Essays and Research Papers on Film & Television

(5 pp) If you choose to look at the reviews before you see this movie, you will find two things: few who are lukewarm about this M. Night Shyamalan film; and no one will tell you how the movie ends. Even with that in mind, you may still both, suspect, ...

6 pages. Produced in 1974, the movie Chinatown, Roman Polanski's most memorable movie, is considered a benchmark for its time. Since then, there have been many movies compared to Chinatown, but it remains a one of a kind film, one that started the ball rolling for all of Hollywood. Chinatown had everything then that no other film ...

A 5 page research paper that compares three movies to their modern remakes as a means to investigating the changing role of women in society. The writer argues that the societal perspective on women has been drastically altered. The focus has turned away from 1950's perception of women as living completely within the domestic sphere ...

Oliver Stone’s “Platoon”: This 5-page essay examines this acclaimed writer/ director’s depiction of war in “Platoon” and why the film is so memorable. In addition, how Stone uses the medium to convey his political perspectives is also explored. War, (he seems to underscore) is a place wherein the first casualty is one’s ...

This 40 page report discusses the ways in which television has had a tremendous influence in shaping the way people think, how they act, and even what they choose to eat and drink. It has evolved in ways that have caused human beings to evolve differently than they would have without its predominance. This paper considers theoretical perspectives related to the ...

An 8 page research paper that examines the movie Bonnie and Clyde, focusing specifically on the director's use of color and light to create imagery. The writer discusses several scenes from the movie in depth. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 6 page paper which discusses the story and the film, "A Bronx Tale," and illustrates how it affects popular American culture. From the perspective of the two, the story, which is actually a play, and the movie, we find that both the negative and the positive side of popular American culture could be affected powerfully through this story. ...

This 7 page report discusses the fact that as the world has become increasingly interconnected, people have become fascinated with what is different from their personal experience of modern life. The enchantment with “otherness” is often tied to the modern assumption that the “other” or the “different” also represents something that is somehow “better” than what would be thought of as ...

Television is said to reflect the way in which the world is structured, reflecting the beliefs and important developments of the times. This 5 page paper argues that the social commentary that is provided is in the understanding of the postmodern television show's parody as opposed to serious consideration of the possible truths. Bibliography lists 5 sources. ...

A five page paper which looks at Jean Rouch’s 1954 movie, Les Maitres Fous, in terms of his perception of the Hauka community in Accra under colonial role, and the cultural and religious significance of the possession ceremony which allowed the Hauka to assimilate the constraints of colonialism into their traditional religious practices. Bibliography ...

A 5 page paper which analyzes Oliver Stone’s 1994 film within the context of such theories as criminological determinism (biological, psychological, social), specifically concentrating on the characters Mickey and Mallory, their criminal conduct, and the possible reasons behind this behavior. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

This 5 page report discusses that virtually all movies take up some form of philosophical content. Some are clearly more obvious than others wile many do nothing more than present a situation that pits good against evil in the most fundamental of ways. It is possible to look at any movie and find the ways in which it ...

This 7 page report discusses Tim Burton’s 1999 movie, “Sleepy Hollow,” starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci and why it is considered by many critics (and fans) to be the best overall work he has produced. There are important cinemagraphic influences in “Sleepy Hollow” that have nothing to do with individual characters or storylines and everything to do with how light ...

This 7 page report discusses German filmmaker Wim Wenders with a focus on his 1977 movie “The American Friend.” “The American Friend” presents a world to the audience in which the characters reside rather than vice versa. The characters exist in a world that is based on visual awareness and appreciation. The appearance and role of an individual city ...

Violence on television can have both positive and negative consequence when viewed through the lens of social and, or, political argument. This 6 page paper explores the issue of violence as it pertains to children's shows, horror and reality on television. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 6 page report discusses the fact that Plato explains that the capacity to understand the world outside the world of the individual and his/her internal world includes the ability to interpret, characterize, and associate what seems to be singular things or, at least, singular groups of things. Sir Isaac Newton demonstrate the ability to do that in the ...

It is the diversity of human behavior that makes for a full and interesting conversation on the use and misuse of violence within the media. This 6 page paper focuses on the issues of violence in the media and the legal, social and political responses to that violence. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

9 pages in length. Love abounds when Don (Gene Kelly) expresses his love for Cathy (Debbie Reynolds) in the deserted stage room while singing "You Were Meant For Me" in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain. Understanding how the scene's theatrical presence seems to exemplify the workings of a genre movie encourages ...

A 6 page paper which examines "The Grapes of Wrath," both the film and the book by Steinbeck, in regards to class and class consciousness during the Great Depression. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

5 pages in length. Analyzing the film Casablanca for problems may appear a bit difficult, inasmuch as the classic movie leaves little for one to criticize. However, looking deeper within the film beyond what one finds on the screen leads one to its production issues, with the most significant of all being that ...

This 5 page paper compares and contrasts the 1960s science fiction film with the one created in the 1990s. Modernism, postmodernism and tech noir are explored. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 10 page paper explains how television has always framed the lives of the American people. It argues that television is both a reflection of society and a significant influence. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

An 11 page paper. The amount of violence on television has been a subject of concern and debate for decades. The question always comes up: Why is there so much violence on television, even on children's shows? This paper explores that question. The writer first provides a general overview of the amount of violence on ...

This 5 page report discusses how the modern popular culture has embraced entertainment that is often defined as violent, obscene, and superficial. It can be seen in almost every form of popular entertainment ranging from video games to the big screen. As a result, the broad category of “entertainment” and what that encompasses is often responsible for manipulating the attitudes, beliefs, ...

This 5 page report discusses the 1952 movie “Singin’ in the Rain” starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor. The paper considers the various aspects of the film but focuses on a singular “mise en scène” in which Reynolds and Kelly dance together on an empty stage against an artificially created and romantic sunset. Handsome Don takes shy, yet independent, ...