Alternatives to Live-Action Fictional Films :: Film, Documentary

Is there an alternative to live action fictional films? And if there is an alternative is there a chance it could be entertaining? Who doesn’t enjoy a good fiction film? In Film: An Introduction by William H. Phillips, we learn that the alternative to such films can be both enlightening and entertaining (299). What type of film could be both enlightening and entertaining? Documentaries are. There is potential in a documentary film, also referred to as non-fictional films, which fictional films cannot grasp. According to Jack C. Ellis, a known documentary film critic, documentaries â€Å"(1) communicate insights, achieve beauty, and offer understanding.† They also â€Å"(2) improve social, political, or economic conditions† (qtd. in Phillips 299). In ways documentary films are similar to fictional films. Both types of films have infinite possibilities of topic choices to choose from and have a crew to influence and manipulate the film so that it can be accepted the way they want it represented. However, documentary films are created to be works of informative and factual art. Fictional films, although they may stem from the ground of truth, they branch into the realm of unrealistic entertainment (316). But why is there a big market for documentaries? The answer is simple. Each person alive; whether they are young, old, intelligent, undereducated, black, white, Baptist, atheist, everyone has an interest in something and documentaries can inform an audience about that particular interest (316). There are two types of documentaries, the narrative and the non-narrative. The majority of documentary films are made up of non-narrative films, meaning that there isn’t an actual story being portrayed in the film rather just a list of information that make an argument (301). Narrative documentaries create and develop a story, normally following a person and their ambitions. This type of documentary is more comparable to fictional films versus non-narrative films because the information presented does not have to be sequential as long as it is factual (302,303). Both types of documentaries use artifacts, such as photographs, that pertain to the subject in their film and are spliced from one frame to another in the editing process, to force the point of view that the director wishes to portray onto the viewer (301 & 306). This is the reason that Phillips refers to documentaries as ‘Mediated Reality’. A documentary film is biased and cannot be objective. It may be perceived as truth by viewers, but there is a difference between the genuine footage that was recorded and the censored scenes that were developed in editing.

Finding Neverland Essay

The movie Finding Neverland is about the writer J. M. Barrie and his journey of writing plays about imagination and happiness. Barrie has a close relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and her sons, who give Barrie the idea of the well-known play Peter Pan. J. M. Barrie attends the reception of his latest play, ‘Little Mary’ and from this reception he meets Sylvia, who is a widow now. Barrie enjoys spending time with Sylvia and her four sons, and through this proves to be a great playmate and father-figure for the boys. Sylvia’s mother, Emma du Maurier does not like the amount of time Barrie spends with her family. Emma wants to take control of her daughter and grandsons, since Sylvia is becoming very weak from an unidentified illness. As Sylvia becomes more and more ill, she is unable to attend Barrie’s new play production. However, Barrie arranges a mini-version of his new play to be presented at her home. Finding Neverland can be interpreted using the archetypal literary criticism, as it does centre on the idea of the unconscious mind and its ability to hold and create universal symbols and patterns to which all humans can relate to. The archetypal hero character of this movie is playwright J. M. Barrie. Barrie, in the beginning of the movie, does not have any ideas of creating a new play. However, when he meets Sylvia’s four sons; George, Michael, Jack, and Peter, through their imagination, Barrie gets ideas. The imagination starts, when Barrie meets the Llewelyn family at London’s Kensington Gardens, while walking his St. Bernard dog. Ever since that day, Barrie has been spending a lot of time with Sylvia and her sons, creating imaginary worlds of pirates, castles and cowboys. For Barrie to create these imaginary worlds for the children, they cheer up and enjoy the time, since they do not have a father anymore. Apart from all this fun and enjoyment, there is a femme fatale character who is Emma du Maurier, the mother of Sylvia. Emma does not want Sylvia and her sons to be spending so much time with Barrie, because she thinks that he is corrupting their minds. By this, Emma tries to manipulate Sylvia into stopping the amount of time she and her sons spend with Barrie, and more time with the family. However, through all this manipulation and control from the mother, Sylvia and Barrie can be seen as two star-crossed lover, since they both love and care for each other in a close relationship. In Finding Neverland, the archetypal situation is for Barrie to create a new play. Barrie has a quest to complete, which is to get ideas about the next play he should write. For Barrie to meet Sylvia’s four sons, he got his whole idea of writing his next play, from these four boys imagination. Barrie’s has now reached his task, and that is to create a play using the imagination of kids and put it on stage to show to the public. Along with the quest Barrie has to undertake, there is an archetypal symbol of light and dark. The symbol of light in this movie, are the four boys and Sylvia. Without them, Barrie would be in a loss of ideas, since he gets the idea for his new play from his experience with the Llewelyn family. The symbol of darkness in this movie is the mother of Sylvia, Emma du Maurier. Emma, talks behind Barrie’s back and tries to tell Sylvia things about Barrie that are not true. Besides all the back talk, Barrie still is persistent in completing his task and showing the public his new play. Through further analysis of the movie Finding Neverland, Northrop Frye’s Four Story Model can be used to analyze this movie. The movie Finding Neverland can be analyzed as a romance story, since there is a world of innocence. In this world of innocence, the four boys are the ones who joyfully imagine with Barrie all the wonderful stories of pirates and kings and fulfill the desire for order and meaning. The hero, Barrie has an adversary who is Emma, the mother of Sylvia. She tries and stops Sylvia and her sons from playing with Barrie. The theme of this movie, makes use of visions and revelations, by the fact that Barrie gets the visions of his new play from all the imagination that the four kids show. Through these imaginations, Barrie shows a progress toward fulfillment in creating his new play. The basic plot, is Barrie goes on a perilous journey, a struggle follows in which he proves himself in the doing the task. When Barrie completes the quest of creating the new play, which is known as Peter Pan, there is triumph and exaltation of the hero Barrie. The basic imagery seen in this film, are trees and animals that come to life and assist Barrie in completing his quest, from all the imagination and creativity the four kids show to Barrie. To conclude, Barrie has accomplished his main goal, through all the creativity and imagination that was offered with the help of Sylvia’s four sons. Finding Neverland is a story that really emphasizes the importance of imagination and how it can really help someone in times of tragedy and loss. Humans need that creativity to imagine things in another world and use it for the benefit for oneself and other, just as Barrie did for Sylvia and her family.

Gay Marriages Essay - 1644 Words

Gay Marriages Growing up in a heterosexual neighborhood, gay couples were not something that you came across every day as you do in today’s time. At the age of 22, Dawn was introduced to her first gay couple, Mike and Thomas. They were friends of her husband. She had never known a gay couple before or even a gay person. It was extremely strange and uncomfortable for Dawn to be in the presence of two gay men. It was nothing out of the ordinary at first. To Dawn, it was just like two men living together as roommates until they kissed. Dawn felt like she was invading on their privacy as she sat and watched them kiss. She quickly turned her head so she would not be intruding. Now, Dawn is extremely close to Mike and Thomas. She claims†¦show more content†¦Heterosexuals who have been living together for a specific years can be declared to have a ‘common law’ marriage. Common law marriages are not honored to homosexuals who fall under the same situation. The first efforts t o secure state recognition of homosexual relationships in the United States occurred in the 1970s (D’ Emilio). Ministers of the Metropolitan Community Church, organized in 1968, had begun performing wedding for their members. The Metropolitan Community Church is a church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer spiritual community grounded in the Christian tradition, affirming and exploring many paths to God. It is the first â€Å"gay church† in the United States that will thrive and found branches in many other U.S. cities (Kranz and Cusick). The August 1970 issue of The Advocate proclaimed that America was experiencing a â€Å"gay marriage boom.† During the early 1970s, close to a dozen homosexual couples across the country applied at their local city clerk’s office, which they were denied. Lawsuits were filed by three couples because of the state’s refusal to issue a marriage license to them. By the mid-1970s, several same-sex couples had tried to force a state to recognize them as married but none had succeeded. Between the mid-1970s and 1987, no further gay male or lesbian couples in the United States appear to have requested a marriage license or filed aShow MoreRelatedGay Marriage Should Be Legal Essay1850 Words   |  8 Pageswhat it means to be a gay man – even if that is not the language that always would be used to describe homosexual behavior in a given place and time. In the United States, gay marriage has been legalized in all 50 states by a federal court ruling, but many Americans do not realize that there is still a long way to go in terms of embracing gay citizens (and the rest of the LGBT community) into the â€Å" societal norm.† Despite the strides that have been taken to legalize marriage for same sex couples,Read MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1848 Words   |  8 Pageswholly ashamed of. 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