Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film Movie Review

Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film - Movie Review Example The Maltese Falcon is considered to be one of the key films cementing the genre in the respect of the public, as well as establishing its archetypes. The end result has been such quintessential crime films as Scar Face, The God Father, The Departed and the most recent American Gangster. These films are notorious for depicting East inner city life, and no director has become more known for this than Martin Scorsese. No New York director has more authentically imbedded New York ideals into popular culture than Martin Scorsese. Classified as a contemporary auteur he has carved a niche as a New York Hollywood director. The auteur theory protests that the director's films reflect the particular director's personal creative vision, as though he or she were the sole author of the work. The French word for author, many film producers have notably been credited for having auteur like influences on film projects. It has also had a major impact on film criticism, since it was erected by film director and critic Francois Truffaut in 1954. This is partly why Auteurism is most immediately connected with French New Wave. This of course, was a connection made most commonly in the mid 1950's to 60's before American filmmakers embodied the theory. Today, no contemporary American director more deserves the title of auteur than Martin Scorsese. He has presented his genuine Italian New York culture in such an auth entic way that, for so long, it is unclear whether his work is a reflection of the city, or the city is a reflection of his work. Martin Scorsese is the perfect example of an auteur because he uses the same thematic consistencies throughout all of his work. These entail Catholicism, virgin/whore conflict, redemption, ethnic pride, and of course crime culture. On top of this, he supports all of his plots with very eclectic soundtracks. The cinematography he uses is very similar in all of his films. He utilizes the fluid motion of the camera with each shot, while making the mis-en-scene of each frame valuable to the plot of the story. He is also know for using some of the same actors in his films, specifically Robert Deniro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel. Of his large body of work, Mean Street symbolizes the blue print to the archetype that has become his unique style (Raymond, 2002). It was his first film and it contains all of the key characteristics with which he modeled his style. Scorsese has a visual style that relies on the city of New York. Mean Street embodies the culture that comes with this location. In the film, the audience is subjected to getting to know characters who spend their time womanizing, hustling, fighting, and drinking. Centered on the struggles of four men in their mid-20's and all residents of Little Italy, who are working their way up the rungs of gangster culture, some are loan sharks, and some are just plain hoods. Tony (David Proval) is a big friendly guy who runs the neighborhood bar; Michael (Richard Romanus) is a small-time loan shark who tends to rip off Brooklyn adolescents. Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) is an irresponsible hood who borrows money from loan sharks that he never intends to pay back, and Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is the nephew of the mafia boss Giovani (Cesar Danova). Charlie's only aspiration is to run his own restaurant. Mean

Effect of Color on Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Effect of Color on Culture - Essay Example Colors may be used to symbolize a rite of passage, differentiate between fun and seriousness, male and female, young and old, among other things. Various cultures associate different colors with a different meaning or implication. As such, understanding and appreciating different cultures and there relation to different colors are important for the better and productive interaction of the human race. This study analyses different colors and their effect on different cultures in the world. Color and its Associations across Cultures In the middle ages, color played a very significant role in the western culture especially during weddings. The color chosen by brides had a close relation with their display of wealth. Deeper colors indicated deeper pockets. Red or purple was a good color, but black was considered the best of all colors since it was very expensive to get (Bortoli & Marot 2001). However, there is a change in culture in the west since very few brides go for different colors other than cream or white. This change came in 1840 during the marriage between Queen Victoria and Albert where white color was used. In a survey conducted with students from twenty different countries across the world, students were asked to rate seven colors in twelve semantic differential items. Thereafter, results were recorded for the evaluation of activity and potency. From the findings, blue color was highly evaluated followed by green and white (Bortoli & Marot, 2001). Colors, which were most potent, were red and black while grey and black were the most passive colors. In another survey, people from different cultures, South Korea, USA, Japan and China were requested to state one color among eight that which was closely associated with consumer products. Analysis of results indicated that there are similarities and dissimilarities across cultures. The four culture under study associate blue color with high quality while red with love. Those from Japan, China, and South Korea associate purple with expensive products. On the other hand, those from USA associated the same color with cheap (Bortoli & Marot, 2001). All cultures associate black with power and expensive products. This indicates that color is culturally bound with certain traditions and ideologies. As such, the combination of different colors selected say, for communication and use on product logos especially for multi cultured consumers may convey varied meaning as a result of the color used. The following is an analysis of some colors and their effect in different cultures. In eastern cultures the color, which is mostly preferred by brides, is red. However, there are many cultural dissimilarities and traditions. For example, Arab Muslim brides wear white color just like their western counterpart while Asian Muslim brides put on brightly colored clothes and much jewelry (Bortoli & Marot, 2001). Further, western cultures consider the color black as the color representing death or mourning whil e in Eastern cultures, including India, China and Japan white color represent death or mourning. In South Africa, red is a color which depicts death or mourning while yellow and purple represent death in Egypt and Thailand respectively. On the other hand, blue in Iranian culture is associated with death. The color blue is considered by many cultures as a very safe color. In most cases, it is associated with healing, tranquility, and health. Specifically, in the United Kingdom, blue is considered a health color (Bortoli & Marot 2001). For example, the National Health Service logo is designed with a blue color while medical practitioner’