Cultural Studies 3rdyear Film Genres Class - Essay Example

Cultural Studies 3rdyear Film Genres The world is changing at a very fast rate and this rate has brought in many factors that were never there before. The changes occur frequently especially in the movie industry. These changes have brought in the enhancement of the movie industry. The trend in the movie industry is ever changing and if one is not keen enough, he or she may end not knowing what was happening. The paper will analyze the recent trends in the movie industry like the dominant use of the female characters like Alice who is viewed as a superhuman in the film “Resident Evil: Afterlife”, and Evelyn Salt the hero in the movie “Salt”. Both characters are on a mission to solve the mysteries surrounding them. The genre of the movie Salt is a thriller action; the genre is well expressed by the events that happen in the movie. Throughout the movie, there is a lot of suspense and it becomes very difficult to predict what will happen in the next scene. A generic convention is a language the users use to respond to particular recurring similar situations (Devitt 14). In the Salt movie, some similar situations recur, like the mission of the main character to accomplish the Orlov’s mission of killing both the president of the United States and that of Russia. The main mission of Salt is to destroy the United States as planned by Orlov. The use of generic convention emphasizes the main role of the character in the film. It keeps the individual on track and makes sure that the individual can construct something from the recurring events. The movie is popular among its audience; the audience in this case is the lovers of thriller movies or the individuals who adore female actors as the main characters. The genre of the other movie, Resident Evil: Afterlife is a science fiction action movie. The genre of the movie is challenged by some scenes of horror films. There is a mixture of science fiction and horror characteristics. Although science fiction is the dominant theme, it is blurred by horror scenes and makes it look less science fictional. The aspect of mutations keeps on recurring throughout the movie; they are drawn from the previous films on Resident Evil written by Anderson. It is imperative to note that since the film is an integration of the other parts of Resident Evil movie, it may prove quite difficult for a new watcher to comprehend what is happening. The film is a success and it meets quite a number of audiences; the movie incorporates the audience who love science fiction, those who love horror movies and those who adore female actors as the main characters. The film coincides with the current interest trends such as science and this is well illustrated by the theme of science fiction in the film. The two films reflect on a number of issues in the social, cultural and political context. In the social context, films usually depict different types of aspects of class and therefore provide a different way of understanding class in the social context. For example, in the United States, especially the use of the president indicates a social system that has explicit and strict rules for and the formation of the class. In a rigid type of social class system, the system divides the individuals, their worth and rights into different degrees of classes according to the heritage and birth (Cahill and Johannessen 118). In the open society like one found in the United States, class is not found within the social system but the ideological and social hierarchies that differentiate the people still function and serve the same effect. Class in this case refers to three different meanings; (a) the lived experience of the socioeconomic differences, (b) a firmly stratified social system, and (c) an important tool for the examination and analyzing of the trends and the causes of the socioeconomic inequality (Cahill and Johannessen 118). The Salt film reflects on a number of issues in the social, cultural and political context. In the social context, the film shows how the social moral obligation is deteriorated. Evelyn Salt is used by Orlov to accomplish things that are not socially acceptable; it depicts a high moral degradation. This is evident in the contemporary world where individuals are used to perform tasks that are not socially acceptable. Evelyn attempts to kill or assassinate the president of the United States and Russia. The mode of protection of the two presidents also depicts the type of social class the two countries live in. The class is overly protected and strict rules and manner of protection are followed strictly. At the end of the movie, it emerges that both presidents are not assassinated as planned by Orlov and his group. It is imperative to note that the president’s class in both Russia and United States is not the rigid type of social class system. Orlov and his group live in a rigid social class system; this is because there is a division among the people Orlov leads. Their worth and rights are divided. There is so much division in the Orlov’s group and this contributes to their failure in the things they attempt to do. The differences in the social class system of the two countries are quite different. Orlov’s and his group are viewed as people who have brought in a society full of violence and acts against humanity. The United States is viewed as a society that loves peace and hates all acts that lead to the harm of the people. In the film Resident Evil: Afterlife, the social context being depicted is that of advancement in the human research on cloning. Alice is accidentally injected with serum that it thought to reduce the character of superhuman in Alice. Despite these unfortunate events, happening in the first instances of the film, Alice strongly brings out the character of a superhuman throughout the film. The society within Alice’s reach is characterized of the zombies and human beings. Alice lacks the superpower but her assertion and vigilance helps her and the entire human race to defeat the zombies. Culture can be described as the dominant features of the state or civilization, or the behavior of a certain group or class. Culture is deeply rooted into ideology and ideology is the product of some characteristic features, cultural products and social behaviors. Culture entails the methods of everyday life that is how an individual behaves in the social situation, the kind of clothes the individual wears and the type of slang the individual uses while talking (Benshoff and Griffin 13). In any given society, there are many cultures that differ in their varying levels from one another. Cultural groupings do not exist in the same balance within the society. The culture of the most powerful, or the strongest or the ruling group in the society has the tendency to become the dominant culture. They express their beliefs and values though ideologies and other cultural types. The group that has the greatest control has the capability of producing and disseminating the desired cultural attitudes in the entire society. These attitudes include literature, music, and the standards of the behavior (Benshoff and Griffin 14). In the cultural context, Salt depicts two forms of cultures that have different forms of behavior that are distinct from one another. The cultures are from the United States and Russia. The culture in the United States is a perfect one according to the movie. It is a culture that hates violence and always strives to achieve peace within the human race. The people from America within the film are very peaceful and are not involved in any form of violence unless provoked by the others. This is an indication the people of the United States value culture that undermines the existence of humanity. On the other hand, the culture from Russia is depicted as one that loves violence. All the characters involved in the acts of violence like Evelyn Salt and Orlov have their origin from Russia. They have all been trained by Orlov and their main mission is to destroy the United States. Evelyn Salt is one of the key characters involved in the acts of violence. They attempt to do everything within their capabilities to destroy the United States and their own president (the president of Russia). This type of culture is one that does not value the existence of other cultures. They are isolated from the rests of other cultures because of their selfish ambitions. In the film Resident Evil: Afterlife, the culture is one that loves violence and undermines the existence of the other individual. Alice and her group are faced with an uphill task of trying to save the existence of the rest of humanity from the infestation of the zombies. The culture in this context is one faced with both the good and the bad side of life. The political context in the setting of the movie depicts some tensional relationship between two major world powers; the USA and Russia. The fact that a long lasting suspicious relationship between these two powers that extends to the major World Wars seems to be cooling down in the recent times, there is some dimension of tension in the movie. Espionage is a common theme that the tow powers depict in their political status and might in the global arena. The level of sophistication that the espionage programs these two powers demonstrate in the movie are by far a revelation of the political might that they possess. Political supremacy sought by the political powers is demonstrated through training that Salt underwent in Russia and later sent as a spy to the USA. To counter the high-level espionage training imparted by the Russian intelligence, the USA shows mightier training in the fact that their intelligence detail accurately unravels. Presidential security shows how the best political might that the world protects the interest of the sovereign states, especially at the international political arena. An attack on the Russian president in the movie while attending a high state function, perhaps shows an insult of the highest political order, such that the Russian secret agents took with much weight. Revelations of the scum undertaken by the Russian espionage tacticians fuel an all time high international political tension between these two powers. In a quick rejoinder towards the end of the movie, the USA declares war on Russia. In the film Resident Evil: Afterlife, there are no political instances that can be analyzed. The film is based on the extermination of the zombies that have infested one of the cities in the United States. When one fails to take into account ethnicity, class, race in the determination of where women are sexually, majority of these females create an analysis of the sexual oppression; such a case is a political dead end (Sartwell and Shrage 394). Gender issues expressed are in a striking contrast of the actual world status where the roles of the starring and are effectively placed in the hands of a female character; Salt. The difficult tasks that the female starring so well undertakes are in a pure contrast shows that the role of women in typically dangerous encounters of any nature. The domination of the lone female character in Salt where no other female role is clearly depicted perhaps brings out the irony in the actual occurrences in gender roles. Class issues are illustrated by the manner in which the USA counters the attempts by the Russia spies to destroy the United States. The United States appears to be the dominant class in this film while Russia appears to be inferior. In the film Resident Evil: Afterlife, the gender issues are dominated by the female character. Alice and her group, which is comprised, of the female characters dominate the entire film. The female gender take charge of the situation at hand; the infestation by the zombies and they take the role of eliminating these zombies. Both films were quite enjoyable, the enjoyment coming from how the events were unfolding in the films. There were both cultural and social forces that influenced my enjoyment of the films. For example, in the film Salt, the culture of the United States is very much different from that of the Russians. The Americans at all times strive to achieve peace and balance within the social, political and economic realms. The Russians on the other side depict a culture that does not care about humanity and in all instances in the film they are involved in violence. The social upbringing is also quite different between the nations that is the United States and Russia in the film, Resident Evil: Afterlife. The Russians are brought up in the ‘military’ way; they are trained to face challenges in the future and perform acts that are not socially acceptable. These acts include the destruction of other states such as the United States and the attempts to assassinate key people within the government. Evelyn Salt made one such attempt when she attempted to assassinate the president of Russia and the president of the United States. Infestation of the zombies and the cloning of the human beings dominate Alice’s society. Cloning is a controversial topic within the contemporary society. It is not widely accepted and there are issues that concern the process. How Alice survives the zombie ordeal without the super powers is something worth to note. This brings out the strong character of the female in the society that is within the film. It is worth noting that despite the absence of the super powers, Alice is capable of surviving the zombies. Works Cited Benshoff, H. M. & Griffin, S. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. Print. Cahill, K. & Johannessen, L. Considering Class: Essays on the Discourse of the American Dream. LIT Verlag Munster, 2007. Print. Devitt, A. J. Writing Genres. Illinois: SIU Press, 2008. Print. Sartwell, C. & Shrage, L. Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 1998. Print. Read More