Truffaut’s Jules et Jim †An Expressionistic Analysis :: Movie Film Essays

Truffaut’s Jules et Jim — An Expressionistic Analysis As far as Bazin’s essay â€Å"The Evolution of the Language of Cinema† might be used as a formal test of categorisation—notwithstanding the problematics inherent in his oversimplification of the realist and expressionist methodology—initial viewing of Jules et Jim seems to present a dichotomous structure. Certainly, a number of Bazin’s criteria for realism are met: camera movement; long-takes; composition-in-depth. and deep focus; a certain ambiguity of meaning. Similarly, several of Bazin’s criteria for expressionism also can be found: there is spatial and temporal discontinuity; editing is used for artistic effect; reality is augmented to create a world only vaguely like our own, and so on. The dichotomy though is only apparent. The over-all effect created by Truffaut shows Jules et Jim belonging more comfortably in the expressionistic domain; and, as we shall discover, devices which would normally—at least according to Bazin— deliver the effect of realism are utilised by Truffaut as tools of expressionism. In our analysis of Jules et Jim, rather than examine fleetingly the whole gamut of expressionistic techniques, we shall instead explore in some detail the more important methods, paying particular attention to temporal and spatial distortions, editing and montage, special visual effects, and finally discover the manner in which Bazin’s archetypal techniques of realism—long-takes and composition-in-depth.—are recast. Certainly one of the most striking features of Jules et Jim is temporal distortion. Truffaut utilises this effect by various means and for various purposes. In the first two minutes of the film, time is condensed in two ways: by the third person narrative, which encapsulates the film’s exposition in the most laconic of terms, describing the meeting and developing friendship of Jules and Jim, and also by the selective images which largely avoid redunant description of the aural narrative, but instead seek to interpret and compliment. Accordingly, when the narrator tells us that Jules is a foreigner in Paris; that he wants to go to an art student’s ball; and that Jim gets him a ticket and costume, the image we are offered is a simple one of the two playing dominoes. This image, incidentally, becomes a leitmotif in the film, supporting the theme of friendship and is touchingly varied much later when Jules plays instead with his daughter. Next, the narrator tells us that their friendship grows; the ball takes place; that Jules has tender eyes.

Heart of Darkness Symbolic Analysis

In the novel Heart of Darkness the focus is mainly about the situation of imperialism in that time period. It describes the hypocrisy of imperialism, the madness as a result of imperialism, and the absurdity of evil. In reality the book is about much more than that. Marlow is the narrator and throughout the novel his visions and thoughts about himself change greatly as he endures the journey of self-discovery. In the beginning Marlow feels lost in his life; the main focus in life to him was being a sailor on the steamboat. Marlow is very naive and has not seen as much of life as he should be seeing in order to expand his overall knowledge of the world. Marlow describes the ship and the ocean as if it was the only thing he had ever seen in his whole life. (Part 1) The fact that the beginning starts with Marlow’s description of the sea, and the facts of imperialism do not start until later indicates that imperialism was not the only reason Joseph Conrad wrote the novel. Imperialism is the policy of extending authority of a nation over foreign countries. In this case Marlow is traveling up the river to the Inner station where he encounters cruelty and torture of the salvages. (Part 1) The men who work for the Company describe what they do as â€Å"trade,† and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of â€Å"civilization. † In reality what they are doing is taking the ivory by force in command to the orders that Kurtz demands. Kurtz knows what he is doing but he makes the other men believe it is not out of cruelty or imperialism. Through all of this Marlow is stuck in the middle because he is blinded by the good that is said of Kurtz and he refers to him as a remarkable man (Part 3), which ends up hurting his relationship with the rest of the company because they know the truth and they strongly disagree. Marlow does not know until the end of the book exactly how mad and narcissistic Kurtz really is and the damage he is doing by trying to get everything his own way. All of the problems that accumulate because of the imperialistic actions of Kurtz make Marlow less close-minded and he finds within himself his own voice and opinion. Another reason why I feel that the book is not just about imperialism, but also about Marlow’s journey to self-discovery is that Kurtz is an unknown character to Marlow and he learns more about him as the story goes forth. â€Å"I had heard about some man named Kurtz who was ill but I did not know what exactly he did or how important he was,† (Part 1&2). At first, very little is known about Kurtz, the only description Marlow has of him was that he was an important person to the company. Kurtz was the way that the author incorporated the idea of imperialism into the novel because he was trying to rule an export from a foreign country which would eventually lead to the rule of the country itself. †You know Kurtz, he is very important and he is ill right now but he must get better,† (Part 2). The station manager states something like that to Marlow which tells him exactly how important Kurtz really is in the company. When Marlow finds two men conspiring (Part 3) it gives him more insight into how different reality was in comparison to his thoughts of how the world worked. Marlow changes a lot throughout the novel. At first he is very naive and inexperienced, but by the end he becomes very brave and strongly opinionated. Although the book seems to be mostly about the concept of imperialism it was actually something that Marlow had to endure in order for Marlow to grow intellectually. All the things that he saw on the journey to â€Å"civilization†, everything he encountered was a new experience that taught him a life lesson. The novel Heart of Darkness was not solely a book about the Congo and Imperialism. It was about a boy who became a man in the trials and tribulations of the attempt of his Company’s head man to rule a country under his command. By the end of the imperialistic battle, between all the hardships of life at sea, conspiracy against the boss, and the extremely cruel and controversial concept of imperialism, Marlow found his true identity.

Texas Constitution And The Constitution - 872 Words

Texas Constitution Texas Constitution of 1876, written by ninety delegates, a majority of them white farmers, Grange, and Democrats. Fewer than seven percent of the delegates were African American, yet proving unity Texans restructured the Constitution with considerations of past attempts: creating limited power for government, popular sovereignty, and separation of powers for state and local systems. Considerably, Texas Constitution was no walk in the park; on the contrary, it was a struggle from the beginning. 1836 was the first Coahuila y Tejas Constitution; Texas won independence from Mexico. Texas Constitution addressed personal property, land ownership, water rights, and community property. Majority of the delegates who participated in creating the constitution of 1836 was from the southern United States, meaning Texas was a Republican state. With this in mind, Texas constitution was similar, if not somewhat direct copy of the National Constitution, Texas created a limited gove rnment, bicameralism, separation of powers, and popular sovereignty system. Furthermore, presidents and Legislatures were elected; the president had the power to appoint the cabinet; it also called for a secretary of war and navy; they were later canceled when Texas joined the US. Texas went on to create the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial, this was a step to create separation of powers while the actual how the structure worked created checks andShow MoreRelatedThe Constitution Of The Texas Constitution948 Words   |  4 Pagesbetter, in the case of the Texas Constitution having the second longest state Constitution and the fourth most amended Constitution in the United States, makes it a difficult and complicated document. The Texas Constitution has been rewritten a total of six times since becoming independent from Mexico. The most recent being the Constitution of 1876, which is excessively detailed and exact due to the framers fear of a strong state government. The framers of the constitution placed strategically in theRead MoreThe Constitution And The Texas Constitution866 Words   |  4 PagesA constitution is an accumulation of principles and rules that establishes the character of a government. Additionally, by showing the authority each part of the government holds, it is describing the organization and regulation of the government and how a society must conform. The Texas constitution has been reformed on multiple occasions and is troublesome to amend due to it being highly restrictive and detailed. The process on how to amend the Texas constitution, the attempts and failure of theRead MoreU.s. 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It is the second largest state with more than twenty-six million people residing. People all over the state live in a variety of environments, cities, suburbs, rural areas, you name it. Of course though, like in everything else, there are always both positive and negative things. However, despite the fact that Texas have very high poverty rates and it has the second highest income inequality, Texas is a very interestingRead MoreTexas Constitution Vs. U.s. Constitution Essay1362 Words   |  6 PagesAs far as the Texas Constitution in comparison to the U.S. Constitution, they are much different. There has always been much talk about how the Texas Constitution is very long and poorly put together. I believe Texas and the people in it have tried to keep Texas very traditional and old school as possible. In my opinion, they have continued to add things to the Constitution to keep away from progressivism and to not allow the U.S. government to dictate what they will and will not do. 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This is shown through the extent of control on legislative power, the issues presented in each Bill of Rights, and the overall fluidity of the document while in effect. The Constitution of the United States, signed September 17, 1787, is the basis of all government in the UnitedRead MoreThe State Of The Texas Constitution1241 Words   |  5 Pages The Texas constitution is one of the oldest constitutions which was initially adopted in 1876. Since the adoption of the Texas Constitution, the Legislature has proposed 662 amendments. Out of these amendments, the electorate has approved 483 while the voters majority has defeated 179. From the many modifications and many more proposals pending or that are yet to come, it is evident that the Texas Constitution is not a perfect one as many other constitutions of individual states. As argued