David Porter » Entries tagged with "movies"
Movie Heroes and Villains Naturally Mirror Life’s Realities
‘Hero’, ‘star’, ‘celebrity’ are devalued words, but a true hero is valiant, brave, selfless; a villain is evil. But in film, it’s not all black and white. While the world is not full of stereotypical good/bad, evil/righteous people, nonetheless, a struggle between the light and dark sides of life and the supernatural have been inspirational in the film industry. In Christian belief, God/Jesus versus the Devil/Satan/Lucifer is at the heart of faith. All good drama needs and feeds on clearly defined conflict. Perhaps an example of the perfect hero is Gregory Peck’s portrayal in To Kill a Mocking Bird (1962) and the ultimate villain is Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs (1991). In the words of the Brian Wilson song by The Beach Boys, Heroes and Villains (1966/67): ‘heroes and villains, just … Read entire article »
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Roots Matter in the Diversities of Life, Culture and the Arts
In an age of ever-extended families and diverse communities, peoples’ need to know where they come from and belong to is reflected in their arts. From Genesis in the Bible on the one hand and Darwin’s Origins of Species on the other, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Two Tribes (Go to War) (1984), everything from religions, traditions, lifestyles and world-views are determined by people’s roots. Heritage-search companies offer programs to research family trees for probate, adoption or interest in genealogy. Military records from the first world war (1914-1918) are now accessible on line. Interest is high in getting a picture of how a great grandparent lived and died. In 1977 historical epic Roots aired. It‘s an early example of a TV mini-series, based on the studies author Alex Haley made into his own … Read entire article »
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Creatives, Mavericks and Non-Conformists in the Movies
Movie plots need conflicts and tensions. Readily available is the solo fight against society, the system, big business or baddie(s). Atticus Finch opposing racial prejudice in small town America in To Kill A Mocking Bird (1962) is the beating heart of the story: it rings true. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) made James Dean the maverick star. Lynch-mob mentality of hysterical masses clamouring for somebody’s blood makes a perfect protagonist. The voice in the wilderness, the lone person of conscience/courage within the crowd, is the stuff of inspiration. Those who refuse to toe the (unjust) line are often regarded as heroes, but not till later. Irish political philosopher Edmund Burke (1729 -1797) is attributed with: ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’. The truth … Read entire article »
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Hotels in the Arts: Special Places in Film, Music and Literature
Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and The Eagles’ “Hotel California” are not the only hotels, real and imagined, that have played a major part in great arts. Hotel businesses market themselves on historical events or people, celebrity connections, geographical/movie locations to develop customer bases. Lucy Komisar, in The Travel Lady said: “no longer just places to sleep and shower, hotels are now environments for experience.” She reckoned in Paris, for example, the left bank Bel Ami (utilising Guy de Maupassant’s 1885 novel) and for art links, the right bank Hilton Arc de Triomphe, should be visited. Such boutique hotels sit alongside guest houses, inns, pubs, clubs and restaurants the world over, exploiting all connections to boost trade. Hotels in Literature Hotels are perfect settings for creativity. Hedwig Baum’s novel Grand Hotel (1929; movie 1932) was set … Read entire article »
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Movies and Pop Songs Draw Deep from the Wells of Classical Music
Far from being an exclusive, elitist world, classical music is a rich source of inspiration for movie soundtracks, TV commercials and popular songs. A broad definition of classical music is: ‘Western and European art music created 1600-1900, and music created after 1900 that follows the style and tradition and is created for the sake of music itself – not as song melody nor movie score’. Reusing old tunes is widespread; nothing is sacred in pop music or Hollywood. 1965’s Seekers’ hit The Carnival Is Over by Tom Springfield, used the melody of a Russian folk song Stenka Razin, though some hear Berlioz too. O solo mio, an 1898 Napolitan tune, found its way into opera, TV commercials and films and is in It’s Now or Never, Elvis Presley’s 1960’s hit. Classical Music Feeds … Read entire article »
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Past History is Key to the Present; Present is Key to the Future
The historical/heritage nostalgia industry is growing, yet history teaching is becoming a thing of the past. Should history be given new-found importance? Politically, the need for people to know and learn from the past (their own and others’) is crucial. Whether it’s conflicts in the Middle East, India/Pakistan or Northern Ireland, without an understanding of local history, nobody progresses improvements. Culturally, in religions/faiths, why/how/what people behave, wear, think is vital knowledge. Where grievances go back centuries, understanding causes of events is essential. It’s not easy to predict the future accurately, nor understand the present without a grasp of the past, nor see how movements flow in evolution, such as modernism to postmodernism. Economically, cultural/historical tourism is part of a growth global industry. Even movie tourism has some element of historical enjoyment and re-enactment … Read entire article »
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Surrealism’s Enduring Contribution to 20th Century Arts
Surrealist artists, painters, poets, filmmakers and writers are no longer regarded as fringe lunatics; their work & legacy of ideas have become mainstream. According to Surrealist.com, Surrealism is ‘a style of art and literature developed in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or non-rational significance of imagery arrived at by the exploitation of chance effects, unexpected juxtapositions’. It is also, in a sense, a search for life’s meaning. It began, possibly, with Alfred Jarry publishing his play Ubu Roi (1896) in Paris. Its mix of absurd humour and obscenity caused mayhem. Surrealism was prominent in Europe between the world wars, growing from earlier ‘Dada’, which produced anti-art that deliberately defied reason. Surrealist.com quotes poet and critic André Breton (1896-1966), the ‘Pope of Surrealism’, who published The Surrealist Manifesto in 1924: ‘Surrealism is … Read entire article »
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Movie-Inspired Tourism is a Growth Industry
As film audiences demand more technology and thrills, they also want high-quality locations, which they may visit later as tourists, imagining being filmed. Many communities enjoy economic benefit from film-production: spending on hotels, restaurants, food suppliers, location fees and visitor interest, especially when the movie is a hit. People still flock to see Washington DC buildings where All The President’s Men (1976) was made, as much for the movie connections as for their political value. Universal Studios in California and Florida have built a lucrative business on real or recreated film sets, with both guided tours of movie lots and theme-park type rides inspired by popular films, such as the Back to the Future ride. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride actually inspired the movie franchise of the same name. With technology, it’s … Read entire article »
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All End of the World Predictions Proved Wrong, So Far
Major religions, sects or Hollywood prophesying Armageddon – the fact is that while no doomsday scenarios have been fulfilled yet, they could be in the end. In the history of mankind, there have been thousands of predictions about the end of the world. Christians are not alone in believing that prophesied events (in Christianity’s case, the second coming of Jesus, the war of Armageddon, the birth of the antichrist, the Tribulation, the Rapture and horrific natural disasters will trigger TEOTWAWKI (‘The End of the World As We Know It’). However, to take just 2006 to demonstrate the point, according to Religious Tolerance, Ontario, there were 15 significant predictions; obviously none materialised. They ranged from a major earthquake-storm in January, centred on Los Angeles; in May a comet remnant would cause a massive … Read entire article »
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The Space-Time Continuum: How Fact Meets Fiction to Make Faction
To write creatively, factual knowledge is added to make ideas work. To make pure fact accessible, some fiction is called upon. Faction is the mixture. A writer exploring an imaginary space ship needs to have facts to hand to make the fiction believable and interesting. When a drama or docudrama is made, people may know what a certain person did at a given time, like a crime, say, but not what was said before or afterwards. The artist adds the invented words to make the known facts believable and interesting to an audience. Faction is not confined to science-fiction, it’s widespread in literature, drama and film. To take one illustration: people know the bare bones of what occurred when a young French girl received a vision to lead her soldiers against the … Read entire article »
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