Movie cult” in American society

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

РОССИЙСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЙ СОЦИАЛЬНЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ

Факультет иностранных языков

Кафедра английской филологии

КУРСОВАЯ РАБОТА

« “B-MOVIES” CULT FORMULA
IN AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHY»

по дисциплине «История и культура стран изучаемых языков»

Специальность: перевод и переводоведение

Москва, 2012

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………... 3

CHAPTER I. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHY

AS CULTURAL PHENOMENON …………………………………………....5

1.1. “Movie cult” in American society ………………………………….. .5

1.2. Brief history of cinematography ……………………………………...6

1.3. Background of Hollywood movie industry ………………………….14

1.4. American tradition of movie rating criteria ………………………….19

CHAPTER II. “B-MOVIES” STATUS

IN AMERICAN MAINSTREAM CINEMATOGRAPHY ....……………….22

2.1. Genres of American moviemaking ....………………………………..22

2.2. B-movies: origins, development and categories ……………………..23

2.3. B-movie as cult movie in the USA ……………………………...…...41

CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………...45

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………..46

APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………48

INTRODUCTION

The relevance of the research.According to imdb.com, the internet movie database, there were about two million three hundred thousand movies ever made. Naturally, throughout its more than hundred-year-old history the art of moviemaking underwent a lot of radical changes – the technology developed and the preference of the public shifted. So it comes as no surprise that some movies that used to be smash hits are now considered trite and vice versa.

One could argue that all of this is just a matter of personal taste. But there are some movies that are universally received as “bad”. The existence of these movies raises a series of questions: if tastes differ, then how can one movie be generally scorned upon? Didn’t the movie crew realize that their product is bad, and if they did, why did they finish the movie anyway? And most importantly, if a movie is so bad, why hasn’t it fallen into obscurity yet? Why do people still talk about it?

The Hollywood movie industry is the biggest movie industry in the world.
It has long history and throughout this history there were movies, which proved that despite the common opinion that the only way to make a movie“good” is to throw money at it, you could make fun and enjoyable pictures without a ton of money and flashy CGI effects. These movies were known as B-movies, often considered to be the black sheep of Hollywood. This somewhat non-conformist philosophy made B-movies the special movies they are. B-movie directors took microbudgets and made some of the greatest films in history. Were they great because they had great acting, great special effects or great storylines? No. They're great because they touched a part of minds of American audience that allowed child-like innocence to take over, and these are the movies that have stuck with them throughout the years. Most people has seen these movies once, they don't always know what they were called, and they don't always remember what they were about, but the images from these classic B-movies are images that have stayed with many of them throughout their lives and became a core part of American pop-culture.

The object of the researchis B-movie as a type of low-budget and low-quality American movie.

The subject of the researchis the cult status of many B-movies and the genre as a whole in America.

The aim of the researchis to find out which events led to the beginnings of B-movie phenomenon, what makes B-movies an integral part of American cinematography and how they influenced American pop-culture.

The tasks of the research are:

–to single out “movie cult” and its role in American society;

– to come across with the brief history of cinematography;

– to find out about the development of Hollywood movie industry;

– to get acquainted with the ways Americans rate movies;

– to differentiate genres of American moviemaking;

– to learn about origins, development and categories of B-movies;

– to investigate the cult status of a B-movie in the USA.

The hypothesis of the research. B-movie is not just a “bad” movie. It’s a result of the formation of American movie industry. The existence and popularity of B-movies can be attributed to a number of factors, such as 1) the development of world cinematography; 2) the specifics of American movie industry. Of all the genres of American movies, B-movie is the most diverse. This can be seen in 1) the various types of B-movies; 2) the history of the genre. Despite being often looked down on, B-movies play important role in the development of American culture and cinematography. The aesthetic of B-movies can be seen in overwhelming majority of modern American motion pictures.

The structure of the research.The paper consists of introduction, two chapters, conclusion, bibliography and appendices.

CHAPTER I. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHY

AS CULTURAL PHENOMENON

Movie cult” in American society

Cinematography is the art, science or technology of motion-picture photography [2, p. 222].

A film, also called a movie, cinema or motion picture, is a series of still images on a strip of plastic which, when run through a projector and shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images [2, p. 467].

Moviemaking is the process of making a movie. Moviemaking involves a number of discrete stages including an initial story, idea, or commission, through screenwriting – the art and craft of writing screenplay – the script and often shooting directions of a story prepared for motion picture production, casting – the process of selecting actors for a movie, shooting – the process of recording images on film, editing – the process of selecting and preparing film media through the processes of correction performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete work, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a movie release and exhibition. Moviemaking takes place in many places around the world. Typically, it involves a large number of people, and can take from a few months to several years to complete.

In narrow sense moviemaking is a process of shooting the movie. It can be considered a part of movie production – a process that also consists of pre-production – preparations for the shoot, in which cast and film crew are hired, locations are selected, and sets are built, and postproduction – a process of editing the movie itself and its dialogues, composing performing and recording music tracks and songs, designing sound and adding visual effects are digitally added. The film is fully completed only after the completion of postproduction [1].

The movie industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of moviemaking: i.e. movie studios – entertainment companies that have their own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make movies, which is handled by movie production companies – companies, responsible for the development and filming of a motion picture; cinematography, moviemaking, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, movie festivals, distribution – the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience; and actors, movie directors and other movie crew personnel.

Throughout the American history the movie industry has taken many forms, but one thing has always remained permanent – the Americans’ love for movies. Beginning as low-brow form of entertainment for the working class, American motion pictures soon became well-renowned all over the world. In average American’s eyes their cinematography holds more cultural merit than their literature. Movie theaters have always been the top place for social interaction [19]. Perhaps this passion for movies is what made American cinematography so popular.