In what ways does Kathryn Bigelow undermine the conventions of action Essay

In what ways does Kathryn Bigelow undermine the conventions of action cinema Use Point Break as your example and be sure to incorporate the discussions of critics that were assigned to read - Essay Example The scenes which include skydiving are greatly done to make one wonder how Bigelow managed to shoot these scenes at the time (Benson-Allott 3). Point Break is considered an unconventional film due to the pair of actors that Bigelow employed. During the 80’s and the early 90’s, action film were considered to employ more male masculine actors. The likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Segul, Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, and Chuck Norris. The action film genre was characterized by huge and masculine figures during this period. The likes of Jet Li and Tom Cruise were lighter, smooth, faster action figures. In Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swazey, Bigelow managed to use Point Break in the transformation of Hollywood’s action film from masculine figures to smooth, intelligent crime busters (Benson-Allot 4). Sean Redmond, makes three claims about Katherine Bigelow and Point Black that shows her an unconventional approach to action film. While most critics look at Bigelow’s approach to film as Political, genetically transgressive and feminist, Point Break did not reflect the radical approaches of ideology that Bigelow employed in The Hurt Locker (2009) and the most recent Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In Point Break, Raymond sees Bigelow as founding a new subculture of FBI in action film. Raymond insists that Bigelow showed her political ideology in Point Break. Although the scripts of the movie already existed before Bigelow became the director, it was hard to imagine that the likes of Keanu Reeves and Swazey would make the set (Redmond 4). Redmond sees Bigelow as a radical because in Point Break, the film does not follow the political order which valued lifestyle and counter-culture values. The subculture of thieves who are surfers, led by Bodhi is exalted in the work. The FBI ethos are abandoned by the main character, John Utah, when he is undercover. He is drawn into the life style of this surfer criminal gang.