Film Analysis

While reading Civilized Colonialism Pocahontas as Neocolonial Rhetoric by Derek T. Buescher and Kent A. Ono, we closely observed Pocahontas as a rhetorical artifact that had a great impact on the perception of Christopher’s Columbus’s assumed discovery story of the Americas. During this time, new stories of Columbus and colonialism surfaced. The film’s release in 1992 was significant because it had a magnificent impact on our perception, making us question the rhetorical perspective of the story as well as our own ethical, moral, and political choices that were passed down by our ancestors. The film served as an explanation to why we colonized Native Americans in the first place. However, Disney romanticized Pocahontas and John Smiths encounter by transforming it into a romance, white washing the true events by turning the slaughter of Native Americans into a harmonious encounter with the colonizers, essentially authorizing the audience to relearn the story of the colonization of the Americas.

Neocolonialism refers to a hegemonic group controlling or influencing another group through means of political or economic superiority. While a neocolonialist text refers to the attempt to create stories that serve to marginalize colonialism’s existence in modern day. Neocolonialist text are often presented as movies, music, television shows, quite subtlety and utilize “forgetfulness” to their advantage often accompanied by important “contemporary ideolog[ies] and economic excuses as strategical plan to demonstrate that racism, sexism, genocide, [were] necessary.” For example, through Pocahontas we see colonialism unravel into something benevolent and ultimately holding an ideology of good intentions. Pocahontas intertwines “present-day colonialist relations inherited from the past and appropriates contemporary social issues” all while neglecting to admit that colonialism is very well present in present day United States. Usually the hegemonic group manufactures narratives about their effective conquests and portray the colonized as savages and themselves as good willed people simply looking out for the colonized people’s best interest ergo justifying colonialism as necessary to help the native people.

A Contemporary example of a neocolonialist text that came to mind was of course the attacks on the trade center on September 11, 2001 and although this was over ten years ago I drew a parallel with the movie Avatar (2009), which possess a strong resemblance to the United States presence in foreign countries such as Iraq. As a millennial I was too young to know any better yet, to question what I had been reminded of every September 11 was of the horrible tragedy when the United States was under attack by terrorists. Now that I’m much older and can think for myself and question authority I’ve learned that our reasons for attacking Iraq surpassed our “fears” or rather “retaliation” but were for political and economical reasons. The U.S invasion of Iraq’s primary motivation was the oil reserves.

Big media painted the United States as a victim and only doing what was necessary for the safety of the country by feeding on our fears. Just as in Avatar, we see a country trying to overrun and infiltrate in this third world (Pandora) with the excuse of studying them as well as educate them, towards the end of the movie we see that their true intentions were to strip Pandora of it’s natural resources by using military force, quite similarly as the United States does in other foreign countries. Another great example would be Black Panther (2018) this marvel superhero film alludes to the African American community, portraying a technologically advanced world in which of course once again the hegemonic group tries to exploit it’s natural resources. Run by wealthy, power hungry elites much like the world we live in today referring to the Europeans taking over Africa but of course in a romanticized Hollywood superhero film. The media sets the agenda and in these two examples we were able to see the impact the news and pop culture films influence on our perceptions of the world around us. We too often overlook the very clear messages that are presented to us through many media platforms.

Most cartoons and movies pose a contemporary form of neocolonialism if we look close enough. Although they are catered specifically for children they repeatedly hide behind a subtle message reflecting neocolonialism. Often containing messages entangled within the narratives around racism, patriarchy, and capitalism. If we deconstruct these stories we can uncover that they attempt to alter narratives about history to encourage our actions and reinforce beliefs of racism, patriarchy, etc. These stories cannot be detached from the hegemonic group that develops them because they are developed with the sole purpose to present us with “newly told old story”. I believe that as Americans or simply from any stand point of a hegemonic group, we have a biased view about ourselves.

We are too used to things being romanticized for us, sugar coded if you will and always white wash events or things by downplaying it’s true effects by throwing in some tropes about feminism and contemporary issues that affect us today. Such as in pop culture, like movies, music, art, to the text books we create about history always portraying ourselves as the saviors or victims, never admitting our faults. I strongly believe that we should look closer into what the newer generations are exposed to, what may seem liberal and progressive may not be so, such as The Princess and the Frog (2009) where we finally have an African American princess yet she’s mostly portrayed as a frog throughout the entirety of the movie. There are many things we should be looking into to examine the effects pop culture play on our views that render academic study.

Do The Right Thing, a film that was produced, directed and written by Spike Lee, centers around a sweltering hot day in the lives of a racially diverse group of people who are economically less fortunate residing in a poverty stricken area located within Brooklyn New York. The main focus of the film revolves around how social classes, racial and moral ethics of the characters effects the relationships in the way each character reacts and treats one another. It begins with a bright day as the characters arise from their beds to start their morning eventually reaching the climax to a dark night as a two white police officers take the life of a young black man that goes by the name of Radio Raheem who was picking a fight with an older Italian restaurant owner named Sal in and outside of his pizzeria generating a vicious neighborhood riot. As seen in the movie, race has an effect on police brutality just like it does in society today.

Ultimately, the movie shows how threatening the reactions of others could be rooted from race, ambiguously, characters are stereotyped due to their aesthetics and native tongue. In numerous ways, Lee employs these methods by having Sal and his two sons, who are Italian American wear rugged guinea tees and religious crosses around their necks. To continue, another example would be Lee’s portrayal of Radio Raheem blasting loud rap music with his boom box held on his shoulder while sporting a necklace that looks to be an African medallion.

Even the group of Puerto Rican friends are visible listening in on salsa music, taking down a few alcoholic beverages together while communicating in the Spanish language to each other on the front porch on one of their apartment buildings. Lee also makes note that serious and comical slurs spur from power struggles from the diverse ethnicities of his characters. Throughout the film, the character notice each other’s dissimilarities and exhibit Marxism values during social synergy.

In the film, a white man riding a bike back to his apartment was verbally attacked by Buggin’ Out after he accidentally ran over and scuffed up Buggin’ Outs newly purchased pair of Air Jordan’s. Buggin’ Out then questions the white man asking him, “What are you doing in my neighborhood.” Lee demonstrates in this scene how a low-income citizen feels a psychological need to compete with someone of the other color economically. This is an example of the culture as Buggin’ Out shows that he has the hottest pair of shoes right now and he did not want to feel symbolically like his shoes were ran over by a white man who Buggin’ Out deemed to be wealthier than he was.

Set in a predominantly back neighborhood in Brooklyn, the only two business that are shown were owned by businessmen that were Italian American and Korean American families. Some of the black characters grow a liking for these owners while others tend to dislike them for similar purposes . However, the white mans business was tarnished and burned down to ashes.

Although there was conflict between all three ethnic groups being whites, blacks and Koreans, Lee focuses mainly on the deep battling history between whites and blacks as there is much more disputes.Furthermore, many of the black residents love Sal’s pizza but they soon come to realize that he does have that bit of racism attached to his heart as he would not let Buggin’ Out put a picture of a famous black man on his wall of fame the resembled all influential and iconic white individuals.This allows Sal to keep his power and control over the black people who enter and eat at his pizzeria.

Director Spike Lee creates a film that emotionally entertains audiences through disparities and racial problem when they are not translated correctly by the powerful, thus leading to violence caused by those who are deemed to be powerless. The realistic approach of this movie is shown as just because everyone comes from a different background or culture does not mean that everyone will get along and live a happy and lavish lifestyle. Lee needed to embrace these stereotypes in order slam them.During the film, one of the police officers said while driving through the neighborhood said,”What a waste.” Not one resident in the housing complex was committing any savage behavior. This comes to show that the offers have no respect for the people that they serve which later plays into how the rest of the movie unfolds.

The Rez sisters is not considered a comedy anymore because the controversial humor in the text is offensive in the modern society. In the text, Pelajia Patchnose, Philomena Moosetail, Marie-Adele Starblanket, Annie Cook, Emily Dictionary, Veronique St. Pierre, and Zhaboonigan Peterson share the common interest of creating a stronger community as well as a stronger personal live. All the women strive to attend the World’s Biggest Bingo in order to win the financial prize, so they can create a healthier community. Through this process the author Tomson Highway demonstrates the growth among sisters in a comical way during the time period it was written. Although this text is no longer accepted as comedy, being viewed as tragedy.

The abuse among the women on a reservation creates a bond between sisters. This bond is created from sharing similar traumatic experiences. Issues that the sisters face bring them closer because they are able to relate with each other. Problems on the reserve such as the neglect from the men on their reservation, this neglect also stems from the alcoholism and physical abuse. Not only is their alcoholism and abuse, but women are also being raped throughout the reservation. These horrible experiences, among others bring the sisters closer. They all desire to have a better and more peaceful reservation. This desire is seen when all the sisters want to attend the World’s Biggest Bingo, in order to win the money and start a better life.

The seven sisters grow closer due to the similarities they face throughout the reserve. The alcoholism on the reserve led to an abusive husband for Emily. Her husband tried to attack her with an axe, coming close to striking her in the spine. Pelajia then complains about being woken by Andrew Starblanket and his brother who are arguing about a women at four thirty in the morning. She states that she, “heard what sounded like a baseball bat landing on somebody’s back” (Highway 5). This proposes alcoholism throughout the reserve is intended to be humorous. With the increasing deaths related to alcohol the topic is becoming less funny and more serious. “Since 2002 alcohol related deaths have increased by 37%” (Heitz). With the increasing deaths due to alcoholism, this exemplifies the outcome of alcohol abuse.

Even though this topic may have been perceived as comedic during the eighties, today humor surrounding alcoholism is viewed as a much more serious issue. There are many examples of modern television being controversial because of substance abuse. A very common modern television show called “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia” involves alcohol or substance abuse in nearly every episode. “Beyond the controversy and wild and crazy antics “The Gang” manages to get into regularly, there’s a common overarching theme running through nearly every episode of the show: drugs and alcohol” (Thomas).

This program is known for how controversial their humor and subject matter truly is. Thomas goes on to explain how serious alcoholism is today. “While often used to humorous effect on the show, the reality is not a laughing matter. Roughly 17 million American adults currently have an alcohol use disorder” (Thomas). With millions of Americans struggling with alcohol use this subject is not humorous. Alcoholism and abuse stemming from alcohol should be taken seriously with the large amount of civilians effected today.

The author specifically does not just blame men on the reservation for the issues throughout the text. Zhaboonigan endured a sexual assault by two white men, then Philomena was abandoned after she had an affair with her Caucasian boss. Zhaboonigan, while dealing with mental disabilities, was taken advantage of by two young, white men after asking her if she needed a ride. “They took all my clothes off me. Put something up inside me here… many, many times… They put the screwdriver inside me. Ever lots of blood” (Highway 47-8). This image is conflicting with Annie’s belief that “white guys are nicer to their women” (Highway 86).

In Philomena’s case, she was willingly with her significant other and was aware that he was a married man, although she was still taken advantage of. He led her to believe he cared for her more than he really did. “Nice man, I thought… Loved me. Or I thought he did. I don’t know. Got pregnant anyway… I don’t even know to this day if it was a boy or a girl” (Highway 81). Philomena was forced to give up her child for adoption because the white man chose his wife over her. Highway continuously shows us that the only support these women can truly count on is from one another.

Venado, an ethnographic film produced by Centro Ceremonial San Andres Cohiamata and directed by Pablo Fulgueira in 2009, follows the pilgrimage of a group of jicareros – the chanters, shaman, singers, musicians, and doctors of the Wixáritari people of central Mexico. In the film, the ethnographers document the journey that the Jicareros take multiple times a year (up to seven months annually), in which they bring sacrifice and ritual feasts to their far away gods and deities.

Through this journey, the jicareros take on different leadership positions in the documented ceremonies, and although the film does not necessarily make it clear if these roles are predisposed or decided specifically for the ceremonial sacrifices and feasts, they clearly portray the power structure of the contemporary Wixáritari people. As the ethnographers follow the jicareros through central Jalisco and other parts of Mexico, they actively pursue shots and scenes in which the traditional ceremonies and journeys of the Wirraritarie people are contrasted against very contemporary Mexican backgrounds.

While the ethnography’s purpose is to document the travels and rituals of the Wixáritari people – bringing light to how modern conditions have changed their traditional way of ceremony, the message that the film conveys is that despite contemporary setbacks and constantly changing environments, the Wixáritari are able to sustain their traditional way of life.

The Wixáritari (Huichol) people, who live in central Mexico alongside the Sierra Madre Occidental, are an indigenous people who are constantly evolving in a contemporary world. Venado attempts to document how they enact their traditional ceremonies within the context of modern Mexico. Not to say that the Wixáritari people are culturally static in any way, as like any other Mesoamerican people, they had been adapting and evolving up to the point of European contact, and have been adapting and evolving more ever since. Yet, Venado attempts to break down this dichotomy between the source of forced adaptation (modern Mexico) and the adapting culture (the Wixáritari), to show the reality of Wixáritari ceremony and its role as a keystone element of Wixáritari society.

In order to understand the message of the film, the viewer must be somewhat familiar with how important of a role ceremony and symbolism has in Wixáritari culture. To an ethnocentric perspective, these multi-annual journeys of ceremony and sacrifice can be compared to Christian pilgrimages of faith or Muslim pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca. However, one could even argue that these ceremonies are even more important to the Wixáritari people than pilgrimages are to abrahamic religions, because they literally tie Wixáritari culture together through ideological symbolism. The viewer must also be familiar with the geography of Central-Western Mexico, along with Wixáritari gods and symbols, as these two non-human actors are very closely tied together in the film.

The Wixárika Jicareros travel “on the sun’s path” in order to pay sacrificial and ceremonial homage to the rain goddess, the moon goddess, the sun god, the mothers of maize, and the blue deer. They travel 3000 kilometers into the Sierra Madre in order to sacrifice to the sun and enact ritual in the place “where the sun comes from”. Along this journey, the ethnographers document the important role ritual has in Wixáritari culture – and the viewer gains a better perspective into contemporary Wixáritari society through the documentation of their ceremonial practice.

In the beginning of the film, the ethnographers document a ritual naming ceremony. This is the moment in which the Jicareros give names to the key elements in their story of the world’s creation – the story that they reenact along their ceremonial journey through sacrifice, music, and chant. In this scene, the Jicareros name the sun “President Felipe Calderon”, and the moon after the name of his wife. They also originally name the fire “the machine”, but then change it to “pig” to better fit their working metaphor.

These names are representative of how the Wixáritari journey works in a contemporary context. Venado shows that the Wixáritari live in a modern Mexico that is constantly evolving; however, they too are a modern people and they too are constantly evolving. Their way of life is based in traditional ceremony, but they have learned to adapt their ceremonial journeys to the modernity of the world that they live in.

Venado forces its viewers to analyze a people who’s whole ideology is based in the practice of tradition. The journey on the sun’s path, the ceremonial sacrifice of the deer, the offerings of water and corn, and the harvest of peyote all act as the fiber that holds Wixáritari culture together. In a scene in which the ethnographers document three Jicarero leaders speaking to each other about why they take their sacrificial journeys, one Jicarero says to the others, “This is how it always has been done”.

Later in the film the same Jicarero leader extrapolates by saying, “Sometimes [the gods] give us life, other times we get sick and die… Maybe because we follow this tradition someone looks after us”. These ceremonial journeys that the Wixáritari people take symbolize the well-being and structure of their culture. Venado affects its viewers understanding of cultural relativity by deeply exploring how much importance ceremony and ritualistic practice can have in a modern society.

By raising an understanding and tolerance of symbolism and ritualistic practice in Wixáritari society, the film also forces the viewer to question symbolism and ritualistic practice in his/her own contemporary life. The film also exposes its viewers to issues of development and contrasting societies in modern Mexico. The scene in which the Jicareros travel through Chapala depicts this contrast and conflict in ideologies very well. These factors by themselves are not necessarily “issues”, but they are important things to consider when thinking about the larger context of indigenous Mexico.

A unique aspect of Venado is that the ethnographers chose to include no narration, except for a few scenes in which they briefly interview Jicarero members. This makes the film incredibly accessible to essentially anyone who wants to watch it. The ethnographers and producers of Venado succeeded in their message simply through documentation and natural dialogue alone, and did not depend on any kind of narration.

Anyone interested in Indigenous Mexican culture, or ceremonial practice alone, could benefit from watching this film. However, this film needs to be understood in a culturally relative context. The filmmakers did not make this ethnography to simply document the Wixáritari people through an ethnocentric lens, but instead they made it to help better understand the Wixáritari people’s relationship with modern society, and how their ceremonial journey fits in with the context of the contemporary world.

The 2009 film “Avatar” by James Cameron has proved to be a blockbuster hit. This epic science fiction film was originally planned to come out in 1999 after Cameron’s popular “Titanic”, but the technology to produce such a digitally enhanced film was not available during the time. “Avatar” was the highest grossing movie of all time in the theater, and its home media sales topped Cameron’s own “Titanic”. Cameron created a new type of film with his release of “Avatar” by means of the incredible and innovative technology that was brought to the forefront with its release.

When this film was released in 2009, it was received generally pretty well. Critics believed the new effects used, especially the new 3D technology, were mind-blowing. The New York Times wrote an article that praised the film for its innovative techniques, but also discussed the millions of dollars it took to produce such a majestic feature. A quote from the article pinpoints some of the technical features that Cameron used to draw the audience in, saying, “Cameron uses 3-D to amplify the immersive experience of spectacle cinema.

Instead of bringing you into the movie with the customary tricks, with a widescreen or even Imax image filled with sweeping landscapes and big action, he uses 3-D seemingly to close the space between the audience and the screen. He brings the movie to you” (Dargis 4). This article also discusses how one feels the emotions and struggles, especially for Jake, as we are drawn into a fantasy world. Being able to walk and run again for Jake is portrayed to the audience so well that it makes us feel a part of his experience. An important point about this movie is the length, which is 2 hours and 46 minutes. The article from the New York Times says this is a quick 2 hours and 46 minutes because the story is fast paced, and keeps you involved and wanting more, giving it the “wow” effect. The overall critical reception from this article highly praises the film for its creativity and advanced film techniques.

In his 2009 article from in LA Times, Kenneth Turan described James Cameron’s film as “an extraordinary act of visual imagination” (Turan). This positive review also carries value because Kenneth Turan, who is a well-known film critic, has always been extremely hard on James Cameron’s movies. Up to this point in time, many people did not like the use of 3D, but Turan applauds how Cameron uses this to take the audience into another world, almost effortlessly. He says that the use of 3D makes us feel like we are in the movie itself, instead of taking part as an observer from the outside. A big innovation in this movie is Cameron’s new use of CGI.

The technology includes having sensors attached to the actors, capturing their movement, and then running these results through the CGI computers. Cameron is not the first to use this technique, but his version is called “performance capture.” This idea is used for his Na’vi people, extremely tall characters who have long tails and bright yellow eyes. These incredible creatures seem just as real as the human actors, and that is an incredible accomplishment on Cameron’s part.

Turan also praises Cameron’s telling the tale of man’s story of love and discovering of himself. He describes “Avatar” as “an anti-imperialism movie that gets considerable mileage out of depicting invading armies, a neo-pagan, anti-technology film that touts the healing powers of nature but is up to its neck in the latest gizmos and gadgets” (Turan). From Turan’s review, one can see that he received the film well, as the overall critical reception has been for “Avatar.” However, although many people received “Avatar” fairly well, not everyone liked the movie. One review of the film, by Gary Westfahl, claimed that it was a rip-off of a novel called “Call me Joe,” by Poul Anderson.

Similarities include both having paraplegic males as lead characters, who take control inside artificially crafted aliens and prefer being active and able bodied aliens, to being handicapped humans. Although these are similarities between the two narratives, we should not conclude that Cameron stole his ideas from the novel. This review of “Avatar” is extremely negative, and barely gives credit to Cameron where credit is due. Gary Westfahl, the author of this review, also believes that the whole point of “Avatar” is to discourage new technology in the world, but to respect the natural things in our lives. He says that this is a contradiction for James Cameron himself, because he uses the most up-to-date technology in order to create this science fiction movie.

Gary Westfahl also points to the idea of reinventing oneself. James Cameron directed “Avatar” as his first feature film after taking a hiatus for twelve years. According to Westfahl, there was evidence that Cameron regarded this film as his own rebirth as a film director. He then goes on to quote the movie, a line from Jake Sully saying, “Every person is born twice. The second time is when you earn a place among the People” (Westfahl 2). He makes the link between Cameron’s rebirth and Jake’s rebirth in the film, which is not something that someone would necessarily pick up on if they did not know about Cameron’s background. Westfahl’s review of the movie was interesting and gave a different perspective on the film.

A final article I read also gave a negative review of the film. This article was a little different, because it said the Vatican newspaper and their radio station gave mild reviews, which criticized “Avatar” for its neopaganism beliefs that were extorted in the film. The Vatican newspaper said that the plot of the movie was boring and fails to touch the heart, but praised it for the visual effects. Pope Benedict XVI said in the review that although nature is important, that the people need to realize the danger of “turning nature into a new divinity” (Daggers). I believe this review has a different spin on it than the others, because it brings religion into it, and that gives a whole other perspective. The Vatican’s biggest complaint against this movie as a whole was that “nature is no longer a creation to defend but a divinity to worship” (Daggers). It is obvious why the worshipping of nature does not correspond well with the Catholic theology.

For the shot-by-shot analysis I chose a clip that is over halfway through the movie. It starts with an extreme close up of Jake. The colors are desaturated with dark gray, which gives the scene a gloomy and dark feel. It illustrates to the audience that there has been destruction or defeat. Jake, who is in Avatar form, looks a pale gray and not the bright vibrant blue that Avatars typically feature. It then goes into a full body shot of him laying on the ground, and the shot starts to track slowly into his face. This tracking shot also is giving us a reaction shot of him, after he is realizing where he is and remembers what has happened to him. We also are shown the land of Pandora, which is normally exquisitely colored with full saturation, but here too we see dark and dull colors.

We then hear a voiceover of Jake talking as he is walking, an example of non-diegetic sound. Along with sound, we also hear eerie, almost sad sounding music, which is non-diegetic; this matches the desaturation of color we are seeing. Then we see a full body shot of Jake from behind, showing us the smoking, dark and destroyed lands of Pandora in the background. A medium close-up happens next as we see an Ikran, a winged creature that resembles a dragon and a bird, flying in to the frame. The Ikran is familiar to the audience because they appear earlier on in the film and they also typically have saturated colors, although this is not seen in this frame. We then get a point of view shot of the Ikran, as if we are seeing him through Jake’s eyes.

We hear dialogue, or diegetic sound, as Jake talks to the Ikran as if he can understand him. Next, we see Jake get on the Ikran’s back and it takes off the ground and flies almost as if into the camera. The camera now switches to a birds-eye shot of trees and the sky, with the colors being much more saturated now. We now see the birds-eye view of another Ikran, although the audience knows that this Ikran is the king of all the Ikrans. Slowly Jake and his Ikran come into the frame, so that we can tell Jake is flying above the other Ikran. We hear a voice-over of Jake talking about the large Ikran referring to it as “the most badass in the sky” so we understand that he is the biggest, and most powerful Ikran there is.

The perspective then switches to a low angle shot of Jake on top of his Ikran with the sky in the background. The low-angle shot shows to us that in this moment he is in control, because he is flying above the creature so he can detach from his and jump atop the bigger ones back. Next, it switches to an establishing type of shot so that we can see all of the trees in Pandora. Jake on his Ikran looks small in comparison to the rest of the setting. As Jake jumps off his Ikran, we then switch quickly to a point of view shot as Jake is falling through the sky to land on the larger creature’s back.

We hear diegetic sound as he is falling through the sky and once he lands on the other Ikran the screen goes black as if he blacks out from the landing. We then see this used as a transition into the next scene. We fade into an establishing shot of all the Na’vi people at home tree, using a high angle shot. The camera then pans through the audience and gives different closes ups of the various Na’vi people as they chant a song. This is an example of diegetic sound because everyone hears.

A shadow is cast over the crowd and we see everyone turn around. Jake on his Ikran is shown flying towards the people. We then go back to the Na’vi and get a reaction shot of them seeing the oversized Ikran. They react with screams and yelling because they are scared of the enormous creature. We then switch back to Jake with a low-angle shot, showing him on his Ikran and it shows how he has power and is in control. Next, the perspective switches to a medium close-up to show Neyteri’s reaction to Jake coming in riding on the biggest Ikran. Then we see a long shot of Jake walking towards Neyteri and all the Na’vi bowing down to him. As the shot gets closer, we see a medium close-up of Jake and Neyteri. Neyteri then uses dialogue to speak with Jake so we change to over-the-shoulder shots while they continue conversation.

Before taking this course, “Avatar” had been one of my favorite movies. I can’t I say I really knew a whole lot about the formal features of film then, but I just loved the storyline, the visual effects, and everything about it. Now, knowing all of the different formal features and history of film, I can enjoy the movie even more and appreciate it on a different level. That meaning, I can understand the outstanding techniques that Cameron applies in the movie.

“Avatar” is a unique film because it is not necessarily animated, but some of the backgrounds and creatures are digitally created and that only adds to the film itself. It adds beauty and fascination to the world of Pandora. This film is extremely stunning because it creates the World of Pandora with a naturalistic look, but it is extremely pleasing to the eye. It must have some sense of imagination, but to viewers it also needs to be realistic. Learning more about this film because of this project also opened my eyes to the outstanding amount of creativity and use of new technology that made this masterpiece possible.

This film was originally created as a 3-D feature, which obviously uses different techniques than a film in 2-D. That is a feature that should be noted. I believe one of the best formal features of this film though is the mise-en-scene. The background of every scene is incredible with vibrant colors and creatures, making it aesthetically pleasing. Going along with color, each scene has extremely saturated colors, which adds to the brightness and peacefulness of Pandora. With all of the technology and the futuristic looking labs in the beginning scenes one can see that is set in the future.

This is important to note because throughout the movie we see different scenes in the main lab on Pandora and see incredible looking technology and gadgets that help show us it is futuristic. It is also important because it is mind-blowing to see the technology that they use on Pandora, and to see how they can make it visually pleasing to the audience. From doing research on the production of this film, I learned that many of the scenes were filmed on a green screen, but they had to add a variety of different lighting in each scene, basically, making every particular scene extremely complicated and it had to be filmed until it was perfect. The overlay of the green screen work with the CGI camera work also meant that it had to line up perfectly for each scene to work well.

In terms of lighting, there are many scenes that have an extraordinary use of this feature. For example, during all the scenes that take place at night, only the insects and plants illuminate the scene, which is emphasized by the use of saturated colors in the scene. You can tell the scenes that are at night because of the little illumination in the background as well. There are also a number of scenes that take place at night in the lab, with Jake documenting his daily events on his video log. You can tell when it is nighttime because it is dark, and also the video log tells the time.

One scene in particular that sticks out to me as having amazing effects and preciseness is towards the end of the movie when Neytiri saves Jake in his human form out of the portable lab station that was located deep in the forest. To see a ten-foot Avatar holding a small, miniscule in comparison, human body was done perfectly. You could simply feel the emotion and the vividness of the scene was incredible.

The sound in the film also plays an extremely important role. There is mostly diegetic sound throughout this movie, which is important to direct our attention to. In the scenes at night especially the diegetic sounds of the different insects and creatures emphasizes the thought and time put into the movie. You also can hear the rustle of the trees and plants at night, too, which just adds to the film as well. Throughout a number of the scenes where Jake is learning about the ways of the Na’vi people, there is background or non-diegetic sound. An example of this is when Jake first meets Neyteri, she is showing him the different plants and things on Pandora, and soft, lighthearted music is playing the background.

When any fight scene, or dramatic scene is happening, more intense music plays, with loud drums to emphasize the danger, or mysterious events of what is going on. Along the lines of sound, there are number of voice-overs that occur throughout the film. The beginning scenes include a number of these by Jake. We are hearing his thoughts in his head as other actions are occurring in the scene. This is used to give us an internal access to character’s thoughts, feelings and emotions that are not portrayed through dialogue.

Another important formal feature is the narrative itself. For movies, this can be a make or break for our judgment. If the story is not well received or interesting, then most of the time people do not enjoy the film. However, it is important to note that different stories appeal to different types of people. That being said, the narrative of this movie is incredible in my eyes. There are multiple ways to read this story, but I do believe it stands in for another meaning. I think it shows what humans are capable of, the destruction of a civilization. It shows how humans are inherently greedy, and that if we aren’t able to control that nature, it can destroy us.

Although there are other events that happen in the film as well, I think this is important. We learn also a lot about Jake. Since her is a paraplegic, we see his happiness and enthusiasm for his life inside his Avatar body. It is extremely special to him because he is able to function like an able bodied person again inside his Avatar. We also see of the love and bond that he and Neyteri create, and how that deep love lasts throughout the film. In the end, Jake stays in his Avatar body so that he may live his life with Neyteri. I think that the story itself is intense, but one can learn from how the Na’vi wan to live with peace all around. The many other underlying meanings from this movie are also very important as well. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about film from this class and for the thoughtfulness of this assignment to make us really dive into a film that we like and learn more about it.

The True Cost The True Cost directed by Andrew Morgan depicts a eye opening scenario of a world that has remained hidden by the general public. How common is it nowadays to see someone walking around with a new piece of clothing on, or walking around the mall with multiple filled bags of H&M and Forever 21? The world has changed dramatically in ways that are generally misunderstood by the public with the introduction of a new trend: fast fashion. The True Cost showcases just how the entire planet has been impacted negatively and positively by this new clothing market trend. Throughout the hour and a half duration, the documentary covers everything from outsourcing of jobs to poorer regions, Monsanto’s monopoly of seeds and the impact on american cotton farmers, and the psychological impact this trend has had on consumers.

tion to the film was a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Topics such as this have always been of interest to me. Anything related to our world and the general health of our only planet should be a top interest for everyone. As humans, it is our responsibility to care for the stability and endurance of Earth. Therefore, as I continued to watch the film, I grew more and more disgusted by the filth being spilled into the Earth’s soil and rivers. Not enough people on our planet understand that we are poisoning the planet each and every day by the gases or pollution spread by the factories all over the world, especially those in the clothing industry.

Clothing factories are poisoning water sources by dumping dyes and chemicals without a second thought, essentially choking out any form of life and transforming the environment around it for the worse. This disgusts me and pressures me internally to want to help change this horrible progression. Unrelated to the environment, the treatment of the majority of workers in th clothing industry is horrendous. Workers are treated like slaves, and are paid similarly. The average pay of a factory worker in Bangladesh is 2-3$ a day. While average americans complain about being paid 8 or 9 dollars an hour, millions in different countries work hours and hours for a percentage of a hourly wage here in the states. Something needs to drastically change sooner rather than later.

This documentary relates to topics currently being studied in class in many ways. Fast fashion has made clothing as disposable as tissues or toilet paper, with consumers buying and throwing away a article of clothing within days of purchase. Environmental impacts worldwide are covered as well. The author of an in class reading, Lucy Siegle, is interviewed for the film and discusses many of the same issues that are being studied by our class. The True Cost has reinforced the topics covered in class by adding a visual image to put with the information. 

Throughout this scenes is John Watson who romantically searches for Sherlock realizing his friend is in great danger. Using this scene we discuss the language of film (Gaucheness. & Startled, 2012), observing the main elements and techniques- miss-en-scene, cinematography, editing and soundtrack- to create a scene in a film. In regards to miss-en-scene the scene takes place in what seems to be a classroom of sorts, Sherlock is face to face with the killer who, as mentioned earlier, is a taxi driver. The characters are facing each other, the dialogue intense yet offhand.

With two tootles of pills between them, and the scene set in the evening, the only light that appears to be on is the one above the two characters as the emphasis of focus is on the them and the pills as Sherlock is trying to decipher which bottle contains the pill that kills and which doesn’t. While the scene is set in a classroom with the constant close-ups on the faces of the two characters, there are times when it almost looks like they are in an interview room with the lighting above and sitting on opposite sides of a table.

The music helps intensify the scene constantly creeping in and out of the scene building drama around these two people and these pill bottles. Sherlock dressed familiar attire of a long coat and scarf with his superior condescending look deduces that the cable dressed in his recently laundered but outdated clothing is a dead man walking with a brain aneurysm. Thus the scene is dramatic but with a sense of realism in the way the characters are dressed and set for an intense showdown. As this is all taking place in the classroom, during the intense moment the scene is then taken back to Watson as he realizes that Sherlock is in danger.

The music has a sense of urgency to it as John after discovering the danger his friend is in searches frantically in the classrooms. Close ups are a main part in the scene as it builds the tension showing the facial expressions on both characters faces. As they take their seats in the classroom, the establishing shot is a mid-shot of the characters but a long shot of the classroom which helps set that particular scene. There are moments in the scene where the camera pulls back almost as a way to relieve the viewers from the tension.

While the sighting is bright when they enter the classroom, it slowly dims so the focus is always on the two characters emphasizing the dramatic undertones of the scene. But the emphasis is the close ups on the characters. The scene is deliberately shot as a dialogue between to characters constantly switching from a close up on character to the other At first low angle shot on the taxi driver which portrays as being the dominating character as he is in charge of the scene but slowly as Sherlock pieces together the reasons for the taxi drivers murderous campaign, the angle is more eye level.

Meanwhile during this intense meeting we cut to Watson with mid to long shots that are used as he is still looking for Sherlock in the school. There are close ups on his face showing his genuine concern for Sherlock the pace a lot faster than that in the dialogue scene of Sherlock and the Taxi driver. Within this scene it should be noted that continuity editing is apparent through shot reverse shot, eye line match, match on action, the 180 degree rule and the continuity of action sound and lighting. (Gaucheness. Startled, 2012) Watson running around scenes are fast paced and he dialogue between the two characters seems a slower pace but both are the same type of pace as the duration between the shots do in deed decrease heightening the suspense within this scene. Because of this constant dialogue between the two characters the camera is constantly cutting from one character to another developing this rhythmic editing used with the constant back and forth banter between Sherlock and the Taxi driver. Also established in this scene is the match on action “wherein a movement or action is started in one shot and completed in the next” (Gaucheness.

Startled, 2012) This again, is portrayed well in this scene as the tension builds between the taxi driver and Sherlock with those who are smarter than who dialogue. Within this scene the non-dietetic sounds are blended with dietetic sound. During the dialogues pieces between Sherlock and the taxi driver the music is only heard quite faintly whenever Sherlock makes a deduction and when the taxi driver emphasizes his superiority. Through Watson scenes the music is urgent and you hear his footsteps so you are able to pick up on his urgency to find his friend.

The USIA used is a repetition of the shows theme either with Just certain part taken or the same sequence in the score repeated in variation. The music theme is used constantly through the entire series of Sherlock and seems to play an integral part to the telling of each scene in any Sherlock episode blending in with the characters and the scenes themselves. As seen with the tension that is built up between the Taxi Driver and Sherlock. It’s quiet yet as the drama unfolds it gets a little louder and quietest again making sure that the focus us on every little word that is said between the two characters.