Film

Following its introduction into mass media with The Wizard of Oz, color has played an important role in films, with filmmakers intentionally choosing colors to symbolize different elements in their pieces. Analyze pieces such as The Sixth Sense, which uses color to foreshadow the ending revelation, or Moulin Rogue, which uses color to symbolize the different areas of the city.

With so many live-action remakes of classic Disney films, from the recently released (Maleficent, Cinderella, Pan) to the upcoming (The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo) which ones work/will work and which won't? Is it possible to recapture the magic of the cartoons, or are some too outdated for a modern audience? What should filmmakers change or keep the same?

"Although it was on the air for only one season, The Jetsons remains our most popular point of reference when discussing the future." (Matt Novak, smithsonianmag.com)

Since The Jetsons "promised" us flying cars more than 50 years ago, we continue to refer back to the show as one of the only mainstream depictions of a future with a positive outcome. Granted, cinema in the 60s still included the larger-than-life conflicts (literally) with movies like Mothra vs. Godzilla, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes, it seemed like the depiction of the Jetsons is the only piece that prevailed in a technologically relevant way. But to pose the question of why The Jetsons has continued to be arguably one of the most influential "science fantasy" cartoon depictions is to pose the question of whether optimistic depictions of future shape the way we innovate and live our lives.

The day I'm writing this is a date that the 1989 film, Back to the Future, predicted the sorts of technological advancements we will have made, and they were relatively close. A CNN article, "What did 'Back to the Future II' get right?" by Todd Leopold illuminates what was and wasn't correct about the film's predictions ((link)

However, around the same time as Back to the Future, we were beginning to see movies like Mad Max, depicting a sort of "post-apocalyptic" future, along with movies like The Terminator, The Matrix and Blade Runner depicting a sort of "dystopian" future. In a different way, these were becoming more common and more mainstream, possibly due to the advent of affordable visual effects and digital imaging. Regardless, it seems that the rising generations are growing up with zombies, apocalypses, and a fear of artificial intelligence or government totalitarianism. Maybe it didn't help that The Terminator came out the year that George Orwell warned the world could be approaching a totalitarian system of constant war and surveillance.

In summation, assuming, for now, that the influence this media has can determine our course of progression and innovation as a world, than should the media industries be sharing a sort of responsibility in reenacting optimistic outcomes in future-set movies and TV?

Attempt to find deeper meanings hidden within the movie Kung Pow. Explore these messages and how they are relevant to the plot or the real world. Look at other movies Kung Pow references and how the stereotypical hero story is warped.

In the past decade, there have been some quality Westerns released such as No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Django Unchained, as well as solid remakes of 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit. There is also the upcoming Bone Tomahawk to look forward to, and obviously the highly anticipated Hateful Eight. Eastwood's Unforgiven in 1991 was considered by many to the the "eulogy" for the Western genre and a fitting end at that, however it can be said that there has been a resurgence of sorts since then. As one of the most recognizable and classic genres, is the Western is making a legitimate comeback? Or will it die out again by say, 2020?

The representations of gender in the Disney princess films is an important topic for discussion in terms of the lasting gender images of femininity and masculinity such movies have on younger generations, especially younger females. The earlier films, such as Sleeping Beauty, demonstrate how culture constructs femininity and masculinity in terms of the beauty ideals. Later films, such as Brave, portray femininity with a more masculine touch by adding male characteristics, such as independence, athleticism, and courage, to the female protagonists. Overtime, have the representations of femininity and the roles and expectations of Disney princesses changed for the better? How do these new representations of gender ideology positively or negatively influence young viewers?

Examine the use of black and white film techniques in recent movies to signify different things such as flash backs, dual timelines, etc. As well as look at how these uses have either changed or stayed the same since color television.

Just because a film is praised by the critics doesn't mean that the film fans will agree. Analyze a few films that were well regarded by critics, but flopped at the box office. Are there qualities that critics look for in a good film that the mass movie-going population doesn't seem to care about? Or can critics hyping a film raise the population's expectations too high, so that they are disappointed once they see the film?