PODCAST: JAWS (1975) by Summer Reyes

ESSAY: STAR WARS (1977) by Hayden Riggs

The Science Fiction genre in film has been around practically as long as film itself. A Trip to the Moon, directed by George Meiles and released in 1902 is widely considered to be the first science fiction film. Inspired by the work of Jules Verne, it features a group of astronomers that construct a spacecraft and launch themselves via cannon to the moon. Shortly after their arrival, a reptilian race of moon men appear and conflict ensues. Fast forward over one hundred years later, and the genre has evolved into a sprawling collection of concepts and thematic elements. Science fiction cinema is most notably recognized for its use of advanced technology and out of this world ideas. If you see a cyborg, or a laser pistol, or a menacing alien monster in a movie trailer, your brain will automatically tell you that it is a sci fi movie. That’s because over the years, as the genre has been shaped and molded by film after film, we as an audience have come to subconsciously understand and acce...

ESSAY: SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) and MANK (2020) by Janina Brewer, Maria-Chavez Zapien, Tyler Kirkpatrick, Christopher Ramirez, & Ava Meade-Scarpitta

As Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) of Sunset Blvd. visits her old set one of the workers cries out, “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.” The metaphorical dying star replies, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” With this swiping response the audience of the film is shown the weight of the industry upon the workers within such. Sunset Blvd. provides a glimpse of this calloused cinematic world through the lens of the dead silent pictures of old. In similar way, the modern Mank does something akin to such as a film on film by showing the ruthless inner world that somehow, despite all odds, produces the masterpiece script for Citizen Kane by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman). Both films contemplate the wondrous magic that is produced by a cruel and unforgiving industry that is motivated and moved by the dollar. Seeing Mank in light of Sunset Blvd. provides a running commentary on the nature of the American film industry through t...

ESSAY: WEST SIDE STORY (1961) by Matt Barbro

Film adaptations of theatre plays are about as old as Hollywood cinema. With literally hundreds of stage-to-screen films made over the years, these movies present their own challenges. Examples of these challenges include limited settings and long-winded dialogue. But when done well, can be a masterful blend of two primary art forms. Some of Hollywood’s favorite films are based upon plays, like Casablanca and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (which was a novel turned play turned film). The average moviegoer might think these types of adaptations are thinning out. With today’s films featuring less and less original screenplays, whether they be remakes or comic book adaptations, theatre adaptations are still alive and well. This year’s Academy Awards was a fine example of such. Both Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami are play adaptations that were nominated for multiple Oscars this past April. Film’s today have been more geared toward stories that are meant to in...

Establishing the Framework

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