The Art of Film Making - Essay Example

?Film Essay The world renowned film directors utilize the visual possibility of other fields related to cinematography and create superhero films/ adventure thrillers and films related to martial arts. Within the context of the growth and development of film making, the films like Spider- Man (released in the year 2002) by Sam Raimi, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (released in the year 2001) by Simon West and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (released in the year 2000) by Ang Lee are noteworthy. To be specific, these film directors utilized historical contexts, themes/ narrative aspects, and stylistic/visual characteristics to create a virtual real world of heroism. Comparison /contrast: After going through the different elements of the art of filmmaking, it is evident that the elements like historical contexts, themes/ narrative aspects, and stylistic/visual characteristics of the films are examinable for the comparison/ contrast section. 1. Historical (political, cultural, philosophical) context of the films: The historical context of the film Spider-Man is related to the growth and development of Marvel Comics. To be specific, the director made use of the fictional character (Spiderman) from the Marvel Comics as the protagonist. Fowkes opined that “Upon becoming Spider-Man, Peter assumes a dual persona comprised of opposites: brain vs brawn, nerdy vs cool, weak vs strong, ordinary vs extraordinary” (130). One can see that fictional character of Spiderman deeply influenced the cultural context of America. For instance, the popular culture in America, especially the children/youngsters is deeply influenced by the heroism of Spiderman. Besides, the climax scene in the film is philosophical because Spiderman’s doubt on his dual identity as a normal individual and as a superhero is revealed through his words. One can argue that comic/fictional characters are related to childhood fantasy. Still, the success of the film as a superhero film proves that heroism is acceptable to all. The scene in the film, in which Peter Parker is bitten by a spider (say, genetically engineered) connects the film with the history of genetic engineering. Besides, the superhero image of the protagonist and his involvement in daily life situations helped the viewers to accept heroism as normal. On the other side, the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider represents the development of video games and the adaptation of the same to the context of adventure thriller genre of films. The scenes in Egypt and Cambodia prove the film’s relation with history, especially archeology. One can easily identify that the film represent the philosophical quest of human beings to find out the secret of life. At the same time, the film is symbolic of human attempt to explore history by raiding tombs (say, the ancient pyramids). The first scene in the film, in which the heroine explores an ancient pyramid in Egypt, proves that the director provides ample importance to history and discovery of ancient relics. The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is symbolic of the growth and development of martial arts in China. The scene in which Li Mu Bai explains the history of his sword (say, the Green Destiny) proves the importance of martial arts in China. One can easily identify that the director provides ample importance to the heroism of the main characters (say, Li Mu Bai and Jade Fox). From a different angle of view, the film is symbolic of the development of Wuxia genre films in Chinese context. The combat scenes in the film, especially between Li Mu Bai and Jade Fox, represent the historical importance of martial arts in China. For instance, the usage of poisoned needles during martial arts performance can be regarded as the portrayal of vengeance in human life. To be specific, the usage of poisoned needles during martial arts performance is against the ultimate aim of martial arts. In short, the films represent heroism in different historical contexts. Still, the philosophical content is same because these films represent the human search to find out the essence of human life or the eternal truth. 2. Themes/ narrative aspects: The theme of the film Spider-Man cannot be regarded as simple. To be specific, the film’s theme can be evaluated as the dilemma faced by an average individual who is forced to play different roles in his private and public domains. For instance, in the beginning of the film, Peter is portrayed as a normal individual who is craving for love. In the climax, Peter is portrayed as a superhero. The theme represents the dilemma faced by human beings in the modern world. At the same time, narrative elements in the film are helpful for the viewers to identify that heroism is essential for the hero to balance his life. For instance, Peter Parker decides to participate in wrestling tournament because his aim was to impress his girlfriend. This is totally convincing to the viewers because Peter Parker’s behavior in this situation is symbolic of an average individual who is not aware of his ability and responsibility. The director provided ample importance to the individual characterization of the protagonist as a normal individual with superhuman qualities. At the same time, the hero decides to utilize his qualities/abilities to save the world in a convincing manner. The theme of the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is related to the human desire to pursue knowledge or the unending search to attain wisdom. In the film, the Triangle of Light is symbolic of knowledge. Knight opined that “In Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Croft outthinks and outfights various antagonists (including giant supernatural stone creatures), successfully retrieving parts of an artifact called the Triangle of Light that the Illuminati, a secret society, want to use to control time” (208). From a different angle of view, the director made use of the theme of the unending search to unearth hidden knowledge to unveil the possibilities of feminine heroism. Almost all the scenes in the film, especially the fight scenes and Lara’s exploration of ancient relics are based upon first person narrative technique. One can see that the director made use of the technique of first person narration to project the heroine’s abilities in martial arts and direct combat. One can see that the director provided ample importance the feminine viewpoint of heroism. Almost all the other characters in the film are manipulated by the heroine to attain her ultimate aim. For instance, Lara makes use of Powell (say, her enemy) as a medium to find out the triangle. The director makes use of a number of narrative elements of action to portray the heroine. For instance, the heroine’s dress code is different from other characters. Besides, the director makes use of first person narrative technique to establish Lara Croft as an ‘action heroine’. On the other side, the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is entirely different from the other two films. To be specific, the film’s theme is related to the history of monarchy and clan wars in China. Besides, the director made use of martial arts as the background of the main theme. One can see that the importance given by the martial arts students to their teachers is the epicenter of the conflict in the film. Besides, the film’s theme is revolutionary because one of the main characters is a female. From a different angle of view, the film portrays the feminist viewpoint of heroism. The narrative technique used by the director in the film projects the skill of the main characters in martial arts (say, Li Mu Bai and Jade Fox). Besides, the director provided ample importance to individual characterization because the main characters (Li Mu Bai and Jade Fox) in the film are presented as enemies, not as friends. In short, the three films are different in theme/narrative aspect, and the directors made use of the same to project individual heroism. 3. Stylistic/visual characteristics: One can easily identify that the inculcation of stylistic/visual characteristics (visualization of the action scenes, fighting style, and choreography) is difficult for a director who is adopting a comic character to the context of cinematography. Within this context, visualization of the action scenes in the film Spider-Man was a tiresome effort. For instance, the action scenes in which the Spiderman and his enemy (Norman Osborn) fights with each other is difficult for an average director. Still, the visualization of the action scenes, especially the camera work (mixture of long shots and close-ups), proves that comic characters have no limitations within the context of cinematography. For instance, the kidnap scene and rescue mission by Spiderman to save his ladylove (Mary Jane), are symbolic of the stylistic/ visual characteristics of the film. Besides, the fighting style made use in the film proves that the director is totally influenced by modern warfare because traditional weapons are not used in the fighting scenes. The stylistic/visual characteristics of the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is symbolic of a typical modern film. For instance, action scenes in Cambodia, between West and Croft, prove that the director makes use of the visualization of the same to project the abilities of the heroine. Besides, the heroine undertakes the responsibility to guard her father’s honor and attempts to save the whole world from eternal doom. From a different angle of view, the action scenes and fighting style connect the past with the present condition of the world. The fighting style in the film represents the development of information technology in which human beings are destined to fight with robots. Besides, the direct combat is an important aspect of the fighting style in the film. For instance, the fight scenes between Lara and Powell prove Lara’s excellence in direct combat. One can easily identify that choreography of the film is challenging because the viewers expect more than a video game. On the other side, the stylistic/visual characteristics of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proves that martial arts deeply influenced the visualization of action scenes. Zhang opined that “Whereas Chinese fans of martial art films, who are accustomed to the astonishing high-flying fights common in Hong Kong cinema, giggled with disdain aver the artificial special effects and naive plots of Crouching Tiger, American audiences found it poetic and attractive” (120). One can see that fighting style made use in the film is deeply indebted to the growth and development of martial arts in Asia. For instance, the fight scenes in the film, especially between Li Mu Bai and Jade Fox represent the victory of virtue over vice. Besides, the fighting style is the most important factor behind the success of the film as an international block-buster. In short, one can easily identify that stylistic/visual characteristic is the grass-root level reason behind the success of superhero films and adventure thrillers. Summing, the historical (political, cultural, philosophical) context of the films prove that the same is symbolic of the development of cinematography from portraying day to day events to philosophical expedition. The themes/narrative aspects of the films prove that the directors made use of similar themes to communicate with viewers in a different manner. The stylistic/visual characteristics of the films prove that these films belong to different genres but the directors provide ample importance to heroism and the creation of a virtual real world within the context of cinematography. Works Cited Knight, Gladys L. Female action heroes: a guide to women in comics, video games, film, and television. California: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print. Zhang, Rui. The cinema of Feng Xiaogang: commercialization and censorship in Chinese cinema after 1989. Aberdeen: Hong Kong University Press, 2008. Print. Fowkes, Katherine A. The Fantasy Film. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print. Read More