Natural Born Killers Essay, Research Paper
Adam Kolkowski T205 April 23, 1999 Tim “Natural Born Killers”It is often discussed about the moral nature of our society. Is violence in movies too much? Are people affected by what they view? One such film, “Natural Born Killers” by Oliver Stone, is an engaging film that serves as a social commentary for society as we know it. By purposely making the movie as offensive as possible, Oliver Stone not only delivers the point that the characters are amoral, but that the media can also play a part in creating the exact monsters that they report on. By playing to our emotions, such as the four dimensions of media literacy, this film stands too not to entertain, but as a cultural icon, something to represent our present culture, however disturbing. With the television on wherever they go, Mickey and Mallory go on a killing spree that ends with 52 dead. Set in a nightmarish American landscape of coffee shops and hotels, the modern Bonnie and Clyde brutally murder people for the seeming fun of it. Spurned by a dysfunctional family and their television saturated minds, Mickey and Mallory almost seem to enjoy the pain and suffering that they inflict. By using sensory overload of color, black and white, and cartoon like sequences, we see how mixed up and out of touch with reality Mickey and Mallory really are. They view their murders and mayhem as an almost surrogate to the love they feel for each other. Using snake imagery as a sign of evil throughout the movie and intertwined with warped television images, Oliver graphically drives the message home that violence in the media can and does have an affect on people who aren’t stable to begin with. To say that anyone who views violence on television will commit murder is wrong, but viewed by someone who is already mentally incapacitated, television can have a warped effect. Not only does Stone use sensory overload on the viewer, but he also uses quick editing and music to set the tone for his social commentary. Unlike most movies where the point is to observe, this movie causes one to think and absorb the message. While it may appear to be too violent and sick for some, it is also the purpose that Stone had. By doing this, Stone’s message seems to be that media’s glorification of violence has Ping-Pong like effect on society. As society views violent content, they too become violent, thus the media reports on it. Then that report affects someone else and eventually the two play off of each other in a ping pong like effect.While causing you to think, this movie also allows for your emotions to take over. Instead of using typical violent scenes which viewers are used to because of desensitization, Stone goes over the top to shock the viewer. His use of Rodney Dangerfield as the abusive molester father in a sitcom like situation is so thoroughly sick, that it shocks the viewer into the thought that yes, fathers do molest their daughters and yes, people’s families really are like this. By sensationalizing the actions of Mickey and Mallory, Stone invokes a sense of awe as he makes these ruthless killers heroes. The people they killed apparently didn’t mean anything and the actions of our “heroes” is glorified. This and the television element of “American Psychos” inside the film itself, allows for further emotions to be evoked. As the viewer is appalled at the movie itself with its offensive images, the viewer is shown the world of “Natural Born Killers” as seen through the eyes of a national television show. This show glorifies Mickey and Mallory, further invoking emotions in the viewer such as anger and distrust of the media and fear of what lies ahead. As the emotional side takes effect, the moral value of the movie comes into play. The moral issue with Mickey and Mallory is that they have no morals. They may have love for each other, but they feel no pain for anyone they hurt except the Indian who helps them and nurses them back to health after a rattlesnake bites Mickey. Now right after this, they are captured. Is this because of the fact that they killed the only person that helped them in life? It may be that Stone wanted to portray Mickey and Mallory as above the law until they killed the one nice person that helped them. It seems to be “the last straw” and they are finally caught and punished for their actions. Yes by being products of society, the tabloid show with Wayne Gayle comes into the prison to interview Mickey. Is this morally right for the television show to glorify such behavior? Obviously, Stone wants to drill home the message that morals and society have a direct influence on each other. When the people are shown cheering on Mickey and Mallory, it can only be said that in any society by Stone’s, they would be looked at as murderers. While most director’s walk around the issue, Stone delivers intensely graphic and over the top portrayals of characters and leaves the viewer to decipher the rest. What is right and wrong? What created these monsters? It seems that the only time Mickey and Mallory are punished for their crime is when they actually do something to someone who doesn’t deserve it in the case of the Indian. It is almost as if everyone else deserved what they got and it was “ok” for Mickey and Mallory to kill them. Which adds to the issue of them being popular and the so called “good guys”. Usually society’s attention is centered on heroes, yet Stone chooses to portray the evil characters as heroes. People look up to them and emulate them. Stone is trying to show how society can glorify things that aren’t acceptable on other terms, like murder, yet frown upon normally good things, like law enforcement and rules.
Stone not only has moral and emotional messages in his movie, but he delivers them with ease in his stylistically different movie format. Using black and white at random intervals as well as some cartoon sequences, Stone allows for a break in the continuation in the movie, almost a mark for the viewer to pay attention. Although the movie is extremely well done with it’s mise en scene, the rapid editing style that Stone uses, meant to show how fast paced our society is, really doesn’t let the eye focus, allowing the viewer to get confused easy. Yet the message and style of the film are all retained. The set where Mallory and her family interact is in the style of a 70’s sitcom, using cheap sets and horrible clothing. The film is very vast and leaves the viewer with a sense of how large the world they live in is. Yet the fakeness of their lives is shown as well. When Mickey and Mallory are out in the dessert, the shooting stars and the sky all look incredibly fake, as do the scenes where it looks like their car is driving through various old television shows. While people feel that this film is horrible and too violent for human consumption, it does provide a good example of a movie that sets out to say something about how society interacts with itself and the media. However violent it may be, the violence is there for a reason. It is in your face and you can’t ignore it. While some may blame this film for certain deeds that some do (Colorado shooting) it isn’t an excuse that should be heard. Millions of people have seen this movie and have not been moved to violence. It merely provides an outlet for some people to vent their anger. People are not products of the media, they are products of what is around them, constantly absorbing. Oliver Stone made an epic movie that portrays the violence that is prevalent in our society today. The media, while they can’t be blamed, sometimes do have effects on people that can’t be seen as good. In doing so, Stone set out to make a movie that glorified violence. In doing so he not only accomplished his goal, but he made a statement about society and it’s moral standing.
32f
Другие работы по теме:
Untitled Essay Research Paper MATERIAL SAFETY DATA
Untitled Essay, Research Paper MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET WOMEN: A Chemical Analysis ELEMENT: Woman SYMBOL: WO DISCOVERER Adam ATOMIC MASS: Accepted as 118 lbs, known to vary from 110 to 550 lbs. OCCURRENCE: Copious quantities throughout the world. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: 1. Surface usually covered with a painted film. 2.
Shoot The Teacher Essay Research Paper SHOOT
Shoot The Teacher Essay, Research Paper SHOOT THE TEACHER By: David Belbin During the couple of days that pass in this book, lots of things happen. A boy in his mid teens becomes to heavy a
Dream Deffered Essay Research Paper Dream DeferredHe
Dream Deffered Essay, Research Paper ?Dream Deferred? ?He knew as he stood there that he could never tell why he killed. It was not that he did not really want to tell, but the telling of it would have involved an explanation of his
Small Place Essay Research Paper you need
Small Place Essay, Research Paper you need to keep track of my fucking credits so i don’t need to do thisAntigua-born Jamaica Kincaid offers a personal and opinionated introduction to the tiny island, from its natural beauty to the political corruption that leaves it without adequate hospitals and schools.
April Morning Essay Essay Research Paper I
April Morning Essay Essay, Research Paper I think that some of the reasoning behind Moses Cooper letting Adam fight in the war was that Adam was no longer a small child like his brother
Adam Sandler Essay Research Paper It seems
Adam Sandler Essay, Research Paper It seems you either love him or hate him – but there’s no avoiding him. Adam Sandler has risen to the top, and he has his loyal fans to thank for it. While most actors fight their way to the top while relying mainly on hype, for Sandler this was actually against him. No one thought he would succeed, but the fans made it happen, carrying him to the top of the box office.
Adam Sandler Essay Research Paper Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler Essay, Research Paper Adam Sandler is a well-known comedian, musician, actor, screenwriter, and singer. He is known throughout the nation for his accomplishments in the entertainment business.
Hebrew And Greek Beliefs On Gods And
The Begining Of The Human Race Essay, Research Paper Hebrew and Greek beliefs on gods and the beginning of the human race When reading the different writings of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Hebrews we see their different views on who or what created all that is living and their beliefs in gods. In this paper we will look at the beginning of the earth and the beginning of the human race in both of their views.
Global Population Essay Research Paper One of
Global Population Essay, Research Paper One of the biggest problems with the world today is our rapidly growing global population. With the current population being at over 6 billion, every second five people are born and two people die
Death Penalty 6 Essay Research Paper Death
Death Penalty 6 Essay, Research Paper Death Penalty In The “Death Penalty is a Step Back” by Coretta Scott King, she makes some very good and strong points opposing the death penalty. To bad all those points can be countered very easily with logical explanations. Yes, Mrs. King is right when she states that two wrongs don’t make a right, but in some cases besides math it does, and the death penalty is one of those cases.
What Makes Serial Killers Tick Essay Research
Paper Just as these killers rip open their victims to “see how they run” (as Ed Kemper put it), forensic psychiatrists and FBI agents have tried to get inside the killer s mind. Traditional explanations include
April Morning Essay Research Paper April MorningI
April Morning Essay, Research Paper April Morning I think that some of the reasoning behind Moses Cooper letting Adam fight in the war was that Adam was no longer a small child like his brother Levi.
Legislation Essay Research Paper What then is
Legislation Essay, Research Paper What, then, is legislation? It is an assumption by one man, or body ofmen, of absolute, irresponsible dominion over all other men whom theycan subject to their power. It is an assumption by one man, or body ofmen, of a right to subject all other men to their will and theirservice.
John Milton Essay Research Paper John Milton 2
John Milton Essay, Research Paper John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” describes the fall of man in a poetic lyric. His book closely details the character God, Satan, and how Adam and Eve came do their downfall. God’s first human creation, Adam, was given all luscious gifts of paradise, including free will. The Tree Of Knowledge was Adam and Eve’s only forbiddance.
Serial Killers In The 70S Essay Research
Paper Serial Killers and Society The nineteen-seventies was an incredible decade. It was a decade of change, one of freedom, a time for great music. It was also an incredible decade for shock, fear and serial killers. John Wayne Gacy, an amateur clown, was a pedophiliac homosexual. He tortured and killed thirty three little boys and stored their remains under his house.
Dragons In America Essay Research Paper Ian
Dragons In America Essay, Research Paper Ian Richards World Literature Hr. 3 9 September 1996 Dragons in America Monsters or dragons in present day America are feared .Monsters in America
Natural Laws Essay Research Paper Natural LawsJohn
Natural Laws Essay, Research Paper Natural Laws John Locke?s piece called Second Treatise Government, was written to express his beliefs on how a government should be established. John Locke was born in 1632 and died in 1704. He was a statesman as well as a philosopher, a political theorist and a main contributor to the Enlightenment period.
The Punk Experience Essay Research Paper In
The Punk Experience Essay, Research Paper In 1994, director Oliver Stone and storywriter Quentin Tarantino created the epitome of the American masterpiece: Natural Born Killers. This incredible movie was made to portray the 1990 s as a whole, and to tell the story of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Today, it is a classic and should be a standard for all movie making, as well as film critiquing.
Speaker
#3 Essay, Research Paper He was born on Essen of Germany. He was an ordinary citizen of Germany. The keyword to this essay is that word “was.” After the NAZI came into power, he was treated as an “inferior race.” He did not beat anyone up or abuse anyone. So, why was he being treated badly? He was a Jewish person in a new era.
Adam And Eve Essay Research Paper In
Adam And Eve Essay, Research Paper In the ?Book of Genesis?, an ancient Hebrew story from the King James Bible, we are given the account of Adam and Eve. Eve is led up the path of temptation and forced to make a
Adam And Eve Essay Research Paper Lee
Adam And Eve Essay, Research Paper Lee Daville English IV A Summary of ?The Diaries of Adam and Eve? This play takes place in a beautiful, mysterious garden. Two characters make up
Serial Kill Essay Research Paper Who Is
Serial Kill Essay, Research Paper Who Is A Serial Killer? Who develops into a serial murderer? How does a serial killer operate? Is it genetics, biological, or cultural conditioning that makes these people killers? We all experience rage, yet we have all have the ability to control these behaviors. What sets us apart from a killer?
Serrial Killer Essay Research Paper SERIAL KILLERShaine
Serrial Killer Essay, Research Paper SERIAL KILLER Shaine Dolan The country has been gripped by fear and the serial killer has played right into that fear. The serial killer epitomizes the fear that police officers and the criminal justice cannot protect us. Serial killings account for less than one percent of annual homicides we have in America, yet they somehow touch the lives of almost every America.
Horror Movies Essay Research Paper Natural Born
Horror Movies Essay, Research Paper ?Natural Born Killers,? ? Psycho,? ? Friday the 13th ,? and ?The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? are all horror films. In these films there is always some crazy person or monster-like character that goes around and slaughters innocent people. And usually, but not all the time the killer is killed at the end of the movie.
Justifying Natural Born Killers Essay Research Paper
Natural Born Killers is a type of movie that sends new ideas to peoples heads. This movie seems like it is trying to justify murder. In almost every scene of the movie we can see images of demons or other evil things, for example the sign of the triple six, which stands for the mark of the beast. All of this adds to the glamorization of murder.
Natural Born Killers Essay Research Paper The
Natural Born Killers Essay, Research Paper The Tie between Violence, Adolescence, and Directors Many controversial issues have risen since the release of Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers. Many people believe that because of this movie children have been given the ideas of mass murder, insane outbreaks, immoral decisions and so on.
Adam Smith Essay Research Paper Adam Smith 2
Adam Smith Essay, Research Paper Adam Smith, (1776), of the division of labor According to Adam Smith, economic growth is rooted in the increasing division of labor and the specialization of the labor force by the breaking down of large jobs into many little ones. Under this regime, each worker becomes an expert in one area of production and workers do not have to switch tasks during the day.
Adam Smith Essay Research Paper Keeley SloanAdam
Adam Smith Essay, Research Paper Keeley Sloan Adam Smith Adam Smith was born in 1723. The age of humanism and reason, in other words the age of greed and corruption associated with dreadful living conditions. At the age of about fifteen, Smith proceeded to Glasgow University, studying moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson.
Adam Bede Essay Research Paper Adam Bede
Adam Bede Essay, Research Paper Adam Bede Technology advances with time. Though, technological advancement is needed to move a civilization forward, it also has its downsides. With more products and services available, it is impossible to live a life of relaxation as people once did long before. In George Eliot’s “Adam Bede,” one can see the difference in the purity of “old leisure” and the corruption of modern leisure through Eliot’s use of diction, imagery, and personification.
Adam
’s Song Essay, Research Paper Adam’s Song I never thought I?d die alone I laughed the loudest who?d have known? I trace the cord back to the wall No wonder it was never plugged in at all
An Analysis On Adam Purcell
’s Sleep Adam Sleep Essay, Research Paper An Analysis of Purcell’s’ Sleep, Adam, Sleep Out of all of the composers of the Baroque era, Henry Purcell seems to have extraordinary consideration for Italian operas, court odes, and religious anthems. He is best known for the epic Dido and Aenas, which was one of his famous operas.
Adam Smith Essay Research Paper Adam SmithThe
Adam Smith Essay, Research Paper Adam Smith The British philosopher and economist Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. He was educated at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford.