White New Brutality Films - Essay Example

White New Brutality Films Table of Contents Introduction 2 Discussion 2 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction America in the 1990s experienced the emergence of a new trend in modern cinemas. Race and violence have been the main features that were highlighted in Hollywood from very beginning however new-brutality films had brought some significant changes, which led to establishment of explicit relationship in American cinema. Paul Gormley used several films in order to express the developments associated with the American cinemas during the 1990s. According to Gormley, the new-brutality films had established connections between white cultural dependence on American-African and African-American culture. The white cultural identity is directly proportional to the understanding of the affective power of new-brutality films. The movies and documentaries attract viewers because of the historical significances and violent contents. The book of Paul Gormley regards the films related to race and violence as the new-brutality films. According to the author the issues related to discrimination of race in the United States were extraordinary and a white filmmaker could not use the word nigger without evoking the white suppression in past and the problems faced by the black community in America. Gormley has also stated in the book that films such as, Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs give people a complete understanding about the anarchic and unveiling racial age in the white society however the films like Menace II Society presents the imagination of the white culture in crisis. Most of the films of the 1990s were populated with the thoughts related to the African-American cultural bodies for their negative power in the Western Society. Discussion In 1990s, one of the utmost striking scenes of United States that was filmed for ten minutes is the disreputable torture part in the Reservoir Dogs. This scene is viewed as one of the pivotal part which contained numerous features that lead to the advent of different development in the history of Hollywood cinema. Pulp fiction and Menace II society films has signified a new strand in the aesthetic direction. These films are viewed by author Paul Gormley as the new-brutality films which share one common theme to revive and renegotiate the affecting qualities and proximity of the experience of cinema. These films created a new aesthetic direction in the commercial Hollywood. In the year 1994, the American black crime and comedy film was directed by Quentin Tarantino named as Pulp Fiction. The film is primarily renowned for its ironic mixture of violence and comicalness, eclectic dialogue, cinematic allusions and nonlinear storyline. The movie contained images which created huge reaction based on physical affect and immediacy which underlings the awareness and critical awareness of the knowledge and world. Furthermore, the use of images is based on African American and blackness culture to create immediacy and cinematic affect. There are arousal of many shifts based on the aesthetics and economics of the United States film industry. Moreover, it is vital to comprehend that historically the culture of African and American has been situated on these many imperative shifts. The book of Paul Gormley argues on the emergence of new-brutality film. In 1990s, the use of African-American culture provides a vivid explanation on the creation of new aesthetic direction in the film industry of United States. The direction was crucial towards the introduction of new set of imagination and taste on the creation of movie. The film Pulp Fiction is based on providing brilliant clarification on the knowledge and information of the resolution of the crisis of the action-image shown in the new-brutality films. The characters that are involved in the film are appeared to drift from apartments, bars, motel rooms and coffee shops. According to Michael Rogin, the history of United States film industry has undergone transformative moment which founded on the power of making Americans and African stand and surplus the primary symbolic value of the blacks. The African-American culture has been pivotal towards the emergence of the new-brutality films in US. In the year 1990, it has been revealed that African Americans have to face numerous numbers of obstacles. These obstacles can be based on educational system, primary rights and prime benefits. It is verified that the structure of the American-African culture is primarily viewed as the sign of cultural authority and ability. The unknowable depth of the blackness has been effectively presented in the film which includes rape and torture scene of African-American culture. The depth and potential cinematic experience of depth of the blackness have been derived from the culture conformity between African and American. The construction of the Pulp Fiction is based on gangster theme which is constructed for the white cultural imagination (Tarantino, 1994). The meaningless violence that occurred towards the black gangster is based on racial construction. The black urban lifestyle and experience has been described in authenticity and depth in the Pulp Fiction. Paul Gormley states that the popularity of the film is based on the perceived knowledge and thinking of white American audiences. In 1900s, the description of the meaningful and powerful realism on New Blacks is based on the resistance and political variances. The American-African youth culture on music has been effectively incorporated and presented which primarily focuses on the youth male characters (Gormley, 2003, p.200). Furthermore, these focuses on young male include referencing on dialect, style, fashion and culture of inner city. The popular music of African-American culture is being studied and used in Pulp Fiction. These types of new-brutality films in 1990s contain images music and culture of different culture background in the country. One of the pivotal themes for the heart of Hollywood films has been race and violence. Moreover, the introduction of new-brutality films has begun to mark relationship unambiguous. The hip-hop culture of African-American has been represented and created huge impact on reanimate of Hollywood cinema. The power of Hollywood films has been evolved by the introduction of new brutality films such as Pulp Fiction and Menace II Society. The film Pulp Fiction tried to stresses and repeats the understanding dramatic intensity and action-image films. On the other hand, African-American culture played pivotal role towards implementation of music. The denial and anxiety is effectively manifested to provide descriptive relationship between Americans cinemas and American-African cultural aspect. The instantaneous sensations of paranoia and fear have been evoked by the black bodies in urban culture. One of the omnipotent personalities in the Pulp Fiction was Marcellus. The role of city in the American-African culture and life is pivotal to signify the struggle experience, cultural repression, economic and social involvement. Rap and hip-hop are defined as the form of music which is implemented in the new-brutality films which is concerned with the level of cultural different of African-American. The rhythms and lyrics of hip-hop and rap constructed the meaning of urban lifestyle, violence and misogynistic. Paul Gormley believes that immediacy have been achieved by the figure of the gangster by operative power of the black body on imagination of white cultural people. Furthermore, this violent white gangster has been one of the pivotal parts of the action scene of these new-brutality films. In other words, it can be explained as the mimesis works of the gangster which lies at the heart of ethnic imagination and white American national individuality. The redefining medium of music has been effectually used in the films which is dependent upon the culture of African-American. There have been huge differences in the cultural background of American and African. This cultural knowledge and influence has been crucial in the emergence of the new-brutality films. The effective power of the cultural bodies has primarily created huge impact towards the creation of brutal films based on race, music and violence. Menace II Society, is a film that was visualized based on the torture scenes and criminal activities of the American society. The entire film has been focused on the tragic life of minority people in America. The relationship between knowledge, meaning and affective image is differently configured in the blockbuster films of the 1990s. Author Paul Gormley has stated that the reason for violence in the new-brutality films is the need for explanation that was required in the films due to its title. For example, the films Menace II Society, contains abusive words multiple times and the film scenes also contained high amount of violence because it describes the reality of the American society in past. Gormley stated that it was impossible for a film director or a writer to use some ongoing words without properly describing them with respect to the white population of the society. It is important to understand that the films produced during the 1990s were completely based on the public demand and the directors used to direct the films according to the incidents that used to occur in the society. The film Menace II Society was a hood film directed by Allen and Albert Hughes. It got notoriety for its visuals of profanity and violence. The film does not contain the tragic life of African slaves in America instead it focused more on the modern society that constituted both black and white citizens together. The films were produced in order to make people aware about the problems associated with the racial discrimination. Undoubtedly, the films of 1990s gained huge fame due to the realistic stories and violent scenes in them. In the particular film Menace II Society several scenes are disturbing as they contain huge violence in them (Hughes and Hughes, 1993). Most of scenes in the film have crime scenes and depressing moments in them. Previously, the movies related to the black community were generally directed by the black directors however the new-brutality films emerged with the direction of white people in the movies related to the stories of black society. The characters of the film mainly belonged from the lower class of the American society. The film Menace II Society consisted of some dramas, which were regarded as unethical, for example consumption of drugs and alcohol randomly. The entire film duration was 104 minutes and it consisted of many abusive words that are illegal in the society. According to Paul Gormley the movie had different type of scenes that are not allowed in the modern world but the fact can-not be overlooked that due to those scenes the movie gained public attention. The author also stated that it is human nature to enjoy violence because it thrills them hence production of such movies that amuse them should not be termed as unethical. The films during the period emphasised mainly on the suffering of black people in the society and the negative power of the white people. This theme became very common and the directors started relating historical incidents to modern city life with during the 1990s. The film Menace II Society starred with the character Caine Lawson. Caine’s family was having a tough time and he became orphan after his parents died and his parents were killed. Caine started to get himself involved in criminal activities along with his friends. The films of the 1990s also brought forward the change in trend of African-Americans. The African-American people indulged themselves in hip-hop culture and their society was descriptively shown in the films. In the film Menace II Society, the emotions and feelings in the films have been replaced by some kind of flatness. This has been done in order to gain a new kind of superficiality in the new-brutality films. The African-Americans were constantly changing their behaviours in the nineteenth century and the films were produced in the appropriate manner in order to highlight the change in the trend of people. The way the African-Americans wore clothes and the way they celebrated their social unions had changed on a large scale during the period. Gormley has stated that one can obtain much information about the society with the help of these films because it could provide people with the accurate ideas of the society of the nineteenth century. Music on the other hand played an important role in the films that were produced in the 1990s. The films contained music that the African-Americans loved to listen. Most of the films contained hip-hop music because it became the theme of the modern American society. As discussed in the book of Paul Gormley, art, music and culture of the African-American people were broadly visible in the new-brutality films. There were some other scenes associated with gangsters and rapes that caused violence in the films. Most of the films highlighted the miserable life of the African people after they entered America and initiated their own settlements. The films then emphasised on the modern life of African-Americans and their change in cultural and ethical values. The question of the affect of the new-brutality film is difficult to answer without the idea that people have lived in the postmodern age. Prior to the innovation of new-brutality films the American cinema did-not have much versatilities and the scenes of the films consisted of violence without any particular moral. However, the age of new-brutality films brought tremendous development in the film industry. The Entire American society started to acquire knowledge with the help of the new-brutality films. The films also inspired the youths of the nation to reduce the conflicts among them and helped them to unite. The American society had undergone through many changes in the past but the African-American settlements in America had many conflicts. The new-brutality films consisted violent scenes and some crime scenes in them but they helped people to understand the cultural values of each other. Moreover, the new-brutality films also helped people to understand the bad politics due to which they could not work together for betterment of their nation. Conclusion From the above discussion it is clear that American cinema in the 1990s had undergone some tremendous development due to introduction of new-brutality films. Paul Gormley is one of the famous writers, who mentioned about the different type of new-brutality films that originated in the society. The new-brutality films mainly focused on the African-American culture and their lifestyle. Films, such as Pulp Fiction and Menace II Society broadcasted some violent scenes due to which increased their popularity. Some historians and theorists believed that the films were unethical, due to their violent contents however later on it was observed that the violence and the abusive languages used in the film were necessary because they gave a realistic view in the films. The films brought some brilliant clarifications, knowledge and information of resolution regarding the lifestyle and culture of the African-Americans. In the nineteenth century most of the black people were engaged in criminal activities because they did-not get equal respect in the country. The production of the films helped people to understand the importance of all race. Moreover, the conflicts that aroused previously in the country also reduced after the emergence of the films. The new-brutality films also reflected the modern society of the 1990s and the latest trend that people implanted in their culture, such as music. Rap and hip-hop became the famous form of music that entertained the black community. The films also showed drugs and alcohol consumption on high scale and its adverse effects. However, the entire concept of the films focused on a good moral story. Hence, it is proved that the white new-brutality films of the 1990s used to depend upon the African-American culture. References Gormley, P., 2003. Screening the City. London: Verso. Hughes, A., and Hughes, A., 1993. New York: Darin Scott Production’s. Tarantino, Q., 1994. Pulp Fiction. New York: Jersey Films. Read More