Movie Bias Research Paper

9 Pages 2323 Words

1) The name of the movie I evaluated is “Shallow Hal”, starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow. I rented this movie because it was recently released on video and received good reviews from the critics and our friends. My husband and I did not choose to see this movie at the theatre because the movie scenes shown during television commercials led us to think the story was a silly comedy about a guy (Jack Black) dating a very obese woman. The movie is actually a very simple story with a simple and beautiful message.

I believe that the audience of this show would be quite diverse as far as socioeconomic status because of the popularity of Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow. However, this film doesn’t have any non-Caucasian movie stars so I doubt that there would be a large number of multicultural, ethnic viewers.

2) The opening scene is a private hospital room where a doctor looks at his patient’s chart. The male patient is a reverend and Hal’s father. The doctor walks out into the hall and informs Hal’s mother that her husband is dying. Hal’s mother wants her son to say goodbye to his father. Hal, a sensitive, chubby nine year-old boy walks into his father’s room and stands by the bed. He is a little afraid and unsure of himself. His father is heavily sedated to relieve his pain so he is not his usual self. When he realizes that Hal, his son, is at his side, the reverend shares some “pearls of wisdom” with the boy. He tells Hal the Bible says that true happiness can only be found in the arms of a young, beautiful woman. The terms used by the reverend to describe the type of woman he means shocks the young boy. His father insists that Has never settle for an unattractive sex partner or mediocre sex. Hal is terribly embarrassed by the things his father is saying. However, with tears in his eyes he promises his father that he will make him proud.

The adult Hal, played by Jack Black , is...