The Royal Tenenbaums: A Three Act Movie

       Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums follows the Three-Act or “Hollywood” Structure. I will focus on the protagonist, Royal Tenenbaum, his descisions, and the results of his decisions.

       Act One: The film is introduced with a narrator explaining the history of the members of the Tenenbaum family and how their relationship with Royal Tenenbaum has fallen apart. The “plot point” of the first act occurs when Royal decides to tell his wife he has stomach cancer in an attempt to stop her possible marriage with Henry and reconnect with his family. This decision asks the question; “How will Royal's lie affect his relationship with his estranged family?”

       Act Two: The conflict occurs when Henry discovers that Royal is lying about his stomach cancer. The plot point occurs when Royal decides to leave the family after this discovery. This complicates Royal's relationship with his family and escalates the steaks. Royal is no longer trying to get back together with his wife. He simply wants to be a part of his own family.

 

       Act Three: Eventually, Royal Decides he wants Etheline and Henry to be together and officially divorces Etheline. Before the wedding, Royal saves Ari and Uzi, his grandsons, from a car that crashes into the house. Royal's son and father of the boys, Chas, improves a bitter relationship with his father by thanking him. Royal also buys a dalamation for the family to replace one lost in the crash. This serves as a resolution for Royal, who dies soon after. The family attends his funeral.

Back to Normal: Plowing to a Mini-Resoltuon

       According to Colton Tain's lecture, characteristics of TV sitcoms include “mini-resolutions.” In the sitcom genre, mini-resolutions often come at the end of an episode. This structure of a sitcom episode is often made so that a conflict can arise and be resolved within the episode and everything can “return to normal” within twenty-two minutes. This set-up allows viewers to miss episodes without having to worry about much continuity.

       Examples of mini-resolutions in sitcoms are easy to find. The animated sitcom “The Simpsons” has used mini-resolutions of some kind for virtually every episodes. Because of this, plot progression between episodes is little to none. The famous episode “Mr. Plow” can be used as an example:

 "Call Mr Plow,
That's my name,
That name again is Mr Plow"

       In the episode, Homer buys a truck with an attached snow plow to compete with Barney's snow plow business. He makes a television commercial and sees success very quickly. He is even given the key to the city. Barney, who is jealous, tries to trick Homer into plowing off the peak of a mountain. His plan backfires when he himself gets trapped. Homer rescues Barney and they resolve their differences. The mini-resolution begins when they agree to merge their plow businesses, claiming that "When two best friends work together not even God himself can stop them!". This angers God, who causes a heat wave that melts the snow in Springfield. This puts both of them out of business, and things return to normal.

Connotative Power in "Pulp Fiction" Shots

Eye Level Shots
(Neutral Power)

Vincent and Jules are having a power neutral conversation in this shot.

Vincent has a quick-witted power neutral conversation with Mia. (Shot 1)

(Shot 2)

Vincent and Jules are introduced in this power neutral identification shot.

High Angle Shots
(takes power away)

This shot shows Mia's loss of power after a drug overdose.

This shot shows the profound loss of power of Butch and Marsellus after having been knocked out and tied-up by a shop owner.

Low Angle Shots
(gives power)

In this shot, power is given to Jules as he intimidates Brett.

Power is given to Butch in this shot as he prepares for a boxing match.

Power is given to Vincent over Mia as he attempts to save her life with an injection of adrenaline after she overdoses.

 

Power is given to Ringo as he wields a gun in Jules' face during a hold up.

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All in the Family: Sitcom Substance

       “All In The Family” redefined the sitcom because it dealt with controversial social issues in a way that no show of the format dared to touch on. Today, All in the Family continues to rival mainstream family-centered shows as far as subject matter they were willing to tackle.

        “All in the Family” is different from similar shows such as today's “Modern Family” in many ways. Firstly, the prevalence of a deeply racist and bigoted protagonist in today's network television programming is virtually non-existent. “Modern Family” contrast “All in the Family” because it branches out of the “traditional” family structure and includes characters such as a gay couple with an adopted child.

There's some things that remain the same within these sitcoms. Both “All in the Family” and “Modern Family” are centered around the concept of the family; hence the titles. Both of these shows also tackle societal issues through comedy.

        “All in the Family” explored issues such as race, homosexuality, anti-antisemitism, and even rape. In one episode, Edith Bunker escapes from an attempted rape. This content was definitely ahead of its time, and isn't shown in today's network sitcoms. Rape is still on television shows such as “The Sopranos” on HBO, but for network television “All in the Family” had some very dark content.

        Sitcoms have clearly adapted to society as time goes on and new issues become more prevalent, but “All in the Family” will remain a pioneer in this respect.