Analyze how the names of each of the characters in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (Charlie Bucket, Augustus Gloop, Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregard, Willy Wonka, and so forth) reflect the characters' roles in the movie. Explore the way in which the names hint at each of the characters' defining characteristics, how the names directly relate to the themes present in the story, what ultimately happens to each character.
This topic makes me so happy. Besides the obvious (Mike TEAVEE, Willy WONKa), I found the name Veruca Salt absolutely fascinating. Although all I know of Verruca is that it's a wart on the sole of the foot (just like Willy Wonka said, actually), I've wondered if Dahl just wanted to name a character something unpleasant, or if there's another significance. Salt, however, has always reminded me of the Indian Salt Tax. It was a very very expensive commodity at one point (this is what led to the Salt March in India), and could that be a reference to how rich the Salts were?
Gloop phonetically is a very obvious reference to gluttony, and Violet literally violet at the end, but I haven't been able to come up with much else for the other characters. It should be interesting to see what the comments here throw up! – JayBird8 years ago
There are some scholars and linguists who have wrote papers on Dahl’s neologisms and wordplays. Besides the names of the kids who won the golden tickets, the names of Wonka’s rivals are also very meaningful. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Provide examples of films which employ strong narrative and plot to engage the audience, while using one environment to do so. Films such as "Devil," which take place inside of an elevator still use establishing shots and surrounding environments even though the bulk of the movie is shot inside of an elevator. Think about extreme dogmatic approaches such as "Exam," "12 Angry Men," or "Rear Window," and provide evidence of how these films illustrate an outside world, without ever leaving their singular environment.
Have you heard of the Hitchcock film called "Rope" (1948)? The whole film takes place within an apartment and relates to a murder. Hitchcock shot the film by shooting for periods lasting up to 10 minutes, there are only 6-8 visible cuts in the film. It is a really interesting idea that I think is in line with what your topic is examining. – SeanGadus8 years ago
Interesting topic! Even though the focus here is on films, it reminded me of how certain web series are filmed. For example, the YouTube series Carmilla used this tactic of single spaces while at the same time illustrating actions that happened outside for viewers. – aprosaicpintofpisces8 years ago
Yep, tv serials work incredibly well with this topic, especially the ones that are able to create drama with the same singular space. Take Louis C.K.'s Horace and Pete, and you might want to look at Dogville. – Matchbox8 years ago
Another film that could be interesting to include is Locke. It takes place entirely in a car, and the plot is moved mostly by the phone calls the character makes while driving. – Marcie Waters8 years ago
Another approach to this topic might be the transition from stage play to the big screen. I can think of several plays that take place in a single location but once they were made into films, the story lost that part of itself as the producers, etc. decided to take the cast outside and around the town, so to speak. – NoDakJack8 years ago
Excellent topic! I feel like this topic can also lean towards dogmatic approaches in literature. I immediately thought of Chuck Palahniuk's novel "Haunted"; the scenery is unchanged while the chosen narrator captivates you with a gruesome story from a journal. Perhaps the topic can address the transition from literature to film and how it distorts or maintains the dogmatic atmosphere? – Pyper Brown8 years ago
This makes me think of this film called 'Manderlay'. Even though its not EXACTLY restricted to one small confined space, it does keep itself to a large field. Although the field has props (in the form of a bed, or some stairs), the film has NO sets apart from these props. Everything, from the house to the trees, must be imagined. – JayBird8 years ago
Dig this topic! I recently watched 'Man in the Wall', an Israeli film by Evgeny Ruman, which I thought really nailed the single setting approach. The whole movie takes place within a couple's apartment; the plot develops by the different people who enter and exit the apartment and the various kinds of exchanges they share. The dialogue and atmosphere are super intense - which I think is a necessary strategy when working with only one place. There's something kind of unsettling about single setting narratives because they have to rely SO heavily on mood. – nicolenaudi8 years ago
As more and more studios start up cinematic universes based on comic book properties, it is hard to imagine that these films will be successful for forever. However comic books have still remained fairly successful and people still remain invested in the characters. Can the films expect the same support, or should they have a definitive ending?
I really like this topic as I am a super fan of these movies. The MCU right now is leading up to Avengers Infinity War in 2018, and Avengers 4 in 2019. Nobody knows what's going to happen, but they are most likely not just gonna stop making movies all together. These movies make way too much money to just stop, so there should be speculation on what could happen post Avengers 4. – cbo10948 years ago
Interesting topic. In David Ehrlich's review of Civil War, he describes the MCU as "A film franchise so immense and self-perpetuating that a plot’s greatest possible conflict is no longer the end of the world, but rather the end of the brand." In all likelihood marvel will continue to add to its sprawling universe until the audience diffuses or they run out of cash, which could be anywhere from in the near future to decades later. I like the idea of whether they "should". It would be memorable and history-making for them if they ended their run on a well-crafted note, though as the years go on the likelihood seems incredibly slim. They would likely go on making them until the public is entirely bored of it. – Matchbox8 years ago
Analyze and describe the techniques used by major studios (like Disney) with hot-button intellectual property (like Star Wars) in a variety of film marketing, including but not limited to exposés, interviews, behind-the-scenes features, and the hype surrounding trailers and the leakage of any footage/spoilers in general.
Look no further than Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the use of nostalgia in marketing. The entire campaign was based on the idea that Star Wars is reintroducing classic characters like Han, Leia, and Luke. The marketing for the film trumpeted the return of classic Star Wars elements like the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, TIE fighters, stormtroopers and aliens. Disney used all of these elements well to bring fans back in. The trailers all spoke of how each generation has a story and how this was the next chapter in that story. I think they did a very good job of bringing in all of these elements that fans have been asking for for so long, and the crowning moment was in the first full trailer for the film. At the last second, Han Solo and Chewbacca stepped onto the screen for the first time in over 30 years and uttered one simple but effective line. "Chewie, we're home." – Sjdeliman8 years ago
Stranger Things is another example; many viewers from the 80s really like the show because of its nostalgic references. – seouljustice8 years ago
In the field of mythology, mermaids draw constant speculation. Their elusive nature adds to this element of mystery. However, film tends to polarize these mythical creatures into one of two categories: dangerous temptress or charming innocent. Identify specific films that assign mermaids to either of these two categories, and describe how this characterization helps to develop the film's plot line.
An example of the innocent lies in the Disney Classic The Little Mermaid, as an example of the temptress is in the fourth Harry Potter movie. – tombaumser8 years ago
Its amazing how we make something so scary absolutely innocent, to entertain kids. The question is whether this is destroying the old myths, creating new, or some weird mutant baby in between. – thesoaringmarlet8 years ago
The movie Mermaids is a good example of the innocence that mermaids evoke in popular media as all three of the main female characters in the film are representative of feminine innocence in one way or another. Although the characters never become mermaids for anything more than a Halloween costume, the idea and all of the literary and historical baggage is attached to them because of the titling. All three women have their own struggles, yet they are resilient, independent, and own their gender and/or sexuality in powerful ways. For an 'actual' mermaid--for whatever that term is worth--I would not overlook Daryl Hannah's mermaid character in "Splash." This character epitomizes innocence, ignorance and nativity in a very saccharine, painful and unrealistic way. This is an unintentionally loaded film, with many problematic characters and gendered themes. It is also interesting to note that this film was the first live action release of Walt Disney Studios' Touchstone Pictures label, from the same Walt Disney that released the animated classic, "The Little Mermaid," in 1989. "Splash" became such a hit that it even popularized the female name of Madison, being the self given name of Hannah's character, after it's release. In a nutshell, this film had a great influence on pop culture. – HeatherStratton8 years ago
On August 29, 2016, Gene Wilder passed away from complications from Alzheimer's disease. Whether playing Dr. Frankenstein in "Young Frankenstein," or Willie Wonka in "Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," Wilder's whimsical, gentle spirit drew smiles from people of all ages. Which performances are Wilder's finest? What makes his contribution to film especially memorable? In general, what is Gene Wilder's legacy?
This year film has seen an increase in the release of movies that draw inspiration from video games. World of Warcraft, Assassins Creed, Angry Birds, and Hardcore Henry (though not based on a video game it's cinematic style is to tell a narrative in the way video games do) are four such examples of this interest in adapting video games to the big screen. Why such a rise in this style? Does this style have a place in cinema?
This is a really interesting topic. There was also a Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film with Jake Gyllenhaal that was released in 2010. Additionally, an Uncharted film has been in development since 2009, with a variety of stops and starts. Also, most intriguingly to me, was Gore Verbinski's Bioshock film, which never got out of the planning stage. I also think that it would be interesting to examine how gamers view these adaptions and how film fans view video game adaptions. Great, very relevant topic in today's pop culture landscape. – SeanGadus8 years ago
If we want to consider older adaptations, too, we could talk about Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Resident Evil. We might also want to think about machinima (using video games to create one's own animated films). Video games and adventure films certainly have a lot in common. I'm not sure how far back we can find cut scenes in video games, but their presence shows a strong and lasting connection between the two genres. – JamesBKelley8 years ago
Another thing to consider is how much more creative control the creators of the video games sometimes have with their film adaptations. In the past video game adaptations were made with little to no creative input from the creators, but more recent adaptations such as Warcraft, Ratchet & Clank, and the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie are being co-developed with the people who made the games. Going off of this, it might be interesting to look into how game developers view the movie industry and why they would see the potential into adapting their properties into films. – Seth Childers8 years ago
I've been thinking a lot about this. It's sad to me that many of these movies are poorly adapted. In some ways, it seems that producers are still figuring out how to do this in the same way that films have been adapted from lengthy novels; the main challenge is capturing the story and the spirit of the game. It seems like a different challenge to choose what to include or cut from a game rather than a novel--which is generally more straightforward and follows a clearer story arc. These game adaptations don't necessarily retell the same story in a new format, but rather they use familiar characters to tell parts of the metanarrative not covered in the games or they mash together the important moments into one hodgepodge film. The Resident Evil movies were relatively good compared to other game adaptations. They also seemed to draw a broader fan-base because the films take time to tell the origins story, which is important for new people to establish a connection to the franchise without experiencing the games first. World of Warcraft tried to explore origins in its first installment, but I think it lacked focus and failed to establish a solid emotional connection with any one character. The movie was lackluster unfortunately, and I hope that they can learn from their mistakes and make a much-improved second installment. – Breezy8 years ago
Can't forget about the actors and actresses that portray our favorite characters in these movies. Some take the time to do their research and properly portray the character they are playing. Most go off of the adapted script and actually have no clue as to how to bring the character to the big screen. Hopeful that AC is good. – antsteve8 years ago
I think a large part of why adaptations generally don't do well is because their narratives are formatted for game play rather than character development. The game series format doesn't allow for an overarching story line that can fit nicely into one film, and since most main characters in video games are stripped down to allow the player to assume their role, we often don't start with a true character to get emotionally attached to. Though some of the iconic games like The Legend of Zelda have a strong story line, Link is a blank slate, and therefore would need a contrived personality just for film. We want something completely different from a game than we want from a movie. – wtardieu8 years ago
A lot of it has to do with two main things. The first is that, for awhile now, Hollywood has been remaking films left and right because they are losing creativity. As I got older, I noticed more and more movies from the 70's and 80's being remade. Now in 2016, there is at least one movie a month that is a 1980's remake, and usually not a good one. The second reason is because of the tremendous growth in the video game industry over the past two decades. The video game industry has surpassed Hollywood, and Hollywood execs are now jumping on the bandwagon. Keep in mind that Generation X and Millenials are now grown up, with families of their own. And like all generations, we have nostalgia for movies and shows when we were kids. The video game and movie industries know this, which is why you have so many sequels to video games and remakes of classic movies. – MikeySheff8 years ago
Curtis is one of my favourite documentary filmmakers. However, I often find it hard to point to exactly where he is on the political spectrum and wondered if anyone had thoughts on the subject? Although he professes to be "neutral" he has to say that in public due to his affiliation with the BBC, often his work can swing wildly from revolutionary Anarchist to militant socialist to uncompromisingly hard right Libertarian… Sometimes when he is making the same point!
