Documentary Movies

Ken Burns' Documentary: The National Parks -- America's Best Idea

The reputation Ken Burns has acquired over the years is a glowing, highly lauded reputation, and for good reason. His use of history, video and well-written narrative has won awards and has entertained and informed all those who have come into contact with his documentaries. The documentary to be critiqued and reviewed in this paper is The National Parks -- America's Best Idea.

How Yosemite Got its Name

The first segment of The National Parks focuses on the very popular national park, Yosemite, in California. Burns starts off by pointing to a group of "armed white men" called the Mariposa Battalion. It was in the middle of the California gold rush in 1851 and they were riding through California searching for Native Americans they could drive from their homeland. On March 27 of that year these men found what would…… [Read More]

Documentary Tradition

Photographers:

Exploring the orld Through Their Lenses

Documentary Photography: a depiction of the real world by a photographer whose intent is to communicate something of importance -- to make a comment -- that will be understood by the viewer. (Documentary Photography 12)

hen the camera was invented, photographers learned that they no longer needed oil paint and brushes to capture a scene or a person. On film, they could now record the life and times of the period in which they lived, either from a sense of mission or simply to leave an accurate version of their life and times for others.

hile some photographers tried to make their pictures look like artwork with a soft focus, others began recognizing the stark impact and power that a photograph could have. The realism of a photograph could actually motivate, persuade, emote, inform. Matthew Brady was one of the first photographers who…… [Read More]

Documentary Babies

Babies Documentary

It is always interesting to see how another culture lives. As a person who lives in a modern country, it is hard to fathom living in any other way. You take for granted the modern conveniences all around you. Now, it is more difficult imagining how to raise a baby in an environment unfamiliar to your own. "Babies" does a great job showing this distinction. The best thing the director did was to not narrate; you reach all conclusions through observation. They say a picture is worth a million words, well, a movie must be worth billions. The viewer simply feels and experiences the differences in upbringing.

The movie makes it clear that Ponijao and Bavar are representatives of rural upbringing in a less modern society while Mari and Hattie are being raised in a manner familiar to the majority of the audience. Despite the differences in ethnicity,…… [Read More]

Australian and International Documentary Australian

The basic elements of documentary are taken from the events in the story (Nicols, 26-35). The historical facts are narrated such that there are often flash backs to the events as a connection develops to a past event. There is greater degree of dramatic license given minor details where history does not offer any details. The elements of a drama documentary are:

Depiction of real life historical events

The emphasis on known facts of the event and prevailing perceptions

Flashing the facts using literary and narrative techniques to tell the story

The drama esthetics is maintained by discussing minor historical facts and conspiracies

The "Who killed Dr. Bogle and Mrs. Chandle" documentary does not use dramatic license very often to maintain drama more than the story. ather it maintains the series of facts to come to a conclusive point and thus makes effective progress towards solving the decade's long mystery…… [Read More]

Dorothy Lange and Documentary Photography

Dorothy Lange and Documentary Photography

Life is documented daily, whether in newspaper photographs of world events, in feature magazines of faraway places and in photo albums of family snapshots. Essentially, all photography is a documentary of whatever is being photographed for whatever reason. However, traditionally, the mention of documentary photography brings up familiar images from a few twentieth century photographers, such as Ansel Adams, alker Evans, Roy Stryker, Arthur Rothstein and Dorothy Lange, whose photographs have not only documented culture but has become a part of the culture itself.

Photographs are often regarded by historians as a critical form of documentary evidence that enable past events to come to life, as if looking in a mirror (History Pp). "Public and scholarly faith in the realism of the photographic image is grounded in a belief that a photograph is a mechanical reproduction of reality" (History Pp). Susan Sontag once said, "Photographed…… [Read More]

Accidental' Documentary Abraham Zapruder's Home

The poor quality of 1960s home video and the amateurish jerkiness of the Zapruder film add to the humbleness of the work and the humbling nature of death, but "Report" consciously makes the appearance of the film grainy and flickering to elicit an emotional response in the viewer. The viewer feels off-balanced, destabilized, by both the techniques and the events.

Connor's highly crafted use of amateurish, grainy appearances of shots, in contrast to Zapruder's accidental work suggests that the viewer is trying to imperfectly apprehend the past, of a simpler and more innocent time though its intentional distortion of what seems unalterable, namely television coverage. Memory, Connor implies, is imperfect, even though footage like the Zapruder film suggests that encapsulating the past is possible.

In contrast to Conner's "Report," Zapruder's film has no intentional bias -- Zapruder's only bias, if it can be called that, is due to his vantage…… [Read More]

Outfoxed Before Watching the Documentary

Media executives not journalists were in control at ox and determined the on-air content. Demonstrating that no news is free from engineering by the production team, the documentary revealed that Republicans made up of 83% of the interview subjects on ox, and only weaker liberal voices were asked as guests, to serve as punching bags rather than as advocates of an alternative point-of-view.

As a final indignity, during the 2004 Presidential Campaign, the ox network openly campaigned for Bush, daily attacking John Kerry's positions and presenting Republican-generated questions about the Democrat's character and war service without any question of their veracity. Even if someone does not watch ox News, in short, they may have to suffer in a nation governed by a man elected under a dubious electoral system, where partisan news is presented as real news, without disclosure of the network's biases. The network even declared Bush the winner…… [Read More]

Bleep Do We Know The Documentary Has

bleep do we know." The documentary has been chosen based on the fact that it has highlighted various issues that relate to the quantum uncertainty, spirituality, evolutionary thought and neurological processes that are an important part of life. The documentary has gained great success all over the world and has been known for a great cinematic blend of drama and comedy. Some of the main facts that have been mentioned in the documentary will be supported with the help of a case study. The documentary will be explained in detail with the characters that have been used in the movie to display the processes being the base of the documentary. In the end of the paper, recommendations will be made that will be related to the changes that are needed in the society in relation to the concepts presented in the paper.

Description

hat bleep do we know is one…… [Read More]

Devil's Playground a Documentary About

The interviews appear to be unscripted, further emphasizing the authentic nature of the dialog. The filmmakers do not give themselves an audible voice, which implies that the voice that should be heard is that of the people giving the interviews. The filmmaker's choice in remaining silent and letting the Amish individuals tell their own story is an effective communication tool, which succeeds in engaging the viewers interest.

Despite these two strengths, however, the film does have weaknesses. The most dominant one is the lack of resolution.. While failing to conclude the stories of the individuals interviewed could be interpreted as implying that life never resolves neatly, it also left the viewer feeling unsatisfied with the film. The film seemed to trail off, rather than resolve. The viewer has no way of finding out what happened to the characters after the end of the film, which is highly frustrating after becoming…… [Read More]

Environmental Economics in the Documentary

This is because most industries will assemble containers, jugs and other products using non-ecofriendly chemicals. hen you try to recycle these materials is when the costs will increase exponentially. This is one of the main reasons why many environmental programs are not cost efficient. ("Pygamilion Videos") (McDonough)

To improve recycling efforts, means that there needs to be a transformation in what materials are used in these products. The best way to achieve this objective requires using a new approach that focuses on biological and technical nutrients. A biological nutrient is when a firm will use various ideas about incorporating ecofriendly elements into their business. This means that they are looking at the design process and determining what techniques must be used to make the product more environmentally friendly. ("Pygamilion Videos") (McDonough)

A technical nutrient is when a product is designed to allow it to be reused at some point later…… [Read More]

A Blank on the Map Documentary

The documentary “A Blank on the Map” is interesting because it shows what happens when two worlds meet. The British explorers in the expedition into New Guinea to meet with the various peoples and groups there, while searching for the group of peple suspected of never having met Europeans before. The explorers brought medicine and sought to identify the groups living in the jungles. They hired locals in the neighboring regions of the “blank on the map” to help guide them, even having one porter call to the seemingly invisible people after more than three walks of going through the “blank” and finding nothing of the group.
The interest in the area began when a map maker was trying to make sense of the rivers and hills by studying aerial photographs. The photographs revealed the existence of tribes, and so David Attenborough and his fellow travelers went into the jungle…… [Read More]

Decline of Retail Documentary

Documentary
Part 1
1. This film follows the daily workings of retailers in the dying bricks and mortar retail centers of an urban area. It pays particular attention to the piling inventory and the slowing sales. It shows the emptiness of stores and alludes to the ominous presence of e-commerce and Amazon hanging over the heads of these bricks and mortar retailers.
2. This will be an informative documentary that will include aspects of the talking heads form as well as the journalistic form. Ken Burns’ documentaries are always inspiring for me but I want this one to be contemporary.
3. Yes, I will be doing interviews: a) I will interview bricks and mortar retailers and customers; b) I will find them by going to the urban area and talking to them; c) to make the film visually interesting, I will use shots of these stores while interviewees’ words are…… [Read More]

Battlefields and Big Macs Documentaries a Comparative

Battlefields and Big Macs

Documentaries

A Comparative Analysis of Documentary Styles

The role of documentary film in helping to shape and inform American culture has become increasingly apparent, especially in the last decade. The ability of nearly anyone to create and distribute documentaries cheaply and effectively using home computer software and video sharing sites like YouTube has created a diverse body of documentaries available with the click of a button. They are not all good, not all accurate, and some may not even be ethically or legally sound, but if they are powerful enough and relevant enough, they can move people and even governments to act. We have seen this recently with the independently produced documentary "Kony 2012," a 29-minute film that portrays the atrocities committed by Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. Posted on YouTube in early March, the film got over 100 million hits in one week, and prompted…… [Read More]

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the Film Documentaries

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

The film, documentaries and the last docudrama are exceptional production pieces by notable directors and producers. Crouching tiger-hidden dragon defies the usual mantra of strength only attributed to men. Jen effectively acts as person having higher morals. The martial arts performance was exceptional, an unusual feature in Hollywood. Islam, the empire of faith is another documentary made on the rise of Islamic empire and the life of Prophet Mohammad having a great impact on establishment of religion. 'Gandhi' also remains an unquestioned production classic that eloquently portrays Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the unquestioned leader of India. The film sheds light on Hinduism as a religion and its faith and dogmas. Lastly, Kundan is a docudrama based on life of Dalai Lama. 'Kundan' might not have justified the stature of Buddhism in history of mankind but the piece of production remains an earnest effort on part of Martin…… [Read More]

i am alive documentary

1. Deviance is relative, and refers to behavioral deviation from established social norms within a specific community (Schaefer, 2016). Therefore, what is deviant in one period of time will become normative in another and vice-versa. Likewise, what is deviant in one culture may not be considered deviant in another. Although deviance is typically framed as maladaptive behavior that either leads to or is categorized as criminal, deviance can also be constructive, productive, and “positive,” (Hughes & Coakley, 1991, p. 307). In fact, athletes engage in what is known as “positive deviance,” in that their behaviors constitute a cohesive “sport ethic” that includes taking risks, pushing past personal limits, and making sacrifices for the greater good of the game (Hughes & Coakley, 1991, p. 307). The 2010 documentary I Am Alive is about the Uruguayan rugby team’s remarkable survival in the Andes, and is a perfect example of positive deviance in…… [Read More]

Camera Down Documentaries When to

It would appear as though the work of a journalist, though, should not be allowed to supersede the duty to help others. A moral duty is in place for that type of activity, even if legal ramifications are not significant.

Those who spend their time behind the camera may see the world in a different way than others. If that is truly the case, these individuals may not be "wired" to put down the camera and help. Without their cameras, they may freeze and render themselves completely unhelpful. Whether this would be the case would have to be studied, but it is entirely possible and some people actually do freeze up and struggle with their emotions and abilities when they are faced with a crisis situation. In that case, these individuals may not actually be able to help even if they put their cameras down. One thing all documentarians should…… [Read More]

Palestine Her Story Documentary

A Documentary Filmmaking Experience
Aim and Accomplishment
Renov (1993) states that there are four fundamental purposes of a documentary: “1) to record, reveal, or preserve; 2) to persuade or promote; 3) to analyze or interrogate; and 4) to express” (p. 21). In my documentary, Palestine, her story, my aim was to observe—i.e., to record, reveal and preserve—the stories of the Palestinian women who served as the subject of my film. The film is therefore an observational documentary.
Looking back on my original proposal, I can say that I have completed at least a portion of my original project. The focus of my 20-minute film is on the three Palestinian women who live a successful life in London. Each woman is of a different generation and thus each one has a different experience to share, a different story to tell. Yet they also have one thing in common, which is Palestine.…… [Read More]

Black Culture Films Black Culture Documentaries Quite

Black Culture Films

Black Culture Documentaries

Quite often and particularly in the United States, it is commonplace to understand the black cultural experience largely through the lenses of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. And to be certain, these are aspects of the experience that have left indelible imprints on black identity. However, as the collection of documentaries assessed here denotes, the black cultural experience is diverse and nuanced in a way that often goes unnoted in the discourse over struggle and oppression. This is particularly on display in the pair of documentary installments by Basil Davidson, which are concerned with the cultural conditions both historical and present in different parts of Africa.

Indeed, what is so compelling about works such as Caravans of Gold is that such films alter the discussion on the black cultural experience by reflecting on the variant of positive contributions made to the evolution of…… [Read More]

Super Size Me Documentary Review

Super Size Me is a documentary film from 2004 by Morgan Spurlock. It focuses on what it would be like to consume nothing but McDonald’s fast food for an entire month. That is the outlandish premise of the film—and it is more than likely to appeal to two types of people: 1) the health-nutritionist type of person who will approach the film with type of confirmation bias, expecting his or her point of view about how bad for one’s health fast food is to be fully validated, and 2) the extreme spectator type of individual—i.e., a person who is interested in alternative or fringe experiences, things that go against the status quo, experiences that challenge the establishment, and so on. This documentary appeals to a niche market in this respect; however, in another respect it also tackles one of the fundamental tenets of modern America: fast food is a pillar…… [Read More]

Devising a Documentary Project

Devising a Documentary Project
PART 1 
1.
I would like to make a documentary about working in a busy movie theater. It will show what it is like for employees working behind the scenes of the movie-going experience: from the people running the projections booths, to the concessionists serving popcorn and cold drinks, to the ushers cleaning up after patrons when the movie is over. The documentary will highlight the more humorous sequences and areas that result from working in the service-related area and often being invisible to the public.
2.
This mode will be a combination of direct cinema and aesthetic/experiential. I do not plan on doing voice over: I want the scenes to speak for themselves, but I also want the scenes to be real and authentic, so there will be a lot of following of the crew around before shooting begins.
3
N
4.
Y
A: I…… [Read More]

ben kuroki most honorable'son documentary

1. Describe Ben Kurokis early childhood and young adulthood. Be sure to include location and how he eventually joined the military.
The documentary film Most Honorable Son is about Nebraska-born Ben Kuroki, the first Japanese-American war hero. Kurokis early childhood was spent in a small farming community in Nebraska. He did well in school, but if it were not for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kuroki might not have pursued a military career. The bombing of Pearl Harbor inspired the entire Kuroki family to fight for their country, the United States, partly driven out of shame and a need to prove their honor and loyalty. Kurokis father encouraged him and several of his brothers to enlist, but they were turned away due to growing anti-Japanese sentiments. Eventually they were able to enlist, and Kuroki was assigned to a post in England. He pursued a specialty as a B-series air pilot…… [Read More]

Beyond Beats and Rhymes Documentary

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a documentary by Byron Hurt aims to investigate the underlying social issues that have permeated hip-hop and been propagated through the music and culture. The documentary offers multiple perspectives from industry professionals and artists that aim to dissect prominent social issues such as violence and hypermasculinity, stereotypes, homophobia, and the misogyny that pervades hip hop music and culture. Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides insight into these issues and raises awareness about these issues impact hip-hop yet the insight appears to be slightly skewed and only focuses on men and hip-hop.

The documentary begins by focusing on issues of violence and hypermasculinity and why these issues are so prevalent in hip hop music. While the documentary points to how these issues are not only a major concern in hip hop, but rather an overarching social issue that has been propagated through the media as far…… [Read More]

Seaworld Blackfish Documentary Essay

Blackfish: The Documentary That Exposes SeaWorld
 
Abstract
When the documentary, Blackfish was released in 2013, SeaWorld officials initially responded by blaming falling attendance on negative media attention, but the falloff in attendance on the part of the general public confirmed that there was widespread outrage over the conditions in which orca whales were maintained. The documentary focused on Tilikim, a wild-caught orca whale that was subjected to medieval conditions that caused him to turn on his human trainers and kill several. This essayprovides an analysis concerning the decline in attendance at SeaWorld following the Blackfish documentary release and a discussion concerning SeaWorlds announced plans to discontinue their orca whale captive breeding program, followed by a personal reaction to this important but disturbing documentary.
Captive marine mammals frolicking and doing tricks for crowds of humans--it's a make-believe vision of what the ocean might look if it were designed by Walt…… [Read More]

Video Documentary

history documentary, part 1 was very interesting and well thought out. The CGI placing Europe's landmarks and buildings amidst ancient forest, desert, and ocean were well done. The most interesting part began during the rainforest era, 300 million years ago. This era was the most fascinating to me because of the all the giant bugs like the 3 meter long millipede and one of the world's earliest amphibians. That section also had giant ferns that were later identified throughout the ages thanks to the perfectly encased imprints they left behind. All these forests and fauna that existed back then laid the ground work for the coal that Europe had and has now.

They discussed specifically in the segment how 10 meters of forest became 1 meter of coal. Coal was one of the most important sources of energy for quite some time. They pointed to Europe being one of the…… [Read More]

Film Shoah by Claude Lanzmann

Men described how they would make a throat cutting gesture toward the incoming Jews as they arrived in the death camps, but some said that they made that gestured a warning and others made it in order to taunt. Survivors talked about a deceiving cordiality from the guards, while the others talked about a brutal experience filled with confusion. Due to this the truth becomes almost irrelevant, the effect that those people's experiences have had on them is easily observed. It seems like somehow the past is defined by the present.

Healing seems to be tied in with the process of forgetting for these people, and since they are not capable to overlook the terror they experienced, healing seems impossible, until it becomes apparent that many of the people questioned have become distanced from their stories because they have told them over and over again.

Shoah" tells the story of…… [Read More]

Home a Martin Scorsese Picture

He had been most inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie. "Woody had a sound and said something with his music." He wanted to meet Woody and thank him for such inspiring songs. Woody had not been well and was being treated in a local hospital. Bob went and saw him and then wrote a "ong to Woody."

uddenly, following that visit, as if overnight, Bob Dylan became a household name. He was selling out theatres across America and England. He was referred to as a genius. It has been said that Bob went down to the crossroads and struck a deal with the devil, in order to arrive at such a place. He continued to evolve from the old acoustic folk singer that everyone loved, to a somewhat loud electric rock star. Columbia Records and many of his fans were not happy about this change. Fans were booing and…… [Read More]

Film the Early Years of

However, in spite of the fact that the film was promoted as a motion picture displaying real-life events, it appears that the director did not hesitate to modify a series of aspects about the environment that he shot in and the story itself. The protagonist's wife and children were not actually his and Flaherty correctly believed that audiences would be more deeply impressed if he presented the story from a more spectacular point-of-view. Even with this, one can still claim that the film is a documentary because it presents viewers with its own creation.

Many individuals took advantage of the fact that documentary films were very influential and devised propaganda strategies using motion pictures. Many individuals involved in this affair considered that fiction films no longer had a strong appeal and that society was more concerned about seeing 'cinema verite'. Many filmmakers got actively engaged in creating films discussing political…… [Read More]

Urban Areas

Urban Area

Globalization has created a profound impact on society. Through globalization, emerging markets continue to grow and develop. New and innovative products are created that provide solutions to societal problems. As such, wealth is created that is distributed to nations that provide services to humanity. As wealth is distributed, urban areas are created and cultivated. These cities, over time, become populated with the new inhabitants, and continue to thrive. The development of cities and urban areas correlates directly with economic growth and development. With an economic system that continues to innovate, produce product and provide jobs, urban areas cannot be properly developed. The documentary, Urbanized is a testament to the merits of a market economy and how the city of the future may be fundamentally different from the city of today (Kolb, 1972).

To begin Urbanized provides enlightening insights into which the colonies or social formations, in which we…… [Read More]

House of Cards Analysis

House of Cards David Faber, 2012) is a documentary that depicts the origin, process and results of an economic crisis that was initiated by the lenders targeting real estate and exploiting the housing shortage while taking advantage of the lowered interest rates by the Federal Reserve. he documentary highlights how the program which at the advent seemed wise and the best solution to the housing shortage and needs of the Americans, turned out to be a tale of deception and greed by the main money industry players like the banks to a magnitude that was unprecedented in the history of America.

he documentary uses a balanced approach to portray how the unsustainable trend in the supply of mortgage and the rising interest rates led to the vast foreclosures as never seen before within U.S.. he correspondent of the documentary gathered information from personal stories narrated by key participants, home buyers,…… [Read More]

Flaherty and Vertov Robert Flaherty

In the words of DeBartolo:

Vertov was the founder of Soviet documentary, and he was an enthusiastic opponent of the theatre, staged events and fiction in film. Vertov loved machines and the tricks that the camera was able to do fascinated him. "Man with a Movie Camera" is a result of his fascination. He filmed "Man with a Movie Camera" using a candid camera, filming undercover or from a distance, using split screens, dissolves, superimposition, slow motion, crude animation and freeze frames. He seemed devoted to tram cars, shuttle looms, traffic signals, and motor cars, and he traveled throughout the country side and into factories.

Shortly thereafter, Vertov would make his first sound film, Enthusiasm. By this time, Vertov was allegedly disgusted with the sort of mainstream, narrative-based cinema that was so popular with the working-class public - and which today continues to triumph in the form of Hollywood entertainment…… [Read More]

Men Power & Women

The role of sex in advertising is even more blatant in a food advertisement of an ejaculating Tabsco sauce bottle over a split bake potato -- hot and spice as a metaphor for intercourse.

Sex sells: a woman wants to be desired by a man which requires the perfect figure, in the perfect low-cut dress with the perfectly matching nail polish, and a man can only be desired by a woman if he drives a BMW, wears a olex watch and has on a alph Lauren suit (which is not a Polo suit but the higher end and much more expensive Purple Label suit). Media's objectification of women and the fact that sex does sell has lead to the "sexification" of young girls and teens. Kilboure makes her point with magazine covers and television spots, including JonBenet in full makeup for a toddler beauty pageant, a teenage Brittney Spears displayed…… [Read More]

Eyes on the Prize English

I wonder whether they ever recovered emotionally from the abuses they endured. Do they pretend not to hate white people today? Do they believe that white people today feel the same way about them as they did fifty years ago but only act differently because of the different laws today? When they see white men today who are in their early twenties, do they picture them as being the same as the young white men who tormented and abused them back then, but only behaving better because they have no choice?

I realize that these types of feelings and thoughts must be very similar among all groups of people who suffered wrongfully because of others. I am sure that there are just as many film clips of Jews being persecuted in Nazi Germany during World War II and of Chinese people being slaughtered and raped by Japanese soldiers during the…… [Read More]

Women in the Fat and

She is trying to alter the perception of the surrounding society that fat people are lazy slobs, However, she has to be careful not to excuse medically dangerous obesity ("Fat and proud, part 3" 2010). In part 4 of the video, Mandy tries to use the kiss-a-gram to change the master status (successfully) of her aunt Elsa as a fat person by bringing her along to a job. This is also the case with women who are fat going on a skating night. This attacks the idea successfully that fat people can be fit ("Fat and proud, part 4" 2010). The fat calendar memorializes that change in master status permanently with a calendar shoot, so it does so successfully in a permanent fashion ("Fat and proud, part 5" 2010.

The approach of the Biggest Looser is not successful because it is begin imposed from the outside. So often, people who…… [Read More]

Catholic Relation to Poverty the

It is also recorded that the first utterances of Jesus in the public was that where he proclaimed that he had been anointed to preach the good news to the poor. In that public speech, Jesus also gave a warning to the rich that they have already received their consolation. In a parable, Jesus also warned his followers against greed and the reliance on riches when he narrated the story of the man who had his life taken away from him when he tried to secure wealth for himself (O'Brien & Shannon 71). The story of Lazarus and the rich man is also used as a warning against excessive riches. The pope John Paul II used this parable as a warning to the rich and prosperous. He warned them not to be blind to their great poverty despite their numerous possessions.

The Roman Catholic Church has adopted practices pertaining to…… [Read More]

Anxieties of White Mississippians Concerning the Institution of Slavery

Anxieties of hite Mississippians Regarding Slavery

In Bradley G. Bond's book Mississippi: A Documentary History, the author describes in great detail the restlessness and anxiety that white folks in Mississippi felt with reference to the institution of slavery. Bond describes the growth of slavery, what crops made it necessary for Southern landowners to purchase more slaves, the laws that pertained to the behavior of slave owners and slaves, and more. This paper reviews and critiques the Antebellum Slavery chapter (4) in Bond's book.

Antebellum Slavery

The Code Noir was a law that was enacted in Louisiana in 1724, likely the first such law that was designed to lay out in particulars as to what was expected of slave owners and slaves. At that time in Mississippi, there was a great deal of tobacco and indigo being grown but not a lot of cotton. hen landowners began to realize that cotton…… [Read More]

Beauty Exchange

Beauty Exchange

The documentary The Beauty Exchange displays the life of typical Czech women in the 21st century struggling with the image of beauty. Every person is shaped by the world around them and the basis for what a woman should look like has been instilled in society through magazines, TV, movies, advertisements, celebrities. The challenges that women are constantly facing are perfect skin, gorgeous hair, flawless make-up, good figure, fashionable style and these things have grown to be such an important part of today's society.

One would think that it was women who determined fashion trends, since they are the ones who spend so much money and effort looking good when each one comes out. Yet, this current documentary shows that is not exactly the truth. In fact, women do not play as large of a part as one may think in the process of creating and popularizing fashion…… [Read More]

Jamaican Economy Fairness of the

There are several standpoints to justify this position:

First of all, as mentioned in the Life and Debt documentary, and as stipulated in the legislation, the free zones are not regulated by the Jamaican government

Secondly, this condition leads to the inability of workers to become organized in unions and ask for their rights to be respected

This means that the American contractors, who in effect play the role of employers, minimize all costs, including those with work safety and security, personnel wages and so on; as a parenthesis, the salary of a Jamaican employee in the free zones if of $120 a month

The employees put in extra, unpaid hours and ever work six day weeks. When some of them rebel to ask for more money or the protection of their rights, they are fired.

All the above findings lead to the unfortunate conclusion that the United States of…… [Read More]

Paris Is Burning

Paris is burning is a documentary released in 1990 by Jennie Livingston and comes forth as a poignant film that talks of patrons of the then still-burgeoning vogue ball scene. This was a safe space for disenfranchised and mostly poor, gay and transfigured Latinos and blacks in a time where it was very deadly to walk down the street as such. This film explores the ball competitions which were structured elaborately whereby contestants adhered to a particular category or theme the catwalk and subsequently be judged on the basis of realness of how they walk the beauty of their clothes and their ability to dance. Most part of the film changes between 6 the footage of the balls and interviews that were done on prominent members of the scenes which includes runway legends and gorgeous voguing such as Pepper LaBeija, Willi Ninja, Venus Xtravaganza, Avis Pendavis. Most of the contestants…… [Read More]

Film & Bill Nichols What

Reality TV is in a way like a documentary, because the viewer is led to believe that things are happening in real life just as it is being presented.

But the documentary usually opens with a narrator explaining to the audience why that audience should believe what is about to be shown. In the documentary "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan," the viewers know that the documentary was done by a famous filmmaker, Martin Scorsese. There sits the famous rock singer, Bob Dylan, answering questions. This is definitely real to the audience. The audience sees Dylan in concert, the audience sees Dylan during press conferences at the beginning of his career when Dylan rejected the "mainstream" media's questions because those reporters did not understand his lyrics.

The point here is this documentary gives every indication of being real, whereas the movie with Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There," is a slick production…… [Read More]

Analysis of Banksys Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) anksy

Introduction to the Documentary

anksy, in his documentary 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' seeks to highlight street art and tell people the difficulties inherent in being a street artist and making a living out of it. He wanted people to know that being a street artist means maintaining a crew that was combat ready and gaining their trust through different means to maintain anonymity. The documentary looks at the emergence of street artists in Los Angeles. The friendship between anksy and Thierry Guetta, his fan, is apparent in the documentary. Guetta is fascinated by the street art in Los Angeles and followed the artists filming them to make a documentary of his own. Guetta eventually meets anksy and films his stunts of 'Guantanamo' in Disneyland precincts. The videos that he shot for years were not enjoyable, prompting anksy to describe Guetta as 'somebody…… [Read More]

Egalite for All Toussaint Louverture

The film is subdued and takes great care not to hurt sentiments of the white population and also avoids the probable civil unrest that may be caused with the coloured community watching it, if it was to be made in depth. The director has stopped with pointing to the facts rather than explore the possibilities as a film. Therefore there has been no bias except that there was a tighter reign in exploring the issues.

4) - What are the director's visible goals? What did he/she try to do with this movie? What might be his/her thesis?

She probably wanted to highlight the plight of the Haitians and their history and that was sought to be done through their hero -- a person who gave them the constitution and stood up to Napoleon. However the thesis failed because neither was she able to present us the personality of the central…… [Read More]

Oppression Power and Diversity

Oppression Power and Diversity

Oppression, Power & Diversity

This reflection paper aims to shed light on the PS Documentary "Slavery by another Name" by performing a brief review on the documentary, drawing some learning points and some points to ponder over. The documentary has been directed by Sam Pollard in which you can admire his efforts since adapting a literary work as a documentary is an arduous task. The documentary deals with the continuation of slavery in other forms after it was abolished in the 19th century. Author of the book, Douglas A. lackmon presents compelling proof in his book, of which the documentary is an adaptation, that even though slavery was declared to an end, it has transpired even into the 20th century in other forms like forced service, bounded in chains, torture and subjection to poor living conditions by the authorities.

Step I

In preparation of this reflection,…… [Read More]

Factory Girl Fatat El Masna Factory Girl

Factory Girl

Fatat el Masna (Factory Girl) by Mohamed Khan depicts a misunderstood segment of society: female Muslim factory workers in Egypt. he contemporary setting of the story allows the viewer to make real-life comparisons with their own notions of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and power. Social stratification is a core theme, but gender is a far more salient one in Khan's movie. Fatat el Masna is about individual women taking personal risks to alter gender norms. Yet ironically, Hiyam (Yasmin Raeis) operates within a stereotypically chauvinistic framework. She fantasizes about her boss in ways that are the antithesis of female self-empowerment, as if the film suggests that women in Egyptian society can only liberate themselves in their own minds. heir actual liberation remains a pipe dream. Seeds of hope are planted, however, as Hiyam remains true to her word and values. She does fall in love with her boss…… [Read More]

Bastards of the Party and

Merton also incorporated Durkheim's observations of the difference between intrinsic motivation for work and economic profit and purely superficial extrinsic motivation for the tangible trappings of success and/or social status. Since post-Industrial evolution social values tended to focus so much more on acquisition and less on contributing to society through work, individuals experiencing psychosocial strains from the lack of available opportunities for legitimate work often sought to acquire the same outward social status through deviant and criminal means (Schmalleger, 2008).

The documentary traced the evolution of organized neighborhood protection and political rights organizations in vast criminal enterprises after the discovery of the economic profit potential associated with selling illicit narcotics. In Los Angeles, a parasitic relationship developed wherein the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) extracted protection money from the gangs while simultaneously increasing their official budget to upgrade their facilities and equipment on the basis of the increasing firepower and…… [Read More]

Burden of Dreams

Burden of Dreams

In 1979, German filmmaker erner Herzog set out to produce a movie about a rubber baron who dreamed of bringing the opera to the jungles of South America. Herzog's film, which would be titled Fitzcarraldo after the protagonist's name, took four years, as well as literal blood, sweat, and tears, to make. Moreover, the plot of Filzcarraldo eerily parallels the actual process by which Herzog made his film. Both depict a European man hauling his pride and ambition to a world in which he remains sorely out of place, imposing on the indigenous society and environment a set of foreign ideals. American documentary filmmaker Les Blank followed Herzog and his crew through the harried production of Fitzcarraldo and the result was the Academy Award-winning feature-length documentary entitled Burden of Dreams. The aptly-titled "making of" documentary captures the near-insanity of Herzog's ambitiousness, and also subtly illustrates the various…… [Read More]

Social There Are Many Interesting Political Actors

Social

There are many interesting political actors in the world today, some who challenge conventional thinking and others who reiterate the status quo. Though former Prime Minister Tony Blair is not always thought of as the most popular of public figures, in large part due to his involvement of the UK in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq he is a formidable political activist, for change. Tony Blair is clearly one of the most influential political leaders of the modern era. He demonstrates significant and sound reasoning in areas where many politicians and others seek to either look the other way or follow the popular reasoning of others. Blair became a political activist in the Labour party at a relatively young age and much that he went through within his early life molded his later opinions and strategies for change, especially with regard to environmental change and sustainable living and…… [Read More]

Jerome Robbins Normal Artist

Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About

Judy Kinberg's 2009 motion picture Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About provides a view into the life of a person who played a significant role in the twentieth century's art movement. Jerome Robbins used his mastery to make Broadway musicals much more intriguing and choreographed some of the world's greatest ballet dancers. The film uses a great deal of resources with the purpose of providing viewers with a complex understanding of the artist's life. Things like personal journals, confessions from witnesses that interacted with Robbins (some of them were close to him), and videos showing his performances all come together in painting a picture of the artist.

It would be safe to say that Robbins changed the way that many people perceived dance and music. His involvement in the industry provided these people with a completely new point-of-view on the domain and made it…… [Read More]

Camus France WWII France Under

Throughout his play, collective devastation is met with personal suffering. It is only when this becomes a shared suffering that it can become a collective way to redemption. The divides of a war now over would give way to this shared experience for all peoples of France, charged with the responsibility of rebuilding.

Indeed, this speaks much to the futility of war itself, as spoke by Camus when he resolves that "all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories" (Camus, 262). The viewpoint expressed here is in informed by the severity of orld ar II and the unprecedented global experience of attempting to be removed from this trauma. In the resolution instigative of this discussion, we can see that Camus holds on to some sense that man is inherently more a good creature than a bad one, and that he is to…… [Read More]

Persuaders Marketing in General Refers

hen people watch such documentaries that expose the intense persuasion campaigns and connect them to the entertainment industry, they feel used, they feel like they cannot even trust the shows that they like. Probably each time they turn on the TV they wonder if the program they are watching is based on solid facts or it is just a manipulation technique.

In my opinion, marketers abuse of the media environment by sending so many advertising messages. I would prefer to see a traditional ad, printed, televised, or on the radio, rather than seeing hidden messages, hidden ads, or product placement. henever I discover product placements in the programs I watch, I feel like someone is trying to use me, or to trick me. Sometimes, I even develop aversion towards the respective products.

In my opinion, the Persuaders documentary is very useful. The program should be watched by any consumer. This…… [Read More]

Cinema Verite and Direct Cinema

The outcome of all of this was a rock concert which -- aside from the actual happenstance of performances -- was heavily controlled by the interest of the filmmaker. Though various aspects of the concert-attendance experience indicate that great care was paid to the appeal of the event itself, there is an explicit self-consciousness on the part of the subject as to the grander intention of the captured film to eulogize the touring band.

And with that purposeful modus operandi in mind, we may take note that the apparent distance between Direct Cinema and Cinema Verite really only serves academic purposes. From the perspective of the filmmaker or the documentarian, there is room both for a realistic portrayal of its subject and for the selection of an angle or impression. Given that the subject is a single concert event, wherein which the musical performances are the purpose of the document,…… [Read More]

Papyrus Rescued From the Ravages

The difficulties of approaching papyri on an academic pedestal are clear, related to the need for context and interpretation. There are the "overt biases" that are used to inscribe and decode, and there are notions that the text "must be controlled by knowledge of the intellectual traditions from which they spring," (Crawford, Gabba, Millar, & Snodgrass, 1983, p. x). The linguistic properties of the papyritic record can be surmounted and even so, "the problem remains of how to mitigate the effect of the limited range of interest " this documentary evidence presents (Crawford et al., 1983, x). The dry, arid, and perfectly preserving climate of the Egyptian landscape enabled the preservation of the papyri as well as bodies of other documentary evidence from tombs to temples. It is explicit and implicit what the papyri have to say, and what they offer in terms of placement on the linear trajectory of…… [Read More]

Lens Into the Worlds of Interesting People

lens into the worlds of interesting people, movements, cultures, and practices. Three films, two of which are documentary, show how the presidents of the United States behaved and were involved in scandal. Although the films were effective in highlighting the lapses in judgment these former American presidents have, it did little to help the audience viewing the film understand why it was done and how it impacts the country. ith the exception of the atergate scandal, a lot of the information shown in these films was meant to drive entertainment values more than anything else. Sadly that is what the news is slowly becoming, something that is meant to grab ratings.

Unlike the news, documentaries have the ability to truly develop character and persona in their subjects of interest. There is a scene in the film, "Journey's with George" that discusses George Bush Jr.'s dietary habits. One of which is…… [Read More]

Tulsa Lynching of 1921 a

For example, while the initial confrontation was only between small groups of individuals, the sheriff of the town began to deputize hundreds of white men because of alleged possible retaliation from the black community. This led to a situation where large numbers of racist and rightwing members of the community were given the authority and the legal right to carry arms and continue the violence.

The results of the horrendous violence that ensued were that between one-hundred and three hundred Black people were killed. Damage to the community was devastating. The Entire 35-block Greenwood District was basically destroyed. More than ten-thousand people were left homeless after the incident. Furthermore, the Tulsa Star and the Oklahoma Sun, two Black newspapers were totally destroyed, as well as the library and six churches. Many private properties, including the offices of professionals such as lawyers and doctors, were also destroyed in the day of…… [Read More]

Examining a Contemporary Feature Film

French New Wave cinema was established by film critics, who founded the Cahiers du Cinema, whom felt cinema had become too commercialized, formulaic, and unoriginal. This group of critics would come to identify two major characteristics of the New Wave movement, which included the manner in which mise-en-scene was utilized in the film and how their auteur theory could be applied to work of art created. A contemporary film that incorporates French New Wave cinema elements into its production and design is the 2009 film District 9.

Among the major elements used in French New Wave film are loose story plots; improvised dialogue; erratic character behavior; unique use of jump cuts; and the use of natural lighting, location, and direct sound recording. District 9's unique documentary style and editing allows Neill Blomkamp to successfully incorporate these elements into the film's narrative while maintaining a cohesive feel.

Additionally, District 9 is…… [Read More]

Beautiful Mind a Film

Beautiful Mind" -- a Film

John Forbes Nash, Jr., an American Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, is such a notable individual that he is the subject of a book, a PBS documentary and a film. The film A Beautiful Mind (Crowe, et al. 2006) eliminates aspects of Nash's life and rewrites other aspects revealed in the book and documentary, possibly to make Nash a more sympathetic character for the audience. However, the film remains true to a consistent theme: in an individual's quest for satisfaction through self-fulfillment, the abnormal can also be the extraordinary.

The book and PBS documentary tell John Forbes Nash, Jr.'s story "from the outside looking in," immediately noting his abnormality in that he is a paranoid schizophrenic. The film takes a different approach, "from the inside looking out," so we experience the world as Nash experiences it and do not realize until half-way through the film that he…… [Read More]

Healthcare Crisis US Health Care

Universal healthcare is the only saving formula for this nation, which is doomed in a health care crisis of unprecedented proportions. There is a urgent need to transform healthcare from its present state of commercialism towards the humanitarian approach which guarantees 'healthcare for all' independent of their social or financial circumstances. A shared and collective responsibility of healthcare management is the only viable formula for America. It is high time we learn from Canada, UK and other European nations and restructure the current broken state of our healthcare. The successful passing of the USNHC act (H.R. 676) is the only way for America to wake up from its healthcare nightmare. Will the powerful insurance industry hold its ground yet again and resist this awakening leaving all the citizens doomed? This is an important question for all the citizens of our country.

ibliography

1) Science Daily, 'American Values lamed for U.S.…… [Read More]

Film Is Not Yet Rated

The NC-17 rating, of course, is a compromise to avoid serious films being given the 'X' rating associated with pornography possessing no artistic value. But having any rating system at all means that filmmakers who want their films to reach a wide audience, and need a wide audience to pay back their backers may feel pressured to compromise their artistic integrity for the sake of getting a more desirable rating, because R-rated films can draw in more movie goers.

The subjective nature of film ratings even under the MPAA is evident when one considers that certain things we take for granted, like nudity, for example, were originally prohibited by the Hayes Commission. Foreign films from nations with different sexual standards, documentaries about important subjects, and other films that contain taboo topics can be effectively censored by being given a NC-17 rating, while violent, major Hollywood blockbusters with little artistic pretentions…… [Read More]

Scorsese's Journey Through Film Scorsese's

Scorsese equates him with "a magician enchanted by his own magic." This freedom allowed Welles to create from narrative techniques and filmic devices a masterpiece that is self-aware of its own form. It intends to communicate this self-consciousness to the audience, thus contradicting the classical canons of filmmaking whereby the camera ought not to be noticed and the shots should be seamless. In other words, Welles expanded the art form of cinema, using the camera the way a poet uses a pen. He even created fake news footage in unique ways to enhance the film's appearance. His immense influence can be seen more on the art form as later with Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Censorship was still rife in Hollywood. The league of decency suppressed adult themes. Elia Kazan's adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was censored. What we would see now as almost innocent -- a…… [Read More]

Bleep Do We Know Written

I've never "seen" a million dollars, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

A couple of the other physics concepts can be difficult to comprehend, as well. For example, one concept is that things can exist in more than one space at a time, but people do not choose to see them, and so, when they look at them they disappear. This section of the film might turn away a lot of viewers, because much of the discussion may be over their heads and the might find it boring. These ideas are some of the most "out there" of the film, and the hardest for the mathematicians to really get across. The talk of what is real and what a person sees vs. what they remember was understandable, but many of the other concepts may just be too odd for people to wrap their heads around. For example, the atom…… [Read More]

Enron The Smartest Guys in

These acts of corporate rapaciousness make it clear how easily ordinary citizens can be hurt when executives try to make money 'creatively' by moving money rather than producing a product or fulfilling a real service. Enron is often mistakenly called an energy company, but it was really more of a speculative entity. This is another illuminating aspect of the documentary for those viewers who may only know about the Enron debacle through the popular media. The company existed only to show profits on its balance sheet, and to do so it tried 'every trick in the book' to keep its stock price high.

One of the most shocking revelations is how the Enron Company single-handedly created the California energy crisis: in case anyone is wondering why nothing has been said about the crisis since Enron folded, is because there never was a real crisis. The documentary has conclusive proof that…… [Read More]