Hollywood Cinema Maltby

Film, Culture And Society

How off-screen characters and acting abilities relate to a star’s image

Introduction

The essay will examine Gledhill’s argument. He believes that actors’ off-screen lifestyles and characters must meet or supersede their roles in film in order to become stars. This argument will be related to Johnny Depp who is no doubt one of the most celebrated actors of the twenty first century.

Johnny Depp’s persona

Johnny Depp has been in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. He has been in and out of marriages and yet he has tattooed each and every one of his former wives’ names on his arms. Depp is no ordinary actor as his life has sparked considerable interest both on and off screen. (Sklar, 1994) Perhaps the reason why Depp has attracted a lot of attention outside his film could be because of his charming personality. He reports to interviews with a cigar in hand and then says hallo to all the members surrounding of the camera crew. Additionally, the actor is quite comfortable with his own personality because he is not afraid of experimenting with fashion. The actor can wear boots that were synonymous with the nineteen eighties and still hold his head high. Depp tops this up with his good looks and makes many Hollywood enthusiasts interested in his escapades. Besides these, Depp is quite enterprising; he owns a club called Viper Room in the heart off Hollywood. But then again, the tabloids reported that this place has more drugs than soda.

Speaking of escapades, Depp has had his share of dramatic scenes in his personal life. He was reported by some newspaper reporters that he had trashed hotel. As if this is not enough he has had some drug addiction issues in the past but this does not stop the public from loosing interest in his new developments. Maybe it is these negative remarks that keep the public anxious. (Shatz, 2002)

Fellow actors such as Penelope Cruz have asserted that Depp is quite a humorous man. He is indeed natural and charismatic at the same time. They claim that this is the most outstanding feature about him and this could also be the reason why he has been in and out of relationships.

Johnny Depp’s’ films

Johnny Depp has contributed to the film industry in his own unique way. However, some critics argue that he is not an actor worth his salt. This can be attributed to some of the headless horsemen movies he has done in the past. These movies undermined the strength of Depp’s acting abilities.

However, these arguments pale when one examines other films done by Depp. For instance the films; ‘Before Night Falls’ and ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ did very well in the box office. The one thing they both had in common was the fact that Johnny Depp was the main character. He seems to have an ability to carry heavy roles with the depth they deserve. Taking an example of the movie ‘Blow’; Depp plays the role of a tough, fearless and tragic drug dealer. Depp was chosen for this role because he has the capacity to bring out the negative aspects in the lead role. On the other hand, this does not undermine the fact that he still displays the tragic end to the movie with the compassion and dignity it deserves. Depp chooses his film roles carefully as most of them depict central characters.

Conclusion

Johnny Depp is a charismatic, humorous and striking person in real life. This larger-than-life off -screen character has influenced the level of success and hence his stardom. (Neve, 1992) The issues going on behind the camera have adversely affected the roles played in front of the camera in terms of the offers presented to Depp. After assessing Depp’s life; controversy is indeed a marketing tool in Hollywood as Depp only became truly famous after people started following up his private life.

Success of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge as a postmodernist film

Introduction

The essay will examine the extent to which Baz Luhrmann’s the Moulin Rouge film has depicted postmodernism with a specific focus on Parody /pastiche.

Discussion

The film’s main theme serves as a template for the expression of parody. The narrative is about a young and naïve young man called Christian who makes his way to Paris. He is a playwright who plans on creating a perfect play. On the other hand, he also believes in ideals and hopes to find true love. The other major character is based on a sultry actress called Satine who manages to win the admiration of many through her bewitching smile. Eventually, the two fall in love but they cannot be together because Satine is already betrothed to a duke. The Duke had promised to finance the play Christian is producing only if he could get Satine in exchange.

Despite the fact that the plot is rather simplistic, Baz manages to inject some creativity and imagination within the movie consequently making it distinctly post modern. (Mast and Cohen, 2004)He mixes mayhem, passion, joys and laughter all in one without potentially ruining the film. All characters on screen disseminate information that is not always important to the overall plot of the film but is helps in enhancing the humor within the story. Characters can be seen wearing crazy outfits and performing bewildering dances. These all tend to create parody to the seemingly simple plot/narrative.

Additionally, director Baz expresses his postmodernism mostly in his choice of song. (Shatz, 2003)The director is basing his narrative on a time in history when music as distinctly classical; 1899. However, the director manages to satirize this by using music from a range of periods in time. He indulges in some rock music, tango and others. For instance he splashes in ‘Material Girl’, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ and at the same time ‘The Show Must Go On’. This rich mixture brings out the postmodernism and at the same time adds to the amusement that is synonymous with the film.

However, some critics have asserted that Baz was trying to do too much with the film. He was trying to make his characters humorous yet at the same time solicit emotions. There seems to be no end to the jokes in the film. Consequently, when it is necessary for the audience to sympathize with the characters, the feeling is neutralized by a joke or two. This element also brings out the parody in the movie. As a matter of fact, the film has too much of this latter element hence it hinders the audience from understanding what the director was actually trying to tell them in the end. The love story is not a moving as it should be because of all the humor and antics. This theatrics have eventually killed or drowned the genuineness of the story.

All in all, the Moulin Rouge is a film that will always inspire film critics and lovers alike to say something bout it. It never lacks images that keep the audience interested, it is also magical and the main actors have tried their best to bring this out. Every scene has layers of information and these are all packed with composition, decor and frame. He manages to include other narratives that the audience is familiar with, poems and plays that have been done before are all neatly tacked into this one package hence enhancing the parody. (Maltby and Craven, 1995)

Conclusion

The Moulin Rouge is indeed a distinctively postmodern film. Director Baz Luhrmann has successfully achieved this through employment of parody in the film. He creates parody by mixing songs from different phases of history in a film based in 1899. He also uses a typical plot but satirizes it with numerous theatrics and jokes. He also has a way of mixing the information of disseminated by his characters with lots of song, imagery, humor and emotion. By entangling all these elements, Luhrmann parodies the entire film and hence brings out its postmodernism.

Reference:

Sklar, T. (1994): Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies, Vintage Publishers

Shatz, M. (2002): The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era, Pantheon Publishers

Neve, K. (1992): Film and Politics in America: A Social Tradition, Routledge

Mast and Cohen (2004): Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Reading, Oxford Publishers

Shatz, T. (2003): Film Theory Goes to the Movies, Routledge

Maltby, R. and Craven, I. (1995): Hollywood Cinema, Blackwell Publishers, p424

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