Nolans The Dark Night Essay Example for Free

Nolans The Dark Night Essay How does Nolans the dark night use MELCS to good effect and what does this indicate regarding the films genre? Are there any social criticisms present? In this essay I will be explaining the way that different techniques are used, and what these show about the Dark Knight. I will be looking throughout the film at how Nolan uses various effects such as, colour, editing, lighting, camera, and sound. And how these things arent really what you might expect for the typical super hero film, but also how he uses them to subtlety criticize human nature. First of all I will talk about the colour used Nolan uses. Throughout the film the colour scheme always seems to be very dark but as well as this the things that are happening usually contrast this. A good example of this is at one point when the Joker is being questioned, all the lights go out and everything is pitch-black except the jokers white face. This is very effective as it really makes the joker stand out and means you can see every little detail of his face and facial expressions but dont know what else is happening in the room. It therefore creates a whole lot of suspense about whats going to happen next and where its going to come from whilst at the same time letting you see every detail of the jokers face and almost making you really understand what hes thinking. Another point in which this contrast is shown is in Bat-mans hide away place. In there the floor is a dark dull grey/black, and the ceiling is all white lights. This is good because it makes the room seem endless and gives anything in it airs of importance and cleanliness like trophy shelves that are lit from above like the room or a dentist. This is good because in the room he keeps all his high-tech gadgets witch seem incredibly expensive and valuable when they are in the room, but then when Bat-man is using them he acts as though they are something that are disposable. Another way Nolan uses colour is in the costumes. The Joker is an especially good example of this as he wears a purple jacket, green hair, Green top, and bright red giant red lips. This shows us a lot about his character for example, purple stands for royalty and the joker becomes almost like a king by making everyone scared of him. Secondly the green stands for jealousy, and the Joker is very good at making people feel jealous and spiteful about other people. As well as maybe feeling slightly jealous at not being normal, and being unhappy himself. Lastly the joker is just completely crazy, and all his colours clashing certainly do emphasize this. Overall it is a brilliant way of showing his character and showing how different he is to everyone. I mean, youd never miss him would you!? On the other hand the dark knight is completely the opposite of the Joker, and their clothing really shows this. As the knight is completely black it seems to show how he represents reality and order, but the joker stands for everything mad and chaotic as that is what he loves. As for the props Nolan uses, really they are quite simple. Even the high-tech gadgets batman uses all seem possible and there are no out of this world, impossible things. I think this is actually quite a good thing, as it means that it makes the whole play seem more realistic, and like something that could actually happen. Therefore it is all scarier in a slightly surreal way. Next I will look at how Nolan uses editing in the film and what effects this creates. When a lot of action is happening at the same time Nolan uses lots of quick shots of the action quickly cutting from one to the other. This is very clever as you think youre just about to find out whats going to happen when it cuts to the next scene which is also really tense and you want to know whats going to happen there but it goes back to the one before. This creates lots of tension in the film and it is a bit like its flashing from scene to scene like your heart beat getting faster and faster. It also gives the sense of chaos and panic and shows you how every thing is happening at the same time. This is good as it makes you realise how hard it must be for the cops and detectives. Another similar thing he does is when two people and talking to each other about something in which one of them might react in a certain way he will keep cutting from one face to the other as you wait for the reaction to happen. This also creates tension and makes you wonder if they will react the way you think their about or not, then when it does its more of a shock. The lighting in the film is another very important element in the film. I have already explained some of it in the colour part. As with the colour most of the film is set in dark, low key lighting, with lots of shadows creating a spooky kind of atmosphere. Once again though like the colour, often he uses contrast. A place where this is very effective is when some people are looking for Bat-man and it is very dark so they all have very bright torches. All you can see is the torch light getting closer and closer towards you but nothing out of the light. This makes it seem very scary as all you can do is wait until he is in the torch light but by that time you know it will already be too late because they are too close. Another scene in witch the lighting used is very effective is in the bank robbery scene. It is once again very dark in the bank, but because this time it is lighter outside, and the room has very big windows, you get some patches of the bank where it is much lighter. This is really good because he then makes it so that when the action happens, it happens in the lighter places. This means you can clearly see what is happening in the light when something happens out of it your attention is not so focused on it so it is a surprise. Also the dim light coming from just the one side of the building creates big long spooky shadows to, witch adds nicely to the tense atmosphere. Nolan also uses camera techniques in an interesting way to create good effects. For example right at the beginning of the play there is an extreme long shot of a sky scraper. This is then slowly zoomed in; right up to one window and into an extreme close-up, then the glass in the window suddenly shatters. Nolan uses this a lot in the film with other things too, like some one face that once zoomed in you see their shocked facial expression. This creates the element of surprise means you know that something is going to happen to do with what they are zooming in on but not what exactly until your right there. It also creates tension on what thats going to be. Another camera technique used is when something is happening the camera circles the action. This happens a lot and is good because it means you can see everything that is happening and all the reactions of people around it. In addition to this it can create serious tension and fear. A great example of this is when the Joker is about to slit the black mans mouth. The camera circles his head so that sometimes you can see his face with the knife in and sometimes just the back of his head and the Jokers facial expression. Every time the camera shows his face you wince and think, Oh no, is it going to happen now whilst I can see it. This happens over and over until eventually he slits his mouth when you can only see the Jokers expression but you know its been done because his face and its kind of a relief because at least you havent have had to watch. Lastly Nolan uses another successful effect by turning the camera around. He does this near the end when the Joker is hanging upside-down off a building. The camera is turned so that you see the Joker as if he was standing upright and it looks very strange as his hair is all over the place and his hand are waving about, but for some reason it kind of fits the Jokers. This is because the Jokers personality is all over and mad and it seems like that is where he belongs, in an upside-down world. Its slightly ironic really. Moreover, it made it seem like the right place, and way for him to die. Another method Nolan uses to brilliant effect is sound, digetic, and non digetic. For instance throughout the film, when ever tension is building up the same music starts. It sets of quietly and slowly, building up, getting faster and louder until the pinnacle of the excitement then stops. This is very effective as it creates the feeling of panic and makes your heart start to race as you know that somethings about to happen. Sometime when this happens the non digetic sound is on its own building up until its apex when a sudden digetic noise will puncture it. This not only makes tension but also shock and fear. A good example of this is at the beginning when a window breaks. This is a great opening scene as the sound and the camera skill create loads of tension and anticipation. Nolan does another very clever thing with the sound at one point. Just after a massive explosion has happened he cuts the sound altogether, and although you can tell that really there would be loads of noise going on its silent. This is because after an incredibly loud explosion you often become deaf for a while. This is a very clever thing to do, and makes you feel like you really are part of the film. Further more without the sound you concentrate more on what you can see and all the facial expressions and whatevers going on around. Another interesting point to think about in the dark knight is weather or not it is a normal film in the super hero genre. There are many things for and against this argument and I will look at them in this paragraph. First of all there is of course the super hero, and super villain, in this case, bat-man and the Joker. Both whom have very typical features of the super-hero genre but also some not so typical ones. To start with I will concentrate on Bat-man. Like most super heroes he is; quite wealthy, but has had a hard background and has had to build up that wealth from not very much. Is young and good looking with lots of strength and high tech gadgets. Has a different identity during the daytime, and fights crime at night, wearing a costume so no one knows who he is. Also, like a lot of super heros e.g. spider man he is based on some sort of animal. Lastly he has a very strong sense of right and wrong, for example his one rule never to kill anyone witch a lot of super heroes seem to have. On the other hand, although he seems to be a reasonably normal super hero, there are some things witch are slightly different. For example, a lot of the public dont particularly like him, at one point they even try to send him to jail. Also unlike most super heroes, he doesnt really have any sub natural powers, he just like a normal human in most ways. Also, a very big twist in the play is when the heroine dies, so like most super heroes bat-man does have heroine who he cant really have yet. But, whereas usually at the end of the play they would get together, In Bat-man, about half way through she dies. Now as for the joker, is a bit different. Although like most super villains he is bad and has had a hard life. His attitude to life and Bat-man is quite different. Unlike most super villains, he does not really seem to hate Bat-man. Instead he sees him as game, and even when he has the chance to kill him says he is too fun to kill. This is very unusual and very different to how the baddy usually feels towards the hero. Furthermore, the reasons for the Joker to do what he does is rather strange too, because most villains do it for money or wealth or power, but the Joker doesnt care about any of this, and just does it for fun. Overall I think that although The Dark Knight isnt exactly what you would expect from a typical super hero movie, all in all its more that than anything else. I think that really Nolan has taken the super hero genre and added aspects from other things like horror to create a very successful, far more adult movie which will appeal to people who love all the super hero kind of movies, but also to those who usually find them a bit too childish and unrealistic.

Gulf War Syndrome Essay -- history

In 1990 the United States deployed 700,000 soldiers into and around the region of the middle east known as the Persian Gulf. The U.S. wanted to stop the progression of Iraqi forces who were invading the oil-rich neighboring country of Kuwait. When Iraq Surrendered to the Allied forces on March 5th they had been completely swept out of Kuwait. The United States only lost one-hundred-forty-eight men while Iraq’s losses where estimated around 100,000 men. Little did the United States know that the effects of this war effects would be much more extensive than one-hundred-forty-eight soldiers lost in battle. Ever since the war ended the Veteran Association and the Pentagon have been getting reports of reports of many varying illnesses. These illnesses have fallen onto the soldiers who bravely fought in the Gulf War. I believe that the Gulf war Syndrome does indeed exist. Furthermore I believe that the United States is just as much responsible for giving their soldiers this disease as the Iraqi nerve gas, oil fire smoke and post war stress. Lots of evidence has been presented yet many in this world don’t believe that this syndrome exists. Many experts believe that these illnesses ( Gulf War Syndrome) don’t exist. Including a ranking doctors in the pentagon. Dr. Stephen Joseph says this about the blight, â€Å"We found that there was no single hypothesis that could explain the symptoms of such a large # of people. The soldiers are suffering from stress related problems. Of the diseases they contracted, such as cancer or Lou Gehrigs disease, would have occurred whether or not the soldiers had gone to the gulf.†,. ( Brumley p 8) Dr. Joseph is a highly prestigious doctor working on the syndrome for the pentagon. He graduated from Harvard and has been assigned to many high profile jobs in the pentagon. The U.S. government doesn’t know what to believe so they granted a fifty million dollar grant to pay for illnesses believed to be caused by a mysterious syndrome. Although many don’t believe it this syndrome does exist and it has many different causes. Of the 700,000 men and women who served in the Gulf war 170,000 them have been hospitalized since 1991. 10,000 of them filed disability claims. And it is estimated that 35,000 ( Cary, Peter p, 33-34) more will fill out these disability claims. This average is much higher than the average number of hospitalizations of civilians.... ..., petroleum smoke from the nearby oil fires and post war stress. I also believe that the U.S. Government did a poor job of handling this problem. Men and woman who volunteer their lives for pride and for their country have been severely mistreated by the U.S. Government and deserve a apology. WORKS CITED Barnes,Elizebeth. 1992 Nursing Drug Handbook . Houston: Heath 1992, Brumley, Al. â€Å" Frontline Targets Gulf War Syndrome†. Dallas Morning News. 1998 Jan 20: 8 Bullman, Tim. â€Å" Mortality among U.S. Veterans of the Persia†. New England Journal of Medicine 20 1992: 45-47. Cary, Peter. â€Å" The Gulf War’s Grave Aura†. U.S. News and World Report 1996 July 8: 33-34. Compion, Ed MD. â€Å" Disease and Suspicion after the Persian Gulf War†. New England Journal of Medicine. 20 1992: 67 Fowler, Rebecca. â€Å" Sick Veterans†. World Press Review. 1996 May:9-10. Liu, M. â€Å" Tracking the Second Storm†. Newsweek 1994 May 16:56-57 Schmitt, Eric. â€Å" Special White House Panel Rejects Chemical Exposure as Coarse of Gulf war Illness†. New York Times. 1997 January 8th: 1. Shannon, Philip. â€Å" Once Healthy, Her Pain is Reminder of Gulf War Service†. New York Times 1997 January 2: 3.

Petruchio the Sophist and Language as Creation in The Taming of the Shrew Essay

In the article, Tita French Baumlin shows how Petruchio uses language and not brutality to â€Å"tame† Katarina. Petruchio also changes the way that people view Katarina. This brings up the question if Katarina is really tamed or if it is all just a front. I believe that Katarina learned how to disguise her feeling and simply changed the way she speaks by mimicking her husband. Petruchio speaks eloquently and very elaborately. When he is introduced he is already playing on word while asking Grumio to knock on a gate for him. Petruchio is a match for Katarina because of how good he is with words. He can go toe to toe with her, unlike many of the people who have to deal with Katarina, because of this â€Å"rhetorical skill, that most defines his character†. Petruchio is also someone who can reason or convince someone of something simply through his language. For example, he easily makes Baptista believe that Katarina loves and wants to marry him quickly. He proves that the best way to battle and beat Katarina’s sharp tongue was to verbally fight back with wit. Baumlin points out that Petruchio never hits Katarina to tame her though many other similar stories have the husbands beating their wives into submission. While Pertruchio hits Grumio and his other servants in front of Katarina, he never puts his hand on her. Even when he forces her not to eat or sleep â€Å"Petruchio himself does not eat or drink when his wife is so deprived†. Petruchio does not inflict pain on Katarina that he does not bear himself. He uses only his language to change her shrewish behavior instead of actual abuse. Katarina had been given a chance to not only change as a person for her own good, but to also change the way other view her. Her family believes that no one will want to marry her. Everyone in town believes she is sharp tongued and a shrew. Katarina has an anger problem perhaps because of the way her sister is treated as opposed to how she is by their father and other men in town. This anger has given her a very bad reputation. Petruchio comes and gives her the opportunity to change that. He starts by simply calling her Kate and in that new name comes the possibilities of becoming a new person. Baumlin infers that Petruchio â€Å"seeks to shatter the ‘Katherine’ persona†. Perhaps Katarina was also sick of people thinking she was this unlovable shrew woman who would never make a man happy. It is hard to change the way a person behaves, which is why Katarina resists Petruchio at first but by the end of the play Katarina definitely as undergone some sort of change. She is no longer mean spirited and seems to obey her husband as well. Did Petruchio really tame Katarina? I believe that Petruchio taught Katarina how to use her words in a better way to get what she wants. She didn’t want to have to deal with Petruchio’s annoying â€Å"taming† techniques anymore, so she changed the way she spoke to him to appease him. If Katarina had really been tamed, I do not think that she would have given the long speech at the end of the play. It would have been Petruchio to give the speech because he was the one who proved that he could tame Katarina. Instead, Katarina gives not only a long speech but one she knows would please her husband. She has learned to speech his elaborate fashion and she also mimics his absurd ways of speaking as she claims that the wife’s hand must be underneath her husband’s foot. This is also the first time that Katarina speaks for such a long time without Petruchio chiming in, which shows that she has learned how to keep him quiet instead of it being the other way around. I think that Kate has figured out how to humor her husband and avoid conflict rather than allowing herself to be tamed. She uses her words to convince Petruchio and others of her â€Å"taming† but in the end she gets the husband that she wants. She also makes herself look like the wife than her much sought after sister, Bianca. By the end of the play, Katarina has become a winner. Baumlin makes many good points on how Petruchio’s language is a major part of the play. It shows that Shakespeare creates witty characters for more than just a laugh, but also to hint at what is going to happen in the play. Katarina’s overall tone in the play changes as she learns how to create situation in her favor using language as well. Katarina is still a shrew, just in disguise.

Tap Dance A Uniquely American Dance Form - 3422 Words

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