American Culture @ San Diego State University

Photo: Nosferatu Poster

Nosferatuwas a symphony horror silent film released March 4, 1922 in German and was introduced to the United States on June 3, 1929. Directed by F. W. Muranu; produced by Enrico Dieckmann and Albin Grau; Screenplay by Henrik Galeen; and the film is based on Dracula by Bram Stoker without his permission. The theme of the film is folklore as it uses the majority of the plot…

Early American Cinema Project – Nosferatu

The German film from 1922 that came to the U.S. in 1929, “Nosferatu”, directed by F.W. Murnau, produced by Enrico Dieckmann and Albin Grau (also known as Prana Film), and screen written by Henrik Galeen, shows women as passive and frail victims because of the weak gestures, little dialogue, and idea that women must be protected and watched over. The movie showed Max Schreck as Count Orlok,…

Image: https://www.jos-coufreur.com/original-paintings-shop/movie-stars-shop/charlie-chaplin-kid

  Director: Charlie Chaplin Release Date: January 21, 1921 Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan Producer: Charlie Chaplin Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin

  The Kid, an American film directed, produced, and played by Charlie Chaplin is considered one of his great achievements at all time.…

The Rise of Hollywood -The Roaring 20’s

In chapters 1 through 3 of Celebrity Culture and The American Dream, Sternheimer argues that becoming a celebrity helped fulfill someone’s desire to live The American Dream, the movie industry offered women opportunities other than being a house-wife, and goods that were previously only available for cash were now available for credit and this shift is responsible for the economic boom of the…

Early Cinema Project: Metropolis

Image Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Metropolis

Metropolis (1927) is a silent German film directed by Fritz Lang, produced by Erich Pommer, and screenplayed by Thea von Harbou. The movie follows a divided population between two societies: workers of a dystopian, subterranean world who assist in machinery that power the city and wealthy entrepreneurs who live in a utopian,…

The Kid (Filmmaker: Charlie Chaplin, 1921)

Photo Source

  The Kid was Chaplin’s first attempt at creating a dramatic comedy.  It was first featured in 1921 and according to kanopy.com was met with “heavy studio resistance” being that the studio had presumed that the film would be a flop.  Contrary to the studio’s presumptions, The Kidwas very popular and saw wide spread approval from audiences.  The main themes from Chaplin’s film seem to…

Early Cinema: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cabinet_of_Dr._Caligari

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligariis a psychological silent horror film released February 26, 1920 in Germany and was introduced to America on March 19, 1921. Directed by Robert Wiene; written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer; and Produced by Rudolf Meinert and Erich Pommer. It is about a hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who uses a…

The General: American Cinema Project

Photo: The General Poster

           The General is a silent comedy that was released in 1926, which was towards the end of the silent film era, resulting in a mediocre showing at the box office. However, after some time this film has now been viewed as one of the best American films ever made. The film opens with the American Civil War breaking out. The main character Johnnie Gray rushes with…

  Metropolis was released in on January 10, 1927 in Germany where it premiered. This movie is a German movie directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou. The main stars of the movie are Brigette Helm, Alfred Able and Gustav Fronhlic, Fritz Rasp. The film’s time is taking place in the year 2626  in a highly urban city, the city of lights, with sky scrapers and freeways run completely by…

Early American Cinema: The Kid

In his debut to dramatic comedy, Charlie Chaplin directs and plays “The Tramp” character in the 1921 hit The Kid. A baby, abandoned by his ashamed mother (actress Edna Purviance), is reluctantly adopted into the Tramp’s care. Over the years, the kid, played by Jackie Coogan, and the Tramp develop their own family, getting into all sorts of antics. All the while the mother who has since shot into…

American Cinema Project- The Kid

Film- The Kid

Filmmaker- Charlie Chaplin

Features- Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan

Year- 1921

Chaplin with the infant child shortly after he cannot find a way to get rid of him. (above)

What have silent film’s taught us about American Culture?

The Kid is a silent film about an infant child who is left an orphan by his mother. Chaplin finds the young boy and after trying a few…

Early American Cinema Project: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

One of the most famous silent movies during the 1920s was John S. Robertson’s adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. No theatre show or film, not even the novel, ever became as popular as this film adaptation. Ever since the book was released in 1886, hundreds of adaptations had been made up until this day, yet Robertson’s silent adaption, with the famous acting of John Barrymore, is still…

Early American Cinema Project

Analysis of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

In the early film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligarireleased in 1920, themes of psychological behavior are presented through what is known to be one of the first ever silent horror films released internationally from Germany. Directed by Robert Wiene and written by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz, a creative approach is taken to observe the displacement of…

Hack # 2 Film Bodies

  The Chapman Report by director George Cukor is a film of 1962, during the time of the women’s rights movement, that can be portrayed as a melodrama, horror, and pornography, this film follows four women who go to a social study of women and their sexuality the Doctors seem to be trying to normalize women having sexual encounters. Each woman is different from the others and they are all friends.…

HACK 2, Titanic (1997)

http://www.cornel1801.com/1/t/TITANIC/5-cast-crew.html

The movie Titanic is very well known film that will most likely live on forever as being the best longest film ever created. As many times as I have watched it already, I never really realized at how women were predominantly portrayed as powerless and controlled individuals. A woman who is outspoken, the older heavier lady who befriends Jack…

Hack #2: Film Bodies

Photo source: http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/02/marion-cotillar-1/

“Feminist critics” in movies had been actively developed based on psychoanalysis, image semiotics, etc. in the 20th century. These critics analyzed and criticized some masculine views dominating mainstream movies, which contributed to the establishment of active feminine views. Linda William, on her book “Film Bodies:…