Creating Film Stills: Exploring Identity and Social Commentary in Art

This assignment presents a creative exploration of visual arts, tasking the student with creating four film stills inspired by Cindy Sherman's methodology. Each still represents a fictitious film addressing key themes from Chapters 11 and 12, focusing on societal issues such as gender roles, racism, and the impact of stereotypes. The student analyzes each film still, providing detailed descriptions and comparing them to relevant chapter examples and the works of Cindy Sherman. The assignment delves into the psychology of art, body as art, and gender reflections, offering a critical examination of how art can be used to challenge and comment on social injustices. The student also discusses how the film stills aim to critique racism and gender biases and how the artist aims to create awareness in society. The assignment demonstrates a deep understanding of the concepts and a creative approach to visual storytelling, reflecting on how the student can use the film stills to reach a positive message to society. The assignment draws upon the works of scholars such as Simmel, Stiles, and Selz, Osgood, Scarlet, & Giugni and Siebers & Dennissen.

Running head: ART
ART

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1.Film Still #1 1. Film Still #1
Film title: Psychological dimension in art
Film description: the psychology of art helps in generating
better dimension that stays integrated with implementing
cultural dimension. As stated by Simmel (2015), it seemed
about the integration of physiological direction in arts
which is stated to be affecting capability margin along with
developing cognitive skills. The film was based upon
Diana, who was interested in art and claimed her to be an
artist. She was also interested to make herself painted
where the paintings used to showcase the stories of poor
people. The film was influenced by Cindy Sherman's
‘Untitled Film Stills' series. Later on, her art seemed to be
pretty famous and she was also seemed to be a very
successful model. She also tries to portray her thinking into
painting. The story was based on the 1800s where people
used to have stereotype mentality and them people get
judged by the color and gender. Thus, this film was stated
to be impactful over managing social issues.
Film still title: United Film Still #21
Film still description and analysis: It seemed to get
developed in order to manage better idea about gender
racism and also to stereotype ideas that were affecting the
society. According to the view of the author Simmel
(2015), Art is said to be a subjective field where the
artwork is seemed to get composed in a unique way. It is
also said that art is the reflection of the thought that people
think in their mind. It is also seemed to affect the art

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objectives along with affecting social thinking. Art is
seemed to stay directly integrated with developing insight
into the thinking of the people. The film based upon this
topic is seemed to be based over a girl who was a fashion
model and was also facing the criticism of family and her
surroundings as she used to wear revealing dresses. It
turned out to be depressing when her whole family turned
against her. The story ends with a suicide that was
committed by the girl and before her death, several pictures
were drawn by her, it was showing the reflection of her
thinking over the stereotype society and how that made an
end to her life. Based on this story it has been tried to reach
a positive message to society.
Compare and Contrast to Chapter Example: Cindy
Sherman was photographer and performance artist herself
and based upon her thoughts the work Untitled Film Still
#21was developed. In the film, everything was designed by
her. The lady was in a try to develop the thoughts of society
and which impacted in her film. In this part, it can be seen
that the girl also died due to the overpressure from her
family and art seemed to be a way to of expressing words.

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2. Film Still #2 2. Film Still #2
Film title: Body as art material or an art-making tool
Film description: life is said to be the greatest form of arts
and thus the artists feel to use the physical body as a
medium. This is exactly got done by the performance artist
who used to use a female body for defining distinctive
views. Stiles & Selz (2014) commented that it has been
used to share ideas to the liberated society along with
understanding the empowerment to the arts which it
seemed to be defining the tradition more effective than
saying directly. Mostly the bodies of females are seemed to
be used to express views. The story was from back 1960s
where it was considered to be a freeing time where artists
fell empowered to make art by integrating tradition to it. It

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was seemed to result in a confrontation between the
audience and to the artist. It was also seemed to get
produced by an intimate new way to experience art. It was
used to been criticized by many society members. Still, the
performance art movement was not stopped.
Chapter 11 or 12 heading: United Film Still #21
Film still description and analysis:
The film was based upon the female body that used to use
her in the bodywork and also got criticized for this; the
male bodies were appreciated for the same. This was also
another message that the artist wanted to reach to the
society which is gender-biased. It was a basic issue in back
1900s. The women who used to take participation in this
kind of things are often used to get banned from society.
The humiliation was another part seemed to get conducted
in an open forum. The whole story was been shared by her
artist to make people aware and understand the need for
developing an equal mind. Sometimes the artist used to tell
the study of that girl into the way of art and present it in
front of the society to make people realize how much cruel
and self-centered they are. It was also seen that to the body,
the artist's presence seemed to get translated to physicality.
Thus, needs get fulfilled along with creating justice to the
role. In the presence of an artwork, own flesh, and blood
which was seemed to be a key figure in the work to make
successful.
Compare and Contrast to Chapter Example: It has been
said by Marina Abramović that body is a medium that only

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gets used in the art. The lady herself used her body as a part
of pioneer Body art to share a positive message to society.
It was seen that in Anthropometries series, Yves Klein
covered nude women in blue paint and had them press,
drag, and lay across canvases to create bodily impressions.
The whole thing was done to show people how they think
about a nude girl.
3. Film Still #3 3. Film Still #3
Film title: Gender reflected in art
Film description: gender other than the physical or
biological determination of sexes are said to be used for the
classification of art. It was also seen that in the film, it has
been stated that Gender presentations in the art are the
outcome of the cultural process. It also helps in defining
sexual and social identity. As per the view of Osgood,
Scarlet, & Giugni (2015), the term gender reflects upon
both the sexes, but in the case of nudity, only the females

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got insulted for this. Following the worldwide feminist
movement in the 20th century, women are seemed to
become the renewed topic of art and art history. It also
seemed to give rise to both artistic reduction and the art
historic discourse.
Chapter 11 or 12 heading: United Film Still #21
Film still description and analysis: The story is based upon
a Roman writer from the first century C.E. the very first
drawing was made by the writer was over a woman named
Dibutades. The paintings were used to be done to develop
awareness in society. Both male and female bodies were
used by the writer and artist. Although it has been noticed
critics were generated only to the females. This led him to
draw paintings over gender biases which were getting
developed in the society. The women who used to take
participation in his art often used to get banned from
society. The film was based upon the thought of artist that
he wanted to share and made it reach to the society which is
gender-biased. The habituations of people are also shown in
the film where people with their cultures are seemed to be
described. Art was found to be an effective way to share
their messages which are seen to be sharing the message
that for centuries, women were systematically excluded
from the records of art history. It got conducted due to the
dominating society and the thinking which allowed gender
business to grow to be a larger issue.
Compare and Contrast to Chapter Example: As an effect,
in the beginning in the 1960s, the females seemed to be
protesting for with equal rights and feminist movements

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was also seen to be in full swing. Osgood, Scarlet, &
Giugni (2015) stated that Gender presentations in the art are
considered to be the outcome of the cultural process which
stays integrated with defining sexual and social identity. It
was seemed to be a broader gender-related issue in art by
establishing gray arts.
4. Film Still #4 4. Film Still #4
Film title: Criticizing racism
Film description: in every part of life, gender biases were
been shown worldwide. As opined by Siebers & Dennissen

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(2015), Racism was seen to be a common factor and it gets
done due to the color of the people mostly. The people of
the native culture are seen to be facing most of it due to
their body color. Thus, the film was criticizing racism that
was seen to be conducted in society. The film is based upon
a girl named Claudia who was facing issues due to gender
racism in everywhere she goes. Based on her issues, the
story seemed to get developed.
Chapter 11 or 12 heading:
Film still description and analysis: Racism is the belief
that some races are better than others and the actions that
can happen from those beliefs. Colorblind society is one
where racial classification does not limit a person's
opportunities and so it happened to Claudia. Instead of her
talents, she did not have a chance in working and got
rejected again and again. In the 1900's gender racism and
color, racism was one of the biggest issues. After these
incidents, Claudia decided to build up a team and make the
society and the world aware of the politics that gets played
with black skin girl. The journey wasn't smooth as no such
people were ready to join her and help her. Later on, after 6
years of struggle, she was successful in making a group
named Anti-Racism community. The world came to know
about her story and it affected society in a huge way. She
also stated to develop equality among the male and female
and not to discriminate people for something which is not
in their hand. Such as, gender and skin color which was
seemed to affect the decisions of people in a huge way.
Talents were said to be prioritized in case of any

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occupation rather than skin tone. This was a revolutionary
movement which got conducted by her to make society
aware of this.
Compare and Contrast to Chapter Example: Cindy was
the one who used to play a role upon the consequences of
society's stereotyped roles for women. It was similar to the
story of Claudia as she was trying to enrich society and
make it free from biases. Siebers & Dennissen (2015)
stated that it was also mentioned that colorblind society is
one where racial classification does not limit a person's
opportunities. As an effect, in the beginning in the 1960s,
the females seemed to be protesting for with equal rights
and feminist movements was also seen to be in full swing.

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Reference list
Osgood, J., Scarlet, R. R., & Giugni, M. (2015). Putting posthumanist theory to work to
reconfigure gender in early childhood: When theory becomes method becomes art.
Global Studies of Childhood, 5(3), 346-360.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2043610615597160
Siebers, H., & Dennissen, M. H. (2015). Is it cultural racism? Discursive exclusion and
oppression of migrants in the Netherlands. Current Sociology, 63(3), 470-489.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hans_Siebers/publication/277619226_Is_it_cultura
l_racism_Discursive_exclusion_and_oppression_of_migrants_in_the_Netherlands/
links/580ca93108ae2cb3a5dbd2a8/Is-it-cultural-racism-Discursive-exclusion-and-
oppression-of-migrants-in-the-Netherlands.pdf
Simmel, G. (2015). Psychological and ethnological studies on music. In The Routledge Reader
on the Sociology of Music (pp. 51-58). Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780203736319/chapters/10.4324/97802037363
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Stiles, K., & Selz, P. (2014). Performance art. Oxford University Press.
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/stockk/Paris/documents%20contmp%20ch%208008.pdf