Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Three Act Structure

James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day follows Hollywood's three act structure of filmmaking fairly well.

In the film, the first act introduces the main characters, such as John Connor, Sarah Connor, and the two terminators. This act lasts until about the thirty-two minute mark, where the inciting incident occurs, thus transitioning into the second act. This act develops through the separate depictions of each John, Sarah, and the terminators, establishing their identities and locations. For example, Sarah is in the insane asylum, which will become very important in the second act. The inciting incident in this film happens when the more advanced, antagonist terminator finds John Connor in the mall and attempts to kill him.

The second act contains multiple conflicts and problems, while always present is the looming threat of the terminator that is out to kill John. This act includes Sarah breaking out of the mental hospital, with the help of John and his ally, and it also consists of the destruction of Skynet. However, by the end of the second act, the terminator is still trying to kill them, and although they've successfully (or so they believe) prevented the Judgement Day from ever happening, the resolution is yet to come. The second act ends with the truck full of liquid nitrogen crashing, causing the terminator to freeze and finally concluding with Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous line, "Hasta la vista, baby," at approximately two hours and ten minutes into the movie, making the second act about 98 minutes long.

The third act contains the climax and the resolution. It is approximately twenty-two minutes long, and contains the suspenseful battle between the two terminators. The climax occurs as the two battle it out. Eventually, the resolution happens as the antagonist terminator is blown into the pit of magma that finally  destroys him. This final act also consists of the departure of Schwarzenegger's character, as he is lowered into the pit by John Connor because he "cannot self-terminate." 

Two and a Half Men

Most TV sitcoms have similar characteristics. They are usually episodic, involve little to no character growth, and contain mini-resolutions in each episode. The episodic structure contributes to the minimal character growth and the presence of the mini-resolutions because the episode, in order to be episodic, has to be nearly the same situation at the beginning as it is at the end. This means that the characters can't grow a lot, because if they did, then the episode wouldn't be the same at the beginning as it is at the end. It also means that the episodes problems have to be resolved before the episode ends, giving them their mini-resolutions.

Two and a Half Men is no exception. This sitcom is episodic, there is not much character growth during each episode, and each episode contains a mini-resolution. Like most sitcoms, Two and a Half Men is about a family of related characters, a man, Charlie, his brother, Alan, and Alan's son, Jake, who all live together. The show is episodic; it usually begins and ends with Charlie and Alan living under the same roof, even though most episodes involve Alan trying to move out. There is the occasional episode where Alan decides to live with a new girlfriend, but by the end of the episode, something has happened to cause Alan to move back in with Charlie. Most recently it was because he burned his girlfriend's house to the ground. The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience, which is an aspect of some but not all sitcoms. The mini-resolutions contained in each episode almost always have to do with a girlfriend of Charlie's or Alan's, and occasionally it takes one or two episodes to sort out, but most of the time it is resolved by the end of the episode. Keeping with its episodic structure, the show's characters do not change much, except for the change over time (for example, Jake has grown older by seven years since the show started, but his character still struggles with school and eats a lot, just like in the first episodes). The show could be used as a model for the sitcom structure, as it contains and mirrors man of the aspects of the standard sitcom. 

Iron Man 2: Shot Selection

Iron Man 2 uses a range of different cinematographic techniques, including different kinds of shots. In the opening scene, the antagonist, Ivan Vanko, is assembling a weapon similar to the one used by Iron Man. During this scene, there are close-ups, medium shots, and long shots, all of which serve a different purpose.

The scene begins with a medium shot of Ivan pulling out and flipping through plans and instructions for building his weapon. The medium shot establishes the scene and gives the viewer a perspective of the space that the director will be working with in the scene. It doesn't reveal the entire room, but it shows what part of the room will be important for the scene. It also establishes a more personal relationship with the character than would a long shot, although its not as personal as a close-up would be. The director wouldn't want the audience to feel too close to the antagonist that they will later be rooting against.

The shot then cuts to a close-up of a part of the instruction sheet, displaying the word, "Stark." This reveals that the plans Vanko is using came from Tony Stark's company, which relate the plans to the Iron Man suit.  This close-up tells the audience some key information about what Vanko is building, and when the audience sees the contraption later in the movie, it is easier to understand how Vanko knew how to build something so similar to the Iron Man suit.

The director includes a long shot also, which diminishes the relationship with Vanko and shows the full workspace that he has available to him. The long shot also represents the loneliness and isolation felt by Vanko, as his father just died and he is all alone in a small, Siberian house.

The different kinds of shots work together to show Vanko building his weapon in his isolation.

The Studio System: Vertical Integration

A huge factor of the studio system is the process of vertical integration. The studio system refers to the way in which the major movie studios of the 1920s through the 1950s produced all films through their own means, and an important aspect of making this possible is the idea behind vertical integration, which was employed by these major movie studios. Vertical integration meant that the studios controlled all aspects of production, from creation to distribution.

This particular aspect didn't have a large impact on the kinds of films the studio made, not the way the star system did, but it did have its minor impacts. The studios could make the films they truly desired to make, because they didn't have to rely on outside sources for help with the writing or shooting of the film. Everything was at the discretion of the studio heads.

For example, Fox Film Corporation in the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and '50s, owned its own production studio, where the films were thought of, written, and produced, its own distribution division, which created copies of the film, and its own theater chain, where the films were shown to audiences. By owning all of these different aspects of the filmmaking process, Fox was able to maximize its profits because they didn't have to pay any outside companies for services. Since profits were the main goal of the studio system, its clear that vertical integration was a key piece in making the studio system effective.

"All in the Family" vs. "Modern Family"

The biggest difference between the sitcom "All in the Family" from the 1970s and the contemporary sitcom "Modern Family" is the portrayal of minorities. Whereas the main protagonist in "All in the Family" is full of racism and prejudice, the main protagonists of "Modern Family" include a white family, a gay couple, and an interracial marriage, all of which are portrayed in a positive way. The biggest similarity between the two shows is that they are both a portrayal of family life in their respective era's, albeit an exaggerated one.

An issue that the 1970s show "All in the Family" had to deal with include anger directed at the Vietnam War, which could be the root for the prejudice against foreigners and non-white Americans. This is something that the contemporary show "Modern Family" doesn't have to deal with, although there is a war of a different nature going on now. However, an issue that "Modern Family" had to deal with that "All in the Family" never had to worry about was views on gay marriage, especially since "Modern Family" has it portrayed from the point of view of a gay couple that is raising a child.