School Vs. Prison Genre
Although some people may argue the fact that prison and school films are unrelated in every way, I am here to argue the fact that these two genres are similar in many ways that some might not be able to point out for themselves. I am going to use three different critical articles as well as three different movies to explain my reasoning. I feel as though the significance of comparing these two genres is very important because it gives additional meaning to some aspects of life. To properly compare the two, I not only need to create a list of common school tropes (as discussed in class) but I also need a list of prison tropes. Only then can the two be weighed against each other.
Some common school tropes include, but …show more content…
In summary, Alber goes into detail about metaphors and how they are being used in film. As an introduction, she gives a brief description of two types of prison metaphors as a reference for what is to come later in her discussion. For the next couple sections, not only does she give examples for the two types of metaphors listed earlier, but she also gives a complete taxonomy of seven basic cinematic metaphors. I loved this section because I could understand and apply my new-found knowledge to not just prison movies but any movie that does not explicitly state what is being compared. In the next section, she mentions The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994). By applying the taxonomy that was mentioned previously, she could point out some examples that I did not catch on to. A great example of one that I missed would be when Stroud compared their prison cells to that of an animal cage implying that the prison is really a zoo and the prisoners are the animals; there for enjoyment of the officers. In the last sections, Alber does an amazing job of explaining the significance of metaphors in film and more specifically, what prison metaphors tell us about …show more content…
22). This is very true because as we have seen many times throughout the movie, Dan continuously makes problematic decisions. His drug use, teaching methods, and his closeness with a certain student are all evidence of this fact. The way that Half Nelson negates this particular cliché is comparable to the “dirty cop” cliché that appears in some prison films. In The Shawshank Redemption, Warden Norton is not the moral figure of authority that he should be considering his position in the prison. He gets Andy to launder money for him as well as forcing Captain Hadley to shoot another inmate. Although I don’t see much of teachers being immoral, I see police offers abusing their power all the time and it always appears on the
Although some people may argue the fact that prison and school films are unrelated in every way, I am here to argue the fact that these two genres are similar in many ways that some might not be able to point out for themselves. I am going to use three different critical articles as well as three different movies to explain my reasoning. I feel as though the significance of comparing these two genres is very important because it gives additional meaning to some aspects of life. To properly compare the two, I not only need to create a list of common school tropes (as discussed in class) but I also need a list of prison tropes. Only then can the two be weighed against each other.
Some common school tropes include, but …show more content…
In summary, Alber goes into detail about metaphors and how they are being used in film. As an introduction, she gives a brief description of two types of prison metaphors as a reference for what is to come later in her discussion. For the next couple sections, not only does she give examples for the two types of metaphors listed earlier, but she also gives a complete taxonomy of seven basic cinematic metaphors. I loved this section because I could understand and apply my new-found knowledge to not just prison movies but any movie that does not explicitly state what is being compared. In the next section, she mentions The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994). By applying the taxonomy that was mentioned previously, she could point out some examples that I did not catch on to. A great example of one that I missed would be when Stroud compared their prison cells to that of an animal cage implying that the prison is really a zoo and the prisoners are the animals; there for enjoyment of the officers. In the last sections, Alber does an amazing job of explaining the significance of metaphors in film and more specifically, what prison metaphors tell us about …show more content…
22). This is very true because as we have seen many times throughout the movie, Dan continuously makes problematic decisions. His drug use, teaching methods, and his closeness with a certain student are all evidence of this fact. The way that Half Nelson negates this particular cliché is comparable to the “dirty cop” cliché that appears in some prison films. In The Shawshank Redemption, Warden Norton is not the moral figure of authority that he should be considering his position in the prison. He gets Andy to launder money for him as well as forcing Captain Hadley to shoot another inmate. Although I don’t see much of teachers being immoral, I see police offers abusing their power all the time and it always appears on the