Discuss the Use and Limitations of Space in Live Theatre.

Stereotypical portrayal has been a feature of cinema for a century. The social scientific theories that largely concentrate on the psychological and sociological effects of stereotyping should be used to investigate these stereotypes. Latin males are stereotyped as passionate, womanizers, and sons of the night in the clichéd character The Latin Lover (Larson, 2006). The Latino is always portrayed as being attractive, unusual-looking, and possessing standards. When it comes to behavior, the Latin Lover is portrayed as a man who easily seduces women and uses a stare that is followed by dancing and passionate outbursts (Larson, 2006). Other stereotypes of a Latin Lover is the ability to handle dangerous weapon, are ultimate players, good in bed, and often use a seductive accent. This stereotype used on the Latin Lover has usually result to social problems at the family and the societal level.

Due to these negative stereotypes, Latinos have often been ignored especially in American media. According to a study done by The Annenberg School of Cultural Communicators Project, there was an only 2.5% primetime television character of Hispanic origin between 1969-1978 (Sotnak, 2000). In addition, when a Latino is present in a movie, they usually have consistent features such as presence of an accent with darker features. In addition, Latinos are either depicted as extremely poor or very rich mainly as a result of life or crime. Another common category of stereotypes against the Hispanics include greasers who are usually violent characters in the film. They are in most cases involved in crime and other illegal activities. These stereotypes affect the community negatively. According to cognitive psychologists, stereotyping brings about psychological categories which ultimately lead to racial profiling depending on how they are depicted in films.

aThe film Lone Star is a 1996 American film which was in Texas. The movies is directed by John Sayles while the case features Mathew McConaughey, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena among others. First, the film is an example of how a good racially balanced movie should be. Unlike in most films whereby the minority groups are sidelined or given minor demeaning role, Lone Star ensures balanced representation. It has African Americans, Whites and Latinos. As opposed to most films at the time whereby the white actors played other races, this movie gave equal chances to all the raced involved (Eichenbaum & Hirt-Manheimer, 2014). Whitewashing has been the common in Hollywood where the whites play other races. According to sociologists, the tendency to use white actors to represent other races can be demeaning and mostly stereotypes the represented races either negatively or how they are perceived. Therefore, if the character represented involved in various social problems, this is what is used to stereotype persons from that particular racial group in real life by the audience. Psychologists suggest that our knowledge about a subject is mainly determined by the past experience one has with the subject. Therefore, stereotyping a character from a particular race in a film may translate to overall depiction of individuals from that race in real life. The movie Lone Star therefore avoided these stereotypes by having real characters from different ethnic communities without bias.

Question 2

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 film which was directed by Billy Wilder. The cast included Jane Wyman and Ray Milland as the main characters. The movie was based on a novel by Charles Jackson about an alcoholic writer (WIlder, 1945). Due to the cultural, historical and aesthetic significance of the film, it was added to the National Film Registry in the year 2011. The movie depicts class struggles. For instance, Don depicts himself as two: Don the writer and Don the drunkard. He is unable to come into terms that despite being one of the best minds, he is still struggling financially (WIlder, 1945). In most of the scenes, Don is either stealing alcohol from a store or money from one of the ladies in order to pay for his drinks. Don’s situation depicts the struggles facing the elite class who are unable to have any financial breakthrough. There is also another class struggle in relation to gender. Don and Helen have different personalities. While Helen is kind and caring, Don is the complete opposite. He misses to go out for the weekend with Helen and his brother and misses the train intentionally in order to go on a drinking spree. When he is about to commit suicide, Don screams to Helen and tells her that they are no longer together. However, Helen manages to convince Don that both Don the Writer and Don the Drunkard are one and the same person. This enables him to accept his situation and change for good. This is a class struggle between the civilized and the socially marginalized groups of people in the community. However, through showing Don love and care as opposed to criticizing him, he is able to reform.

The film was successful in highlighting the social problems which are common in our society including crime, insanity, alcoholism, and deviant behavior. According to these themes, it is possible to address these social problems by showing love and protecting the involved individuals instead of marginalizing them. If Helen gave up on Don, he would have definitely committed suicide. The film director emphasizes the need to have programs to rehabilitate individual with problems of alcoholism and deviant behavior. According to psychologists, alcoholism is a condition whereby one becomes alcoholically dependent and lose their control on alcohol use. However, the problem is reversible with good counseling programs.

Question 3

Sociology makes a clear-cut between gender and sex. While sex is a societal concept for assigning people categories of either being male or female, gender is a more fluid concept and is mainly used to describe how the society determines and manages the sex categories. In the sociology of gender, the focus is on understandings and perceptions on the differences between femininity and masculinity (Women and Hollywood Statistics, 2016). According to researchers, there is no right or wrong way to portray female sexuality. In most Hollywood films, females are portrayed negatively. They are more or less passive participants especially in matters relating to sex. In most Hollywood movies, women are not expected to show or exhibit any curiosities in relation to sex. Females are represented as props who do not undertake any active roles in the film and only exist as helpers to the males who dominate the industry (Williamsn & Dellinger, 2010). However, films produced starting from the 21st century usually indicate progressive representation of female sexuality. In the modern age, it is easy to find a film whose main character is a woman either alone or heading a team of men in a given mission.

Despite the efforts to uplift the standards of women in the film industry, their numbers are still low, and they are still outnumbered by men in various theater platforms. For instance, in the top 100 films, the female directors are only 4% (Women and Hollywood Statistic 2016). Also, within the top 100 movies, women representation as sole protagonists is only 29%. Statistics also show a high level of inequality between the white and the minority groups. In the top 100 movies, 76% were of the females were white while blacks, Asians, and Latina actors shared the rest 14% (Women and Hollywood Statistics, 2016). Unlike in the past, today's' film industry objectifies women a lot. Women are depicted more or less as sexual objects in place for man's satisfaction.

















Short Answer Questions

Discuss the Use and Limitations of Space in Live Theatre.

A unified area is required for the action in live theater to take place. This unified area has specific limits.

Proscenium Arch: This represents the common stage in theaters whereby the audience id found on the side of the stage. The performers on the stage are largely aware that they have to face the audience all the time during the performance (McAuley, 1999). The audience usually peers through the Fourth Wall which is invisible. This theater space is critical in that it helps in hiding the performers in the wings and at the same time can set in the wings and the fly tower. However, this space is largely limited in that there is no intimacy between the audience and the actor. Sometimes it is difficult for the audience to see part of the stage.

Traverse: In this form of theater space, the audience sits on two sides of a long rectangular stage facing one another. Unlike the proscenium arch, the traverse staging usually allows all the entire audience to be closer to the stage. However, this space is limited in that it lacks wings for the actors. The set pieces also required to be hanged above and also involve the use of smaller props (Wilder, 1945).

Thrust: It is a three-sided stage whereby the audience is sitting around the three sides of the acting space. The acting space thrusts itself into the audience area. Unlike the other forms of theater spaces, the thrust can place a large audience around the performance space which increases the level of intimacy between the audience and the performer. However, this theater space has limitations such as the performers facing their backs to a larger number of the audience. Also, as a result of the audience sight lines, it is impossible to have any sense of set in this form of theater space.

Arena: This theater space is a four-sided stage with audience staged around the performance space. It is an enhancement of the thrust stage whereby a larger number of the audience is able to sit close to the stage. However, this theater space is limited in that it is characterized by blocking and has a lot of sight line issues.

Explain how the use of makeup in film is different from its use on stage

Although both the stage and the film make up are both used to create an illusion, there are several differences between the two (Debreceni, 2013). In most cases, the film makes up is used in order to hide the blemish and highlight the natural beauty. On the other hand, the stage makes up is much heavier both in texture and pigment and is often used for dramatic effects. The idea is for the makeup to be noticed by the audience from far during stage productions.

Discuss the ways in which stage director's tasks and interaction with the production crew differs from that of the film director.

Stage directors must have a lot of experience with the actors. In addition, the stage directors is the head of the production with technical experience. On the other hand, film directing is different and more complicated especially on the difference between the director and the production crew (Sotnak, 2000). As opposed to the stage director, the film director has to be well versed with the screenwriting, production design, and cinematography.

Give an example of a film with a "fast" narrative. Why is it that many critics perceive American made films as being "fast"?

An example of a move with “fast” narration is Fight Club. In this film, there is a voice over which breaks the rules about narrating of events on screen. Most critics perceive American movies to be “fast” since they usually overuse the gimmick of voice-over narration (Akkas, 2010). This involves telling the audience through exposition that the film is unable to figure out ways to show some actions to the audience. Most of the American movies use this kind of narration to take the viewers out of the action on screen which destroys the illusion in the process.

Compare and contrast the fundamental nature of classical narratives with formalistic narratives.

Classical narratives and formalistic narratives have various similarities and differences. Unlike formalistic narratives, classical narratives are more concerned with storytelling. Classism is concerned with the telling a story in the best way possible. The aim of these narratives is to get the audience caught in the story and the characters as opposed to being distracted in the filmmaking techniques. On the contrary, the formalist directors have no desire to show reality. Instead, they are interested in showing their personal vision concerning the world. The narratives are dream-like, and they usually have exaggerated sets and more detailed. However, both the formalist and the classical narratives aim at resonating with the audience who can easily relate with the content of the narratives.

Discuss the racism experienced by African Americans in Hollywood, especially the problems Hattie McDaniel and Paul Robeson encouraged in their film careers.

Both McDaniel and Robeson were popular African Americans in various Hollywood films. Being among the first successful African American actors, they became bellowed international figures who had a huge following in Europe. Robeson and McDaniel often spoke out against racial injustice. They were also involved a lot in pan-Africanism. Since Hattie McDaniel played Mammy (a house help) in the star film Gone with the Wind, there have major controversies on how African Americans are depicted in Hollywood films. Almost in the whole of 20th Century, African Americans did not take any important roles in the films and their presence was limited to servants. This controversial portrayal of the African Americans indicates the general attitude which the whites have towards the African Americans. However, the Blaxploitation films of the 20th century provided a platform for civil rights movement. Also, most talented African Americans are denied the opportunity to showcase their talent which is part of the existing inequality in the United States.

What is a movie’s “toe”? Explain this element of ideology

A movie’s toe refers to the art of trying to understand how the film is expected to reproduce shadow details. Based on this ideology, there are both long and short toe movies. In the long toe films, there is a lower contrast in the shadows with less separation. This implies that the audience will have difficulties seeing details in those areas. On the contrary, the short toe movies have a higher contrast in the shadows.

People who critique movies fall into three general classes. Name and explain them.

There are different categories and levels of movie criticism. Movie critiques can be divided into academic critiques, online film reviewers, and journalistic critiques. Unlike in the journalistic criticism, academic critiques explore cinema beyond the journalistic reviews. This category of critiques examines the movies both aesthetically and politically and the effects it has on people. On the other hand, online film reviewers usually improve the usefulness of film reviews by assigning a score under every important aspect of the movie. Lastly, journalistic criticism through magazines, newspapers and broadcast media usually review newly released films.









References

Akkas, H. (2010). Voice-over narration in Desperate Housewives. München GRIN Verlag GmbH.

Debreceni, T. (2013). Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics. Taylor & Francis.

Eichenbaum, R., & Hirt-Manheimer, A. (2014). The director within storytellers of stage and screen. Middletown, Connecticut:: Wesleyan University Press,

Larson, S. (2006). Media & minorities: the politics of race in news and entertainment. Lanham [u.a.: Rowman & Littlefield.

McAuley, G. (1999). Space in performance: making meaning in the theater. Ann Arbor:: Univ. of Michigan Press.

Rahman, M., & Jackson, S. (2010). Gender and sexuality: sociological approaches. Cambridge:: Polity.

Sotnak, L. (2000). Director: film, TV, radio, and stage. Mankato, Minn. : Capstone Books.

Wilder, B. (Director). (1945). The Lost Weekend [Motion Picture].

Williamsn, C., & Dellinger, K. (2010). Gender and sexuality in the workplace. Bingley: Emerald.Women and Hollywood Statistics. (2016). Women and Hollywood.