- In the essay, I will argue that art house movies are of higher quality that popular ones;
- Another point to show in the essay is that art house movies are worth watching;
Introduction
Consumerism is the way of life of modern society. Consumerism means not only consuming goods, but means of entertainment, as well. Hollywood makes movies that are focused on needs of unthinking society. On the other hand, art house movies make people think not only about the plot of a movie, but about the world around them, as well. I this essay, I will compare two movies, one of art house genre and another popular movie. To make a comparison better and fuller, I will use movies of one topic.
The issue of relationships between parents and children, as well as about difficult children is one of the most favorite topics of Hollywood directors. In the essay, I will analyze the movie by Staley Kubrick “Clockwork Orange” and a popular movie “LOL” by Lisa Azuelos. The paper I will divide in three parts. The first two part will be devoted to the description of movies, their analysis, whereas in the third part of the essay I will compare the works. In the essay, I will claim and try to prove that art house movies are much better than popular films.
Clockwork orange (1971)
The movie “Clockwork orange” was based on a novel by Anthony Burgess. The story tells about a difficult young man Alex, who used to rob people and rape women together with his friends. However, one day, Alex was arrested. The court sentenced him to compulsory treatment. The doctors decided to experiment on him. During the course of treatment, Alex was shown short videos how others raped women, killed them. While watching the videos, he listened to his favorite Beethoven’s works. In future, whenever he heard the first notes of the work, he remembered awful videos he used to watch. After some time, he was released from the hospital. He came back home, totally healthy; he did not want to rape women and rob citizens any longer. In his mother’s apartment, he heard the same Beethoven’s work. Alex remembered everything and jumped out of the window.
The story shows how hooligans lived in England in the last century. However, the story is not about that. The story is not about the treatment itself. In my opinion, the movie “Clockwork orange” shows the attitude to difficult teenagers. In the story, we see how adults (doctors, in this case) neglected Alex’s feelings. The only thing he loved in his life was Beethoven’s composition. However, they preferred to use it as a weapon against Alex and his mind. We see that the story did not end well. Alex committed suicide.
LOL (2012)
The movie has been shot only two years ago. It is a teenage comedy that tells about difficult relationship between the protagonist (a girl, called LOL) and her boyfriend. They are both in high school. On the other hand, the protagonist has problems with her mother. Her mother is difficult, as well. She is divorced, however, has regular sex with her former husband.
The movie is not touchy. In my opinion, it is the movie which can be watched only once. While watching the movie, it seems that the main idea the director wanted to transfer is that sex is important no matter how old a woman is. Although the movie is considered a movie about difficult teens, I suggest that it belongs to difficult relationships between teenagers movie. The disadvantage of the movie is that it does not make think of anything. After watching the movie, it did not leave any positive impression; it left me indifferent.
Comparison
In the previous part of the essay, I analyzed the movies. We see that Hollywood filmmakers have an opposite understanding of teenagers’ problems that the English director of the last century. There have been two reasons to choose the movies. I have chosen “LOL” because Miley Cyrus was starring there. She is one of the idols of teenagers nowadays. The movie “Clockwork orange” was chosen because the director was Stanly Kubrick, the genius of art house movies. On one hand, these reasons can be insignificant. However, I suggest that most of teenagers have watched the movie “LOL” only because of Miley Cyrus. On the other hand, I suggest that “Clockwork orange” is one of the first movies to watch when a person is willing to begin watching art house movies.
It has been already mentioned that I like art house movies, the moves of Stanley Kubrick particularly. I suggest that he is the best director of art house movies. This very movie was analyzed because it shows that a small part of one’s life, a small addiction (like Beethoven’s sonata) can change people’s life. Indeed, the sonata changed the life not only of Alex (it literary killed him), but lives of his friends and relatives, as well as the lives of the doctors, who treated him.
In this essay, I was not speaking about movie techniques that has been used. Obviously, the movie “LOL” was better directed and shot, simply because modern tools allow directors show the emotions of actors, as well as some features of scenes better. On the other hand, the movie “Clockwork orange” has some life spirit. I have already mentioned that consumerism is the main trend nowadays. The movie “LOL” was made to entertain people without making them think about anything. On the other hand, the movie “Clockwork orange” was made to show the great novel of Anthony Burgess, as well as to show the problems that worry people of that time.
Conclusion
In the essay, I tried to compare and analyze the movies of different genres and time. In the last part of the essay, I compared the movies and provided my personal opinion on the issue. In my opinion, the movie “Clockwork orange” is the movie that every person has to watch. Instead, the movie “LOL” is not in the to-watch list. Besides, I think that art house is the genre that makes every person think about the world around and not consume whatever he or she is proposed.
Annotated Bibliography
Anupkumar, A., n.d. Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork orange. Understanding cinema. [Online] Available at: http://www.adityaanupkumar.com/files/AClockworkOrange-Analysis.pdf[Accessed 17 Apr 2014].
The article is divided into several parts. The author pointed out the peculiarities not only of a movie, but of the director's vision of the world, as well. The advantage of the article is that the author thoroughly analyzed the movie and compared it to the novel. The article was significant while writing the essay, because it gave a broader view on the movie. Moreover, the author outlined advantages and disadvantages of the movie. The last part of the article was devoted to the public's reaction on the movie.
Bohme, C. M. a. E., 2011. A note on the relationship of mainstream and art house movie theaters. [Online] Available at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/27908/1/A_Note_On_the_Relationship_of_Mainstream_and_Art_house_Movie_Theaters_2011_03_01_Working_Paper.pdf[Accessed 17 Apr 2014].
In the article, the authors looked at the difference between art house and popular movies and cinema theatres from economic point of view. The authors analyzed the prices and audience in the art house and popular cinema theatre. The strong side of the article is that the authors used their own research. The article is significant for my research, because it showed that art house cinema theatres are not visited often.
Cardullo, B., 2011. Art-House Cinema, Avant-Garde Film, and Dramatic Modernism. The Journal of Aesthetic Education , 45(2), pp. 1-16.
In the article, the author plays on contrast between Hollywood movies and art house works. The author presented his own point of view on the issue. On the other hand, this is the disadvantage of the article. It appeared to be too subjective. However, the strong point is that the author told all the peculiarities of art house and avant-garde movies. The article is significant for my essay, because it helped me to outline all the features of art house movies and distinguish them from avant-garde ones.
Ckockwork orange. 1971. [Film] Directed by Stanley Kubrick. England: s.n.
The movie is the masterpiece of Stanley Kubrick. Having watched it for several times, I finally realized all the peculiarities of the movie. The movie is one of the movies that have been analyzed.
Dan, S., n.d. Kubrick Contra Nihilism: a clockwork orange. [Online] Available at: http://phil.uregina.ca/vancha/Shaw,%20Dan.pdf[Accessed 17 Apr 2014].
In the article, the author compared the movie and the novel by Anthony Burgess. The article helped me distinguish the main differences between them. The peculiarity of the article is that the author tries to understand whether Stanley Kubrick wanted to show nihilistic features in his movie or not. The strong point of the article is that the author used Kubrick's words to support his point of view.
Evans, E. J., 2011. Superman vs Shrödinger’s Cat: Taste, Etiquette and Independent Cinema Audiences as Indirect Communities. Participations, 8(2), pp. 327-349.
In the article, the author argues that every person has one's own understanding of the word "art". In the article, the author outlines several different kinds of movie art, and compares and contrasts them. Besides, the author outlines the peculiarities of the audience. The strong side of the article is that it is per reviewed article, where the author cites scholars regarding the issue. The article is crucial for my research, because it helped me understand why art house cinema is not popular.
Kubrick, S., 1971. Clockwork Orange. s.l.: s.n.
The script of the movie is another significant part of my research. The script helped me compare the words of protagonists and their behavior with the word and behavior of the protagonists in the novel. The script is rather crucial for my research. The point is that it has been written by the director. This helped me understand what Stanley Kubrick felt those moments and what was the initial intend to direct the movie. Consequently, it helped me understand the meaning of the movie deeper.
LOL. 2012. [Film] Directed by Lisa Azuelos. USA: s.n.
One of the movies that have been analyzed in the paper. This is the story about love and betrayal, as well as about difficult relationships between teenagers and their parents.
Mamber S., n.d.. Clockwork Orange. [Online] Available at: http://www.tft.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Mamber-Clockwork-Orange.pdf[Accessed 17 Apr 2014].
The article is an analytical one. The author analyzed the movie and the book. The author of the article did not compare or contrast them. Instead, the author of the article looked at them as a one. The author provides readers with strong supportive evidence, such as citations. This article helped me realize the strong connection between the movie and the novel.
Prinz, J. J., 2007. When is Film Art?. [Online] Available at: http://subcortex.com/WhenIsFilmArtPrinz.pdf[Accessed 17 Apr 2014].
In the article, the author tries to understand what kind of art can be called a movie and what not. The strong point of the article is that the author presents the history of cinema, as well as his personal opinion on every questionable issue. The article is significant for my research because it helped me learnt to identify between good and bad movies. Another strong point of the article is that the author outlines arguments and counterarguments for one or another point of view.
