Fritz Lang’s 1927 German film Metropolis and Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 Korean- Czech Snowpiercer are both distinctive science-fiction films. They are incredibly useful films for the showing comparisons between both class-struggle narratives and the dystopian science fiction genre. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting eras and cultures so the development of these themes can be clearly seen. It can be argued that Snowpiercer is inspired by Metropolis, as many similar aspects can be seen in the two. Lang’s film portrays a lower-class violent revolution of workers in a utopian city that overworks them to the point of death while director Bong’s film deals with a lower class of environmental refugees fighting to overthrow their oppressive upper class.  

Luc Besson’s 1990 French film La Femme Nikita and Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 American film Basic Instinct are both distinctive neo-noir????? films that feature the classic ‘femme fatale’ character trope as central characters, although developed very differently. They are incredibly recognisable, from the classical cut-throat villain in Basic instinct, to the violent action featured in La Femme Nikita.These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting cultures, so the separate representation of the character trope can be clearly seen.

Mathieu Kassovitz 1995 French film La Haine and Menhaj Hudas 2003 British film Kidult- hood are both distinctive working-class coming of age films. They are incredibly recognizable, from the forgotten suburb of Paris in La Haine, to the hellish depiction of west London that appears in Kidult-hood. I have chosen these two films as they were made in different countries and both tackle problems in society that impact the working-class youth such as police brutality in La Haine and gang culture in Kidult-hood. The depiction of class divide can be seen clearly in both films. It can be argued that Kidult-hood is inspired by La Haine as many similar aspects can be seen in the two. La Haine follows the three protagonists Vince, Abdel, and Hubert battling everyday issues in their council block on the outskirts of Paris after their friend was beaten unconscious by police. Kidult-hood also follows a group of working-class youth in west London on a day off school in memory of a classmate who committed suicide. The film covers subjects of organised crime, drugs, teen pregnancy and racial profiling.

 To what extent do the directors in Woman on a verge of a nervous breakdown (1988) and Love Actually (2003) show patriarchal structures? 

Pedro Almodovar’s 1988 Spanish film Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Richard Curtis’ 2003 British film Love Actually are both distinctive Drama and romance films. Both films are evident to show the change and role of woman in society. These films have been chosen as they show the contrasting views and patriarchal structures through the role of female actresses in the film. Curtis’ film is a multi-narrative film which follows multiple characters who are predominately male and their lives through the Christmas period. Almodovar’s film follows a female protagonist, Pepa who chases her ex-lover who leaves her suddenly and then eventually realizes that she dependent and stronger on her own. 

Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film Parasite and Robert Eggers’ 2019 The Lighthouse are both distinctive horror films. They are incredibly psychological, from the bait-and-switch comedy veneer of Parasite, to the claustrophobic, swelling chaos of The Lighthouse. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting contexts, Parasite being South Korean and The Lighthouse being American, so the differences in genre tropes can be clearly seen. Joon Ho’s film follows a trio of families attempting to get by around an opulent suburban mansion, eventually resulting in a violent storm of intrigue which breaks all three families. The Lighthouse also features a slow-burn story of mystery and death, but a different narrative, as instead a pair of lighthouse keepers become stranded. Tensions between the two rise as they covet the light at the point of the tower, and the story slowly comes to a head as one kills the other. 

Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull and Clint Eastwood 2004 Million Dollar Baby are both distinctive boxing movies. I have chosen them as Raging Bull is a deconstruction of boxing movies, and arguably one of the most famous, and Million Dollar Baby is a reinvention of the genre and focuses on a female protagonist. Both films are American and address the topic of gender in boxing, however, in different ways. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting how these films contribute to the evolution of the genre and its portrayal in gender.

George A. Romero’s 1968 American film Night of the Living Dead and Edgar Wright’s 2004 British film Shaun of the Dead are both distinctive zombie-horror films. They are incredibly recognizable, from the classical zombies in Night of the Living Dead, to the comic characters that appear in Shaun of the Dead. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting eras of the zombie-horror genre, so the development of the genre can be clearly seen. It can easily be argued that Shaun of the Dead is inspired by Night of the Living Dead, as many similar aspects and tropes of the genre can be seen in the two. Romero’s film follows Ben as he hides from the invading zombies, after holding out against the zombies they are eventually killed by the Americans who also accidentally kill Ben. Shaun of the Dead also features a zombie invasion, but a different narrative, as a group of friends, who attempt to hold out against the zombies in a less than ideal location and are eventually saved by the military after the death of most of them.

Theatrical posters

Stills

From Wikipedia (replace with imdb)

Snowpiercer is a 2013 science fiction action film based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Bong and Kelly Masterson. A South Korean-Czech co-production, the film marks Bong’s English-language debut; almost 85% of the film’s dialogue is in English.

The film stars Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Go Ah-sung, John Hurt, and Ed Harris. It takes place aboard the Snowpiercer train as it travels a globe-spanning track, carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed attempt at climate engineering to stop global warming has created a new Snowball Earth. Evans stars as Curtis Everett, one of the lower-class tail-section passengers, as they rebel against the elite of the front of the train. Filming took place at Barrandov Studios in Prague, using train car sets mounted on gimbals to simulate the train’s motion.

1)Images 1 (poster)

2)Images 2 (poster)

3)Images 3 (still – IMDB/google)

4)Images 4 (still – IMDB/google)

5)Production information (IMDB/ WIKI) 1

6)Production information (IMDB/ WIKI) 2

7)Director quotes/Practitioner Quote 1 (research library)

8)Director quotes/Practitioner Quote 1 (research library)

9)Theorist quote 1

10)Theorist quote 2

LOGAN

“How do directors depict class struggle in horror films such as The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019), and Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho, 2019)?”

JACK

To what extent do the films Raging Bull (1980) and Million-Dollar Baby (2004) demonstrate how the boxing sub-genre has evolved over time in its exploration of gender?

JOE

How are the struggles of the working-class youth presented in the films Kidulthood (2006) and La Haine (1995)?

NOAH

Research question: How are the themes of class struggle depicted in a dystopian setting within Metropolis (Fritz Lang 1927) and Snowpiercer (Bong Joon-ho, 2013)?

EMILY

To what extent do the films “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (Almodovar,1988) and Love Actually (Curtis,2003) reinforce or challenge patriarchal structures in the societies in which they were produced?

SAM

To what extent do the films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) demonstrate how independent zombie horror films have developed over time?

LUCY

How are Eisenstein’s methods of montage used as a storytelling device to create dramatic tension in Battleship Potemkin (1925) and Parasite (2019)?

HONEY

How do the films “Gone Girl” (2014, Fincher) and Basic Instinct (1992, Verhoeven) portray the ways in which the character trope of the ‘femme fatale’ has changed over time?