Casablanca

Casablanca

Stagecoach

Stagecoach

The Godfather

The Godfather

The Graduate

The Graduate

Gone with the Wind

Gone With the Wind

It Happened One Night

1.      1.   Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we talked about screwball comedies and how they have very specific roles for women.  This movie premiered right before the catholic church started running censorship, but it still deals with roles of women that the catholic censorship committee were interested in.  in this time, women had roles of power.  It was an extremely feminist time in cinema, which is a good thing.  Even in these days, women are seen as sex symbols in literally almost any movie you go see, even if the protagonist is a strong women, there is still sexuality in their characters, most often in the way that theyre dressed and the way their hair and makeup is done.  In it happened one night, ellie is a sort of strong independent woman, even though I don’t remember much about the movie. 

2.      

 2. Find a related article and summarize the content.

The article I found was about Clark Gable and his numerous love affairs.  One of the things that stuck with me was that his biological mother died shortly after his birth, and that is something that is sometimes associated with a lot of sexual relationships.  He was married to a woman who was quite a bit older than him, and he said that it was more about the paperwork than anything.  The no mother thing also stuck with me since he is in all these screwball comedies because from what I have noticed from Charlie Chaplin is that a dark past in certain situations makes you a comedian.  Since there is so much darkness in someone’s past, they have no choice but to look for the good things in life.  I think that had a lot to do with his sense of humor and his aura on stage. 

3.       3.  Apply the article to the film screened in class.

I think that his upbringing in this kind of less than perfect family had a giant contribution to his personality, including the type of personality that he brings onto the camera.  When I think of comedians, I automatically think of this broken type of person, and he isn’t an exception.  While watching It Happened One Night, Clark Gable is sort of sharp witted in this film, which I think is contributed to his upbringing.  

http://library.kean.edu:2075/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e65d2588-735f-48a0-b70e-b92a768532f1%40sessionmgr4002&vid=6&hid=4109

4.       4.  Write a critical analysis of the film.

This film seemed extremely censored.  Whenever the woman in the film and the man were in the same room, he made sure to put up a curtain, which is obviously symbolic in the movie and also for the time.  I think that the curtain was really important because it shows that even though he was this journalist type.  I thought it was interesting that he is straight up with his intentions.  He told her that he was a journalist and that he just wanted a story upfront.  In today’s movies, the entire plot would be about how he is a journalist and that he never told her.  I’m surprised about how genuinely interested I am in these movies that are nearly 100 years old.  

The Gold Rush

1.     1.   Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

We discusses in class that the tramp examines social issues.  One of the social issues was cannibalism.  It shows the desperation of some really poor people that they are willing to kill and eat someone just to survive.  It has a much deeper meaning than just chasing someone so you can eat them.  It goes into the whole poverty and hunger idea that Chaplin tries to portray.  I think one of the most important points that was made in class is how pathos driven chaplains movies are, and that was something that I couldn’t stop thinking about during the screening.  It’s more than just a comedy, it’s a social commentary. 

2.      2.  Find a related article and summarize the content.

This article talks about the importance of dream sequences in chaplains works and that they are a crucial part in gaining sympathy between Chaplin and his audience.  He uses two types of dream sequences in his movies.  One is full length fantasies, and the second are small clips going into his mind for just a few moments.  He uses these dreams to reveal his characters desires so the audience can get the idea that this is a human with feelings and emotions, and not just a person that these ridiculous situations happens to.    

http://library.kean.edu:2062/ehost/detail/detail?sid=6663f476-9a0f-4763-a972-84e40196553d%40sessionmgr198&vid=7&hid=124&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1cmwsY3BpZCZjdXN0aWQ9a2VhbmluZiZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=9712225841

3.      3.  Apply the article to the film screened in class

That is the kind of thing I don’t really think about as it is going on, but as I was reading this article, I actually remembered how I was feeling when I was watching the dream sequence of the tramp at dinner with the girls.  It seemed to be such a small little thing that he was dreaming about, which already gives you sympathy.  While watching it, I thought that it was almost pathetic that that’s what he was dreaming about.  Not pathetic in a bad way, just in a way that makes you feel bad for him when the girls never show up.  I think that dream sequence did a good job of making the audience really feel for the tramp. 

4.      4.  Write a critical analysis of the film

I thought that this was a really good interpretation of important social issues of its time.  Some of which are still relevant today, such as love, humiliation, and poverty.  I can see why immigrants relate so well to the tramp.  He is this poor guy who just wants to be a little more than who he already is.  It’s kind of a classic American dream rags-to-riches story, which is another reason why it is so relatable, especially in its time.  The most important part about his character is Chaplin’s ability to really make you feel for the tramp.   It makes it much more than a funny movie.   I think in its time, it was probably a lot funnier, but now, I would almost consider it a drama as well as a comedy.  His actions were based off of emotions, which happens to get him into trouble which made it a little more real than going out looking for trouble.  It is motivated a lot by emotions and a little less about comedy.  The naïve nature of his character was really something that was enjoyable to watch. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 



1) (x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 



2) ( x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 



4) ( x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 



5) ( x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 



6) ( x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 



7) ( x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 



8) ( x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.