Julie Delpy

Hungarian peasant girls is not terra incognita for film; from 1971’s Countess Dracula, 1981’s Night of the Werewolf, to 2006’s Stay Alive, her tale has been sensationalized and embellished beyond recognition. Often cited as the inspiration behind the vampire subgenre of horror films, the fable goes that Erzsébet (or Elizabeth, as it’s frequently anglicized.), a wealthy Countess of 17th Century Hungary, was a terribly vain and cruel woman, who murdered hundreds of peasant girls to bathe in their virgin blood as she believed it would preserve her beauty. Most films that feature Báthory’s likeness tend to follow this standard plotline, however 2009’s The Countess suggests otherwise. Written, directed, produced, and starring French actress Julie Delpy, The Countess suggests that the accusations against Báthory were fabricated by her political enemies; Báthory, being as affluent and powerful as she was, subverted the very strict gender norms of 16th and 17th Century Hungary, and was seen as a threat to her male peers, consequentially resulting in accusations of witchcraft and devil-worshipping. In “Visual Representations of Violent Women” Minowa, Maclaren, and Stevens make the connection between the fear of “‘Weibermacht,’ the power of women over men,” to the wide-spread witch hunts of 17th and 18th Century Europe, saying it was “fanned by the theological belief that women were the devil’s gateway, and the aforementioned book Malleus Maleficarum, which primarily focused on women…

This paper will argue that the photographs of the Countess de Castiglione and Emile Zola’s, “The Kill” both present women that rely on their appearances to discern their identities. It will further demonstrate that because of this emphasis on appearances to assert reality, women depend on their body as a mode of expressing the more complex parts of their personalities. To understand the immense attention paid to women’s appearance during 19th century France, it is crucial to consider the role…

Is it possible to have equality and maintain freedom? Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” is a satirical science fiction short story that takes place in the American future of the year 2081. Vonnegut’s story is seemingly a utopia from the opening line that “everybody was finally equal” but is quickly revealed to be a dystopia due to the severe limitations placed on civilians in order to maintain equality. Vonnegut mentioning of the specific traits to which every American is equal is reflecting…

Julie Mehretu was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1970. She was schooled in Kalamazoo, where she received her bachelor degree in Art, and continued on to receive her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in 1997 (Artnet). She lives and works in Harlem New York with her artist and partner (Plagens). Mehretu works on drawings influenced by architectural plans and aerial maps. She adds many layers to increase complexity. She relates the layering to herself as parts of who she is. She…

Harrison Bergeron versus 2081 We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson. We in the United State hold this line of the Declaration of Independence to be a pivotal part of our country. We have went to war many times to uphold the right that everyone to be equal. Many men and women have died to help ensure that…

The Lion King has What? In Margaret Lazarus essay “All’s Not Well in Land of “The Lion King”” she points out all of the all the stereotypes she sees in the movie The Lion King. The stereotypes she talks about are racism, sexual orientation, and feminism. This essay is a summary and response over her essay and all of the stereotypes she points out, using the movie as our evidence. One of the stereotypes Margaret Lazarus states in her essay about the The Lion King is racist. She states in her…

People have different opinions on whether everyone was or was not truly equal in Harrison Bergeron. Harrison Bergeron is a short story about everyone becoming equal in the year 2081. In 2081, society is made “equal” by putting handicaps on the more talented people, and making them have consequences if they take the handicaps off.I believe that people aren’t truly equal in Harrison Bergeron. I believe that people aren’t equal in Harrison Bergeron because of handicaps, handicaps on certain people,…

The meaning of freedom is self-explanatory when first mentioned, however it has a deeper meaning for an individual rather than a group of people. “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut, is dystopian fiction, in which the story takes place in the future, but society is broken. Kurt Vonnegut based his story on a society that had attempted to create the perfect world of equality, but it went awry. In the short story, “A&P,” by John Updike, 19-year-old Sammy works as a grocery store clerk in a small…

intricate than it seems. In order to successfully convey a theme through the use of audiovisual techniques outside of dialogue a filmmaker must consider things such as sound, production design, acting, editing, and cinematography. Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, is a great example of a film that expertly employs such audiovisual techniques. At face value, one can instantly get the mood from a scene in Billy Elliot, however it is through careful examination and dissection that one can…

“Titus Andronicus”, The Theme of Power And Its Significance “Titus Andronicus” is strewn with various subjects ranging from treachery to revenge and all emotions mixed in between. But there is a specific theme of power materialization in several forms. There are three types of power themes that are prevalent in “Titus Andronicus”. These themes are female, male and parental power, which are all significant and commanding each in its own way. These power displays are neither blatant nor subtle,…