Film

Analyze what idea of masculinity is shown in Disney films where princes are portrayed. What are the negative or toxic ideas of masculinity that are shown and what are some examples that may criticize toxic masculinity.

Since its release in 1976, the academy award winning Rocky has received six sequels (Rocky II-V, Rocky Balboa, and Creed). The original Rocky was a relatively low budget film focused on a down in his luck boxer with an extraordinary chance to prove his worth inside and outside of ring. It was hailed for its underdog story, acting, and its iconic training scenes. The subsequent sequels often opted to forgo many of the ideas and the low budget style found in the original film. Sequels sometimes included cartoonish villains and other elements that would be out of place in the grittier original Rocky. When Creed was released in 2015, it received near universal acclaim for its story and acting (especially by Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in the title role), which focused on a hungry fighter working to prove his worth to the world. Like Rocky, the film was a character study of a box working to confront his issues within and outside of the ring. Is Creed the closest thing in style and tone to the original Rocky?

How important is the soundtrack in a film? The selection or creation of soundtracks is big business in the movie industry, but how important really is it? Movie goers today are fairly savvy creatures and understand that particular scores match particular scenes. But what happens to a scene when a contrasting score is played to the expected tone of the scene? Does this change the entire "feeling" of the scene or can it offer a more complex examination of traditional representations of emotion in-situ? What happens when no music is used in an emotionally wrought scene? Or what happens to scenes when music is removed – are the scenes still able to portray the emotional depth of the moment?

Compare the box office success of movies with the rising prices of tickets and concessions. Is a really great movie worth the price for a "luxury" experience of reclining seats, Real-D 3D movies, and now food delivered to seats? Or are movie theaters just trying to stay in business while competing with online streaming services.

As soon as technology introduced the idea, movies have been wrestling with what to do with artificial intelligence. Once they are thinking on their own, do they have rights as a sentient being? This is seen very clearly with Data in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Series. It is also seen in animated films such as Astro Boy when the audience comes to see the robot more as a real child. The list goes on: AI, even Terminator 2 as the audience mourns the first Terminator's demise, iRobot, Dark Matter (a Netflix series) etc. Since this is a very real part of our future, the varying views on this would be interesting to consider.

Discuss the history of CGI, it's greatest accomplishments, as well as comparing this method of filmmaking to more realistic props that were used in the older age, as well as today (Nolan films being a huge point of reference). As well as cosmetics (LOTR v The Hobbit Trilogy) and shooting on location or on set (The Revenant) and how each of these mediums have their ups and downs, and which one produces the better film for select genres. For example, could we even produce an Avengers film solely using real props and make-up? Or are big blockbuster films like that doomed to be plagued by CGI?

Clint Eastwood in five movies between 1971 and 1988 (Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, The Dead Pool) did what has to be seen as a guilty pleasure: Here was the law dispensing justice in a way that often bypassed the complexities of the legal process and in the end the problem was solved. Villains came across in these movies often as caricatures where the audience could easily get behind Harry as he did his thing. When looking at these movies from the present, in one way, they seem to come from a different era, a different time, yet, at the same time, the simplicity of justice seems to echo Donald Trump's approach to basically any policy he wants to address: There will be no consequences, we do something and suddenly the problem is solved and America is a better place. If only things were that simple, the Dirty Harry legacy lives on.

A poignant scene in Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is when the free slave Django rides his horse alongside Calvin Candie's carriage and henchmen. The rap song complementing the scene -100 Black Coffins by Rick Ross – is a stark historical juxtaposition. The song is certainly attractive to the ear, but does this choice of music go deeper than aesthetic? Does it allude to both the enslaved plight of African Americans whilst also drawing parallels to their modern plight (one often expressed through Hip Hop culture)? Does this ring true for other films? If so, what films and why?