Battleship Potemkin By Sergei Eisenstein Film Studies Essay

Battleship Potemkin By Sergei Eisenstein Film Studies Essay Battleship Potemkin (1925) is a typical illustration of a film that led to become a sign for revolution. One can argue how this particular work attempted to form a new cinema, and through critically looking at the films theme/ideology, narrative structure, filmmaking techniques and editing (montage), with paying close attention to the Communist ideology, Imagism, Marxism, Futurism, the Hegelian theory, and Mexican influence one can justify that Eisenstein founded the start to this new cinema. Imagine a cinema which is not dominated by the dollar; a cinema industry where ones man pocket is not filled at other peoples expense; which is not for the pockets of two or three people, but for the heads and hearts of 150 million peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Suddenly a new cinema arises. (Sergei Eisenstein, 1926) It was without a doubt a moment for specifically Sergei Eisenstein creating a benchmark in cinema history, a means of promotion to become a Bolshevik (a communist) and of course; a new overall experience that began for cinema screening audiences in the 1920s that was not dominated by the dollar but reached into the hearts of the audience. The recent Bolshevik state saw film as a vital tool in the revolutionary struggle, and immediately set about reconstructing the film industry. (Annette Kuhn, 1991: 3) Thus, in reconstructing the film industry, a new cinema was formed. The society looked back on the 1905 Russian Revolution ushering an era of much change in not only the society structure but in the arts field. It was what anyone could understand it as a chance to shed some new light, to bring something new to the shelves, to be creative, to rebel on the past and most of all to become new. This was inevitably a chance for Eisenstein, with all his influence from past Directors and with the success of Eisensteins Strike (1925), to become an historical figure and role model to future films and directors. Battleship Potemkin was inevitably created in order to celebrate the abortive Revolution (Annette Kuhn, 1991: 3) Eisenstein then, with which we clearly see in this film, fed off the Potemkin rebellion as the central metaphor for the Revolution. The propaganda is seen to be Marxist propaganda for it merely being a socio-political view that surrounds a political ideology (Avineri, 1968: 6) of the Russian revolution. We can also see the films techniques through Imagism; Images used to create a new image (Avineri, 1968: 8) and finally Cubism; Putting together several perspectives into one frame which creates one overall message. (Avineri, 1968: 14) New cinema can also be seen through how Russian film-makers found themselves in an industry almost completely devoid of native traditions. (Karel Reisz, 1954: 6) Thus, these film makers had a) nothing that they had to follow, stick to and carry on with and b) had a big opportunity to incorporate a new cinema. One could only imagine that there directors thus became propagandists and teachers to the society and had a task to use film medium as a means of instructing the masses in the Russian Revolution and to train a young generation of film-makers to fulfill a task (Karel Reisz, 1954: 7) Thus, this opened doors for filmmakers such as Eisenstein to set about finding new ways to express ideas in order to communicate the Russian Revolution, and secondly, to develop a theory of filmmaking that could be seen as a benchmark in cinema history. Instead of only taking a look into the historical background of this film (the Revolution) one can also see the influence that Eisensetiens background had on the coming together of this film, and the new cinema aspects and techniques. Eisenstein went to Mexico where he went to help his friend film the country. The whole country was montage-editing theoretically speaking; the way we see birth to death is all but a continuous cycle. (Marilyn Fabe, 2004: 48) Inevitably this could be apparent anywhere in the world, but we can see a link with the goddesses and catholic saints that clearly relates to Mexico. Thus, one can argue that this is a metaphor for Mexico seen to Eisenstein as well as an influence. Typage is a term used to describe that characters in this film were chosen based on their type, rather than their star reputation. Not only does this conflict with Classic Hollywoods star structure, but it fed off on to Italian Neorealism, as one can see in Bicycle Thieves. (1948) Typage is purely to enhance realism and make the audience feel like they can relate as such characters are common, every day, people. This technique also influences the emotional response (stimuli) and engagement from the audience, who are ideally the critiques of all means of art. The effect that Typage has on this film, is that it not only takes power and sentiment away from the political statement as much as possible but correlates the message more to the action, rather than to the individual actor matter and power. It is clear that if one takes new cinema into perspective, and correlates it with new-found means of filmmaking montage editing was evidentially the new foundation of film art. There is no art without conflict, Sergei Eisenstein (1926) once wrote and thus we see that he merely created conflict by the juxtaposition of shots, which created an underlying symbolic meaning that can be seen through realism, compressing of time and audience engagement and is inevitably more important than the mise-en-scene. Thus becoming new to the screens as mise-en-scene can be argued as the most important aspect to past film directors. For someone who doesnt understand montage, it is simply briefly understood as the cutting of shots and then bringing them back together. We can see that through all the cutting and putting back of shots, it produces one overall idea which ties in with the story line. Lev Kuleshov (1970) explains this best when he correlates images of his facial expressions cut to a woman playing with a baby, and then the same facial expression cut to a woman in her bikini. It immediately changes the idea behind the shot. The relationship of shots can either be seen as similar, or contrary, can be seen as opposite. This is where conflict comes into play and forms a message. For example, when two men enter from either sides of the screen with guns or swords in hand, the juxtaposition creates significance by signifying conflict between the two men, but also signifies that they will unite. Montage also enhances movement. Early films that would go on for hours on end would drag out the movement to tell a story. However, the jump-cutting still creates a known-movement without the characters actually following through the whole entire movement. Ideally the editing takes place in the removal of the body, and the audience is shown the introduction and conclusion of the movement. Thus, we can gather what the body entailed for it to have gotten to the conclusion. Reference to this can be seen in Odessa Steps scene analysis to follow. When looking back at the earliest films, some of them hours and hours long, we can understand when watching this film that not only did editing enhance the viewing experience of the audience, but it cut down shots that need not be shown. Thus, resulting in a film only 80 minutes long with over 1000 shots, compared to the regular 90minute film with half the amount of shots. (Marilyn Fabe, 2004: 48) However, it was not only about enhancing the viewing experience, but was also about a tool for education and propaganda, thus creating a powerful narrative structure. With reference back to the Juxtaposition conflict between shots was not only about using shots up against each other that were so different, yet flowed, but an underlying meaning also added to this new cinema. As what I can begin to understand it as a conflict of innocence vs. violence; as one can see when the young child is trampled by the laborers and when the mother brings attention to the soldiers. Throughout this film, innocence and violence become so apparent and inevitably enhances the political and social statement of the Russian Revolution. This movement feeds off into repetition, rhythm, and content. When shots are repeated often it can either bring a story together or it can take a story back to that time (as we see in many films today that jump cut to the future, or likewise to the past) and it can enhance fear or contrary, bring a calm atmosphere to the audience. The rhythm aspect of montage is ideally a series of shots that create the rhythm and movement motion, which can be used to add suspense or to compress time. Juxtaposition of shots with intended detail added; inevitably creates the content as we can see in Lev Kuleshovs (date) example above. This feeds off to the metaphor of the film, which in this case is the Russian Revolution. Battleship Potemkin is centered around five sub-themes. These can be seen through Men and Maggots; Drama on the Quarterdeck; An Appeal from the Dead; The Odessa Steps; Meeting the Squadron. (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011) The above sub-themes can be seen to in many wayscorrespond with the historical reminiscence of the Russian Revolution event in order to execute the revolution metaphor. This is seen as the plot outline. In men and Maggots, this scene cleverly shows the political and social condition which enhances the realism in this film and introduces the environment of which the story will be told. We are shown the uniforms, the battleship and the cleaning of the ship with boiling soup this can be seen as a metaphor for how they are slowly but surely arriving at boiling point. Here we are also shown The Hegelian theory. The Hegelian theory is a theory that plays a huge role in Battleship Potemkin. It inevitably means that this film holds a utilitarian purpose as well as an artistic purpose. (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011) Thus, meaning that this is propaganda along side art. This is used by Eisenstein mainly to affect the viewers, and actually create meaning and effect in their own personal subjective social and political views. Eisenstein used a psyhco-psychical approach which ideally re-moulds the reflexes of humans and gives them a new perspective on the revolution, leading them in a preferred direction (webpages.csus.edu/~abuckman/POTEMKIN.htm: 26/04/2011)and can personally be seen as manipulative way. Inevitabely, one can then see through this film, that he enhances a physiological consciousness as his film illustrates happenings and actions instead of just portraying emotions. -Which refers back to Typage. This is effectively portrayed in the Odessa Steps sequence which will be analyzed below. However, in Men With Maggots, we are shown the contrast of faces of offices in conflict with the crew. As what follows from the effect of this theory is the two contrasting forces interim to create a third meaning, thus a third force. This goes back to the example of the two men entering either sides of the frame, and of course, the Lev Kuleshov theory. As we can see in Drama on the Quarterdeck, a subjective-camera is used to add sentiment, and create more realism. We can thus, fully feel and understand the emotion behind the bodies hanging the terror and disgust. In this scene, I also find the cross-cut very interesting in meaning as it shows a connection and linkage between the place of prayer and the rulers. This can illustrates power, or likewise, Eisenstein is portraying a meaning behind belief of the rulers. In the next scene, Appeal from the Dead the one thing that stuck out was the close-up. The close-up of the fist which becomes bigger as the camera sweeps in on it, and as we are shown a fist that slowly clenches as the masses finally make a decision to revolt. It brings about power in the frame and emotion. Close-ups used in this film suck sentiment out to the audience, and are cleverly used on rare occasion to enhance the effect even more. The Odessa Steps is probably the most iconic scene in this film, and effectively portrays such editing to an audience who have never experienced such before. This scene uses montage to build tension; singular moments of fear and terror that finally provoke a violent emotional response from the audience. In this scene one can also clearly see how typage comes into play, and how it enhances the motional response as this scene portrays the force of the action rather than the individual roles of the men and woman. Here we are also shown the laborers scrambling down the steps from a high angled shots not only showering the meaning behind power, but shows the action on a whole and not from one main characters perspective, as we would see in Classic Hollywood. Here we are also shown conflict forces with the disordered rush of masses coming down the steps in relation to the soldiers. If we look at the Odessa Steps in far more detail, we can start to understand how this scene was the turning point in not only Eisensteins career, in history, but also in the film. We are shown close-ups of the laborers facial expressions in relation and in conflict to long shots of the scene as a whole the action of what is actually happening. The rhythm is also increased tremendously, which increases the intensity and emotions of the scene. Lastly, a turnaround of downward movement cleverly portrays the crowds movement in conflict, to the emotions of the woman crying with the baby. And finally, in the last act; Meeting the Squadron we are illustrated by suspense. The shots are slow in rhythm, however, there is a sense of strong unity. In conclusion, one can justifiably argue that Battleship Potemkin attempted to form a new cinema through Eisenstein using the Russian Revolution as a metaphorical benchmark for fresh, innovative ideas that were seen through mainly montage editing, as well as propaganda. As Eisenstein (date) said, We tried to take the historical events just as they were and not to interfere in any shape, manner or form, with the process as it was actually taking place to still bring reality to the screens to portray a real event.

The Effects of the Renaissance Essay -- European Renaissance Essays

The Effects of the Renaissance When the Renaissance crept into the world?s social senses people were moved. However, when the Renaissance began to affect the literature of the sixteenth century, the world was changed forever. The Renaissance, meaning a ?re-birth,? was a time of many changes. These changes wrought pandemonium among the civilized people of earth. There was a recovery and discovery of medieval texts in which scholars were deeply impressed by. Those in love with the arts and literature now had more choices to view and read. There was an outpour of those individuals attempting to create paintings that exemplified the feelings that saturated the minds of the brilliant scholars. Most importantly, however, was the huge change of the role of the church in everything. Martin Luther nailed up his ?95 Thesis? and thus began the Reformation of the Catholic Church. With this came a rushing tide of secularization in Europe. This, of course, blew over into literature and the arts. The Faerie Queen is one epic that included the ideals and morals that the excom...

Descriptive Essay House on Fire

descriptive essay house on fire The House on Fire That cold night of December 2004 had left behind a memory which will stay in my mind for a never ending period of time. That night was not the same as the rest of the days in my life. Instead of going to bed, that night I was standing in the middle of the road, in complete terror. My heartbeat was accelerating with fear and tears were rolling down my cheeks as I saw Emily taken away by the ambulance. The house, which I was standing in front of, was burning as fire engulfed it from all sides. There was fire everywhere.The roof was on fire, the doors and the windows were on fire, fire was even coming out of the house through various openings, looking like a fire-breathing dragon was inside the house, puffing fire. The flames burned deep red and amber, almost livid purple as I saw various firefighters trying to put out the fire. Nothing inside was likely to survive the fire. Flames were licking up in the air with the wind, trying to catc h something else on fire, and finding nothing but air, disappearing into the windy night, like disappointed flutters. Everything was happening too fast.During a minute or less, fire had spread across the entire landing. I was petrified by the sight of the fire, which crawled lizard like up the house. The house was exploding in yellow blue flames that quickly turned orange. I was trembling and whimpering softly as I saw Emily’s mother sitting on the ground, helplessly. She was crying out of despair. Her reaction had made me even more scared. I wanted someone to console me by telling me that nothing will happen to Emily. She was my best friend. We had spent seven years of our childhood together and I did not want to lose her.I was praying silently while Emily’s mother had lost all the hope of her survival. I had never felt so alone before. Even the thought of losing her, frightened me. I felt as if I was living through the worst nightmare. Grief is the worst feeling in t he world. You feel hopeless, scared, angry, frustrated, alone and afraid. Going through a phase in life when you have a feeling of losing someone is hard to accept and it is much harder for an eight years old child. You feel as if the world had stopped and you could never move on in life.It is very painful to accept that you will no longer be able to see someone who was very close to the heart. I was crying while looking at the crowd of people that had clustered around the house by that time. The voices of the people echoed in my ear hauntingly. Their screams and shouts gave rise to my fear. I was horrified by the siren of the ambulance, the police car and the firefighters, the ringing of the phones of the crowd, the yelling, the cries, the increasing roar of the fire; everything added chaos to that place and frightened me even more.Ghosts of smoke were drifting across the street. I smelled smoke. It was not heavy, but it had a pungent smell. I started to cough as the smoke enfolded me. The air surrounding me was becoming less breathable by the second. My mouth was filled with the bitter taste of the smoke. I wanted a draught of clean air to rinse out my polluted lungs. The cough had aggravated pain in my head. My eyes were becoming swollen and watery. Soon after, the fire got quite out of control as the whole house was on fire. The firefighters evacuated the street and told everyone to go inside their houses.I had no choice but to retreat to my room where I could see, feel, and hear Emily’s house burn down. In a few minutes, the house had been reduced to a pile of rubble, ashes, and smouldering wood and items. There was a rotting smell that took over the whole neighbourhood, like a bad barbeque party gone horribly wrong. The smell was so overpowering that it took almost a week to get it out of my nose. That horrifying night of December still reminds me how valuable a person is in our life. If the firefighters were even one minute late in rescuing Emily , I would have lost my best friend that day.

Education Management Using the Classical Theories

Explain the applications and criticisms of Fredrick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Max Weber to educational administration and management. Fredrick Taylor Definition of Taylorism It’s the management process that scientific skills were to be applied to improve the productivity of workers. The characteristics of Taylorism 1. He used scientifically trained workers to improve the productivity. 2. Division of labour managers and workers so that managers can apply scientific method to planning the work and workers to perform the task. 3. Co-operation between the management and the workers, the management should that ensure the workers uses scientifically developed methods 4. He replaced the rule of the thumb, with†¦show more content†¦Each employee should have their space for working. 7. Initiative – teachers in general are given that opportunity to utilise their talents and interests in school; through clubs, societies, and movements. 8. Stability of tenure of personnel; the staff workng under the government enjoy the stability of tenure but unlike their counterparts in the private sectors. And also the government is trying to improve on the teacher/pupil ratio by employing more teachers. 9. Discipline must be upheld. The TSC and MOE have procedures of dealing with offences like; interdictions, half pays, sacking. 10. Unity of command – the education systems there is a proper hierarchy of reporting to and command. Criticism of Henri Fayol 1. Concentrate a lot on the management and ignored the other workers. 2. If poor managers makes poor plans hence the whole organisation will not function properly 3. Subordinate personal interests to the general interest. In this case a personal issue should not interfere with the organisation and a personal issue should surpass the organisation interest. Max Weber Descriptions; Bureaucracy; focusing on structuring an organisation into hierarchy and establishing strong lines of authority. Max Weber believed that the more bureaucratic an organisation is, the more rational it was becoming. Application of Max Weber theory 1.Show MoreRelatedManagement Theories of Mcdonalds Essay1212 Words   |  5 PagesManagement Theories Implemented by McDonald’s McDonald’s demonstrates many different aspects of classical management, including aspects of Frederick Taylor’s scientific management and Henri Fayol’s management principles. McDonald’s also displays how their management styles compares to their competition and how it has led to an effective organization. Taylor’s management style is evident through McDonald’s training, specific systems, and education; while Fayol’s management style manifests throughRead MoreThe Classical View Of Project Management1411 Words   |  6 Pagesthe global economy. The increasingly important role of project management in projects should not be neglected. According to the website of the Project Management Institute (2016), in order to meet a projects’ demands, the utilization of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques in project activities are what combine to form a perception of project management. It is obvious that the contribution of the classica l view of project management in project activities cannot be ignored, however, it is criticalRead MoreClassical Management Approach During The 19th Century1224 Words   |  5 PagesThe classical management approach emerged during the 19th and 20th century. The factory system that existed in the 1800s posed challenges that were not encountered by the earlier organizations. Problems arose in tooling the plants, organizing managerial structure, training employees, scheduling complex manufacturing operations and dealing with increased labor dissatisfaction and resulting strikes. These new problems demanded an approach to coordination, control and new sub-species of economic manRead MoreClassical Viewpoint Of Management Essay842 Words   |  4 Pages In the classical viewpoint of management, great time and effort is put into the scientific method and scientific management. The scientific method is used in order to determine the best way to accomplishing each assigned task. The classic viewpoint also uses the theory that persons need to be scientifically selected and then trained to conduct duties. Encompassed in this viewpoint is the implication that management develop and assign all tasks, and employees are responsible for the completion ofRead MoreClassical and Neo Classical Theories1300 Words   |  6 PagesClassical and Neo-Classical Theories of Management Classical management theory There are three well-established theories of classical management: Taylor,s Theory of Scientific Management, Fayol’s Administrative Theory, Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy. Although these schools, or theories, developed historical sequence, later ideas have not replaced earlier ones. Instead, each new school has tended to complement or coexist with previous ones. Theory recognizing the role that management plays in anRead MoreTheoretical Perspective And Key Concepts1657 Words   |  7 PagesThis portion of the paper will explore the theoretical perspective and key concepts first the classical organization theory, authored by Courtney Howard, followed by the theoretical perspective and key concepts of the ecological systems theory authored by Gretchen Rydin. As we have read in previous chapters of our text an organization can be defined as â€Å"social entities that are goal directed as deliberately structured and coordinated activity systems and are linked to the external environment† (Kirst-AshmanRead MoreManagement Foundations Essay1635 Words   |  7 PagesManagement Foundations Esay The classical management perspective represents the first well-developed framework of management (Davidson. P. et al, 2000). It’s the framework from which later theories evolved and concerns efficiency and productivity, which in turn leads to effective and efficient management. Scientific management and the Administrative theory are both classical management theories, which provide information on managing in the workplace, which are very useful and vital to have inRead More Management Theories Essay1107 Words   |  5 PagesManagement Theories The Classical School of Management Theory The Classical School is thought to have originated around the year 1900 and dominated management thinking into the 1920s, focusing on the efficiency of the work process. It has three schools of thinking: Bureaucratic management, which focuses on rules and procedures, hierarchy and clear division of labour; Scientific management, which looks at ‘the best way’ to do a job; and Administrative management, which emphasises the flowRead MoreA Reflection On Behaviorism Theory849 Words   |  4 Pagesthem by nature I am a giver. I choose behaviorism theory because I’m more intimate with this theory, it’s the most theory that I will have to deal with more when I began the job that I am going to because there will be a lot of children and teenagers with different behaviors around me, some good and some that are bad. With this behavior, I will be working more towards helping them become better and staying out of trouble. Classroom management is a skill every teacher must find out, and dealingRead MoreOrganizational Development (OD)1547 Words   |  7 Pagesto help management and employees on a variety of levels. Organizational development is perhaps unequaled in its ability to meet any type of organization needs. However, the solutions developed from the role of OD may not be necessarily interchangeable with different organizations (Grant, 2010). According to traditional theorists such as Fayol, Weber, and Taylor, a school of thought identifies a level of agreement in their view of organizational system implementation. These classical theorists