10

               The movie "10” is a standard romantic Hollywood Film. Most Hollywood stories consist of a man who meets woman, falls in love, and tries to win her over. However, in this film George is already in a relationship with Sam, but become obsessed with a woman Jenny.  

               The movie "10" begins with George driving home and walks into his surprise birthday party.  The internal conflict that George has with his aging is address early on in the film. George represents the average man coming of age. In most films the man coming of age faces a midlife crisis because he tries to remain young. These older man go out on a whim to buys an expensive sports car or date younger women. However, in this case George becomes infatuated by a young woman who already a taken. One day George was driving and come to a stop sign. George looks over to the car next to him and sees a really beautiful young bride. He follows hers and crashes into a police car. As if running into a police car wasn’t even to awaking him from this fantasy. He continues to follow the bride and makes a scene during her wedding ceremony. Again he takes it to the extreme when he tries to track the bride down on her honeymoon. He goes to the dentist just to find out the location of the couples honeymoon. Finally, in the end George gets to sleep with his fantasy girl. Happily Ever After.

             However, is it truly a happily ever after? The film didn’t show the hardship Sam would experience when she discovers George’s obsession and infidelity. Sam is this strong, beautiful and kind character who is in love with George. She is faithful and a good friend to him. Her character represents many women who hit mid age and can’t retain their relationship. Is because she is too old? Or simply because she is a strong independent female character?

            On the other hand, Hollywood films yet again stress the importance of skinny, blond, model like women figures. In the end, these women are depicted as true beauty and whatever man desires. Jenny wins in the end because she is beautiful in Hollywood eyes. Jenny won her groom and George. She simply has the choice to win in the end because she is pretty.

            I believe this film is a radical romantic comedy because how it shows how obsessed George was to winning jenny over.  Every radical romance consists of a man trying to win a woman over in the end. Nevertheless, in many ways this film is unordinary. It covered similar genres and norms of a Hollywood film. But the story itself was far from the norm. stocker becomes obsessed with woman, stocker goes through great length to get woman, woman gets with stocker, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Happily Ever After?

From the beginning of times, women were placed in a man's world society. Men are the bread winners, the head of the house,  and their white night on a horse. Often in films men were portrayed as the heroes, strong, and independent beings. Women were displayed as helpless, needy, beautiful damsels in distress.

            Media depicts woman as the victims.  From an early age girls learn they are fragile like little princesses. They are just like a princess waiting to be rescued by their white night on the horse. Today more and more woman are displayed as strong independent characters: Characters that happen to provide from themselves and hold power in the work field.  However, in most cases they are portrayed as a bitch like character.

In the film Devil Wears Prada tells the story is a naive, dorky, journalist.  Andrea becomes the assistant of the powerful and sophisticated Miranda Priestly. Miranda is displayed as a heartless, bitchy, and merciless executive of a fashion magazine. Along the film Andrea faces challenges. Her first challenge is becoming accepted in the fashion career. Andrea is displayed as the helpless character waiting to be rescued. Eventually a stylist Nigel helps Andrea adapt to the fashion world. As Andrea learns the way of the fashion world she develops into and independent character. However,due to theses changes her character  begans to have problem with  her relationship with her boyfirend. In the end of the film she gives up her career and reunites with her boyfriend. Happily ever after. Or is there no such thing? Why are women constantly displayed as helpless creatures who want nothing more than to fall in love? But what happen after falling in love . Why did she have to change careers to satisfy  her relationship?

In a sex comedy the couple is likely to end with happily ever after. Sex comedies show the battle between the sexes. Most common films in this genre plot involves a playboy like figure trying to conquer the virgin. Nevertheless as social behaviors and norms evolved around the year so have the characters from the film. Women are beginning to hold power and are independent from the men.the begin around with birth control submerged. Woman began to have to power and explore their sexuality just as man did. However in film the storng woman figure surrender there and become weak becuase of love.The solution to strong woman in power character is to fall in love with a strong male figure, settle down, get married, and have children.

I am quite certain that films have altered our perception of Love. Man meets woman, they fall in love, problems occur, man woos woman,and they live happily after. In many films love is defined when the couple becomes intimidate with one another . For instance, these film revolve around the playboy figure who try to conquer and outwit the virgin. 

However, "the radical romantic comedy never quite ends with a happy ending.  According to Jeffers, “final film which needs to be considered as an heir to the open or unhappy ending." In radical romantic comedies there is much emphasis on the couple not ending up together. In these films the couple has an unhealthy relationship. All the major thematic concerns surround issues of self-reflexivity: importance of genders, film text in traditional text, more realistic and modern contrast to earlier text.   A key factor in these films is breaking the standard conventions for other sub genres.

Bond... James Bond

Casino Royale is one first novel of the James Bond series. It was published in 1950s around the heart of the Cold War. Bond is merely a figure designed to resist the ideal of lost power of an empire. British were losing their power over the colonies. Bond in many ways offered a way to increase the self-image. Soviet Union was seen as a threat to Britain. At the time communist influence in trade unions was major. Communist was seen as a big scare to Parliament. Casino Royale simply took those fears of espionage and traitors in implement a strong British man conquering their enemies.

M, the head of Britain secret agents  assigned James Bond to play against and cleanout the fifth columnist. James Bond, 007 , Britain’s elite secret agent, mission was to defeat Le Chiffre , a SMERSH agent working for the Russians. Bond goes undercover in a high stake baccarat game. One of Le Chiffre's men try to shoot bond in attempt to end his chances at the gambling table.

Chiffre's wins the first round of baccarat. CIA agent Felix helps bond by giving him money.  The relationship between Bond and Felix displays the relationship:  The relationship of the Americans and British as they stood together to defeat east against the west in the cold war era. In the end bond wins taking eight million that belonged to the communist group SMERSH .Le Chiffre becomes desperate and kidnaps Bond.

Le Chiffre tortures Bond in order to get the money back. The torture takes a hard toll on bond. But before Le Chiffre's could finally end bonds life, a SMERSH assassin kills Le Chiffre as punishment for losing the money. Before the assassin leaves he marks bonds hand with a M.   M is a branding for the spy, in order to notify other SMERSH agents.

During his recovery stage Bond become closely aquatinted with Vesper. He later falls for her and contemplates leaving he service for her. The lovers escape to spend time with each other. One day Vesper realizes a SMERSH spy has been following them. The next morning vesper commits suicide leaving behind a note for her explaining her conditions. Vesper was forced to work for SMERSH after they kidnapped her lover. They captured and tortured him in order to get information on Bond. She knew she could never be free of SMERSH and the harm they could cause Bond, so she had no choose but to kill herself.

In many ways in the novel the characters are displayed like machines. In essence that they have no true freedom and have to follow rule and regulation concerning capitalism.

Take the scene in the end.

Mathis

“Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James they are easier to fight for than principles. But don’t let me down and become human yourself. We would lose such a wonderful machine.”

This concept concedes with the Fordism concept. People basically become a part of a machine like system. Fordism- is the making a large scale production an incorporating into a large scale productions to produce mass consumption.

Bond

“It's a confusing business but if it's ones confession, one does what ones told.”

Bond is simply doing his job with little freedom to make decisions. In addition he doesn't know what is good or bad.

Bond

“History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing places.”

But he knows being good or bad is defined by the opposing team. This concept correlates with Jacques Derrida concept of Differance. Difference can be found by finding the middle ground in which the differences meet.  In other words, identity can’t be created based off one separate thoughts or characteristics. We find our identity by finding the difference in situations.