Tomb Raider Movie Essay Example for Free

Tomb Raider Movie Essay We will first talk about stereotyping in this movie. There are many portrayals of groups of people in the movie. Let us first consider Illuminati, are they real? Illuminatis are the people of light. Lara’s father who were with the illuminatis have figured out a danger that is about to come by the eclipse which will culminate the planetary alignment which only happens every 5000 years. Lara through her dreams discovered the secret of the clock which her father has concealed for many years. The clock is the key which will unlock the hiding place of two pieces of a sacred icon. This is the magical triangle, â€Å"The triangle of light. † The triangle was forged from metal found in the crater of a meteor that had fallen to earth at the exact moment of the previous alignment of the nine planets. The people of the light built a great city in this crater where they worshipped the triangle for its ability to control time. It gives its possessor a power that could be used for good or great evil. An abuse of this power led to the destruction of the city. To be sure no man would ever again wield this power they split the triangle into two pieces and hid them at the opposite ends of the earth. Her father reminds her of temple along the ancient Khmer trail in Cambodia where a Jasmine flower can only grow to find the entrance to the tomb of the Dancing light where the first half of the triangle is hidden. The illuminatis will reunite the two halves of the triangle. That portrays groups of people nowadays who believe in ancient beliefs. But there are theories in the real world regarding the existence of illuminatis. However it differs in the illuminati portrayed in the smovie. From wikipedia, â€Å"it refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy power behind the throne, allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, Illuminatis are often used in reference to a New World Order (NWO). Many conspiracy theorists believe the Illuminati are the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of such a New World Order. Confusing the issue further is the fact that there are also several modern fraternal groups which include the word Illuminati in their names. † I have also remembered some similar portrayal of this group in Mel Gibson’s â€Å"Conspiracy Theory. † If we will try to establish a connection between illuminati portrayed in the movie, and the one defined in Wikipedia, we can conclude that there are similar features of the two. They both put their will into actions whenever they can. So is there any hidden group behind the oil price hike? How about behind the global business market, the government, and other institution? Perhaps there are illuminati people playing behind the economic crisis. It is absolutely a very terrifying truth if they really exist. Whether it is a fiction or not, we are somehow sure that opportunists do exist. Another group of people are shown in one particular scene of the movie where a bidding auction was held. Bidders were putting millions for an auctioned product. They do exist in real life. These people are willing to waste large amounts of money in exchange for some goods. The worst fact is that most of being auctioned is ancient artifacts. These artifacts are supposedly symbols of cultures and tradition. Lara who arrived in the auction met an old friend named Alex West. Alex spoke about Lara’s disguise as a photojournalist, and Lara in return mentioned Alex disguise as an archeologist. Lara mentioned the term â€Å"business†. That was definitely true; they were all talking about their own business interest. Lots of people around are willing to risk many things just to get what they wanted. Despite the fact that some people spent most of their times digging for money to survive everyday, it is very sad to think that these types of people manage to do biddings. The woman as an object of sexual desire The movie shows the fashionable woman, and man’s dream woman. We saw Lara wore tight full body outfits. That is where Angelina fits very well, she has very deceiving lips plus those lovely eyes, perfect body curves which is fits right to the character of Lara. She is wearing a sleeveless shirt showing her attractive shoulders. Her provocative curves – chest, waist, and legs was indeed clearly noticeable during the whole movie. There was a shower scene who took almost 15 seconds which is very deceiving. That scene was actually giving viewers a break from action pack thrills during the whole movie. Perhaps the producer of the movie have seen how women are behaving today – more aggressive to sex, and self expression when compared to the past. Mulvey believes â€Å"†¦ that the female body operates as an eroticized object of the male gaze and the fetishistic and scopophilic pleasures which this provides for the male viewer† (Mulvey). I believe that was one of the main reasons why male viewers love this movie. Women and Modesty The movie has also given a punch line about woman’s modesty. In one particular scene from the movie, Hillary, Lara’s butler said â€Å"A lady should be modest. † But does modesty only apply to women? Does it excuse men? Let me remind you that we all have our freedom of making our own choice. Does the privilege of choice granted only to men? No, it is all granted for us who are capable of making decisions. We all have to give due respect for that. Modesty is not just an issue with women. Wollstonecraft wrote in his book titled ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women,’ that â€Å"Modesty, in the latter signification of the term, is that soberness of mind which teaches a man not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, and should be distinguished from humility, because humility is a kind of self-abasement. † The author is trying to address that modesty is â€Å"not a sexual virtue. † It doesn’t care whether we are female or if we are males. I believe that, as human beings, whether of opposite sex, we all have the same needs. If you were able to notice, majority of the casts of the movie were males, but were underrated due to Lara’s exceptional performance. Lara’s butler is a guy named Hillary. Is this an issue of masculinity? The butler is the one who is taking care of Lara. That is one form of modesty. That is no point of discrimination. In real life it did exist. If men can do heavy works, the more he can for easy task like that. It is unfair to tell any woman to behave. Whether this brought up an issue of a must Modesty for women, the most important point is â€Å"respect†. If we will not respect each one of us especially the women, there will be more violence and brutalities against women. Therefore, modesty is not only a must for woman, but for men also. A woman’s strength The movie opens up the question – can a woman act like a man? From the beginning to the end, Lara did many terrifying stunts and she did carry a gun. She is very sharp in shooting in her target. In all scenes of the movie, she underrated male characters in terms of stunts. She swings from ropes to ropes, fought with a robot who she regularly practice with, fought with the statues that were brought up to light inside ancient tombs, and fought with the gunned illuminati soldiers. If you were able to notice, there was never a scene where she was captured or tortured. Is this a real portrayal or just a fruit of producer’s imagination? Before Lara Croft: Tomb Raider came into film; it was released as a computer game. One game critics said, â€Å"There is no doubt that Tomb Raider marked a significant departure from the typical role of women†¦ a reworks a male-dominated genre and features a female central character† (Kennedy). He further added that her appearance in masculine roles is a disturbance to the natural symbolism of men. I would surely agree with that. Since we were all kids, we are exposed to various kinds of films and most of these films are dominated by male characters. Women usually played the role as a lover of the main male character, a victim that should be rescued by a male character, a victim of savage men, a victim of monsters. In opposite of these all, men always played the role of the conquerors of all forms of evils. If there are films who features women, they are only very few compared to male dominated films. In schools, we seldom heard women in history. The only name I could remember is Joan of Arc. The rest are males. That is why it becomes harder for the people to accept highly profiled women. Lara Croft is the dream of every woman – strong, confident, quick, and intelligent. In real life, there are many women in the military and police force. But are they given the opportunity to engage in war if they are willing? Most of these women in uniform stayed in offices and where not allowed to engage in dangerous operations. Vengeance, is there a success for woman? The movie also shows that vengeance is also for women. Lara Croft who has never find peace from the lost of her father had accepted the mission to find the two halves of the magical triangles. Knowing that the illuminatis, or the people of light are also searching for the key and the two halves of the triangle, she faced many dangers in pursue of searching for her father. The film is trying to teach us that we are all human beings who are driven by emotions. Feminist’s movements’ become famous for fighting for the rights of women in the society. We have Abigail Adams (1744-1818) who fought bravely against slavery. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) who work tirelessly for â€Å"Woman’s Suffrage Movement. † We also have Clementina Black (1850’s-1923) who fought for improve social and industrial conditions for women and girls in England through militant unionism. The latest were Mary Wollstonecraft, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Gloria Steinem, Margaret Sanger, Alice Paul, and many others. They are the Lara Crofts of the real world. They fought bravely so that women can have equal rights with men in the society. Lara is fighting for the lost of his father and for the task which her father has started which was to destroy the two halves of the triangle. In the end Lara succeeded on her mission against strong gunned men, against stone statues that were given life, and over many obstacles. Woman Nature in the movie If somebody will ask, is there a woman nature shown in the movie? Yes there is, it is portrayed in scenes where Lara is thinking about her father, she cries, she dreams of her father, and in fact the main reason why he did the task of finding the triangle is because of her father. After the first introduction of Alex West in the movie, I was intrigue if Lara and Alex were having an affair in the past or any intimate connection. In the end she rescued Alex by changing the curse of time through the use of the triangle. There is no portrayal of sexual matters in the movie. In the end of the movie, Lara is wearing a lady’s dress and a hat with flower in it. Discrimination in the movie There was a slight theme of discrimination in the movie when black Cambodian people were hired by Powell and West to assist them in destroying the strong wall built in front of a passage to a secret place where one of the two halves of the triangle was hidden. Powell is sitting like a King, and his gunned men are watching over the black people who are working. This is a total portrayal that there are people who are under some sort of power who are forced to work as a term of service. In its totality, the movie is good. Its theme of adventure, and conquer by confidence and will is very uplifting. It is empowering women not to underrate their capacity and skills. It is telling men not to underestimate women, because not at all times they can control them. We are all born to this world with innate behavior and skills and that is not intended for pinning people down. References: Game Studies Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo. 3 July 2008 http://www. gamestudies. org/0202/kennedy/? %3Ftday=Friday Smart, C. , Women, Crime, and Criminology: A Feminist Critique. 3 July 2008 http://books. google. com/books? hl=enlr=id=llg9AAAAIAAJoi=fndpg=PR11dq=Vengeance+of+Womanots=lBqK4lPu3osig=PxRSKjqBTvAkvhMlIAKdAWYzUDY Wollstonecraft, M. , A Vindication of Rights of Woman. 3 July 2008 http://womenshistory. about. com/library/etext/bl_vindication000. htm Wikipedia. Illuminati. 3 July 2008 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Illuminati