation the company sends Mugato on a mission to kill the prime minister without revealing their evil plot. In the end, Zoolander does not kill the prime minister and Mugato is taken off to jail. This shows that the writers did not believe that child labor and low minimum wages is a good thing because the corporation does not win and Malaysia abolishes child labor for good.

According to the move, male models have been behind every political assassination for the past 200 years. Abraham Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery but the slaves made the powdered wigs for all of the rich people. Without the free labor they would lose lots of money so they had model/actor John Wilkes Booth kill Lincoln. John F. Kennedy put a trade embargo on Cuba raising the prices of a common clothing item they got from Cuba. So, they hired the two male models on the grassy knoll to kill him. Now with the prime minister of Malaysia because of the child labor laws. This is an example of big companies that value profit over human life.

This movie shows that companies can become so corrupt that they rely on unethical practices to ensure success. You can see the crooked ways in the move such as using employees as scapegoats to cover for their own crimes. One example of this is framing Derrick so it looks like he killed the prime minister out of his own will. This is a funny depiction but a problem with real world companies like ENRON and WorldCom.

Even though this is a great comedy, Zoolander shows a real problem in our modern society. Companies today can become crooked and forget about human life and rights so they can make a profit. This movie shows that we need to put an end to the evil and corrupt practices in our modern society.

Shaun's character is your every day guy. He works in a local electrical store and lodges with his friends; Pete and Ed, in a messy little house. Ed is a completely lazy and whose idea of a hard days work is having a bath and going to the toilet, all in the same day. Shaun and Ed spend most of their evenings down the Wichester public house and, although Shaun feels deep down that this is a waste of his life, he just enjoys his pointless routine too much to change. Even his girlfriend Liz has had enough of his bleak and pointless existence and throws down the gauntlet in an effort to bring Shaun too his senses. Unfortunately, just as Shaun and Liz's relationship breaks down, London is grasped by a rather inconvenient outbreak of the dead rising from their resting places and eating other people.

During the 1970s, zombie films became the model of choice for people choosing to make a statement about things going on in the society. In, this framework the general analysis came to assume that most of the zombie movies being made around that time were expressing an ideological fear of communism. The Cold War was at its coldest and the zombie was symbolic of the oppressed communist subject, entirely lacking in individuality, just another quiet follower of the bandwagon. Shaun of the Dead uses this type of analysis to bring these zombies into the present day by playing with the idea that a capitalist subject today is lacking in individuality. The goods may have different labels and brands, but the products are all the same; you may be the only slob slouching back on your particular couch playing videogames just like Ed, people are doing exactly the same thing, their eyes dazed and focused on the same formulaic television games.

The zombie-smashing antics serve as more of a backdrop for the maturation of Shaun, who learns responsibility during his journey to save Liz and his dear mum (Penelope Wilton) from the hordes of walking corpses infesting metropolitan London. With a cricket bat in hand Ed at his side, Shaun embarks on his daring rescue mission with annoyed nonchalance and a lack of fear that is astonishing and puzzling. Both himself and Ed show a kind of disgust at having to do something, anything, besides sitting slack-jawed in front of the television.

During the process of the film Shaun tries to save everyone who is close to him and a couple who just aren't. All of them die during the progression of the film save for Shaun and his girlfriend Liz. His leadership qualities emerge but quite sketchy and he makes some questionable decisions such as their location for a hideout; a pub. They entered the pub, a masculine choice of location and had to dethrone the other kind of the house; the bartender whether dead or undead. This was a war on territory that was fought and in order to show victory they took the rifle that has hanging in the pub; a symbol of the phallus. It was a scene of man conquering, claiming and keeping territory; just like what the British did when they colonized many countries in the days of the British Empire.

The highest emotional moment of the film came when Shaun's own mother was transformed into a zombie. This was a serious part of the film when his mother had to be put to death. The paternal link was already severed and now the maternal link had to be cut. This showed someone who was getting rid of a link from childhood and emerging as a man of the world capable of making his own decisions and able to live with the consequences.

The end of the film was even more interesting. The most macho of masculine figures came to their rescue; the British military and ironically they were led by a woman. The zombies were eradicated and placed in situation to do menial work in controlled situations to do menial work in a heavily controlled environment. There were zombie cart pushers outside stores and they were all doing menial but necessary tasks. The same tasks that were once performed by living people in a zombie like manner were now done by true zombies.

The end of the film showed that the couch where Shaun and Ed played video games was now occupied by Shaun and Liz; now his girlfriend again. The games were now played in the tool shed with Shaun and Ed; now a zombie. It just showed that not everything can be changed; we depend on our routine and zombie like existence to an extent. In other words; the more things change, the more they remain the same. The beginning and end of the film were quite similar. Everyone was doing the same thing and going through the same monotonous experiences. The only difference was that in the beginning the living people were in a zombie like existence and by the end they were replaced by real zombies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Film 'Shaun of the Dead', (2004, Edgar Wright)

Shaun of the Dead' By Mark Richarson]]> Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:57:18 PST