Preview

Film Analysis Of The Great Whatzis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
653 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Film Analysis Of The Great Whatzis
During the 1940s, a new style of film emerged, which was later referred to as "film noir." These films were set apart from others due to their gritty nature and overall dark quality. They were inspired by the culture of the 1950s. There is a common belief that the 1950s was a time of complete bliss for everyone involved. In fact, it was a time of global distress due to communism and nuclear weapons and misogynist gender roles. Film noir movies were excellent at portraying the culture of fear of the decade, which we are so quick to forget, such as our so-called hero Mike Hammer, the somewhat sleazy private eye and con artist, and his ultimate mission to find the "Great Whatzis." The airwaves of the ‘50s were dominated by shows such as Leave It to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet. The biggest problem on shows like that was a little bit of conflict between siblings or studying for a quiz after a kid received a bad grade. Mike Hammer is the antithesis of a ‘50s role model, creating a sort of anti-hero hero. Unlike the incorruptible male role models in shows such as Father Knows Best, Hammer can be, and is, tempted by a few different women. However, he has moments of great detective work and shows the fantastic courage, toughness, and cunning exuded by the greatest …show more content…
After she seduces Hammer, they are attacked by some goons. However, we do not see their faces. This is representative of the widespread fear of communism. During the ‘50s, the worst crime you could be charged with was being a communist or a communist sympathizer. There was the haunting fear that anyone anywhere could be a communist and a threat to the American way of life. People started to fear the faceless communist since there were absolutely no limits on who could be one. These goons are portrayed as ruthless killers who will do anything they need to in order to get their hands on the object that Hammer only knows as "The Great

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Powaqqatsi: Film Analysis

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lastly, you can accomplish a great amount if you work as a team. The film Powaqqatsi has a scene that shows groups of people dancing in costumes, performing for people. In this scene, the people are happy, they all have smiles on their faces and are enjoying the company of the people around them as they dance and create music together. The idea of working together in Powaqqatsi is also portrayed in the episode “Flight” of Grey’s Anatomy. The plane, transporting six of the Seattle Grace doctors, just crashed to the ground and everyone is injured and some even facing death. Meredith Grey is on a mission to find her husband, Derek Shepherd, after the plane crashes. After looking and looking, Christina Yang, Meredith’s best friend, and Meredith…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hum150 Week3 Team Matrix

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How did each film’s elements match the genre with which it is associated? Was each film typical or atypical for its genre? Why or why not…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fifties are sometimes considered a “golden age” within the history of the United States. The economy was booming, Elvis was rocking, and things were looking positive. The Korean War was ending, leading to a time of temporary Cold War “peace.” Jackie Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six National League pennants and one World Series title as the color barrier was slowly breaking throughout the a Civil Rights movement. The fifties were also a new era for Hollywood. Many movies around the time were about the Cold War and the spread of communism. Others, however, were more so about the teenage years of the baby boomers. One movie that highlighted this time period’s “beta” theme was Rebel Without a Cause.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the various types of modern music in films from the late 1940s through the early 1970s produced three general types of music, which is American nationalism, expressionism, and avant-garde. During this time of musical film, it was the advent of the film noir, it is a film style of cinematographic film that is shrouded by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. This term is also used to define American horror/crime films back in the 1940s. An example of film noir is “The Black Cat,” this film is a 1943 American horror film that became the universal pictures biggest box office hit of the time.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A-Question-Yet-To-Be-Set but for now: Film noir is both a screen style and a perspective on human existence and society.…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Namely in its characters; these are smartly dressed people who use foul language to divulge a violent undertone; all of these things are what you would expect in a gangster film.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2. Uncle Hammer has a principle that he shows in the book. He wants to fight racism and he’s lost a lot in the time of the war. He’s willing to put up with the types of injustices that his Logan relatives have come to grudgingly accept. If Uncle Hammer doesn’t get what he thinks is right, he just lets whatever’s supposed to happen, happen. If something’s not right and not fair, then Uncle Hammer would do almost anything to get revenge.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Casablanca is a romance and drama film that was released in the United States (US) in 1942. The captivating wartime film is about two men vying for the love a woman. It is also a political film that highlights Morocco during the Second World War. Casablanca was produced by Warner Brothers and directed by Michael Curtiz one of Hollywood’s most creative and brilliant directors in that period. Casablanca has the perfect combination of intrigue, suspense, romance, and drama that captivates the audience from beginning to end. This is because of the combination of special characters in the film.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of the 1950's, declared the transformation in the film industry. As young people wanted new and exiting symbols of rebellion, Hollywood responded to audience demands with the rise of stars like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner and Paul Newman. The best films made in the 1950's were Harvey that was made in the 1950, An Affair To Remember(1957) and The Silver Chalice(1954)(Dirk 1995).…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hollywood Film Analysis

    • 1985 Words
    • 8 Pages

    This essay will take an in-depth look at the history of Hollywood during the late 60s and early 70s. This period of time is considered to have been a renaissance for American cinema, and was titled the ‘New Hollywood’ by cotemporary critics of the time. In order to understand the changes that Hollywood went through the late ‘60s, you first have to examine the preceding era of Hollywood filmmaking during the 30s and 40s. This was a period that is commonly referred to as Hollywood’s Golden Age; when the dream factories were in full swing and the audiences were in regular attendance. This period of time could be defined by a number of social, political or economic contexts, but it’s the filmmaking practices that were employed at the time which…

    • 1985 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Uncle Hammer was a mighty man, but sometimes he didn’t think things through. When Cassie told Uncle Hammer what Charlie Simms did to little Cassie, Uncle Hammer got very mad. He said that he wanted to hurt them Simmses. Mama tried to stop…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since Georges Melies wrote and directed the two minute film called Le Manoir Du Diable, the film scene has been all about horror, even today. Horror films were created when trying to figure out someone’s fears and nightmares. America was a large part of the upcoming horror films in history. “America was home to the first Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde movie adaptations, the most influential horror films through the 1920s400 came from Germany's Expressionist movement, with films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu influencing the next generation of American cinema.”(Harris, Mark H) Soon in the 1930’s some famous classic horror films came out, such as, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. By the 1970’s most of the horror films were made for scares and not so much a plot for the story.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the most influential film movements in the 1940's was a genre that is known today as film noir. Film noir was a recognizable style of filmmaking, which was created in response to the rising cost of typical Hollywood movies (Buss 67). Film noir movies were often low budget films; they used on location shoots, small casts, and black and white film. The use of black and white film stock not only lowered production costs, but also displayed a out of place disposition that the conventions of film noir played upon. It is these conventions: themes, characters, lighting, sound, and composition, which are seen in the movie LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997). This paper discusses the techniques used in LA Confidential that link the movie with the typical cinematic conventions of the film noir style.…

    • 3316 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I see that there are basic themes that remain in all movies from any decade and those are story’s revolved around love, good vs evil, adventure, fear and comedy. I see the main difference is the shock value that resides in current day movies and the ability to put anything on screen no matter how graphic or distorted the images may be. In Screening Out the Past, by Lary May he discusses regulation censorship of the youth in America and the goal being to preserve their morality and it seems to that they were successful in keeping their youth sheltered longer than in our society today. Another aspect of movies that has drastically changed the movie going experience is special effects and camera activity. With our current technology we can shoot a scene at the beach in front of a green screen. This enables more options for produces to magnify adventure and transcend you from your…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the film opens, the viewer is transported back to 1920 's Chicago. Billy Wilder utilized black and white film to create a mood of nostalgia and an improved use of shadows, and this helps to also play down the garishness of Tony Curtis’s and Jack Lemmon’s makeup. These contrast tones also helped the viewer to remember the gangster movies of the 20 's and 30 's. Prohibition was in full swing and a cabaret run by Spats, the mobster lord, is under surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (www.filmsite.org).…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays