Social Network - Focus Scenes

I need three focus scenes from each of my chosen films. I could use the final scene of the film as one of my three focus scenes as I know that it includes lots of fact. This therefore means I can compare the fact given in the film to the true fact about the actual event.

Facts given in the ending (shown through titling):

- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss received a settlement of 65 million dollars and sighed a non-disclosure agreement.

- They also rowed for the US Olympic team in Bejing and placed 6th.

- Eduardo Saverin received an unknown settlement. His name has been restored to the Facebook masthead as co-founder.

- Facebook has 500 million members in 207 countries. It's currently valued at 25 billion dollars.

- Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in the world.

By showing information at the end of the film to the audience shows me that the whole film was a clear documentation of the real event. The fact that "artistic licence" is shown throughout doesn't cover the fact that there is real fact in the film. Having titling makes the film also feel concluded and also gives a feeling of true fact being given to the audience.



Trailers for Related Films

Now that I have decided what my related films are, I have now got to decide on specific scenes I want to use and their relevance to my topic. Therefore I will watch the films as well as my focus film so that I can find some connections between them all as well.

My related films: The Social Network (2010), David Fincher and Apollo 13, Ron Howard (1995)

Trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4 - The Social Network

Trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtEIMC58sZo - Apollo 13

Keeping The Truth (Secondary Source)

After reading Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster, I came across some interviews and opinions that highlights whether the film shows the whole truth. On page 255, it says "Cameron has... intentionally placed real historical people in the background of the scenes throughout the film". This therefore shows me that Cameron has tried to keep to the true story of the real even as much as possible. Being a director he had to make the decision to create a story (love story) that surrounded the truth of the event and he had artistic licence to bend or maybe leave out some facts.

However, there is always the argument that films depicting real life events can never been completely true and stick wholly to the truth simply down to audience demand. Thomas Elsasser says "Titanic demonstrates... cinemas ability to redeem the past, the real and that which was never real". After reading this I understand that there is never going to be 100% fact in any film showing a historic event. But the argument is still there that Cameron did a good job and showing a vast audience some truth of the disaster of the Titanic.

Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster, Kevin S. Sandler and Gaylyn Studlar, 1999

Fact for Thursday 29th October

James Cameron went down in one of the submarines shown in the film in 1993 to see the real wreckage of the Titanic. He studied the real event for 5 years before making the films and took 12 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic. He decided to make the film a love story before he went on his dives down to the Titanic however he wanted to "do the film right" after he saw the wreckage and understood the tragedy of the real event. Footage he took on his expeditions down to the ship ended up in the motion picture film.  

(James Cameron after his first dive)

Source for information: Interview with James Cameron in 1997 (Brian Linehan's City Lights)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkdGEdHUec

Related Films Chosen

After researching basic facts about all the of the events in my possible related films I have chosen to use Apollo 13 and The Social Network. This is down to the fact that Apollo 13 has reliable information surrounding the actual event due to the high level of importance of the mission. As well as this NASA has full documents on the event minute by minute leaving little room for no information. The Social Network is all about the setting up of Facebook, this therefore has a lot of documentation on it also and as a result plenty of secondary research. As well as this, opinion form different people will allow me to understand the events better and see how different the film was form the fact. This is mainly down to the fact that money was a huge part of the process. Lastly, because the creation of Facebook was fairly recent it means that much of the source will be reliable as they will have been written during the time of the event.

Therefore, my focus film is Titanic and my focus films are Apollo 13 and The Social Network.

Basic Facts I Need

To be able to address my title i need to know basic facts abut he events in each of my films. I have decided to research, dates, names, places and what happened.

Titanic:

The ship sank at 2:20am (approximately) on 15th April 1912. The sinking took place in the North Atlantic sea. The Titanic was designed by J. Bruce Ismay and William J. Pirrie. The events in the film show the setting sail of the Titanic and the sinking of the ship.

Source: http://www.history.com/topics/titanic

Apollo 13:

On April 11th 1970, Apollo 13 was launched in to space with first time flyer, Jack Swigert. On April 13th the ship experienced a low pressure warning signal. The ship was forced to land early (in the Pacific Ocean) on April 17th due to technical faults.

Source: http://www.space.com/17250-apollo-13-facts.html

Unstoppable:

On May 15th 2001, an unmanned yard train departed Stanley Yard in Ohio. It traveled on the tracks uncontrollably for 66 miles.

Source: http://brandchannel.com/2010/11/11/the-rail-company-and-true-story-behind-unstoppable/

The Social Network:

A film about he creation of Facebook and therefore Mark Zuckerberg. Launched in February 2004, it all started in Harvord University.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia

Captain Phillips:

In 2009 Somali pirates boarded a cargo ship (Alabama) in the middle of the ocean. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by the pirates.

Source: http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/12/movie-fact-check-captain-phillips/

500 Word Rationale

Title: Historical Fact in American Fiction Film

My focus film will be Titanic (1997) and my related films are going to be two of the following Unstoppable (2010), The Social Network (2010), Captain Philips (2013) or Apollo 13 (1995). The reason  have chosen these 5 films is because they each focus on a specific event. This will therefore make my secondary research easier to gather and therefore I will have fact to compare the film with.

Primary research will come from the focus film and the relevant films. For Titanic, I plan to look at the scene at the end of the film where Rose (old) is recounting her rescue and giving facts as she does, this is because it means I can look at how fiction film chose to reveal fact in the film. As well as this I plan to look at the scene where the ship is sinking and the crew find the ice berg. This is because I want to look at how the film uses dramatic effects and not necessarily the fact to create a spectator response. The last scene I want to focus on is when Jack and Rose are running through the ship away from Spicer Lovejoy as this scene shows the working of the ship and as an audience we think it's the truth however I want to research if this is just stereotyped to make it easier for the audience to understand. 

Primary research for Unstoppable I would look the scene where the control is trying to stop the train at the beginning of the film as this is very factual and can easily be compared to real fact. As well as this I want to look at the scene where the train is let lose, this is because it means I can research how it really happened and see what the film did differently and why. Look at dramatic effect. Lastly I want to look at the end of the film as it shows Frank and Will as heroes. I want to research if they really were and how the film shows that and if things have been changed in the film to make this really obvious to the audience.

Primary research for my other related film will be written out and planned when my final related film has been chosen and I can watch the film and study it.

Secondary research for all of my films will focus heavily on the internet. However, for Titanic, I plan on looking in the library at books which are historical recounts of the actual event. This will therefore give me a reliable source of information. I also plan on looking at IMDB for some facts and all comments on the film. The Empire Magazine will also help me to look at critic reviews and how they feel the film represented the events in my films.

New Idea

Title: Historical fact in American fiction film

I have chosen to take my research project in a new direction as I was finding I it hard to find any secondary sources. Therefore, I have chosen to move my research onto films that depict real events. Therefore, I am going to make a list of all the American films that are about true events and narrow them down to my focus films and relevant films.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_actual_events

- American Hustle (2013)

- Amadeus (1984)

- Apollo 13 (1995)

- Argo (2012)

- The Aviator (2004)

- The Big Short (2016)

- Black Mass (2015)

- Blow (2001)

- Bridge of Spies (2015)       

- Captain Philips (2013)

- Catch Me If You Can (2002)

- Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

- Ed Wood (1994)

- Enemy At The Gates (2001)

- Girl, Interrupted (1999)

- JFK (1991)

- Joy (2016)

- Milk (2008)

- Pearl Harbor (2001)

- The Pianist (2002)

- Public Enemies (2009)

- The Revenant (2016)

- Rush (2013)

- Saving Private Ryan (1998)

- Schindlers List (1993)

- Spotlight (2016)

- Steve Jobs (2015)

- The Social Network (2010)

- Titanic (1997)

- Unstoppable (2010)

- The Untouchables (1897)

- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

(Old Idea) Futher Development

Having done some secondary research my topic has been broadened. Still looking at social issues, I have now realised that there are more than just drugs, violence and peer pressure. One key one that I have over looked is ethnicity. This can be demonstrated in a number of films, however I feel that a film portraying a true story would be the best one to look at. Therefore I have decided to look at 12 Years A Slave.

I have found an article in The Guardian which shows that 12 Years A Slave is a good example of how slavery is shown to an audience and therefore I am going to more research into the idea that slavery is a social issue. This has also made me want to look up more films about social issues as to broaden my film choice, as not to focus on drugs.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/05/12-years-a-slave-america-shameful-past

(Old Idea) My Context

My selected context is for my SSRP is social issues, within film which are also relevant for the real world. By looking at peer pressure, drugs, violence I am identifying the ways in which these are relevant to creating social issues and how it may effect an audience. As well as this it is interesting to look at why the social issues have been represented in a particular way for the big screen or just for story purposes in particular ways.

(Old Idea) Drugs Drugs Drugs

One of the main topics I want to explore in my blog is drugs. This is due to the fact that it links all of my films together and is the back drop to many of the social issues in the films.

In each of the films drugs are used as a substance whether it be heroin, marijuana, cocaine or pills, characters in all the films at some point are under the abuse of drugs. This leads to addiction in Requiem For A Dream, violence in Pulp Fiction and peer pressure in Trainspotting. In Pulp Fiction one of the characters over dose and this is shown in the film as a result of greed for drugs. The reason this is important is because the reason Mia takes drugs is because she has the money. However in Requiem For A Dream, the lack of money that the characters have: Tyrone, Harry and Marion lead them to steal to get the money for drugs. As well as this, when they get more addicted they begin to sell drugs to others to have an endless supply of money to simply spend on drugs.

By showing the consequences of drugs in these films it means that as an audience we aren't show ideals of drugs and therefore it can change the way people view them. Other film about drugs including Pineapple Express, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas romanticise drugs and show the audience that if you take drugs there are no consequences. The social issue of drugs is therefore not explored fully in these films and as a result not shown in a truthful light.

 

(Old Idea) Progress

The topic I have chosen to investigate is social issues in film. This has been narrowed down to: drugs, peer pressure and violence. The reason I have chosen to study this is because I feel it a very relevant topic in the modern time. With social media taking over, social issues such as drugs are undermined and not concerned such a big risk. Therefore, by investigating the possible impact of miss use of drugs, uncontrollable violence and peer pressure I hope to show that social issues are a problem.

My focus film is Requiem For A Dream, this is because it is a film all about addiction and the social issue of drugs. I find the film more interesting than most other drug films because it doesn't just focus on addiction to drugs it focuses on addiction to food and money. This film relates to my focus topic because it explores social issues in a unique way as it actually shows some consequences to drugs, it also show how addiction is harmful.

A key scene I want to use to back up my focus title is the ending of the film. This is when the characters instantly stop being invincible and we see as an audience how corrupt addiction can make people and therefore it really shows how social issues can affect an individual on a different levels as the four different characters end up with very different fates.

My secondary sources are still incomplete due to a change of topic very recently. I am however working on finding sources through extras on DVD's and the books in the library.

(Old Idea) Rationale

Draft Title: Exploring social issues in film

Focus Film: Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Related films: Pulp Fiction (1994), Trainspotting (1996)

Primary Research: I have chosen to look at drugs in particular in Requiem For A Dream, and more specifically addiction. Therefore, I have chosen to look at key scenes which show addiction. For Sara's character I will look at her addiction to food and a specific scene which shows this. For Harry, Marion and Tyrone I will look at their addiction to drugs and a key scene in particular. With each of the film I will focus on the scenes which show the consequences of social issues. In particular for Requiem For A Dream I will look at the final scene of the film which shows a montage of where all the character have ended up as a result of addiction.

I have chosen to look at violence in Pulp Fiction and to show how it is passed off as a casual recreational action. In particular I will look at the scene where Vincent and Jules are in the car with a hostage to show that a comedy is shown to violence. I will also focus in the scene where Mia Wallace over doses as this has a tension and therefore violence throughout. Lastly I will look at the scene where Jules and Vincent break into the flat. I hope that looking at these scenes will help me identify that violence is shown in a romanticised way.

For Trainspotting I am looking at the social issue of peer pressure. In particular I will look at the scene where Tommy becomes a drug addict as a result of peer pressure, although it is not shown directly. I will also look at a couple of other scenes that I am still undecided on.

Secondary Research: This will include articles from Sight and Sound and Empire. As well as this I will look at directors interviews and find books which focus on the social issues in film.  I feel that directors comment will be useful as it will give insight as to why they have chosen to explore the social issue in particular. As well as this I will continue to research my topic on various film websites such as IMDB to get a broader range of information concerning my title.