Last Blog

     I think that the film "The Hurt Locker" greatly portrays realism. The situations that the soldiers go through in the movie are undoubtedly similar to soldiers in real life. We have always heard about bombings and terrorist, but we never really had a image and haven't seen much about them. We get to see the real life situations that soldiers go through.
    I think that the viewers gain a new insight to this part of life of soldiers. It effects the viewers how any other movie that contains real life and death situations; it gives the viewer fresh eyes to see what happens in war. I think that the viewers who may have experienced similar situations would be sucked back into the feelings that they had when they went through that experience.


      I think the biggest take away from this class is new ways of thinking; we learned how to look at things in a different light so to speak. We though critically on many things. I am not sure what there would be to change about the class. I think that near the end of the year that it would be awesome for the class to make a video themselves. We didn't get to do that, but I think it would have turned out pretty nicely if we had the chance to make videos and have that experience as a filmmaker.

Modes of Documentary

     The directors of documentary film think how to best inform the viewers by information and also with a viewpoint that deals with emotion. I think that people do interpret things differently, so some might favor a certain mode of documentary that others don't. Directors can make the viewer feel as though they are there, for instance if they showed images of the aftermath of the twin towers. Directors could just interview people and get the facts. It all differs and depends on how the director portrays it and how the viewers interpret it.

What I think of Nichols' Statement

           Everything that a director does in creating their film is making sure that their main point gets across, for the viewer to understand their point, and to make sure the main point gets across as directly and as effectively as possible.
            I can honestly say that when I watch a good movie, I get so caught up in the story that I'll find myself with wide eyes and a slightly dropped jaw; the story wasn't the sole reason as to why I was so caught up, but the way that the story was presented was a significant factor. The way that a movie is presented causes the viewer to eventually become immersed in the story and unmindful of their surroundings.
            When we watched in class the first fifteen minutes of There Will Be Blood, I thought that because of the fact that there weren't any words included, it made me pay attention all that much more; I  had to mainly rely visually to get the drift of what was occurring. Scene by scene, I was drawn into the story by the main character and his and others' endurances. In the beginning, a few seconds into the movie, I noticed the sound effect that gave off this 'something bad is going to happen' vibe. From the beginning, I acknowledged that it was a serious movie. However, if that sound effect was instead  the soundtrack My Heart Will Go On, it probably would have confused me into thinking that it was a sad romance movie.
          There is a lot that goes into filming a movie; it is not just the camera that does the work. There are many factors that the director has to consider and many choices that the director makes in order to accomplish the viewers being immersed in the story and unmindful of  the surroundings.
           

The Study of Film: My Initial Thoughts

#1 After reading the introduction chapter to Engaging Cinema, what are your initial thoughts as to studying the subject of film?

                     The chapter expressed that films show characters and their problems that resemble the problems that we face, that we can relate to, or that we haven't faced; it deals with people and their behavior, so I think film is interesting. Film has the ability to connect with the audience a express a sense of empathy. I think that film is something that is rather ambiguous, meaning that films can have more than one interpretation. Each person interprets movies differently. So I that the study of film is ultimately unique.

#2 Are movies a social danger or a social benefit?

                     I think that movies are a social danger and a social benefit. In my opinion, movies do influence people, whether it is to do good things or it is to do bad things. Movies that involve heroic or martyr characters may influence a person to help others in situations when ordinarily they might not have thought to. Movies with rated scenes and characters that are bad boys or are violent may influence a person to do bad things, act differently, and crave excitement and adrenaline may do things that they wouldn't have originally done before seeing the movie.
                    Movies could influence a person so much, for example, that if a person enjoys CSI or Law and Order he or she may be inspired to  choose a career path in law enforcement. On the other hand, rated R movies could give ideas to a person and influence a person to act out violently like a character(James Holmes, who killed 12 people in a theatre ,acted/posed as the joker) or recreate the event in which took place in the movie.
                     However, I don't believe that movies are fully responsible for a person's behavior and actions. A person has control over how she or he behaves. I think that a person has the full capability of choosing whether to accept or reject and emulate or ignore the ideas of a movie.
                

First Post on Hisory Through Film

1. What are your thoughts about taking the class History Through Film? What do you hope to get out this class and what strength will you bring to the class that will help us all progress forward as we learn?

I think that History Through Film is a very new perspective of history. This class I think will help me learn the facts in history by comparing films with the real story. It will help me understand how some films don't have the facts and add in false information, while some do have the facts and information closest, if not exactly, to the real events. I will try my best to offer my opinions and my full participation in all that we do.