Introduction: 

Critics will always debate what’s right and wrong or acceptable and unacceptable, but where is this line for photojournalism, and when does reporting on an issue or topic become morally unjust and adherently wrong? Is there a point when taking photographs of something or someone has gone too far or is it the journalist and the audience’s right to know about that topic. Furthermore is there a moral imbalance to underreporting on an issue? These are the questions that have been at the center of our class discussions throughout this course. They are heavy topics with substantial grey areas, but important for the protection of individuals and cultures being photographed and reported on. Through comparing and contrasting the two documentaries Salt of the Earth (Sebastiao Salgado) and Don’t Blink (Robert Frank) one forms a better understanding of morality and the difficult struggles photojournalists face with the topic. These two transcendent photographers are famous for pushing the envelope on photojournalism and being questioned about the morality behind their work. Throughout this video essay, I will be comparing and contrasting the different moments in which each photojournalist’s morality is called into question. Photojournalism is a necessary evil that is needed in order to express world disaster and garner relief efforts, although it begins to get morally contradictory when photographing unique cultures and ways of life. Additionally, the intentions of a photographer behind a photograph or film must be morally sound. A Photojournalist’s intentions must be called into question when reviewing the work morally. 

Opening:

While the Introduction is being read in the background by a narrator, I would have pictures of Frank and Salgado appear on the screen followed by some of their most prestigious early photographs. All the while explaining to the audience who these men are and why they are so renowned. Additional giving a brief summary of the documentary’s that were analyzed. 

Music used:

I would like to find some somber background music to reflect the tone of the movies.  

Salgado: The Salt of the Earth, which is a 2014 biographical documentary film portraying the life works of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. The film was co-directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado’s son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. The duo created a harsh, yet inspiring documentary about Salgado, who many regards as one of the most influential photojournalists of the 20th century. The film follows the timeline of his life, using his photos and experiences to explain his storied carrier. Salgado made it his life’s works to document and bring to life the lives of neglected and oppressed cultures and societies throughout the globe.

Frank: Don’t Blink Leaving home, coming home is a 2016 documentary film produced by Laura Israel depicting the famous life of Robert Frank. The film centers upon his book The Americans, where he traveled around America and took black and white photographs of different hardships. Originally Frank received harsh criticism for his bleak almost hopeless portrayal of America. Although now it is regarded as one of the most groundbreaking pieces of photojournalism and overall report on America. The film also discusses his bizarre relationship with his two children, and the odd artist lifestyle he and his wife lived.   

(Frank)

(Salgado)

Film Style and Flow: 

Just Like the two documentary films, I would like the film to be kept completely in black and white. These two photographers are synonymous with using black and white imagery, and that effect would further emerge the audience. Additionally Having soft music in the background is important due to the fact that most of the time the audience is looking at black and white image stills and this can get boring without something else to stimulate the audience.   

I would then present to the audience graphic and gruesome images from Salgado’s work with reporting on mass transit and genocide. This is a critical step in the process as we establish the necessary evil aspect of photojournalism. As awful as some of these images are, it is important for the audience to keep in mind that these photos are what drove people to end these horrid acts. Without this stark view of reality, the true pain and suffering behind the truth are not revealed. , in order to explain to the audience why these awful images are a necessary evil.

Shown on screen: images from Rwanda genocide (1:09)

After establishing the necessary evil aspect of photojournalism I would then begin presenting to the audience different ways in which each photographer crossed a moral line.

Shown on screen: 

I would first start with times were Salgados images were not properly representative of the action or still being photographed. You actually get this feeling from the opening images which look like 1,000s of enslaved individuals being forced to work in Brazilian mines.

These images are Jarring for the audience at first glance, but what looks like true suffering in the images is in actuality just hard work. These were not enslaved individuals though, some had pretty good educations and came from all walks of life. Without Salgado directly explaining that aspect then their story of striking it rich for gold gets lost in the harsh black and white images. This is where Salgado, in my opinion, walks a morally thin line. Clearly its a moving important image but could he have captured them in a different way. 

The next morally questionable piece of photojournalism displayed will be the pictures of the Infant coffins (39:48-41:50) from Salgados time spent with marginalized native tribes in northern brazil. These images are a dark reminder of the hardships other cultures face.

Show clip (39:30-40:58):

The infant mortality rate in this area of Brazil was extremely high. Children dying had become such normality that they began renting the coffins at local general stores. The Next image is of children who have never been baptized.

It is in these brutal images that Salgado reveals the truth behind the hardships these poor forgotten about fathers face. Although I would argue that without proper explanation to an audience these image’s effectiveness is lost. This is again where I think Salgado struggles with morality. He is trying so hard to capture brutal and “inspiring” images that he forgets about paying respects to the villagers and their culture. 

Transition:

The next piece of the morally questionable film shown is the works of Robert Frank. Franks’s downfall in terms of morality is different though. Where Salgado at times didn’t express culture to the fullest, some of Frank’s work had questionable motives behind even doing it in the first place. The images being presented will be from after Frank published The Americas. After such poor initial feedback about how he portrayed the lives of the Americans he was photographing, he decided to focus more on film. He felt he could represent the story he was telling in a more real, appropriate way. 

Shown on Screen (52:55-53:48) Initial interviews with Children:

Here Frank is interviewing his children and here you first start to see the odd relationship they had started developing. Frank and his wife were far from present in their children’s lives and it shows. He treated his kids as an art project by ignoring them and then constantly sticking a camera in their faces. They needed a father, not someone who was just asking how life was without one

This scene continues with Frank explaining how this went on for years and eventually drove his son mad. After moving away from the Vermont compound/school his parents dumped him at, He began suffering from severe schizophrenia. The son Continued struggling with this disease and would be in and out of mental hospitals before dying in his early 40s. He drove insane by his father who continued to shove a camera down his face, until the day he died. 

Shown on Screen:

It is a sad image to look at known the pain his son was experiencing. All Frank needed to do was put down his camera and be a real father, not some artist. It is clear here that Frank violated the moral code, although in a slightly different manner than Salgado. Where Salgados is at fault for his perception of the photographs, On the other hand, Frank is the guilt of having poor motives. What possibly told him inside that he should turn his family into a airt project? I do not know but what I do know is that his intentions were poor.  

Conclusion:

Shown on Screen: Final pictures

(Salgado)

(Frank)

These two storied carriers are perfect for forming a better understanding of the morality of photojournalism and the struggles these people face. It is a hard yet fully necessary job, these men and women have to be cut from a different cloth. Ultimately though mistakes will be made over a lifetime of photojournalism, trying to represent cultures accurately and keeping intentions good are two of the best ways to ensure the practice of good photojournalism.  

Lights fade… The End.  

Video Outline

Introduction:

Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest filmmakers within the modern era. He successfully blends genres together to form something brand new and interesting for the audience, even from foreign cinema, due to his humble background as a former video store clerk. His most transnational film, Inglourious Basterds, uses language to take the audience into differing and engaging settings. The two rival characters represent this use of language in film, Colonel Hans Landa and Sosshana Dreyfus. 

What is shown on screen:

While this introduction is being read aloud, I would like to insert pictures of Tarantino and his various famous films. I would like to show his importance to film and the transnational nature of them through films like Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, not just Inglourious Bastards.

Transition: 

I would like to have music and black title sequences that are featured in the film to show to the viewer the change between different languages in the video essay. 

The Farm (French potion of the Video Essay): 

The most important French scene actually occurs right at the beginning of the movie at Shosanna’s family farm. The threatening, villainous character of Colonel Hans Landa. Typically in popular culture, French is thought as a language of love, yet Tarantino is able to shift it on its head with Landa threateningly interrogating Perrier LaPadite while speaking the language. Landa is shown to have a differing mentally then the French people that he is speaking to, with him denying the classically French beverage of wine for a glass of milk, which is as German as beer. The Colonel makes himself entirely at home in the scene, taking a seat at the table and inviting LaPadite to join him and even changing the language of their discussion to English, representing the absolute power that he wields in the situation. LaPadite even asks Landa to smoke his pipe in his home, which the Colonel allows. During this whole exchange, the whole Dreyfus family is underneath the floorboards of the farmhouse. 

The tension within the scene finally escalates to its zenith, when Landa gets up, appearing to leave, invites the soldiers into the house to fire on the floorboards. His fatal flaw in the scene is allowing Shossana to escape the farm, to which he states, “Au revoir Shoshanna!” 

Shown on screen:

I would like to show the farm, Landa at the table with LaPadite, and of Shossanna escaping from the house. I would want to show my readers what is going on with the scene that I am discussing.

The Basterds (English):

The Bastards are an elite commando unit of Jewish American soldiers, led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine. Raine speaks with a Southern American accent in the film to reflect a gruff, no nonsense leader. A leader with a Southern accent is a common trope in American war films to showcase these characteristics without outright saying it. Raine puts emphasis on various words to make them reverberate in the audience’s eardrums. Words like Nazi, apache, and scapling stick in the minds of the audience, even after the film transations to Hitler’s warroom. His accent is a greater reflection of the rough brutality that the basterds themselves posses against the Nazi threat. Hitler is even afraid of this band of commandos. Raine as the leader of the Bastards, represents their mission, motiviations, and ideals. Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz is a German defector to the Basterds, showing the blending of English with German inside of the film. The Basterds trust him because of his skill with killing Nazi’s. An additional important Basterd is Sergeant Donny Donowitz who is affectionately referred to as the “Bear Jew,” because of both his physical stature and brutality. Donowitz speaks with a fairly stereotypical American accent, as do most of the other Basterds. This further shows the differentiates Raine as the leader of the team. 

Shown on Screen:

Photos of the various Basterds motion within the paragraph.

The Nazi (German):

German is the language of the villains of the film. It is common for characters in the film to speak multiple languages. A key scene of a foriegner attempting to appear as a Nazi is the mission that Leuntiunt Archie Hicox, who is in fact British, undergoes to find out information about the permier of Nation’s Pride. Hicox and the Basterds revenoirs with Bridget Von Hammersmark, a British spy. Hicox’s unusual accent attracts the attention of some German enlisted men, who are celebrating the birth of one of their comrades’ sons. One of the drunk enlisted men even asks Hicox where he is from because his accent and mannerisms are so odd. This comotion attracts the attention of a Nazi officer, who is sitting in the tavern reading. This officer claims that he has an ear for accents and he can not place Hicox’s. The officer further questions what their group is doing in France. The group is able to lie their way up until Hicox gives away that they are fakes, when he gives the British gesture of three using different fingers than the Germans. Only someone with knowledge of Britain and Germany would be able to notice this small like thing that completely gives them away. This leads to a shootout in the tavern killing everyone beside Von Hammersmark. 

Scenes shown:

Hicox talking with the Officer and the Officer approaching the table. An additional still of Von Hammersmark at the table with the enlisted Germans.

Conclusion:

Language plays a key role in making Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino’s most transnational film to date. The way that little gestures and accents affect the overcome of the film is truly a masterpiece. French, English, and German all have distinct importance in the film.

Music used:

I would like to find some epic music orchestral music to reflect the tone of the movie itself. 

Video Outline:

Video Outline Essay: Tarantino and his Tension Filled Framework

1. My Argument

Inglorious Bastards (2009)–

The use of chopped and fast cuts in the framing of Inglorious Bastards. Quentin Tarantino displays war violence between the narrative of Shoshana and the Bastards’ and uses his camerawork, most notably with a “crash zoom”, that effectively displays the madness in the entire setting. It generates an intense effect for applying tension to any scene of the film and has everything surrounding the characters livelier and louder. The subject matter is how controversial his unique style of filmmaking is, and using the shots in his film demonstrates how effective his storytelling is. I want to argue his choice of using a crash zoom, quick cuts, and its framing became revolutionary toward the film industry, and how effective his talented camera shots are.

2. How it will be done:

It will be a voice over video, with scenes of the film filling the video’s entirety. I will be using iMovie for the process of making the video, while recording myself explaining my essay’s topic. I will be using the Inglorious Bastards film for my video portion of the essay, owning the film in my iTunes library or using YouTube as a last resort. With these scenes below, I will take snapshots and videos of certain sequences, then go into detail of the significance of it (Why he chose that technique, the writing and the initial plan, and how it leads into its final result through its camerawork).

3. Scenes I will be using in Inglorious Bastards–

• The ending of the meeting between Hans Landa and the farmer (17:20-19:17)
• The German soldier meeting his fate with the Bear Jew (33:16-34:34)
• Hans Landa meeting Shoshana for the first time (54:00-55:33)My Movie 1 – Medium

Siena Fam

4/29/2020

LTGR – 270

Video Essay Outline

Slide 1: Intro:

Quentin Tarrantino uses his film, Inglorious Basterds, to critique America’s appropriation of Holocaust memory. The silenced American histories such as the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of African Americans, and the oppression of Jewish Americans have been displaced by an increasing Holocaust commemoration in the United States. This film uses a wide array of characters to represent different groups that have been discriminated against throughout history in order to rewrite historical events in a way that gives triumph and an alternate ending to oppressed populations both in Germany during WWII and historically in the United States.

Throughout this essay I will highlight six scenes that exemplified the intertwined and silenced histories exemplified within the characters that pertain to both German and American history.

Slide 2: Scene 1 – 21:21 – 24:12 – Lineup

The first scene shows Aldo Raine “Aldo the Apache”, “putting together a special team” of 8 Jewish American soldiers. He explains his argument that all Nazi’s must die, no Nazi is a good Nazi, “Nazi ain’t got no humanity. They’re the foot soldiers of a Jew-hating, mass-murdering maniac, and they need to be destroyed. That’s why any and every son of a bitch we find wearing a Nazi uniform, they’re gonna die”. He presents the comparison to Native American genocide and is using the victimization of the Native Americans to help them fight for Jewish liberation by using Native American resistance methods, “I am the direct descendant of the mountain man Jim Bridger. That means I got a little Indian in me. Our battle plan will be that of an Apache resistance.” References scalping of Native Americans in the Southeast to achieve the status of warrior and to appease the spirits of the dead. In turn, the whites would also practice scalping in response to Native American scalping and voices that, “When you join my command, you take on debit. That debit you owe me…personally. Each and every man under my command owes me 100 Nazi scalps…”. The use of Jewish American soldiers in the Basterds and the references to the victimization of Native Americans, an “Apache resistance”, and scalping is significant because it rewrites history to be in favor of those that were taken advantage of.

There is a personal aspect to the group, Aldo Raine is Native American and is avenging the genocide against them. The Basterds is a group of Jewish American soldiers who are fighting to avenge the hate and the stigmatization of their religion.

Camera angle –> The camera in these scene first is angled looking down at the group, with Aldo Raine entering from the right, the camera then moves in front of Aldo as he announces his intentions and introduces himself, the camera moves with Aldo from behind the soldiers and visualizes the significance and power Aldo Raine will hold within the film. The camera continues to switch between being behind the soldiers and behind Aldo as he is addressing them. As Aldo continues his speech about how the Germans will know the, they will talk about them, and they will fear them, you can see the soldiers and especially Donny Donowitz (Bear Jew), getting excited or rather amped up to begin their mission to kill Nazi’s. Tarantino shot on film to create an older medium of cinema relevant to the time period of the film, the colors are gray and dark because the subject of the film and this scene are dark and violent, about death and genocide.

Slide 3: Scene 2 – 26:27 – 38:00 – Woods

This is where we are first presented with the imagery of scalping, with the Basterds surrounding 3 remaining Nazi soldiers left, set in the woods in a large ditch. The imagery lets the viewer know that these 3 soldiers have no way out, the Basterds show no mercy. Aldo calls for the Nazi Sergeant to approach him, and the camera shows him walk in slo motion and looking around to show the surrounding Basterds and to create his feeling of despair. The Sergeant salutes Hitler before Aldo tells him to sit down. Aldo introduces Huge Stiglitz and the scene cuts, to return to Aldo saying, “Can I assume you know who we are.”- Sergeant – “You’re Aldo the Apache.” Raine tells the Sergeant, “Whether you leave this ditch alive is entirely on you…”. The location of a ditch is significant and ironic because it is historically where victims of genocide are left. Aldo asks the Sergeant for the location of another group of Nazi soldiers in an Orchard down the road, the Sergeant refuses. This is when Aldo Raine introduces Donny Donowitz, the “Bear Jew”. Aldo asks if the Sergeant knows who he is and the Sergeant responds, “He beats German soldiers with a club.” – Aldo – “He bashes their brains in with a baseball bat…”. Since the Sergeant refused to divulge information of Germans in an Orchard, Aldo calls the Bear Jew. The camera and imagery of this scene is shown going back and forth between the Sergeants face, the tunnel, Aldo, and the other two German soldiers. There is a knocking from the Bear Jew in the tunnel and his bat, creating suspense. The music played is godly yet dark and intimidating but as the Bear Jew emerges from the tunnel, war music plays. After the Bear Jew beats the Sergeant to death he starts cheering, as he’s stepping over the Sergeants body, “Teddy Fucking Williams knocks it out of the park! Fenway Park is on its feet for Teddy Fucking Ballgame! He went yard on that one! On to Lansdowne Street!”. This brings the American history of baseball, the German thought it was just a club but Aldo corrects him and says it is a baseball bat. The Bear Jews victory speech is referencing Boston baseball, this is significant because the northern United States is were slavery was first abolished and is a more progressive place on human rights historically in the US. After the Bear Jew beats the Sergeant, one of the Basterds shoots one of the soldiers and the last one remaining tells the Basterds the position of the other Nazi troop, how many there are, and the artillery they are carrying in order to save himself from being killed. The scene cuts to the survivor talking to Hitler who asks him if they marked him as they did the other survivors and the soldier says “yes”, the scene then cuts back to the woods where Aldo is talking to survivor about what he will do with his uniform, he says he will burn it, but that doesn’t bode well for the Basterds which is why they brand him with a Swastika. This branding is foreshadowing to the last scene with Hans Landa and Aldo Raine because we see Donny telling Aldo that he’s getting pretty good at that. Aldo confirms that, saying that it’s just practice.

Slide 4: Scene 3 – 56:12 – 59:45 – Hans Landa & Shosanna “Emmanuelle” meet again

This scene takes place during the lunch regarding moving the Nazi premier to Shosanna’s theater. He is talking about how the black man who works at the theater will not be able to operate the projector because the Reich Minister, “…wouldn’t want the success or failure of his illustrious evening dependent on the prowess of a n****…”, he says if the event is to be held at her theater, he will have to have nothing to do with it. Shosanna “Emmanuelle” and her black husband, Marcel,  are reminiscent of the racism and discrimination that related to slavery and segregation in the United States and Nazi Germany that are still prevalent today. It is ironic because in the end Marcel gets the last say because he is the one who lights the cigarette and burns down the theater. Another significance to this scene is that Hans Landa orders milk and crème during their conversation at lunch. The imagery when the crème comes and the camera switches from the spoon scooping to the plate, spoon scooping to the plate, reminds the audience of the first scene and how Hans Landa killed Shosanna’s family on the dairy farm and that she is Jewish hiding from the Nazis yet is brought into business with them.

Slide 5: Scene 4 – 1:25:00 – 1:27:10  – Operation Kino, in the basement with unexpected Major playing game

During Operation Kino three of the Basterds are undercover as Nazi’s with Bridget Von Hammersmark in the basement tavern and they are unexpectedly accompanied by a Nazi Major in the bar, they begin playing a game like Heads Up. The Major is ironically King Kong, his guessing game resembles both the story of King Kong and American slavery,  “So… my native land is the jungle, I visited America, but my visit was not fortuitous for me, but the implication is that it was for somebody else. When I went from the jungle to America, did I go by boat?” – “Yes” – “Did I go against my will?” – “Yeah” – “On this boat ride, was I in chains?” – “Yeah” – “When I arrived in America, was I displayed in chains?” – “Yes” – “Am I the story of n**** in America?” – “No” – “Well, then, I must be King Kong.” – “Yes!”. This scene is significant because the story of King Kong is based on that of American slavery.

Slide 6: Scene 5 – 2:23:20 – 2:23:52 – Shosanna’s film message during premier

Shosanna’s “message to Germany” during the Nazi premier presents the significance of point of view to the film, the point of view of Shosanna’s face above the Nazi’s, stealing their power, and reversing the premier’s efforts in propaganda. The imagery of Shosanna’s giant face on the screen before the theater is burned down shows the extent of revenge deserved for the Jewish people. This was Shosanna, a Jewish women’s plan, and Marcel, a black man, is the one who threw the cigarette that caused the fire. This offers an alternate ending to avenge racism, genocide, and discrimination against Jewish and African populations who were discriminated against in both the US and Germany. Having Shosanna’s face on the big screen gives her the power of propaganda rather than the Nazi film that was premiering. When Marcel throws the cigarette, the slow motion imagery of the cigarette flying is heart stopping, because the viewer knows that if this were to happen in real life the war would have ended. This scene shows the effort Tarantino makes in trying to give an alternate ending to populations victimized both in WWII and Nazi Germany but in US history as well.

Slide 7: Scene 6 – 2:27:00 – 2:29:37 – last scene with Hans Landa, Hermann, Aldo Raine, and Utivich in woods

When Landa officially surrenders to Raine, Utivich puts Landa in handcuffs and Raine shoots Hermann, who Utivich then scalps. Raine explains he is the only one his superiors need and tells him he made a good deal to end the war and that he layed out a pretty good life for himself post-war in the US.  Raine’s little speech about how well Landa has layed out a life for himself post-war and that he understands that one day Landa will be taking off his SS uniform. Taking off his SS uniform will allow him to dissolve back in to society, silencing his history as a ruthless SS officer. This is when and why Raine brands Landa with a Swastika, and remarks to Utivich, “This might just be my masterpiece.” The last camera angle is facing up at Utivich and Raine, promoting the importance of point of view and showing how the Jewish, American, Native American, and African populations came out on top and were avenged with this last scene. The scene is again, giving ethnicities who were taken advantage of a fantasy of coming out on top. This scene reverses the roles between enemy and victim. The camera in this scene focuses strictly on the characters left, because the war is over the last thing to address is Hans Landa. Before when the Basterds branded someone they didn’t show it, but they show Raine branding Landa, signifying the reversal of roles. The last angle faces up at Utivich and Raine, showing them on top. This is where Raine says that this just might be his masterpiece, coming full circle to the scene in the woods where we are first introduced to Aldo’s practicing of branding.

Slide 8: Conclusion

Through Tarrantino’s revision of historical events he promotes recognition to America’s reluctance of confronting its past of the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of African Americans, and the oppression of Jewish Americans. He utilizes Americas Holocaust commemoration by exploiting Americas own violent history through the characters in the film and how each of them contribute a story or plot to rewriting history to avenge racism, genocide, and discrimination seen in silenced American and German histories. The film offers oppressed populations a chance to reverse roles between enemy and victim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dL_zhnV0sg

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https://youtu.be/5dL_zhnV0sg