Happy Halloween.

Hollywood’s three-act structure is derived from classical dramatic structure. It involves a plot progression that involves an introduction, a complication, and a resolution. Unlike the original, Hollywood’s three-act structure shifts the climax towards the end of the film. One of my favorite films that follows this structure is La Misma Luna, or Under the Same Moon.

The introduction phase of the film is used to introduce the characters and help establish the foundation for the complication. In La Misma Luna, Rosario (the mother) is shown working in the United States to help support her son in Mexico. Carlitos (the son) is living with his elderly grandmother because she’s the only family he has. The first plot point that transitions to the complication is when Carlitos’s grandmother dies and he decides to make the journey to the United States illegally. This decision embarks him on his journey and introduces the situation for the complications in the next act.

The complication phase of the film is used for suspenseful decisions that eventually lead to the climax of the film, the protagonist’s major decision that ends the film. In this act, Carlitos makes it to the United States but loses his saved money as he crosses the border. After this he hitchhikes to the nearest city and begins working with illegal immigrants during the day. At this point, another important character is introduced – Enrique. When immigration officials raid one of the jobs, Carlitos follows Enrique to ensure his safety. Initially, Enrique dislikes the fact that Carlitos is following him but eventually accepts him and takes on a father-figure role. Their journey after this point chronicles their efforts to reach Las Angeles where Rosario is living. The final leg of their journey (reaching LA) is the second plot point and transitions into the climax, which happens about five minutes before the end of the film.

After failing to find Rosario, Enrique and Carlitos are stranded in a park where they are forced to spend the night. Enrique goes off to get breakfast for Carlitos and is subsequently forced to leave him alone on a park bench. As he returns to the park, the climax of the film begins. Police officers approach Carlitos in the park and in an effort to distract them, Enrique sacrifices himself by getting arrested in order for Carlitos to escape. This major decision in the plot demonstrates Enrique’s selflessness and the end of Carlitos’s journey. The shot of Carlitos running away transitions to the resolution of the film.

As he runs to the nearest street, Carlitos finds his mother waiting at an intersection. As professor Ramirez-Berg mentioned in lecture, after the climax of the film (in Hollywood cinema) the film is essentially over. When the two embrace in the street the film begins to role credits. The ending of the film reinforces one of the major aspects of Hollywood three-act cinema – triumphant stories.

Friendly Sitcoms.

Televisions have become a central aspect of every American home. Its functions range from furniture, home decor, to even mediums for family bonding. One of the more important aspects of televisions is the actual programming. Programs are usually divided into dramas and sitcoms. The American sitcom is a short humorous show centered around everyday situations and normally retains the same aspects regardless of the producer or network it's being aired on.

One aspect that seems to be a part of every sitcom is similar cycles and repeated patterns. Every episode contains a humorous introduction that seems to set-up the eventual conflict that makes up the rest of the episode. The conflict usually involves at least two of the characters involved in the show and causes a rift between the two until the eventual resolution at the end. These plot cycles are present throughout every episode which then cumulate into the show's season. Most sitcoms fall short when it comes to plot and character development, which may be due to the shorter time allocations.

One of my favorite sitcoms, which most people have seen, is Friends. The sitcom revolves around a group of six friends and details their days living with each other in New York City. This show is no different than any other sitcom because it follows the same format. The scene before the opening credits and theme song usually involves a humorous interaction between the cast members and usually has nothing to do with the actual plot line. When the show returns from the commercial break, it progresses toward the conflict of the episode. This usually ranges from inner-conflict between the characters or something involving an outside source. Such as Ross and Rachel's continuous bickering because of their past relationship or something involving Joey's inability to get steady acting jobs. Part of the show focuses on these shortcomings but then eventually resolves them before the last scene of the episode. The last scene often involves most of the characters and another humorous interaction before the closing credits. Sometimes there is a plot development that spans over three to four episodes, which somewhat helps with character development.

Although sitcoms are usually predictable, I appreciate them for what they are supposed to be -- half an hour of humorous entertainment.

The Shining Angles.

The Shining seems to be a film with various examples of different camera angles, especially when considering their denotative and connotative meanings. Throughout the film the director uses an assortment of camera angles to instill a sense of suspense in the viewer.

One shot that is prominent throughout the film is the close up shot. It generally shows important details pertaining to the film and conveys a character’s deep emotions. For example, there is a historical scene where Jack breaks down a bathroom door with an ax to get to his wife Wendy. In this scene, the director utilizes the close up shot to demonstrate Jack’s insanity and Wendy’s fear. Due to the detail, the viewer can see the true emotions being portrayed on the screen and can fully realize the director’s intentions.

My favorite scene in the movie involves a medium shot. Generally medium shots are informational and reveal underlying stories in relationships. The shot involves Jack staring at Wendy and Danny through a window. The shot is from below and adds to perception that Jack is abnormal and powerful, which eventually is shown to be true. The context of the shot can be seen when the shot is held at a certain point, it adds to the overall tension of the film and sustains Jack’s authority.

            

The final scene of the movie involves a long shot that progresses into a close up shot. Long shots generally demonstrate isolation and when a zoom occurs it moves from general to specific. Specifically, when a frame is held at the end of the shot it is meant to promote shock. The scene zooms in from a corridor to a small picture frame. The change from general to specific reveals a key aspect of the plot. Jack had always been the hotelkeeper and merely relived a previous incident that occurred in the hotel. When the picture frame was the subject of the close up shot, it reinforced the shock associated with the portion of the plot that was revealed. 

Studio Time.

The studio system was the epitome of Classical Hollywood. Most of the major production studios were completely vertically integrated, which seems to be the most important aspect of the studio system.

            The big five studios were able to produce, distribute, and show all of their movies within their own companies. For instance, Warner Brothers was able to film a movie in a short period time because they had all of the actors and directors on site. Then they could have the film edited and distributed in the same location. After that, they would show the movie in movie theaters that were solely used for Warner Brothers films. It was a mass-production system similar to factories. This affected the types of films the studios made because it took a very short period of time to make them. Studios didn't have to wait to hire actors or directors to make a film, so subsequently that affected the films that they made. This can particularly be seen through genres. Each studio became known for a specific genre and revolved its actors around that. Since it was run like a factory, studios were able to release various films of the same genre within a few months of each other. This was achieved by changing the actors involved but they kept the plot mostly the same.

            Warner Brothers, for instance, was known for urban crime films that initially revolved around gangsters but eventually converted to detective films. Warner Brothers was able to make this transition smoothly because the entire system was set up. They had all of the writers on staff and the same directors were able to work on the same films. The star system was in place, so they simply had to change the actors to fit into the new roles. Everything was replaceable and interchangeable, which essentially defined the studio system.

All in the Family

Present-day comedy sitcoms seem to be situated around many of the same situations, either awkward situations for the main characters or something involving some type of sexual innuendo. Personally, I was taken aback by the blunt nature of  "All in the Family". 

The language used throughout the show is what really surprised me. I would have never imagined hearing the word 'fag' used so loosely in a present day sitcom on a major television network such as ABC or NBC. It didn't necessarily seem like a lack of censory, because there still wasn't use of explicit language. The reason may have been the lack of an LGBT movement during that time period. Now, it seems that using the term 'fag' would be a hot button issue and cause many rifts between viewers and the network. 

"All in the Family" seems to have the same plot formation as any modern day sitcom. There is a conflict introduced early on in the show and then a resolution following near the end. With the occasional joke and inserted audience laugh, there are very similar parallels to sitcoms that I grew up watching such as "Friends" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". I suppose it's the same structure as any other story told in new media or print. Even "The Odyssey" seems to follow the same structure… and that's ancient.

Most subjects for TV shows seem to be dependent on the current status of the social structure. Things that may have seemed appealing during the 70s, won't be as appealing now. TV shows, especially sitcoms, seem to shed a light on certain hot-button issues and use euphemisms or sarcasm to lighten up the issues. "All in the Family" took a very conservative standpoint on the issue of LGBTQ individuals in America, when considering Archie's perspective. In the current state of TV, it would have been assumed that any person could be part of the gay community regardless of their physical appearance. Although, the ending of the episode did seem to elude to acceptance and Archie's realization that it was ok for his friend to be an ex-football player and still a homosexual man. I doubt that "All in the Family" would have brought up modern day issues within the LGBTQ community, such as marriage, equal rights, and adoption. Mostly because those issues weren't prevalent during that time period.