Analysis On The Movie Inception Film Studies Essay

Analysis On The Movie Inception Film Studies Essay The film Inception (2010) captured the imagination of many spectators as one of the best science fiction and fantasy movies to be produced that year. It was produced and directed by Christopher Nolan who also wrote the script of the movie. The development of this script and the story line were Nolans original ideas back in 2001, nine year before the movie was released when he wrote an eighty-page script on dream stealing. This work was inspired by the concept of dream incubation and lucid dreaming which bore this mystery envisioning a world where technology has been developed to allow entrance into the human mind by means of dream invasion. Inception is based on the basic inspiration that a single idea in an individuals mind can be either the most valuable asset or the most dangerous weapon (George, 2009). The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, who in the movie steals information from the minds of his victims during dreams. The last job which Cobs is given, and which is the ce nter of the movie involves performance of an inception so that Cobbs could regain his previous life and be able to visit his children. The movie in general received outstanding applause as an innovative and smart story and many critics gave it positive reviews. Rotten tomatoes for instance gave this movie an average score of 8/10 based on over two hundred and fifty reviews and reported that up to 87% of critics gave this movie a positive preview. Specifically praised in this movie is the producer/ director/writer, Mr. Nolan who received many positive notices and compliments even from the best critics. For instance, a notable critic, Peter Travers from the Rolling Stone magazine complimented this movie and Mr. Nolan stating that it was like an ingenious chess game. Justing Chang who said that the writer applied the best skill to vividly depict the procedural detail of sub-consciousness, quite a surrealists thriller which gave all the viewers a big challenge to explore the intricate and deep working of the mind, has praised the writers skill. The genre of this movie is widely interpreted. Some view it as mystery and suspense, while other individuals categorize it as Drama, action, or adventure. Just like any other movie, the issue of genre has been subject to diverse interpretation and thus becoming an element of widespread controversy. The movie Inception correctly falls in the history of science fiction. The first element supporting this fact is that it whole idea of the movie deals with imagined technological or scientific innovations. This also do not happen in the worlds contemporary setting, but a futuristic setting where given the current technological development, such innovations might be possible but the world is not there indeed (George, 2009). The idea of stealing ideas has not yet been realized, but there are current studies in neuroscience that are not trying to find out this, but working to understand the complexities and working of the human brain and may be in future, science research would bear such frui ts. Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb is the extractor in this case. He is well known and corporate uses him to infiltrate other peoples minds and extract the information they need. More evidence of science fiction is illustrated at the hotel room in dream world where loss of gravity is experienced. The elevator cannot even move and Arthur needs to use an explosion to push it. This is not scientifically possible but it happens in this movies. Among other incidences, the film fits clearly in the historical context of science fiction. Atmans A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre, (1984) explores in depth some of the ways used to differential movies into certain genres. He clearly and explicitly explains both the semantic and syntactic approaches to film genres giving us the proper understanding on how to analyze movies and give them appropriate genres. Looking at the work of Altman (1984), this renowned writer observed the same controversy criticism and recognized this approach to genre criticism at semantic approach. In semantic approach, the genre of a certain film is allocated based on some superficial aspects which are thought to fit to that genre. According to this approach, a film is examined based on the plot, characters, and types of some aesthetics among other superficial elements of the movie. Notably about this approach, it falls short of analysis and criticism. This approach fails to look into the details of the movie and less emphasis is laid on the timelines, production and assessment of scenes. The syntactic approach is quite different from semantic approach according to Altman, (1984). This approach takes into account finer details of the movie like the relationships between some semantic elements of that particular genre or between aspects of the society at large and those elements. It appreciates how isolated elements combine in any given movie to come up with the true meaning of such movie (George, 2009). This approach seeks not only to understand why some aspects of any given film are so, but also examines the effects of such aspects on the audience, the information which it deems valuable. This type of film examination brings a deeper look into incidences which might look insignificant in one film but holds a lot of water if compared or connected with similar incidences of other films. Altman goes further to bring up two more different approaches to genre criticism; ideological and ritual. The ritual approach in this sense occurs when moviemakers bent from societal pressures to produce films depicting the contemporary society such as Hollywood. He notes that this type of approach expresses audience desires in broader sense and it has its focus on the consumption side. With the ideological approach, the genre any movie falls into is based on simple, but generalized approaches to identifiable structures (Grant, 2003). Looking at Inception on the light of the Altmans approaches to genre criticism, it can be universally agreed that the same phenomenon is evident. This film clearly supports the arguments made by Altman. The film has been interpreted differently by different authors/different authorities and that is why we have the varying classification in terms of genre. Altman argues that genre is given based on uses and users instead of a fixed point of reference (Grant, 2003). The movie genre is diverse and serves diverse group of individuals. When summing up his arguments, Altman notes that it is not possible to adopt certain terminology that is neutral under any challenge. The terms that are in use are usually based on and derived from different ways for different viewers. It is possible that a certain approach to genre allocation is invalidated by fans regardless of the fact that the studio and nay be the producers validate it. Movies genre is therefore a site of either corporation or struggle among different groups of users or multiple users and such an understanding would help appreciate genre and break away from the tyranny of genre criticism. Altmans arguments are well supported by the film Inception. Different authorities and audiences describe this movie differently. As noted earlier, this movies genre has been describe as fantasy (like in Rotten Tomatoes website), adventure and action, drama, science fiction, suspense and mystery. A casual audience would dismiss this movie as action or drama given the type of violence and gunfights it portrays. If an individual did not pay attention to the overall storyline and did not glimpse the interchanges between real world in the movie, the dreams and dreams within the dreams, it would be obvious that the individual would easily appreciate the action scenes and therefore label the movie action. If some viewers of this movie paid attention to this movies visual effects and the music used in the movie, then it would be easy for such an individual to label it suspense and mystery (Altman, 1984). The visual effects are well set and integrated with the music well to bring out a thrill ing effect of a suspense movie. A careful observer or a person really interested in the movie would note the scientific details about the human mind, dreams and the fiction part on how the ideas are being stolen through the dream. Those who do not understand or appreciate science would label this movie fantasy coming into agreement with Altmans argument that genre just depends on uses, users or groups of users (Altman, 1984). Altman has shade much light on the understanding genre of movies, not only Science Fiction, but all movies at large. Someone may be confused if a movie they clearly know as action movie is referred to as science fiction but if it is an exaggeration of scientific facts, not yet supported by evidence and most likely happens in a futuristic world, such a movie may fall in the science fiction genre. Such discrepancies are well tacked by the author who shades much light on the diversity of the audience, uses of the film and the discursivity associated with any account of genre.

Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho :: Film Films Movie Movies Psycho Essays

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has been commended for forming the archetypical basis of all horror films that followed its 1960 release. The mass appeal that Psycho has maintained for over three decades can undoubtedly be attributed to its universality. In Psycho, Hitchcock allows the audience to become a subjective character within the plot to enhance the film's psychological effects for an audience that is forced to recognise its own neurosis and psychological inadequacies as it is compelled to identify, for varying lengths of time, with the contrasting personalities of the film's main characters. Hitchcock conveys an intensifying theme in Psycho, that bases itself on the unending subconscious battle between good and evil that exists in everyone through the audience's subjective participation and implicit character parallels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Psycho begins with a view of a city that is arbitrarily identified along with an exact date and time. The camera, seemingly at random, chooses first one of the many buildings and then one of the many windows to explore before the audience is introduced to Marion and Sam. Hitchcock's use of random selection creates a sense of normalcy for the audience. The fact that the city and room were arbitrarily identified impresses upon the audience that their own lives could randomly be applied to the events that are about to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the opening sequence of Psycho, Hitchcock succeeds in capturing the audience's initial senses of awareness and suspicion while allowing it to identify with Marion's helpless situation. The audience's sympathy toward Marion is heightened with the introduction of Cassidy whose crude boasting encourages the audience's dislike of his character. Cassidy's blatant statement that all unhappiness can be bought away with money, provokes the audience to form a justification for Marion's theft of his forty thousand dollars. As Marion begins her journey, the audience is drawn farther into the depths of what is disturbingly abnormal behaviour although it is compelled to identify and sympathize with her actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is with Marion's character that Hitchcock first introduces the notion of a split personality to the audience. Throughout the first part of the film, Marion's reflection is often noted in several mirrors and windows. Hitchcock is therefore able to create a voyeuristic sensation within the audience as it can visualise the effects of any situation through Marion's conscious mind. In the car dealership, for example, Marion enters the secluded bathroom in order to have privacy while counting her money. Hitchcock, however, with upper camera angles and the convenient placing of a mirror is able to convey the sense of an ever lingering conscious mind that makes privacy impossible. Hitchcock brings

Discrimination at the Workplace Essay

Discrimination is described as an illegal treatment because of prejudices based from a number of factors, such as gender, sex, religious beliefs, disabilities and many more (Goree, 2007). In the case of Julie’s friend, Bandu, the prejudice and discrimination given to him was based on his ethnic roots, being an Indian-born in an American region. The application was then rejected without him being called for an interview or a test of some sort. For someone like Julie, an employee who knows the capabilities of her friend, her boss’s decision is something that is unethical and inappropriate for the present day of the employment world. But there are many factors that should be considered before deciding the appropriate action for a case like this. There are two sides, that of the employer and the about-to-be employee that should be understood and thought over. Each has their own points and thesis that must be incorporated to get a win-win situation. Firstly, Julie should be as professional as possible and not be biased just because the rejected applicant is her friend. There should also be no trace of favoritism on Julie’s side, because that would just add another unethical instance. Favoritism happens when a certain advantage is held by someone having an edge because of certain factors (Goree, 2007). Bandu is Julie’s friend, and even though Julie is not the employer, there is still that possibility that she might influence the decision of her boss in favoring her friend. This potentiality of favoritism can be avoided by marking the line between referencing and heavy influencing. References are people which the employer can call or talk to ask information about the employee (Doyle, 2008). In the case of this event, the connection is strictly professional and the information relayed would be useful in deciding whether the application would be rejected or given a chance. For the company, it is obvious that they must start to be open to diversity and begin to embrace the thought of hiring people from minority groups. To do this, they must first learn more about the advantages of diversity. These concepts, such as friendly competitions between employees, exchange of ideas or information, and total growth of the company have been proved by many researchers (Goree, 2007). It is therefore something worth trying for a company that hasn’t got any bad feedbacks from this technique. The employers can then begin by accepting applications from any group and giving equal chances to all. If the company’s employing division is really that picky, then they could schedule pre-interviews to applicants. Additional interviews or pre-tests can then be administered to further filter down the applicant. The important thing is all applicants, regardless of gender, race, or affiliations, must be allowed to join the preliminary screening procedures that is of course once they reached the required qualifications. One possible problem that Julie’s company might experience is the difficulty in hiring employees of a minority group because they haven’t done it in a long time. Referencing, as discussed above can be a lot of help in here. The information taken from the listed references must be included in the criteria of selecting new applicants, not just their background race. In order to be effective, the company must also demolish any style of stereotyping based on races, or any variables that could affect the connotation of a group of people. This would ensure that there will be no discrimination in the workplace itself, not just on the application and hiring process. The rest of the employees must accept each other freely and avoid negative outlooks on the newly hired minority workers. By following these steps, one can guarantee a healthy workplace, where diversity becomes a great help in improving the company as a whole.

Land Value Tax It Is And What It Can Do For Idaho

Land Value Tax: What it is and What it Can Do for Idaho Taxation without representation was the main justification for the United States Declaration of Independence and subsequent war with Great Britain, and today many citizens believe they are fairly represented in government and thus equally fairly taxed. Unfortunately, economical taxation does not necessarily occur because citizens can choose their own representatives. When the issue does come up, many citizens think of the amount of taxation as the problem rather than the type of taxation; indeed, some do not even consider that there are different ways to tax besides the current tax system. There is a tax, however little known and little acknowledged, that will revolutionize the†¦show more content†¦It is dissimilar to a property tax in that it does not tax based on personal property, buildings, or other improvements on the land. So now that the definition of a land value tax has been established, it is allowable to continue on to acknowledge a basic premise: for whatever reason, all people want to make money or gain in some form in order to live and to live comfortably. A person that owns an undeveloped piece of land loses money to a land value tax, and, according to the above premise, will be dissatisfied because he would rather be making money from the land. In order to make money, this person must develop the land for personal or professional use or sell it. When a land value tax is set up, a person is motivated to either improve the land to gain from it and thus make the land worth owning, or to sell the land so that he does not pay an unprofitable tax on it. These simple motivations caused by a land value tax are main reasons for its implementation. A sales tax does not create this motivation; in fact, it punishes people for making money. The more money made or spent, the more money paid in taxes. The same is true for income taxes: more made means more paid, especially with graduated income rates that tax a progressively higher percentage the greater a salary is. These taxes punish those who make more money,