Thursday, May 23, 2013

Childrennnnnn of Heaveennnn

       The dynamic that the two main characters share demonstrate that optimism for brother and sister relationships all over the world.. Rarely, are sister and brother relationships characterized in movies in such a positive way. Commonly, only spouse realtionships are depicted or highlighted in film. The status quo is seeing sisters and brothers argue and fight but to see them interact with one another in a form that is independent of their parents is unique. As a viewer, the subject media is quite admiring, partially because I don't have a relationship with my brother, but overall because  it is just a creative story. It's interesting to see how the role of a family plays out because of something as mundane as a pair of shoes. 
     There's always those situations that makes you question or re-evaluate the things in life that has no meaning. Or at lease, on the surface, they seem as if they have no meaning. My mother always told me to appreciate every thing in life that I had because there was always someone who did not have those items. Not only does this movie characterize how we need to be grateful but also how important it is to give and provide for others who are less forunate than ourselves. The pair of shoes represents their own character and kind of takes on a life of their own as they travel through the slums of India to their rightful owner. Movies that demonstrate the real struggles of families are always a plus in my book. As a filmaker, personally, I enjoy realistic depictions of life instead of fantasies. What is raw is just what's more appealing in my eyes. The sence of sacrafice and optimism in each character really sets the tone of the family and the film. The film does a good job of carrying that tone over to the audience. For instance, in the scene in which Ali is running the marathon, everyone is on the edge of their seat, hoping he wins the race just as he hopes he can get that pair of shoes for his sister.
  Children of Heaven demonstrates that in some way all families are truly alike, even if they are international. This Israli family, while representing their customs and traditions still represents the heart of what American families stand for. Which are ultimately love and being there for one another when we need eachother. The ending of this story meets that cliche that all good stories must come to an end. It brings us back to reality that all family do struggle and go through hardships. Those moments of hardships highlight their moments of happiness.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Tale of the Central Park 5

  The Central Park 5 focuses on 5 young men from New York who are coerced to concede to a gang rape and beating of a white woman. The central park five case has been an iconic case in African American history, and is often compared to the notorious Scottsboro Boys case.
  These five young men,who range from the ages of 14-17, were basically in the wrong place at the wrong time. This documentary truly shows the difference of maturity and immaturity.But not in the aspect that these young boys were childish, but that they were still children. They said just about anything they could to get out of their situations, so as the police feed the made up scenario to them, they put it in their witness statement, unaware that they were convicting themselves.
  The discrepancies is this case helps highlight how prevalent racism's role was in this situation. DNA evidence didn't link the rape of the woman to any of these five suspects. More importantly, none of their stories linked to one another because each of them told a different story. According to the time line of each of their stories, it would have been impossible for them to have raped the woman in correlation to when she said she was in the park and when the rape happened.In addition, at three time of their arrest another man who was a little bit older than them had been arrested for serial sexual assault offenses but the police never even considered him being the one who raped the woman.
   What's striking to me about this case is that these young boy's freedom didn't get nor as much attention as their guilt. It wasn't until over a decade later that their cases were overturned, reasons due to that other man who had been arrested at the same time as them, confessing. Each of them, except the eldest had served their time.And to this day, the prosecuters of the case still maintains that the five has some relation to the case.Today, the central park five has a pending civil rights law suit against the New York police department. Due to our courts' ridiculous judicial system, their case still hasn't been heard. Even though the justice system says that these men got their freedom back, it's a lie. These men will forever have the stigma of the central park rape case over their head, and they will forever be known as the central park five.
   They will never get back their innocent years they spent in prison, they will never remember high school prom or graduation with their friends.Their childhood and life has forever been tainted and we all know that ain't freedom.


Friday, May 10, 2013

The Art of Documentary

   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPavxiKKT2w
   A documentarian has to have a balance between reality and optimism. I guess a hope to see reality in a different light or to capture a different perspective. I don't think most of us are imaginative... that's a skill that some people have and some don't. But rather we rely on our surroundings and reality for our visions of art. I commend script writer because that's just one skill I don't have or fully have acquired yet. Documentarians also are more comfortable with mistakes and don't really have a problem with letting go of control because we want to get more unedited and raw footage. Ultimately we want our audience to connect or relate to our subjects. An actor a limit to relatebility, because everyone is aware that they are doing just that, acting. We only can relate to what we are familiar with and we are familiar with the real tears, the conflict, the mispronounced words, and the drama. 162
   Some documentarians take different styles when dealing with subjects. But it is always a physical and literal line when dealing with your subjects and believe me, the line is always moving. But as a film maker it is our position, to constantly stand on that line. Not to exceed our authority or to test the water but to maintain and be aware of what or subject is comfortable with. For example, most one on one conversations in documentaries are done with the camera facing the subject in a close up view. To position the camera about 3 feet away from our subject allows for them to be more comfortable with themselves and whatever they are saying. But to position that camera any closer than 3 feet is a violation of their privacy and space. That difference is prevalent when the subject is noticeably self conscious and starts to not give as much incite on what they were talking about.332
   It is also different things that a documentary must have to be considered good. Interview, audio, b roll, and true footage. We all know that a movie with someone just talking the whole time would not be too hot. These other elements, such as audio,b roll, and true footage adds another layer of interest in addition to your subject's interview. Audio is very important when considering what  appeals to people and what we like. But it is also important to have audio that actually matches with the dialogue. The audio must match the subjects feelings and emotions and the flow of what they are saying. B roll and true footage are similar, they are simply just new footage that describing what the subject is saying. B roll most often is photographs and true footage is something that is actually going on, well that is the best way to describe it. But over anything, a documentarian knows the importance of truth over factuality.