Finding The Gold Within Film Analysis

Leaving last week’s class, my mind was darting in all sorts of directions. While the “Eyes on the Prize” excerpt gave me a concrete understanding of the historic events of the desegregation of Little Rock High School, “Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later” brought up all sorts of observations and questions on race in America that I hadn’t necessarily thought to address before. I think these two films were particularly interesting to view back to back because of their difference in style, content, and execution. I have viewed many of the “Eyes on The Prize” segments in past classes and this segment, “Fighting Back”, continues to stand out to me. Through the use of first person interviews and real footage, the piece gave me, what felt like, a clear look

What was never presented was the point of view from the African Americans because it was seemingly dismissed. It was eye-opening to read about the experience from an African’s perspective because it brought a whole new light to my understanding of what it meant to be a slave and the struggles black Americans face here in the US, even

In Mississippi explores a community in Mississippi called Charleston, which segregates its prom for black and white students, until 2008, when the first integrated one was held. Morgan Freeman, who lives in Charleston, offered to pay for their prom as long as it was integrated. His first offer in 1997 was turned down, but in 2008, it was finally accepted. It is shocking to think that such blatant racism still exists in the twenty-first century, but, unfortunately, it does. From an anthropological perspective, the subject matter of the documentary is a perfect example of structuralism.

In The Toughest Job: William Winter’s Mississippi, viewers are introduced to the background and political career of former governor of Mississippi, William Winter. Centered around his rise to the highest political position in the state amidst the volatile changes occurring in Mississippi at the time, the film specifically explores his attempts to create educational reform in the state and the many tribulations that came with such a pursuit. When examining how Winter was able to lead and enact real change despite many challenges and setbacks, there are clear examples of effective leadership, argumentative structure, and strategic communicative behaviors from which to learn from.

Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.

At some point of your life you meet very special people that carry very similar interests. This creates bonds that can be a very powerful and important part of your life. Some may say that bonds are created between a series of negative events that leads up to friendship. However, this is not true because in The Way, the main characters come together to walk the same path. Each character motivates each other to achieve the overall reason of why they wanted to walk The Camino De Santiago. Emilio Estevez’s purpose in creating this film was to show how different types of people with different backgrounds can mesh together and motivate each other. In The Way, Emilio Estevez uses the literary devices such as characterization and conflict to get

His recollections about his experience as a young boy makes the horror real and urgent for the audience: “I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast.” (paragraph 4) The audience’s inevitable emotional response to these memories is one of deep sadness and empathy. The need for action instead of silence in the face of such horror is made even clearer.

Steele begins addressing the issue by saying that “ By making black the color of preference, these mandates have re-burdened society with the very marriage of color and preference( in reverse) that we set out to eradicate.” In essence Shelby states that by allowing blacks to get a free privilege that whites do not have, the same issue that people were attempting to eradicate had just been reversed except this time in favor of African Americans. Shelby further explains that “ In integrated situations where blacks must compete with whites who may be better prepared, these explanations may quickly wear thin and expose the individual to racial as well as personal self doubt.” By using the example of college Shelby shows people that just because something is free does not mean it is beneficial in fact it may have the opposite effect it set out to achieve. At this point the audience has been made aware of a problem on several occasion and at this point in time Shelby begins to elaborate on the issue creating more intricate situations in which the free privilege will affect African Americans in the future.

These dividing factors put a bigger strain on the racism in America. The truth is that both African Americans and white Americans have their own advantages and disadvantages in today’s society. The strain between black and white people has been blown out of proportion in the recent years by the races and media. One of the most recent outbreaks that display the tension between

Honestly speaking, Miseducation of the Negro and The Black Revolution on Campus have caused me to arouse feelings of appreciation and inspiration. They have enlightened me to the hardships African American students had to endure in order to obtain recognition as elite students capable of academic success and leadership. It also revealed the passionate efforts of persistent pleads and drastic rhetorics these students had to utilize in exchange for the inclusion of African American histories/studies in the academic curriculums. All of the sit ins, riot, and other tactics that these students used to obtain their desired changes in the education system have inspired me. It required strong levels of courage to propel these students to rebel against

When I asked them if their experiences at Proviso East changed the way they viewed other races of people, my father offered some insight into how he viewed the race struggle of the civil rights movement. He said in the moment it affected him, but many of our experiences regardless of what they are in high school do profoundly affect us, but I had a lot of friends of different color.” He told a story his father told him. “ Once my father had gotten a flat tire on Lake Shore Drive. It was a very busy highway type road, with no room to pull off.

In the film Extreme Measures someone can find ideas of Secular Ethics throughout the film involving Utilitarianism and its basic tenets along with Kantian analysis. The basic tenets of Utilitarianism include the principle of utility, Hedonism, and the viewpoint of a disinterested and benevolent spectator. While the tenets of Kantian Ethics, which include good will, the formula of universal law, the formula of the end itself, and the categorical imperative. These basic ideas setup arguments for and against the Utilitarian ideas set up by doctor Myrick. In the film doctor Myrick makes the claim that it is worth the deaths of unwilling subjects in order to help/save the lives of millions. However, doctor Luthan makes the claim that is is immoral

According to Price, Price, and McKenry (2010) the intragroup diversity among African Americans is growing, in that there are more African Americans among the middle and upper class now than ever before in United States history. This change in socioeconomic status has had a major impact for many African Americans, in which the increasing diversity has created significant social and economic tensions within their ethnic community (Price et al., 2010). Jumping the Broom has illustrated this recent phenomenon by showing viewers just how much the changing socioeconomic status can impact family relationships and the family system. The stressors associated with division of class between the Taylor and Watson families are particularly salient throughout the duration of the film. Viewers are shown many of these correlated stressors, and how they can cause major ramifications in the lives of today’s

John Nash’s emotions are expressed through various cinematography. The opening scene of the film shows shifting camera movement and this is done through physical displacement of the camera. The movements of the camera show John Nash is not confident in himself due to his schizophrenia. Different colours throughout the film express different emotions.

The film stands apart from Hsien's previous filmography, equally in themes and technique. For the first time he examined the lives of young individuals in the contemporary