Tag: The Silence of the Lambs

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Women Heroes in Film

 

By Ashley Callahan

For over four decades, Women’s Equality Day has been celebrated every year on August 26th. It was originally celebrated in 1973 to commemorate the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment into the US Constitution in 1920. It was this Amendment that granted women the right to vote. Women continue to make significant strides socially and politically. Today, a profound movement of women in the entertainment industry has been catching Hollywood and the rest of the world by storm. In addition, the trademark of a strong, female hero archetype has become a staple in a number of blockbuster films. From Gal Gadot’s character in Wonder Woman (2017) to Julie Andrew’s Maria The Sound of Music (1965), the narrative of a female hero has shown over and over again how courageous and strong women are.

            Within the past few years alone, we have seen the first female Jedi in The Force Awakens (2015), the resilient hero Katniss in The Hunger Games (2012), and the wit and clarity of Hermoine in the Harry Potter films (2001-2011). To go back even further, we must also recognize the impact female heroes have had throughout cinematic history. In Gone with the Wind (1939), Scarlett O’Hara faces an unrequited love and difficulties brought on by the Civil War. Audrey Hepburn showed us the feisty, independent spirit of Holly Golightly in the classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Jodie Foster portrayed the incredibly brave detective, Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and the strong-willed Elizabeth Bennett has been exhibited in several adaptations of Pride and Prejudice over the years. This Women’s Equality Day, we recognize and celebrate the impact women continue to have socially as well as in entertainment!  

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Halloween: The Time of Fear

 

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve, is a celebration remembering the dead. Over time, it has formed many different traditions. People of all ages dress up in many types of costumes and are able to be whomever they want. If you’d like to be a gladiator for the day, then go for it. A person can be a clown, a famous celebrity, a firefighter, a ghost, or a combination of sell three; the possibilities are endless. You can hear the sounds of children going house to house collecting candy from their neighbors with the shrieks of “trick or treat!”. Many college students use this holiday as an excuse to dress up in revealing costumes and to drink copious amount of alcoholic beverages. Another normative tradition during this time is the viewing of horror and thriller films. Some people really enjoy the feeling of fright and being terrified. They usually watch these films in the dark which enhance the feelings of terror and suspense. There are people who enjoy watching these films in a comedic sense to see what the characters will do, often with those so-bad-it’s-good movies. Others watch it with the goal of being spooked and having lingering paranoia and series of nightmares days. One dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that some person or thing is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. These type of movies use the different fears that people have to power their films. For example, the new film entitled Lights Out, uses the fear of the dark for their premise.

Here is a list of horror and thriller films that you can watch to get in the Halloween mood:

kill

The psychological/horror film Real Killers is about two brothers, who killed their parents in cold blood, that are taken them in after escaping death row. The film is available on DVD courtesy of World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation.

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