Western Film Genre

Western Film Genre Avi Flombaum 01/01/02 Dr. Jucovy Film Think of a western "‚“ the lone cowboy and his quest for identity, the damsel in distress, the trusty steed, the beautiful landscapes, the innocent town, the gun-slinging villain, the deadly noontime duel, and the ride off into the sunset. These staples define the western. Two critical opinions on the significance of these staples are presented in Katherine Lawrie's essay "Cookie-Cutter or Connoisseur? Genre Theory and John Ford's Stagecoach"‚  (Lawrie). The first is that of Robert Warshow who believes that the focus of any western should be on these elements alone. "Most contentiously, he [Warshow] mandates that the narrative focus upon the individual hero's plight to assert his identity, and diminishes the importance of secondary characters and issues, or any tendency toward "social drama" (Lawrie). The other theory, Katherine Lawrie's, states that varying the core, and including social themes in westerns creates interesting and moving films, which justifies the existence of the genre.Shane (film)Two unarguable members of the western genre, Stagecoach and Shane, contain relationships and interactions that Warshow would seem to consider "non-western."‚  They do not focus on the protagonist's quest for identity, but rather, seem to convey emotional themes and social commentary through personal relationships.Stagecoach begins with a fifteen-minute introduction of characters, none of which is Ringo, the classic white clothed, cowboy. Already, the narrative is not focused on the cowboy, but on the other characters and their interactions. They act out in their relationships their representative social types. Cinematically, the montage prologue automatically builds the relationship between the characters. When the gambler sees Mrs. Mallory approaching, the camera takes great care to separate the gambler from his game, and then, Mrs. Mallory from her group of escorts. This technique forms the future bond bet ween these characters.The camera creates...

Free Essays on Argentine Tango

Argentine Tango Introduction Tango, an explicit dance that started off in Buenos Aires in the late 1800’s has gone through many changes to become one of the most popular style of music and dance in the world today. From a grimy beginning to a prestigious end the Tango has survived the test of time and has become a genre that captivates people even today. History and Importance In the 1800’s dances such as the Contradanza and Minue were very popular social dances performed mainly by people of the middle and high classes. These socially accepted dances were performed standing opposite each other with minimal or no physical contact. The most was the holding of hands at certain points. It was the Viennese Waltz and the Quadrille that first became the popular dances incorporating the intimate touching and close holding of the other dance member. The Polka was the second popular dance which originated in Europe that used the same dancing style as the Viennese Waltz with intimate touching and holding. In today’s time it is common for a couple to dance in close proximity and hold each other tightly. It must be understood that in the second half of the 19th century, this dancing style was considered outrageous and shameful. It was this Polka dancing style that was later taken to Argentina where it was to reach new heights. Around the 1880’s in bars, gambling houses and brothels along Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires is where the Tango originated. It was the poor local residents of Buenos Aires which included many immigrants from Europe who begun this world-wide phenomenon called the Tango. The poor, drunk, lonely men of Buenos Aires were the first ones that experimented with this new dance from abroad with ill reputed women such as prostitutes. It can be easily argued that in such circumstances any experimentation in terms of the dance steps was very possible and was performed. Perhaps this is why the origin... Free Essays on Argentine Tango Free Essays on Argentine Tango Argentine Tango Introduction Tango, an explicit dance that started off in Buenos Aires in the late 1800’s has gone through many changes to become one of the most popular style of music and dance in the world today. From a grimy beginning to a prestigious end the Tango has survived the test of time and has become a genre that captivates people even today. History and Importance In the 1800’s dances such as the Contradanza and Minue were very popular social dances performed mainly by people of the middle and high classes. These socially accepted dances were performed standing opposite each other with minimal or no physical contact. The most was the holding of hands at certain points. It was the Viennese Waltz and the Quadrille that first became the popular dances incorporating the intimate touching and close holding of the other dance member. The Polka was the second popular dance which originated in Europe that used the same dancing style as the Viennese Waltz with intimate touching and holding. In today’s time it is common for a couple to dance in close proximity and hold each other tightly. It must be understood that in the second half of the 19th century, this dancing style was considered outrageous and shameful. It was this Polka dancing style that was later taken to Argentina where it was to reach new heights. Around the 1880’s in bars, gambling houses and brothels along Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires is where the Tango originated. It was the poor local residents of Buenos Aires which included many immigrants from Europe who begun this world-wide phenomenon called the Tango. The poor, drunk, lonely men of Buenos Aires were the first ones that experimented with this new dance from abroad with ill reputed women such as prostitutes. It can be easily argued that in such circumstances any experimentation in terms of the dance steps was very possible and was performed. Perhaps this is why the origin...

The Medium is the Message Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Medium is the Message - Essay Example The first sign was from a Prudential magazine advertisement that appeared in the New Yorker. With this concept in mind it’s clear that the denotative intentions of the advertiser were to reach a more educated audience, who already has a general understanding of financial aspects and upper-level vocabulary and comprehension skills. In these regards, the extent the audience is clearly middle to upper class and educated. There are a great many visual techniques elements in the signification mechanisms in the advertisement. The first notable concept is that the advertising consists of a full page spread with an entirely dark blue background. The effect of this sign is such that it creates a juxtaposing effect in relation to the heavy text-based stories that constitute the majority of the magazine. In terms of specific pictures, in the upper-right hand of the advertisement a city backdrop is pictured in muted-tones. The signification of this imagery seems to indicate that Prudentia l has an urban feel, perhaps reminiscent of Wall Street. This is further indicative of an understanding of financial systems as being rooted in industrial or urban life. The very functions of the urban experience demonstrate the gear and wheels of the working economy; indeed, right next to the picture of buildings are pictures of gears in motion that connotatively demonstrate this point. Pictured even further to the left of these individuals is a small man in yellow. The implication of this signs seems to empathize with the potential customer or client. In essence, the advertising is situating the reader in the position of the small man in yellow, and the Prudential advertisement is saying that through going to Prudential for financial advice will result in the individual being able to navigate this challenging urban environment. The overall signification of the advertisement seems to indicate that through Prudential’s experience the reader will be able to navigate the challe nges of the contemporary financial environment. It implements contrast to bring out the heading ‘Bring Your Challenges’ which also signifies the denotative theme of the advertisement (New Yorker). It also displays this theme in connotative ways through the juxtaposition of the small man in yellow and the city backdrop. Ultimately, the advertisement sign has a denotative theme – ‘Bring Your Challenges’ – that is connoted through textual and visual ways as a means of appealing to the reader with the greatest possible emotional impact. The next advertisement considered is from ESPN the Magazine. The advertisement is for an online poker site, PokerStars.net. The denotative sign consists of an individual in the background sitting next to a poker table. The individual appears to be throwing grenades onto the table. In the foreground there is a picture of an individual’s hand holding two playing cards. Above the cards are the words ‘figh t or flight’ (ESPN the Magazine). Perhaps most notable about this sign in relation to the sign that was featured in the New Yorker is the drastically less amount of text that is implemented. One can make an ideological statement on this, indicating that it represents the decreased median education level of readers of ESPN the Magazine as compared to the New Yorker. In terms of the