Film Essay

Movies are a great way to portray information. I know personally, it helps me so much to be able to see what I am learning. If we were discussing slavery, it would help me to be able to see what it was like so I can have a mental image and also to develop empathy towards the people that were going through that. You can develop analytical skills, explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes from watching movies. Movies are great for students and are great for sensitive topics because they let our mind do what it wants to do which is to feel emotions towards the characters or to feel emotion for them,

When I watch movies I am often times persuaded into thinking something different or having a different outlook on that topic after I have seen the movie. Movies develop analytical skills by getting you to be so invested into their movie and what they are saying that you start to believe it and almost feel like you are a part of it. For instance, slavery is a very sensitive topic and every student learns about it but we never really understand how graphic and bad it really is. After watching 12 Years a Slave I feel that I have a better understanding of slavery and what it was like to be a slave or slave owner. That is exactly what the filmmaker, Steve McQueen, wanted us to get out of it. In an interview with Elvis Mitchell he said, “I wanted to throw the audience into the deep end at the beginning...so the film dives right into slavery.” 12 Years a Slave was so impacting because it did not sugar coat slavery, the filmmaker really wanted us to realize what it was actually like and in order to do that you have to empathize with the characters and put yourself in their shoes to possibly realize what it is like. 12 Years a Slave made us feel that way by the way the film was presented which it won several awards for such as Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and so many more. A critic on the movie, Henry Louis Gates Jr. said, “One of the most amazing and succesful things the film does is show the way that slavery dehumanizes the master as well as the slave…” This was shown by Epps and Patsy in the movie. Epps obviously had feelings for Patsy but he was mad that he did so he beat her. The issue with slavery movies is that the filmmaker has to chose how graphic and detailed they can let it be without traumatizing the audience. Steve Mcqueen does a good job of balancing that out, I never felt like it was too much for myself to handle but it definitely had an impact on my view of slavery. From avforums, a critic said “12 Years a Slave doesn’t really attempt to get under your skin… but peeling away at you until you’re flayed to the bone.” I disagree, I feel that the movie did get under my skin and make me unconfortable in  a way because I did not realize how bad slavery truely was. I think that 12 years a Slave did a better job than Glory as far as getting us to feel what the characters are feeling goes.

The movie Glory was more about getting a great message across rather than getting us to empathize with the soldiers. This movie was much easier to watch because we have studied war in depth throughout our history classes but it was helpful to see it actually happening. The movie made me feel proud for the soldiers even though they ended up dying. Which sounds wrong but the way the movie was presented let us have hope for the soldiers and let us feel happy for them. The movie won many awards and two of those are best actor in supporting role and best cinematography. The movie got the message across that the soldiers may have died and struggled but they did it together. I don’t think I would be able to get that out of reading about the war but when I was able to see it and see how the soldiers interacted I was able to take that message away which is what the filmmaker wanted. Ed Zwick, the filmmaker said, “The fundamental focus of the film is not Shaw and the rest of the officers but the coming together of the regiment in all aspects” The movie did exactly this. We were able to see how the regiment affect them in all sorts of ways, it was so interesting to watch the soldiers trust each other and to watch them grow and make progress. Like I said, unless it was written out saying how the soldiers died but the fact that they died together is the point I would not get it. Thanks to the great filmmaking, I was able to take more out of it.

When filmmakers are making their decisions about movies such as these two they have to chose how historically accurate it is going to be. Both of these movies were mostly historically accurate but they both had some tweaks just like most movies do. However, they had less tweaks than most making them some of the most accurate movies. A critic from the New York Times said, “Glory is the first serious movie about the civil war to be made in years.” I think it is important for the movie to be serious to really take something out of it. For 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen said, “If I was to illustrate the book...it would be far worse than what I filmed.” So the filmmaker had to tone it down a bit to please the audience. Yes we still got to see how bad slavery really was but we even know and can imagine based off of what we’ve seen that it was even worse. Even if the movies alter the events a little bit as long as we know that I think it is ok to view the movie because then we can discover the truth and use our imagination for that truth. Movies often lead me to wanting to know more about it so then I go do research and learn so much more about it. So movies also provoke us to want to know more leading us to accurate research. Both of these movies were very successful and both earned a lot of awards because the way they demonstrated the truth.

I think movies are a great way of showing circumstances because they let us see and feel what it was like. I would be disappointed if we were not allowed to see movies at school about history because I want to be able to realize how the people in the circumstances felt. Movies allow us to use our mind to empathize with the situation and people and from that we have a better understanding of the situation.

money/budget

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097441/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus

awards/rating

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097441/awards?ref_=tt_awd

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/awards?ref_=tt_awd

critics

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/gloryrhowe_a0b24a.htm

https://www.avforums.com/review/12-years-a-slave-blu-ray-review.10314

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/22/henry-louis-gates-jr-talks-12-years-a-slave-and-the-african-americans/

historical accuracy

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE4D8113FF937A25751C1A96F948260

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/12-years-a-slave-historical-accuracy_n_3982388.html

interview

http://www.historynet.com/basking-in-two-decades-of-glory.htm

http://tech.mit.edu/V109/N60/zwick.60a.html

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/steve-mcqueen-1/

Updating

We talked about how to use incorporate paraphrases and quotes and now I feel confident enough to do it on my own.

Practicing Incorporating a Quotaion

The film, Glory, is a very serious and accurate movie about the Civil War. It recognizes the highlights but also shows how serious the war really was. It made me feel bad for the soldiers to watch how they were treated and to watch them be underestimated due to their race. The movie really showed the happy things that happened but it also didn't avoid the bad, sensitive things that other movies tend to leave out. The New York Times said, ''Glory'' is celebratory, but it celebrates in a manner that insists on acknowledging the sorrow." This is a good quote because it talks about both the good and bad that occured in war which was accurately presented in the movie. It is important that the movie acknowledged the sorrow because a lot of movies and authors tend to leave that out because they don't want to put people down or show how bad the war really was.

This is what Mrs. Lawson wanted me to learn today:

• Only use a quote when it adds power and style to my writing
• Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote
• Whether I quote or paraphrase, always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it
• If I use another author's exact words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit
• If I use another author's presentation or facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words, I better have a good reason for doing that, and I MUST give credit
• Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources

I think I need a little bit more practice to be confident that I can do it correctly. What is the difference from exact words and an authors presentation of words?

Paraphrase Practice

"The attack on Fort Wagner, which is the climax of the movie, comes as close to anything I've ever seen on screen to capturing the chaos and brutality that were particular to the Civil War battles. Weapons maimed as often as they killed. Soldiers were so disciplined that they marched in firm lines into the sights of guns fired at point-blank range. Hand-to-hand combat was commonplace." This is from New York Times.

Below I am going to paraphrase this passage:

The turning point of the film which was the attack on Fort Wagner is the most accurate scene of the craziness and violence from the battles of the Civil War that I have ever witnessed. The firearm that was used both injured and slaughtered. Due to the soldiers training, they stomped in straight, perfect lines into the visions of firearms being fired at close distances. Violence which where the men were fighting other men close-up was natural. 

Empathy vs. Sympathy

I have learned that there is a difference between empathy and sympathy. I learned in class that empathy is the intellectual identification or vicarious experience of the feelings, thoughts, altitudes to another or the experience of understanding another person's condition from their perspective. I learned that sympathy is the feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune. It is possible to empathize with someone even though you have not experienced what they are going through because I can use my imagination and picture what it would be like. You have to put apart all of your own opinions and views on their situation to be able to fully empathize because you could possibly not agree with the circumstances. We did a worksheet that described we read about two communities that experienced moral decisions. One community people were conspiring to save Jews and the other community was killing Jews. The community that was killing Jews is not moral and I do not agree with it, nor have I ever experienced that but it is possible to empathize with. It is really hard to empathize with but I can put myself into the community that was killing jews' shoes and see where they are coming from. It is definitely not comfortable to empathize with them because I do not agree with it, but if I put aside my own opinions and realize their purpose behind it I can empathize with them. Being able to empathize is important for studying history because you need to be able to understand their position and why they made the decisions they did based upon their situation. It helps to be able to put yourself into their mind and understand.