Author Archives: averse

Video Essay

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Impacts of Immigration in Film

 

The main argument I am going to be focusing on throughout this video essay is going to be how immigration serves as a great example of how film can be an educational tool that speaks volumes to the masses. Through the many films we have watched throughout this course I have come to look at film as something other than just entertainment. Film has become a resource to learn about differing cultures and customs that occur all around the world. I think it is vastly important that others also see this opportunity within film and that’s why I chose to focus my project on immigration and how it shifts the intentions of film.

 

I would like to go ahead and use a voiceover style of narration for my project. Basically, I am just going to show scenes from a few select movies and have it continuously playing in the background while I talk. For a few select parts, however; I am going to pause my talking so the viewer can hear important parts of some scenes. By having a voice over type style of narration I will be able to show people how the example of immigration can be used to serve as a source of cultural education while also still speaking and explaining. More specifically, I will do my video essay in the vlog style type of format. A vlog style is best for my specific situation because it allows for a lot of voiceover and typical is used to deliver an explanation to the argument at hand.

 

With my main argument in mind, I thought it would be an appropriate decision to now go ahead and pick some stills and scenes that would go hand in hand in making my point more visually clear.  The order and details in which the actual video would be made can be found below

 

  • To start I am just going to have an introductory section where it’s a clip of me introducing myself and the argument I am going to present.
    • This shouldn’t take longer than a minute
    • I would like to use some soft instrumental music in the background while I talk
    • I want to use a fade style transition into the next part of my video

 

  • The first film I am going to choose to use is one by the Lumière brothers as this is one of the first films that depicts the real and daily life of factory workers just walking out of the Lumière factory in Germany. This particular example sets the tone of the rest of the examples. This scene shows how people could see what Germans and what Germany looked like without the need to travel.
    • Time: start till 1 minute in
    • While this scene is playing, I am going to go ahead and mute it and do a voice over here. This particular scene is actually a silent one, so it is the perfect opportunity to go ahead a read what I wrote just above. Like I said above, this will give some context that will help support the idea that film can be used as a tool of education about other cultures.
    • Once the scene is done playing and I am done talking the video will quickly transition back to clip of me talking and the context of what I will be discussing can be found in the next step.
  • Next I am going to dive into the more immigration side of the presentation. Here we see a film from the movie Almanyawhich is about a family who has immigrated to Germany from Turkey in hopes of a better life. In this particular scene that is about to play, you will give you an understanding of how Christmas is celebrated in Germany. While this is a more lighthearted example of how many immigrants faced struggles regarding identity when going to a new country, it still gives us a decent depiction of the daily struggles they face. This further supports the idea that through film based on immigration we can learn what a particular country might be like without traveling and we gain a slight understanding of what it might be like to immigrate without immigrating ourselves.
    • After the clip of me speaking is done playing the scene from Almanya will play
    • 1:02:30- 1:03:57
  • To end I will have a short clip of me reinstating how film can serve as a source of education through the use of immigration within film.
    • I would like to use soft instrumental music in the background that I used on the first shot of me.
    • This clip is just for summarizing purposes and to restate the argument at hand.

Youtube Dominance

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For many years now my main source of entertainment when it comes to streaming online would have to be Youtube. I would say I have been watching Youtube videos since middle-school and most of what I watch are like family vloggers or influencers who are around my age. Honestly, at first, I thought I was weird for watching these kinds of videos but over time I learned that many people my age also do so as well. I would say within the past 4-5 years these kinds of videos have really taken off and I would say most people have at least one person they follow or watch via Youtube. I think what attracted me most to Youtube videos was the short duration of them as it fits well with my short attention span. I also used to love watching reality shows so this in a way was like a reality show but more personal. In today’s society, we love to have access to things right at the edge of our fingertips and these Youtube videos fulfill that quick turnaround that we love. We often only have to wait a day for new videos whereas on TV we have to wait months on end for new seasons of shows to air.  I also love that I feel as though I can relate to some of these vloggers as many are also in college and are going through many of the same things I am. Recently, I have been really into watching TikTok videos, which I’m a little ashamed to admit. Once again I like the shortness of the videos and the fact that you can upload and create your own content relatively easily. I do watch some shows and movies on Netflix and Hulu but those two combined do not exceed my usage on Youtube.

Real Struggles

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The movie Joy is overall a large eye-opening experience for anyone, like me, who does not fully understand the world of sex trafficking. Of course, the majority of us have heard of sex trafficking but it is more common than not for individuals to not understand the scary and life-threatening world that it is.  For me, this movie changed my whole understanding and perspective of the safe trafficking industry. The moment that really spoke to me and made me realize what horror this industry is was the scene I show above. This particular scene shows that many of these women who “sign up” for this in fact really do not know what they are getting into when they agree to move to another country “for a better life”. Many people are so desperate to go to places like Europe to make more money to help out families they left behind in their homeland that they become such an easy target for sex traffickers to take advantage of. Through this scene, we are able to see the blindness that goes along with it because Precious is stating that this is not the job she thought she would be doing here. I think this movie serves as a good learning tool for people who don’t understand the full circumstances surrounding sex trafficking and can be used to educate many.

Taking the Risk

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The film Fire at Sea is a very informative and moving documentary. Although there are a handful of aspects of the movie that truly educated me on the European migrant crisis, there is one aspect that stood out the most to me. That part would have to be when we witness many migrants on a ship coming from North Africa towards Southern Europe in the hopes of a better life. During this scene, the film producers did a nice job of filming the man singing while also allowing us to see parts of the dark and crowded living conditions many were faced with. By integrating this scene into the movie the audience was able to hear the song sung by an immigrant which gave us a little synopsis of the struggles he along with many have faced on this journey. He talks about his life back to Nigeria and why many want to leave and head to Europe. He discussed how hard they have prayed for a better life and all the awful living conditions they have gone through to get to where they are now. This scene is really an integral part of the documentary as it adds in a sense of emotion and gives the audience a further look at the struggles many have faced.

Do Not Disturb Nature

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The film for this blog post, Inhuman Encounters at the End of the World, is not like any other film we have watched or analyzed in this class thus far. One important element and aspect that stood out to me while watching this film was the overall idea of not wanting to disturb nature. The scientist made it a point to mention their intent and full intention of not wanting to disturb the natural processes of nature within the animals while they study them. As this is a documentary type style that involves animals is was obviously nice to see and hear the good intentions of scientists in regard to their study of the animals. While most of the interactions in the film were positive and happy there were a few times that made me realize how nature isn’t always working with the animals in a positive manner. In the top picture, you see a penguin who has gotten off track with the rest of his group and will likely die as a result of this distract. The scientist and filmmakers stuck to their intentions of not wanting to interrupt the animals so they did not help the penguin to get back on track. While this was sad to see it served as a reminder and great example of what really happens in a penguin’s life.  The other photo shows scientists working with seals in hopes to learn more about their supply of milk. In doing so they mention that the technique in which they use causes very little harm and doesn’t really interfere with their day-to-day life.

not always easy

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This particular scene is a good depiction of kinda the overall theme the film, Almanya, portrayed to its audience. This film is about how a Turkish family immigrated to Germany as a result of the father’s belief that they will have a more prosperous life. When the family first arrived in Germany the children are shown to be somewhat hostile to the new ways and foreign to simple things such as a toilet and garbage men. Over time the children become more accustomed to the “German way of life” and somewhat forget some of the more Turkish traditions. This scene is showing the result of the children learning about Christmas and how most families in Germany receive gifts and put up a Christmas tree. The children explain this tradition to their parents and beg to also partake in this custom. The mom tries her best to do so for the kids but as you can see the children were slightly disappointed in the rather small size of the tree and lack of wrapping on the gifts. This rolls back around to the theme of the film which is mostly trying to highlight how difficult it is for immigrants to balance keeping their own traditions alive while also trying to assimilate into their new community.

No Hiding Now

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For this meme, I chose to highlight a scene that stood out to me in the film Inglorious Bastards. In this meme, you can see two members from the “Bastards” looking down at a nazi after they just engraved a swastika onto his forehead. Through a Holocaust class I took a few years back, I know that once the Holocaust was over, many nazi’s fled the area and adopted new identities. They did so to steer clear of getting convicted of any crimes they may have committed during the war against Jews and other minorities. That’s why the action the Bastards took regarding engraving a swastika onto the forehead speaks volumes. They did so to show the nazi’s that this horrible identity they have taken on will follow them the rest of their lives by providing society with an easy visual that identifies who they are and what they have done. I also found it clever how, in the top picture of the meme, they filmed it to make it look like the Bastards were much larger than the nazi and how they were looking down at him. 

Bronski or Hitler?

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I chose this still for this blog post because I think it represents the time perfectly well. At the time this film was made, many citizens in Europe were not aware of the full effect of the Holocaust and to what exactly was going on.  Just as they didn’t know exactly what was occurring in regards to Hitler’s actions many people also really had no idea what Hitler looked like. I think people often thought or only knew he had a mustache of distinctive character but beyond that, they really had no idea. This shot from To be or Not to Be by Ernst Lubitsch extends on the idea that there was much confusion and worry among the people in regards to what Hitler looked like. In this Shot, one of the gentlemen is arguing that Bronkski doesn’t even look like Hitler and that he needs to look more like Hitler in the picture they have in the room. This is ironic because the picture he is referring to is a picture of Bronski dressed as Hitler. This further shows that there was much confusion amongst people about what Hitler looked like. This also touches on the importance of the Mustache and how it is something constant throughout this film in regards to some of the topics we discussed in class.