Why These Films?

American Beauty:

American Psycho:

I chose to use American Psycho because of the strong contrast between Patrick Bateman’s two personalities. On the one had Bateman is an everyday working man who comes from a rich family and is successful in life. But at night time Bateman turns into a evil cool blooded serial killer.

This film interested me because of how ruthless Batman is at night, but how he can be so normal during the day. It’s like he has a switch he can flick on and off when he feels like it.

Atonement:

I chose to use Atonement because of the extreme conflict that happens between the main characters. Brony has a very active imagination; she dreams of becoming a writer. Brony sees what she thinks is Robbie raping her young cousin and changes the course of all their lives for ever. Brony is a strong young woman to be able to even speak up about what happened that night; unfortunately she got it so very wrong. Her sister Cecilia is also a strong young woman to side with her lover Robbie as she is so sure he is innocent. Robbie is a very understanding man, he can’t do anything about what hand he had been delt so he works out his prison sentence and his time in the army, unfortunately it costs him his life; he dies without his name been cleared. Cecilia also dies during the war without being reunited with Robbie.

This film portrays what happens when you tell one little lie and how it effects the lives of the people around you forever. The film shows this really well through the use of moving time. The film starts off before the situation unfolds and then afterwards it moves forward to the effects of Brony’s mistake and the emotion problems it caused.

These types of this happen all the time in ordinary life. Mostly not on such a big scale, but telling one white lie always starts a stream of lies. Everyone lies; it’s a fact of life.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:

I chose to use Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because of the relationship between the two main characters. They are complete opposites yet they fall in love with each other. As the relationship unfolds they start too full out of love and hate each other.

These types of things happen in relationships all the time. People full madly in love and can’t stay away from each other, but so often it ends badly.

Joel and Clementine take measures into their own hands, it is only after they erase each other from their memories, but they find out how much they really love each other and are meant to be together.

This is a far reaching film in the fact that there is no sure thing as a procedure to erase people from your mind. It is the idea his procedure initials that is important for the film. The couple had to be without each other to know how much they really loved one another.

Fight Club:

I chose to use Fight Club as one of my films because The Narrator is a very interesting character.  At the start of the film we see The Narrator at his weakest. The Narrator has a boring job, catalogue apartment and average life. Through the introduction of Tyler Durden, The Narrator becomes stronger and more emotionally stronger. As the fight club grows bigger and better so does The Narrator. Only at the end of the film is The Narrator strong enough to get rid of Tyler Durden; this is done when The Narrator shoots not himself but Tyler in the cheek.

Theses aspects of the film are very relatable to normal day life. The Narrator is a character who could be applied to many people’s very day lives. His live is so boring and mundane that he creates an Alter ego, a strong charming, and good-looking male character. Having this character on The Narrators side makes him strong and through his he is finally able to become his own person again.

Many people in real life create an alter ego or invisible friend to help them deal with their problems. For example, Dan had an invisible friend who sat on his shoulder call Kenneth. Whenever Dan did something wrong, it was Kenneth’s who was the problem. Dan grew out of his invisible friend, but it is still a fond memory. Fight Club is very much a reflection on human life and how people, especially men deal with their problems. 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next

I chose to use One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest as one of my films because R.P McMurphy is a very interesting character. He goes into a Mental Hospital when he has no mental problems to begin with and it ends up costing him his life. Both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched are very strong willed characters who would never back down from one another. McMurphy works so hard to try and break down Nurse Ratched that it ends in McMurphy getting a lobotomy. If McMurphy had just waited out his short stay in hospital he could have left a free name. But McMurphy wanted what was best for the other men in the ward. He wanted them to have a better more enjoyable life while receiving their medical treatment.

This film really shows what happens when you take the easy way out. R.P McMurphy chose to go inside the Mental Hospital instead of jail because he wanted an easy way out. Also McMurphy could have had a cushy time staying out him sentience but instead he chose to annoy Nurse Ratched into giving the patients a better life.

McMurphy tried to give the men in on the ward a better life, in the end it cost him his life. But I think after his death he changed the ward for better. 

Pulp Fiction:

I chose to use Pulp Fiction as one of my films because it’s a fast passed extremely violent reflection on life’s underground. As the film revolves around six different lives you get a greater scene of the wider community. The things that happen throughout the film are very extreme and are quite unbelievable, but it almost like these things could happen, for example; the drug over dose scene. This scene is so extreme, the woman is about to die from an overdose. After the two men save her life she seems to bounce back very fast and is ready for her next hit up.

The aspects of this film are extremely unbelievable when you relate it to everyday life, but that’s just my life. I have ever been exposed to this extreme form of living but some people have. To these types of people some aspects of this film are relatable to their lives and unfortunately they know what it is like to experience someone who has overdosed.