Film In Many Ways example essay topic

In all area of popular culture, death is a significant element. If I were to list all the movies where death is part of the plot, few films would be left out. However, there are some films where death is a major part of the narrative, or where death related issues are explored as part of the thematic element of the film. There is much breadth and diversity of movie representations of death. I have chosen some of these films that best represent some important topics relevant to the themes in this course.

People have many different attitudes towards death. There is no single definition of death that encompasses the varied meanings in the concept. The tendency to visualize death as a person has been demonstrated through history. In Meet Joe Black, Brad Pitt is Joe Black, death represented by a single man.

This film is definitely a fantasy, could anyone really imagine the grim reaper appearing personally to help dying people settle the little details of life that need to be handled before dying? Joe is not a particular personification; he goes through different stages. At first, he is an emotionless deliverer of news (The Automaton). Then he becomes an enticer (The Gay Deceiver). But the twist is that he is enticed to live. Rather than take life away for sport, he delights in the experiences that can be shared by those short on time but long on experience.

He enters into the lives of one family in a way that will change them forever. Anthony Hopkins plays a dying man of wealth that Joe Black wishes to understand and learn from. Joe Black took the body of a man that his daughter had encountered before. He grows closer DeLuca 2 to her, and learns about the little things in life that being "death" does not allow him to know.

He learns of peanut butter, and board meetings. In the end, he becomes a friend (The Gentle Comforter). Joe Black takes the life of a father but not in a spiteful way; in a timely way. A compassionate grim reaper is the essence of Joe Black. What if the personification of death just wished to learn from life? That is a question explored by the film in many ways.

Attitudes about death in film and in life also depend on the type of death that occurs. Suicide is an often explored topic in cinema. Suicide is one of the most complex behaviors in a human. An excellent example of a realistic and emotional suicide occurs in Dead Poet's Society. Robert Sean Leonard plays Neil Perry, a charismatic young man whose membership in the society leads him to discover his passion for acting. But unfortunately, his domineering, unyielding father stands in the way of Neil's dreams.

Mr. Perry wants his son to go to Harvard medical school and forbids him to engage in extracurricular activities (such as acting) which might interfere with his studies. Neil feels hopeless, helpless and unable to cope with his unhappiness in his life. These psychological risks predispose people to suicide, especially among adolescents, such as Neil. Neil feels as though he has no other options so he shoots himself in the head with his father's gun. Neil's conflict with his father is infuriating, tragic, and in some ways, the heart and soul of the movie.

We as viewers get a jarring look at how someone can be drawn to end their own life. AIDS is also a significant topic approached in films today. The fatal disease has had a profound impact on society. It has risen to one of the top ten causes of death in the DeLuca 3 USA.

Philadelphia explores the fight of one AIDS sufferer, Tom Hanks, to achieve justice under the law. It also addresses the terrible fear that many of us face when confronted with a condition that is still often misunderstood and for which medicine has yet to find an answer. The film is a realistic and poignant representation of some of the trials and turmoils that a gay man faces dying of this disease. The suffering is not exclusive to gay men and woman.

A touching and maybe even more explicit depiction of the disease occurs in Gia, an HBO film about a woman who dies of AIDS, caused by drugs. The very talented Angelina Jolie shines in this tragic story of a drug-addicted star model. This movie, as a biography, manages to be very realistic in retelling the life of Gia Carangid and in showing the unglamorous side of the fashion industry. Angelina's performance will mesmerize you as you witness how Gia becomes the model-of-the- moment, only to end up as a doomed heroin addict.

Dirty needles cause her to get AIDS. This occurred early in the discovery and research of the disease. So not only does she deal with the suffering of the sickness, she must deal with the fear and uncertainty of those around her. But perhaps one of the most important and least realistically portrayed aspects of death and dying is grief. But In The Bedroom tackles all of the issues of parental grief in the most raw and intense story ever in film. This movie is a fascinating and powerful character study of people in a small town and how conflict and tragedy affect them.

It is a DeLuca 4 story that takes place in three clear-cut acts separated by two twists, both of which take the viewer by surprise although they " re both foreshadowed and somewhat expected. I found the actions and emotions of the characters in this movie completely believable, and you can't help feeling the despair of the couple as they deal with their son's murder. Either way, the parents starts to drift apart due to their overpowering sense of grief and inability to change things, and it's not long before they " re playing the blame game on who is responsible for their son's death. When they finally explode, it's one of the most powerful film moments in recent memory.

The shorter third act shows how they learn to cope and deal with their problems and try to begin the healing process from their son's unexpected and unnecessary death. In conclusion, death is seen in many different ways in our society. Popular media, such as film, portrays death in many different ways and shows many aspects of death and dying. Hopefully, this paper displays some of the more powerful examples of death in the cinema.