Dissertation Creation - The UK's original provider of custom dissertations and dissertation help...

Free Dissertations - Film Studies Dissertations

This Sequence Illustrates The Respect For Human Life That The Mobsters ...

This sequence illustrates the respect for human life that the mobsters completely lack, and highlights the dangers of the world that Henry inhabits. We understand from this sequence that no matter how confident Henry of his position, there is no loyalty or honor amongst thieves and betrayal by his friends is a very real possibility.
Henry Hill's character arc is that of the rise and fall. The fall is either caused by a single event or a flaw or folly within the protagonist themselves. In the scene leading up to his arrest Henry is sweaty, gaunt and anxious from too much cocaine use. His appearance is completely changed from the confidant and presentable man that we saw earlier in the film. He has become a victim of his own vivacious appetite for drugs and money. The drugs and greed have clouded his mind and judgment and allowed him to make mistakes that have lead to his arrest.
Henry Hill's narrative arc is defined by the choices that he makes throughout his life. Even when circumstances move beyond his control such as when he faces the choice between testifying against his friends and going to prison; we can see that he has brought the situation down upon himself through his own character and his own flaws.
Goodfellas follows a character and narrative arc that is typical of the gangster genre. Generic conventions of motif and character are integral to our understanding of narrative; they are the cinematic equivalent of mythical motifs in folklore. Phillips describes how familiarity with storytelling tradition informs our understanding of narrative. We make meaning from reference to our knowledge of the world and from our knowledge of the conventions of film storytelling, especially genre. However many successful films achieve their success through subversion of generic convention and storytelling tradition.
The Big Lebowski's title (1997 Joel Coen) echoes the title of the classic film noir The Big Sleep (1946 Howard Hawks.) The film itself contains many of the character archetypes and iconic motifs of film noir; however the specific generic signifiers altered. The film is a subversion of the genre. The film Noir hero in the Phillip Marlowe mould is a tough, hard drinking, disreputable man who inhabits the seedy underworld of American life. He is motivated to work out of an obsessive professional compulsion. In The Big Lebowski the hero is Jeff The Dude Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) has been mutated into an aging hippy whose comfortable and lazy existence is interrupted by fate and circumstance.
In her book on narration in new Hollywood cinema, Kristen Thompson establishes a link between character and narration.

Please note: The above dissertation snippet was written by a student and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted their work to us.