Impact and Accomplishments of Steven Speilberg - Research Paper Example

Impact and Accomplishments of Steven Spielberg Stephen Spielberg is one of the best film directors in the history of filmmaking. He has affected the way films have been made and did creative works, the way as no one else has done before. Films made by him have received many awards and recognitions worldwide. His films have broken many records of box office business. His films will be remembered for many decades to come. He is famous for trying new techniques, technologies and themes in his films. He has always given new ideas and fruit for thought to the world. He is Hollywood’s best-known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Steven Spielberg was born on 18 December 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. A man with middle height of 5 7". During his film career, he has won 3 Oscars, 2 BAFTAs, and 2 Golden Globes. (Web-Steven Spielberg Biography) “Spielberg was born to Jewish parents Leah Adler (née Posner), a restaurateur and concert pianist, and Arnold Spielberg, a computer engineer. Throughout his early teens, Spielberg made amateur 8 mm "adventure" movies with his friends, the first of which he shot at a restaurant (Pinnacle Peak Patio) in Scottsdale, Arizona. After moving to California, he applied to attend film school at the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three separate times but was unsuccessful due to his C grade average. He attended California State University, Long Beach. His actual career began when he returned to Universal studios as an unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and guest of the editing department. After Spielberg became famous, USC awarded him an honorary degree in 1994, and in 1996, he became a trustee of the university. In 2002, thirty-five years after starting college, Spielberg finished his degree via independent projects at CSULB, and was awarded a B.A. in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film / Video Production. As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 24-minute movie Amblin in 1968. After Sidney Sheinberg, then the vice-president of production for Universals TV arm, saw the film, Spielberg became the youngest director ever to be signed to a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal). He dropped out of Long Beach State in 1969 to take the television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career as a professional director”. Impact of Spielberg on filmmaking is enormous. He has introduced new themes, concepts, techniques and technologies to direct and produce movies. His films are normally multi million dollar projects. He changed the old style of movie making and gave new dimension and thinking to film viewers and filmmakers. All the main Hollywood stars wish to work with him. Stars casted in Spielberg movies always find a bright future in their careers. Subjects adopted by Spielberg are wide ranging and dynamic; like archaeology / adventure in “Indiana Jones”, sea exploration / fear in “JAWS”, military history in “Saving Private Riyan” and host of other films. He has covered topics of science fiction, space travel, history, archeology, nature, love, art, romance and future traveling in his movies. He is famous for adopting techniques in scenes which have never been used before like his characters flying, vanishing, transforming and disintegrating etc. Spielberg is known as father of modern blockbusters. People in the world borrow style pioneered by him. "E.T" and "Close Encounters" sparked an entire decade of "nice alien" movies-"Flight of the Navigator," "Cocoon" and "Batteries Not Included" to name a few. Ever since "Saving Private Ryan," no one can make a World War II film without making it look like real war footage. "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park" set the stage for creature features in their respective times. The most important subject of his movies is “interaction between people”.It is this wide treatment and discussion of human interaction, which has made him famous. “Steven Spielberg will perhaps be most widely revered as the father of blockbusters, yet his influence on contemporary filmmaking runs well beyond box office bombshells. The most common theme in all his stories is of the connections of people, and it is this wide treatment of human relationships that has so influenced contemporary film. Unlike other directors who often have a specific agenda to push, Spielberg has devoted his films, across genres, to representing how people interact, love and sometimes war. At the beginning of his career, Spielberg broke into the film industry with sensational action and special effects. Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind defined a new generation of film, which paved the way for other films with big booms and big budgets. Without Spielberg, films like Titanic and Lord of the Rings would most likely not have been as spectacular; Spielberg is often thought of in tandem with George Lucas as the father of contemporary computer generated special effects. Furthermore, his films situated themselves more readily into mainstream culture with the concept of spin off merchandise. His high grossing ET and Jurassic Park took the movie industry to new levels with merchandising schemes that often outsold their inspirations, creating a sense of identity or brand around each movie as its own institution. While in the past, there had been cult classics where followers were seen as devoted to one film, Spielberg films elevated all blockbusters by selling the image of the movie by cross marketing with other cultural fixtures like fast food. Beyond the spectacle, Spielberg has also devoted much of his career to issues of family, war, and slavery. His most common subject has been the Holocaust and WWII, developing stories, which offer new insights into the historic war. Schindlers list was far from a blockbuster movie, portraying a complicated hero of victims of the Holocaust and how he navigated a hostile environment in order to do the right thing. In many ways, it is a continuation of the theme from an earlier Spielberg film, Empire of the Sun, which is a coming of age story in the face of internment. Spielberg’s career has not been without criticism or controversy. Godard railed against the consumer culture tinge to Spielbergs work, while critics have blamed Spielberg for ruining Kubricks last film and causing assorted trauma to veterans during screenings of Saving Private Ryan. Despite the criticisms, Spielbergs body of work represents a director who is cherished for his causes and for his spectacle. Recognized consistently by the Academy, Spielbergs legacy has been to encourage films that are unadulterated in their action and effects, while still maintaining strong character roots”. (Web- E.D. Cameron ). There has been great mention about creativity and impact of Spielberg on present day filmmaking. Themes adopted by him in combination with new thinking, methodology and skill has created an everlasting impact on film making.( Web-Royce Radcliffe ) “There is no denying the influence of master filmmaker Steven Spielberg on the world of cinema today. This is a man who is in many polls voted the best filmmaker of all time, and certainly one of the best working today. There are a lot of things that stand out about his body of work. His main influence on the world of filmmaking is the fact that he basically invented what we know think of as "the Summer blockbuster". In the summer of 1975, a movie called Jaws came out that had people living up around the block to see it. An American newspaper coined the term that same summer and it lives on to this day. Another thing he did in that movie that broke ground and is still emulated to this day is introduce the concept of the "hidden villain". In Jaws, we only get glimpses of the beast and shockingly this only ratchets up the suspense that much more! This technique had never been used in such a way before but has become a staple of many modern films. Another interesting development is that he was the reason for the PG-13 rating. In the seventies, there were only PG and R rated movies but after the gore he got away with on a PG rating in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a special "in between" rating of PG-13 was created. He has also had a very eclectic career and is not easily pigeonholed. He has done drama, action, adventure and science fiction all with equal ease. This man is much more than any one genre and he has shown that many times over. In fact, his movies mix genres so well as to destroy the notion of them entirely. One trait that does unify all of his films is his optimism. He is the opposite of Scorcese in this department. Though he does venture to the dark side often, he usually goes through it to find a light at the end of the tunnel. Apart from Munich, all his endings were pretty happy ones. His evil aliens in the War of the Worlds did not feel nearly as "Spielberg-ian" as the ones he portrayed in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Even Minority Report somehow wrapped its way around to a happy ending. Some critics dislike this tendency but for the most part it is highly encouraging. Spielberg is one of the brightest stars on the directing map today. The man basically has a camera inside his head and is always looking for opportunities. He has produced even more than he has directed and his work in both of these areas does not look to taper off anytime soon. He is undoubtedly one of the best directors of all time.” (Web-voodoobrb) “Steven Spielberg directed some of the most fascinating films of the 90s. His films have demonstrated mastery by translating his wild imagination to the big screen. Movies like Jurassic Park, Men In Black , Mask of Zorro, Deep Impact, Saving Private Ryan, Evolution, The Haunting, Shrek, AI Artificial Intelligence, Minority Reports, Men In Black II, Catch Me If You Can prove his talent as a director. Spielberg has always managed to keep the public interest or with extremely stimulating themes and spectacular special effects. It is very difficult to enumerate all the achievements that Steven Spielberg has achieved. He is one of the richest personalities in Hollywood, won “Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern, the highest civilian honor awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany, was chosen as one of the most powerful personalities in the industry Entertainment by Entertainment Weekly, won the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1995, is a supporter of the Democratic Party, to which he donated $ 100,000, was awarded the John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation in 1995, is co-founder of DreamWorks SKG, was named best director of the 20th century in an online pole organized by Entertainment Weekly, received a Distinguished Public Service Award in 1999, the highest civilian honor the U.S. Navy, was given the honor Knight of the Order of British Empire by Queen on New Year honors in 2001.” (Feldmann) “Spielberg’s contribution to the American film industry is substantial. The concept of the blockbuster movie was begun and fueled by Spielbergs tremendously successful movies that spanned decades. From Jaws to Saving Private Ryan , Spielberg has brought great films to theatres while connecting with the emotions of his viewers and resurfacing historical issues such as racism ( Color Purple and Amistad ) and Nazism ( Schindlers List ). In particular, the issues that Spielberg addresses throughout his films enable the audience and those affected by such horror, to relive and remember the importance of such historical events. These movies also serve as a learning experience for the audience, from the strife and strong human perseverance that was present during trying times in American and world history. More integral throughout his career, Spielberg shows he is a dreamer of imagination. By relating to his childhood, he is able to replicate onscreen the magical discoveries and dreams he had growing up as a little boy. He is able to take the audience for a trip into the eyes of the actors as they experience thrills, horrors, and the wonders that all of us have had at one time or another.” Top ten films by Steven Spielberg include (top10.co);- 1. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. 2. Schindlers List. 3. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. 4. Jurassic Park. 5. Catch me if you can. 6. JAWS. 7. Close encounters of the third kind. 8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of dome. 9. Amistad. 10. Munich. (Frederick Wasser). “ Wasser offers consistently interesting insights, seeing Spielbergs films not so much as "autonomous productions of a single artist" but as "industrial artifacts that have put together the largest audiences in the world" and so express the "cultural-political situations" of the various audiences he addresses . Wasser astutely observes Spielbergs constant negotiation with his audience. His surprising conclusion is that Spielbergs loyalty to the old Hollywood makes him a progressive filmmaker and allows Spielberg to present the American perspective in a fashion that the world accepts. As he notes, the breakthrough blockbusters of Lucas and Spielberg in the late 1970s appealed to all generations and all audiences by offering a visceral, immersive movie going experience. To do this, "Spielberg relegated the politics to the background" Spielbergs appeal as a storyteller is primarily visceral and emotional rather than intellectual. Wasser notes that Spielbergs later films revealed his liberal stance by deliberately turning away from action adventure to historical realism in order to address current politics”. To conclude Steven Spielberg has given a great contribution to filmmaking, giving new ideas, themes and finished products in the form of movies. He gives inspiration and message of hope in movies. He invites audience to dream and invoking creative imagination. He asks audience to look for remote possibilities. He invites to overcome fears and knows where to draw the line. He finds inspiration around audience, push limits and follow human passions. He has proved himself as a trendsetter and a great filmmaker. He will be remembered for decades to come. Works cited Steven Spielberg Biography, FLIXTER.com, Copyright © 2010 Flixster. Web. 4 April 2011.http://www.flixster.com/actor/steven-speilberg/steven-spielberg-biography E.D. Cameron, Steven Spielbergs influence on filmmaking today, helium.com Copyright © 2002-2011 Helium, May 01, 2007.Web. 5 April 2011 http://www.helium.com/items/311508-steven-spielbergs-influence-on-filmmaking-today Royce Radcliffe, helium.com, Copyright © 2002-2011 Helium.2 May 2007.Web. 5 April 2011.http://www.helium.com/items/312751-steven-spielbergs-influence-on-filmmaking-today Voodoobrb, cinemaroll.com, Steven Spielberg, the biggest filmmaker in the twentieth century, 25 March 2005. Web. 5 April 2011.http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/steven-spielberg-the-biggest-filmmaker-in-the-twentieth-century/ Feldmann Derrick, Learning to Give.org, Spielberg, Steven Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Web. 10 April 2011, http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper126.html A top ten list of the greatest movies by director Steven Spielberg, Published 8th September 2010, © 2011,Web. 10 April 2011,http://top10.co/top-10-steven-spielberg-movies/paulcook Gordon, Andrew, Journal of American Culture, Steven Spielbergs America Frederick Wasser. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2010, Sep 2010 .Web. 10 April 2011, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7593/is_201009/ai_n55488087/ Read More