Murder in the First & Higher Learning

The majority of filmgoers. . . are under thirty, educated, and live in the cities. Hollywood aims its films at their values, their interests, their styles, using their themes, their music, their moral codes. . . The new movie audiences have rejected not only the old Hollywood values but the Hollywood studios as well.

This statement has to be taken as a general assessment of the Hollywood system of production as a whole, for there are many films that do not fit this prescription, while in the main the studios naturally do tailor their product to fit the values of the audience they are trying to attract. This has not changed, and the nature of the audience as well remains in the same general age group, primarily urban, and more male than female. The types of movies that are made to a large degree reflect the values of this audience, though there are exceptions in films appealing to different age groups or more specific age groups (i.e., children under 12). A discussion of two recent films will show how the studios appeal to this audience, though a look at only two movies is limited in that there are wide variations across the spectrum of all films produced. In trying to reach this audience, every aspect of the film becomes an element in the shaping of a certain value-system, including the shaping of the story, the casting, editing and music, and the direction. This idea applies to a type of personal drama that appeals to

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d to be standing in for members of the audience as a role model reflective of the audience's values and styles. The plot of Murder in the First, as noted, comes from the real case of Henri Young, who tried to escape from Alcatraz in 1938. He was punished with three years in solitary confinement, which was against the regulation that no prisoner should be in solitary for more than 19 days. When he was returned to the prison population, he killed the stool pigeon who got him into trouble in the first place. His defense was that the institution had made him into an animal. He had several lawyers, but in the film they have been compressed into the one character played by Slater. In one sense, Slater's character is reflection of dozens of crusading attorneys on film over the years, but the way in which this character's iconoclasm is played here reflects a certain belief in the righteousness of someone his age that is certainly reflective of how the audience views its own moral role in the world. Age is made an important point in the story as the down-trodden Henri says he is only 24 years old, and Slater states that they are the same age. The visual style of the film tends to be more kinetic, more filled with movement, and m
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Some common words found in the essay are:
John Singleton, Gerald Mast, Learning Singleton, Christian Slater, Murder Learning, Schickel Learning, John Singleton's, Marc Rocco, Crucifixion Johnson, Pretty Woman, john singleton, director john singleton, target audience, learning contemporary, value system, values styles, violently dramatic, values audience, dramatic confrontations, violently dramatic confrontations, music video, based real,
Approximate Word count = 1638
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)