Mariah Mickens
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Stories (5)
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Feminist Film Theory in a Meta Horror Film
**Spoilers** American teen horror films have a set formula. Characters fall into infamous tropes; jock, slut, voice-of-reason main character who always lives, etc. These overused tropes show up again and again, to the point where audiences and even filmmakers want a change.
By Mariah Mickens4 years ago in Horror
How "The Graduate" Inspired the Future of Film
Like a funhouse mirror reflecting a distorted reality, Film often works as an adjusted reflection of its current history. It gives unique commentary on certain social-political views to shed light on new or seemingly hidden perspectives, attaching itself to its audience. Mike Nichol’s film adaption, The Graduate does a great job of this by portraying its time as well as it’s audience in a colloquial way. “There was already a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and middle-class values, and the breakthrough film mirrored that anarchic mood perfectly for America's youth of the 60s during the escalation of the Vietnam War” says AMC’s Filmsite Review. However, the film also became a classic trope in pop culture, being alluded by many TV shows, such as The Wonder Years, Saved by the Bell, The Simpsons and more. The Graduate was marketed towards the youth of the late 1960’s, but the film surpassed it’s expectations, inspiring future generations of filmmakers and appealing to today's youth.
By Mariah Mickens4 years ago in Geeks
The Melodic Flâneur
I want to take a walk, though I do not feel comfortable leaving my house without the guarantee of listening to music. Yes I am outing myself as a woman too weak to resist first world melodic pleasures, but hey, what do you expect from a Los Angeles native?
By Mariah Mickens4 years ago in Psyche
Ethics, Morals, and Hypocrisy
Turning away from the destiny-driven, hyper theatrical blockbusters of the 1980s, independent films of the 1990s established a cinematic rebellion that seemed to reflect the cultural shifts of the decade. Thus, Smart Cinema was born.
By Mariah Mickens5 years ago in Geeks
Social Commentary, Gender and Racial Representation in The Powerpuff Girls
Like most well-received animated TV shows, Craig McCracken’s nostalgic revving, half episodic half serial, The Powerpuff Girls was made for kids to enjoy as well as adults. Three little girls fighting crime is enough to get many kids interested, but when tongue and cheek innuendo is added to the mix, it’s not that difficult to also get the parents' and/or babysitters’ attention. With this comes many opportunities for the show creators to make commentary on American society and lightly criticize it. Like many other popular cartoons of the 1990s, The Powerpuff Girls often pushed the limits of representation through satire. The show’s social commentary, though subtle and easy to miss, is ultimately strong enough to be reflected when watching through a critical lens. Though The Powerpuff Girls does a good job at acknowledging the problems reflected in American society, it does almost too good of a job to the point where the viewer has to incessantly question if the show is indeed challenging these norms or celebrating and reinforcing them as normal.
By Mariah Mickens5 years ago in Geeks
