Oral Presentation- Part 2 - Historical and Socio-colutural- Million Dollar Baby

II. Historical and Institutional Factors-

1. What are the institutional factors that may be important?

1. as a production of a specific producer (i.e. Walt Disney), institution (Disney Studios), specific economic factors (Studio Film), or a political background? (U.S. politics 1959)

This film was distributed by Warner Bros. This film was shot down by many studios before Warner Bros. took the job. 


What is the film’s historical significance? 
     1. as a document of its time?
This film is set in modern day time. The historical significance as a document of its time would be that this movie is about the female "Rocky".  This movie can relate to the historical importance of who Rocky was and how hard he worked to become who is known for today. 
     2. as a part of history of film?
This film can relate to any other film that deals with a character wanting to embrace their strength and having a mentor to help them with this. This kind of conflict is often portrayed in films like the Karate Kid and etc. These movies are apart of the history of film because they both deal with strength and knowing what physical and mental strength you are capable of containing and controlling. 

III.  Socio-cultural context

What is the film’s socio-cultural context?

1. as a work from a specific country?

The film was produced in the United States

     2. As a work from a specific culture?

    3. As a work representing a specific part of its society?

This film takes place in a run-down town in Los Angeles. The film is influenced by our normal culture, where men are characterized as being "stronger" than women. But in this film, it is the women that shows off her strength. The film is also influenced by a part of society that has less. In this film, the main character, Maggie, comes from a family that isn't very supportive of what she does and just laughs at the whole situation. A lot of families don't seem to care as much about their children as they use to, which is demonstrated in this film. The run-down society that Maggie lives in is poor which can be seen in a lot of cities now a days because of the economic crisis. This movie can relate to the poor conditions that our society falls under in certain situations, while the culture ranges from who you are and what you believe in. But this film pushes the female main character to be stronger then the rest after she is down graded and not given a chance in the beginning of the movie. 

     4. As a work made for a specific audience?

The specific audience this film was made for is young adults (16) and older. The audience it targets are people who are in need of redemption. The movie can definitely reach out to females who feel that they are judged as being weak. This movie can reach out to the females who are looking for a way to show their strength and their ability to be accountable for themselves. 

      5. As a work made for a specific reason?

Clint Eastwood created this movie for a couple reason. One reason was to show the importance of unlikely friendships and how they come and go and sometimes you need to hold on to them. Clint Eastwood has had many relationships in the past and it took him awhile to settle on just one. I believe that he wants to express the message of never go without loving, because sometimes opportunities only come once in a life time. And in this movie, Maggie keeps fighting for what she thinks is right and keeps working hard to show the trainer that she can be a good boxer. Another reason this movie was created was to show how women are strong and to not hold back on anything that is put right in front of you.

works cited: http://www.allmovie.com/work/305809

works cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Dollar_Baby

Sound Design Short Film Treatment

By Maria Luevano and Jen Lewis


Logline: A man is desperate to get his hands on money and other valuable things, so he decides to brake into a house; the sounds he heard while robbing the house keeps reappearing and his conscious starts to take control.

Treatment:

A man walking all the street, dragging his feet in a slump has been very desperate to get his life back on track. He sees happy people walking past him on the streets and is very jealous of what they have that he doesn't. He comes to a conclusion of braking into one of his good friends house. He doesn't take into consideration how bad he may feel afterwards.

It's a dark gloomy night, and dressed in all black in the man looking at his friend and his family leave their house as he sits and waits behind a car. As they drive away he walks up to the front door and uses a spare key that his friend hides incase he gets locked out. He opens the creaking door and turns on his flashlight. The door SLAMS shut behind him from the wind and he gets startled and jumps. As he makes his way through the house he hears creaking sounds through out the house. (Eerie music plays softly in the background) He starts to go through drawers and fins jewelry and money that he throws in his bag. While this happens, he hears glass breaking from a distance. Once again he gets startled. and freaks out a little. He stands by the window as he tries to not make any sudden changes in the house while grabbing more jewelry. The harsh wind blows and makes a loud screeching sound while a tree branch hits the window and makes a loud thud.  As he tried to make his way out of the house the sounds keep getting louder and faster. He then panics and hurries out of the house.

Over the next couple days, he tried to go back to his normal life. His close friend that he robbed keeps trying to call him but out of guilt he doesn't answer. Walking on the street trying to enjoy the nice day, he hears behind him glass breaking. He starts to panic and sweat. He try's to keep walking but he keeps hearing it and the eerie music starts to start up again. He gets more antsy about it. He turns around and sees that it's someone braking glass bottles for an art work piece. He calms his self down and keeps on walking.

When he gets back home finally, he leans against a wall and tried to forget about what has happened in the past 12 hours. He takes a deep breath and suddenly hears a door slamming. He again starts to sweat and get worked up. It happens about 3 more times and starts to run. When he turns a corner, he stops in front of a family who was just getting home as well. The parents were arguing and slammed their doors in anger and the kids were frustrated as well and did the same. The family looks at it him and he stumbles over his words when trying to say "sorry". His heart keeps racing and his heart beat gets louder and louder. As he is running he hears the loud creaking sound from the wind and see that its a baby crying extremely loud.

He finally gets away from the loud community. He wonders into a beautiful open spaced area. He finds that maybe he can leave all of his guilt hear in the nature/woods and move on with life. As he recollects himself, he hears the wind blowing through the tall grass making sounds. He turns around and says "who's there?!" His conscious takes over his mind and starts to guilt trip him saying things like "How could you do that to your best friend? He has a family to support... and etc." He starts to get more angry about it. He starts to sweet more, the reoccurring sounds keep getting louder (glass breaking, heart beating, creaking, doors slamming) and starts yelling "NO, NO, NOOOOOO!" He finally runs out of the woods and runs home.

As he is about to get to his house, he walks by the police station. He tells himself don't stop keep walking and don't attract any attention. As he gets closer the reoccurring  sounds start to get louder and louder once again. He then breaks down and walks into the police station and turns himself in. He tells the police the address of his house where to find the stolen items and money and who he stole it from. You can see that he was a wreck and had some issues. His conscious got to him and made him go crazy to the point where he couldn't take it no longer. 

This film meets the requirements because the point is to show how the reoccurring sounds of what he heard while robbing his friends house got to his conscious and made him go crazy. The sounds are suppose to make him feel more and more guilty has his mind makes him hear things that aren't really there. The sounds are also suppose to remind him of what he did to his best friend.

Textual Analysis- Part 1

The film that I will be doing for my oral presentation is Million Dollar Baby. Million Dollar Baby is directed by Clint Eastwood starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman. This movie is about a underdog amateur woman who works with a trainer in attempt to establish herself as a boxer. This movie one 4 Oscars in 2004, 2 awards at the 62nd golden globe awards and many more.
What tradition or genre is it in?
The Genre that this movie falls under is sports drama. The movie is a sports movie because it involves the determination and hard work from this woman to step it up in order to become a contending female boxer. It also is a drama because through out the movie Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) deals with a painful estrangement of his daughter. Because of this, he has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone. Then Maggie Fitzgerald walks into not only his gym, but his life. As she persuades him to train her as a boxer, he starts to develop a father-daughter relationship with her. The drama can also be apart of the relationship at the end of the movie when Maggie winds up in the hospital due to a boxing event. 


What are the features determining genre?
The features that determine the genre are cinematography and acting. The cinematography throughout the film is diverse. Through out the movie, the drama gets more intense and the cinematography gets more real. During the fighting scene we get to see the action up close, which allows for the viewers to not see but actually feel the pain Maggie goes through during the fight. Some of the shots were brutal to look at because of how much detailed they showed to us, but that's what allowed the cinematography to really capture the picture at times. Also the acting was another feature that determined the genre. The acting was phenomenal from start to finish. Director Clint Eastwood definitely picked a excellent cast that allowed for the scenes to seem more real then scripted. The actors and the acting both brought emotion to the shots. In the end of the movie when Maggie is in the hospital, you really feel Frankie and her emotions as they both struggle to keep their relationship alive. Frankie doesn't want to have to lose someone close to him again, but Maggie can't take how much mobility she has lost and how much pain she has gone through. She feels like her life isn't worth living anymore because she has lived the life she has already wanted. And through the acting we capture the actors feelings in our own real life situations. 


What other work might it be connected to?
Some other work that would be connected to this movie would be the Karate Kid series. Both movies connect because they both have a mentor who takes on a underdog and turns them into a stronger person through a sport.  Also both movies have a mentor who takes someone under there wing after they have gone in the wrong direction of life. These mentors not only change others lives, but their lives change as well. These movies both resemble each other in the fight to gain self-confidence through a sport and the help of a trainer/mentor. Hilary Swank has played a role in both Million Dollar Baby and The Next Karate Kid. These movies both are connected through the story lines and how an underdog becomes a stronger person and ends up on top.


Who made this? Why?
Clint Eastwood made this movie after a various amount of studios rejected the project. Throughout Clint Eastwood's life, he has had many relationships with people. I believe that Clint Eastwood made this movie to show others the importance of relationships. In the movie Million Dollar Baby, relationships takes on an important role in the movie. In the movie, Maggie refers to Frankie as her father because of their close relationship. Maggie's family isn't very supportive of her, so she turns to her trainer as a father figure in some one who she can trust and confide in. On the other hand, Frankie has lost a connect with his daughter which he tried to reconnect and replace his daughter with Maggie. The importance of relationship in both the movie and Clint's life takes a big role because they develop a strong bond to keep people in the right track. 


What can we tell about its’ creators?
I can tell about its' creators that they wanted the story to really wanted to portray the theme of reality and relationships. Through the fight sequences, there was close ups that showed us pain and suffering that Maggie went through. Through showing us the pain and suffering she went through, we go to feel the reality of the film and that things like this actually do happen. Relationships on the other hand fade away in a lot of peoples life. And in this movie the creators wanted to show us that relationships come and go but that doesn't mean you have to not be close to anyone else again. 


How does it fit within the director's other work? Does it share significant narrative or thematic concerns? Does it share particular visual or technical elements?
This movie fits in with with some other work of Clint's. I believe that this movie and the movie Invictus can relate. I believe this because they are both a drama and they both dealing with hard times and being able to challenge through those times and come out strong and at the top. Both of these films star Morgan Freeman which is significant because he is a main actor in both movies. I believe they share thematic concerns. It shares the theme of being an underdog and coming through and showing how strong you can be. I think both the movies have similar visual elements because both movies have good cinematography and show the reality of things. 


What is the film's theme?
The theme of this film is redemption, even though it's achieved in the unlikeliest of ways. Both the characters, Maggie and Frankie, do the opposite of what their instincts tell them. They both have a hard time with relationships and keeping them because of the past. But both these characters feel they need to redeem themselves. Maggie feels the need to redeem herself through boxing in which she finds her trainer Frankie. Not looking for a father-daughter relationship, they both find what they are looking for. Someone that won't give up and leave. Through out the film Frankie covers up his pain with humor. He attends church and sends letters to his daughter but he receives them back saying "RETURN TO SENDER". This is the kind of thing that Frankie is holding himself back from. He is afraid of losing another close relationship, but he ends up replacing his daughter with Maggie in search for happiness and a new start in a relationship. 


What is the target audience? How does it address its audience?
The target audience of this film would be anyone of the ages 13 and up. The movie rating is PG-13. This movie is has violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language which should only been seen by ages 13 and up. This movie takes a heavy toll on emotions throughout the film which is another reason. The movie address' its audience through the emotional connections that people can relate to. It also grabs peoples attention by the relationship we see growing and how we can relate that growing relationship to one in our own lives. I believe that the strong emotional connection is what gets everyone because that is what gets me.