9 - Myths and Ideologies

By Olivier, Hélène  and Corinne 

Introduction

            This week’s screening was an interesting documentary called If a Tree Falls, in which the environmental issues were the central theme. Daniel McGowan and other “eco-terrorists” made some drastic actions in order to make the world realize the crucial state of our planet. On our free time, we had the pleasure to watch Richard Desjardins’ documentary film L’erreur boréale. Deforestation is the main topic addressed in the film. Through those two documentaries, we had the chance to develop our understanding of environmental issues as well as many other factors involved

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

            If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a documentary film of 85 minutes and is directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman. This movie was produced in the United States in 2011 and features Daniel McGowan, his friends and family and allies of the Earth of Liberation, or commonly called ELF. The film is about Daniel McGowan who was a regular kid and went to Catholic school. Child of a New York police officer, he became an activist. After college, McGowan realized the impact and the wide spread of the environmental problems and he decided to join the environmental movement. He started by writing letters and petitioning and after, he engaged himself in civil disobedience. These methods were ineffective and he decided to go further with his actions.  He and his group of activists did property destruction through arson. Nevertheless, it was well established that they would never hurt someone. They were making these gestures with the only intention to bring down the big companies.   They were targeting these companies who drastically neglected the environment; they were prioritizing profit. McGowan and his group had valid reasons to target these companies, however, their actions were too harsh. In addition, in the movie we saw many protests and we could have noticed the brutality made by the police officers towards the activists. Throughout the movie, we can see that McGowan and the ELF members are troubled and are questioning themselves. They feel this way because the gestures they are making towards the companies have serious consequences. In the end, McGowan is imprisoned because one of the members of the ELF, Jake Ferguson, denounced him to the FBI.  

            While viewing this film, we can see the different point of views and this allows us to make our own opinion on the subject. There are environmental and terrorist issues, like the co-producer Sam Cullman says in the short interview linked below.  For Daniel McGowan and the members of the ELF, the environment is a central aspect of their lives and they want to inform the population of the issues concerning this. They wanted to shock the companies. However, the methods they used were drastic and unorthodox. That is well illustrated by the famous proverb: “The freedom of one ends where the other begins”. Because of those actions, the big businesses didn’t only lose money, they lost years of constant effort and many employees lost their jobs. They were trapped in an unpleasant situation because they didn’t want to change the way they were working and they encountered a lot of issues. Similarly, the FBI and the OSP had a greater workload because of the activists and they had to review their priorities because of this crisis. The three parties should have changed the way they operated. Moreover, the movie demonstrated a bias towards Daniel because we felt sorry for him when he got arrested. The producer presented scenes where we saw Daniel’s girlfriend and family crying at the moment of his arrest and this is when we saw the authorities as the cruel characters. 

            When viewing If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, we can make associations within the concepts learned in class such as participative democracy, capitalism, basis of our governments, ideologies, democracy and media. First of all, a participative democracy means that, to establish big projects and to achieve our objectives, teamwork is crucial. In the movie, we saw that McGowan recruited some individuals to help him protest and to make his plans possible. Also, in the protests, we clearly saw the teamwork of the authorities to try to maintain a peaceful environment. Moreover, capitalism is one of the first reasons why big companies neglected the environment. As another example of a concept, one of the two types of laws of John Locke, the natural law, explains that we cannot violate other people’s property. It has been deeply violated by the activists in the film. The companies who deprive the individuals who appreciate nature have also violated it, as well as the police who did not let the activists protest freely.  For the second type of John Locke’s law, the natural rights, it explains that individuals have the right to life, health, liberty and property. We understand that the ELF deeply violated this natural right because they destroyed the property of big companies. In addition, Locke also states that we have the right to revolt in certain circumstances, which was shown in the movie with the protests. Furthermore, we learned that ideologies were a set of beliefs, habits that shaped our comprehension of life. In the movie, we understood that there was a clash of ideologies between the ELF and the businesses. They had different opinions on the subject of environment and it is well illustrated in the documentary where we can easily present the different point of views. We can also relate the concept of media, which explains that citizens are very dependent of the media. It also says that social medias play a public service function to the movie. In the documentary film, it illustrates very well that the media shapes our understanding of the world. They name tagged the ELF as eco-terrorist, which was exaggerated. It is well structured because even though some of the scenes are not in chronological order, we still understand the story and its issues.

L’erreur boréale

            L’erreur boréale is a documentary film directed by Richard Desjardins in 1999. Desjardins is a singer, songwriter, documentary filmmaker, and social justice activist. His co-producer on the project L’erreur boréale was Robert Monderie, who is a Quebec scriptwritter and filmmaker. Filmed in Northern Quebec, this 68 minutes documentary addresses the issue of deforestation.  More precisely, Richard Desjardins discusses the devastating effects of clear-cutting on the environment. Through the documentary film, Desjardins and Monderie explain that the Quebec citizens are duped by the government as well as by the companies involved in the forest industry. The two filmmakers claim that the forest’s legislation is violated by the forestry and that the government prefers to accommodate the forest industry instead of protecting the environment. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie denounce the atrocities committed against forests and, more importantly, try to make people understand the importance of this natural resource. With the documentary film L’erreur boréale, the filmmakers try to reach as many people as possible, so that the population will be aware of this environmental disaster, taking place in Northern Quebec. The following link brings to the complete film L'erreur boréale, which won multiple awards such as Le Prix Jutras for the best documentary film of 1999.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrY-ZCc9cFM

            Through the screening of the documentary film, it was possible to relate certain concepts viewed in class, such as the relationship between documentaries and media or myths and ideologies. In the first place, documentary films are a reliable way to propagate a set of beliefs and ideas. Through L’erreur boréale, the filmmakers Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie promote the idea that the government, concerning the forest industry and the impacts on the environment, is fooling the people of the province of Quebec. The filmmakers use their documentary film to propagate their ideas and beliefs on the deforestation and forestry in Northern Quebec. Desjardins and Monderie, also bring a critique on the government in place. The filmmakers of L’erreur boréale make a judgement on the effectiveness of the actual democratic government. As the philosopher John Locke stated, they believe that the government must govern in the interest of the governed. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie strongly consider that the Quebec government supports and encourages the development of the forest industry, regardless the consequences on the environment. In the same vein, Desjardins and Monderie also think that the Quebec government does not respect their engagements towards society regarding of the ground rent of the forestry. In the same line of thinking, Richard Desjardins bitterly believes that the Quebec government does not govern in the interest of the population, as opposed as to the interest of capitalist companies. Therefore, the filmmakers of L’erreur boréale use the media of documentary film to propagate their ideas and beliefs concerning the development of the forest industry and clear-cutting in Northern Quebec. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie prove their points by using an efficient film structure stuffed with powerful images, meaningful rhetorical speeches and deep reflections. 

Personal response

            Both the viewing of If a Tree Falls and L’erreur boréale taught us about environmental issues, but also about how they are perceived by different groups of people. It was interesting to be given various points of view, which made it easier to have a greater understanding of the issue. In the documentary we have watched in class, we learned about the main activists’ motivations that lead them to do such extreme actions. We found interesting to see how Daniel’s family was involved in the situation and how they had to deal with all this. We can relate more to the human side than only seeing what the eco-terrorist did. Often, we tend to forget about the “villain’s” family because usually the “victim’s” side is more described. Though, that was not the case in If a Tree Falls.

            In L’erreur boréale, Richard Desjardins’ purpose is to spread the information about the deforestation to as many people as possible. Consequently, we had the opportunity to learn more in depth about deforestation, more precisely about the process called clear-cutting. Before the screening of the documentary, we had a vague idea of what clear-cutting was about. L’erreur boréale allowed us to truly understand this phenomenon. Also, Desjardins argues that the governmental actions are bias and tend to please the forest industry instead of protecting our environment. Once again, we were aware of those kinds of actions but it was shocking to learn more about what is really going on.

            The visioning of those two documentaries surely challenged our own perception of the world. It seems to us that even though we do hear about environmental issues quite a lot, we do not even know half of what has to be known. One of the most shocking parts of If a Tree Falls, in a certain way, was when Daniel’s wife testifies about how she perceives this hard situation. Our initial point of view was that these eco-terrorists were wrong to make such drastic actions even for a good cause. We thought they fully deserved to go to prison. However, we realized how it could affect their family and entourage. This “human perspective” challenged our solid convictions.

            It is possible to relate the common topics discussed in the documentaries to the present student crisis in our country. Like the eco-terrorists and Desjardins, the “carré-rouge” students are fighting for something they strongly believe in. Their actions aim to speak up their mind. The most drastic ones are willing to go through anything to reach their goal.  We also related the conflicts involving the police, as it happened in If a Tree Falls.

            Another possible connection would be to the documentary called Trou Story, which is also produced by Richard Desjardins. The film presents the environmental growing issue caused by mines in Quebec. The “Plan Nord” is also discussed and criticized. In the following trailer, there is a brief scene in which people are showing their disagreement. Once again, that relates to the student crisis as well as the two documentaries.

Conclusion

            All things considered, these documentary films showed us how politics and Medias are closely related to each other. We can also observe that capitalism and the protection of the environment are not meant to share the same points of views. As a team, we enjoyed our screenings because it allowed us to have a greater understanding of the different world’s ideologies. This is our retrospective on the subject of myths and ideologies; we are looking forwards to read your comments.

  

8 – Direct Cinema and Cinema Vérité

By: Alexandre, Sarah and Sydney

Introduction

This week we watched Pour la suite du monde (105 mins) a Canadian documentary directed by Pierre Perrault and Michel Brault, released in 1962. The film brings us to the island of l’Isle-aux-Coudres in the province of Quebec, where the local residents re-enact the traditional Beluga whale hunt. In order to do this, the residents had to ask the elders of the island for information on how to catch the whales. They had to use an old technique that required planting wooden poles through the river when the tides were low enough for them to walk around in the cold water. Outside of class, we watched another film directed by Pierre Perrault which also takes place on l’Isle-aux-Coudres. This documentary demonstrates the use of boats by the islanders. We get to see the navigators and how the new technology is affecting their work. In this film they sail old wooden boats that are almost thirty years old which are now too expensive to maintain and are getting rapidly replaced by iron boats.

Part 1 - Pour la suite du monde

Pour la suite du monde is a documentary film released in 1962 that takes us to l’Isle-aux-Coudres in Quebec. The film is about reviving an old tradition that has not been practiced for many years: whale hunting. Pierre Perrault the director had a mission: to film the inhabitants of the island as they reconstructed the tradition, as their ancestors use to do it decades before. While trying to do so, they face many challenges. These challenges include finding knowledge on how to catch the whales. Leopold Tremblay, featured in the film, asks his father questions about the hunt. He then goes to see Abel Harvey who is still old, but younger than his father. He had participated in hunts before, and agrees to help them to revive the tradition.

One of the hardest challenges they faced was planting the poles. These poles are the traps that stop the whales from advancing any further. To plant these they had to go out in the cold waters of the river and force the poles deep into the ground. Most of the men doing this were 40 to 50 years of age, which made this task very difficult. After their hard work they successfully caught a whale. Towards the end they go on a trip to New York to sell the whale. Even though they only caught one whale they succeeded in reviving the tradition just like their ancestors used to do it.

This week in class we talked about direct cinema and cinema vérité. These are two types of documentaries that are similar but with small differences. Direct cinema is when the film maker is in ‘’Observational Mode’’. He tries to be as much as possible invisible in the film with little or no interaction with the subjects of the film. He records the events as they happen. On the other hand, cinema vérité is more concentrated on interviews, where the filmmaker interacts with the people and asks questions. He tries to precipitate the events he wants to record, unlike direct cinema. Pour la suite du monde is a perfect example of a direct cinema documentary. Pierre Perrault films the islanders as they organise their hunt, doing his best to feel invisible and to film everything as it happens. The advantage of direct cinema is that you can get sucked into the film and believe that you are actually there seeing everything that happens in front of you.

We also talked about cinema de la parole. This happens when the words spoken in the film link to what the images are saying. We witness many conversations of islanders discussing issues and debating on subjects: for example, when they discuss their beliefs about the moon or argue the origins of the whale hunt. The documentary was filmed because the islanders wanted to continue the tradition. They wanted to show their children how it was done in the past. The title Pour la suite du monde means: for others to come. This documentary did not just show the children of that time how the whale hunting was done. We can still see today how it was like in those days and how it has changed through the years. Pierre Perrault’s film helps us understand how life was in those times and how we have advanced from them.  

Part 2 - Les voitures d’eau

Les Voitures d’eau, also known as The River Schooners, focuses on the lives of the community on l’Isle-aux-Coudres, a small island in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Here, the citizens speak a sixteenth century French dialect which their ancestors brought to Canada long ago. Living in the old ways, the people soon realized that compared to new technology, their ways of life seem to be outdated. They replaced their home-made wooden boats with iron boats made by a big outside company, but every one of them is still in danger of being put out of business. This is when the plot begins to sink in: during a major strike, with no one working, the people are caught between the union and the government.

The film was written and directed by Pierre Perrault and was released in 1968. The lightweight equipment used by the filmmakers allowed them to get close to the people of L’Isle-aux-Coudres during the filming. This gives them the advantage of catching events off guard and unplanned. It also gives the viewers the effect that there is no camera: It is as if we are there with the people during that time, running with them, and interacting with them.

There are two types of documentaries; direct cinema and cinéma vérité, the difference being “the acknowledgement of the presence of the filmmaker”. In the case of Les Voitures d’eau, it is direct cinema: less of an interactive mode and much more observational. The use of lightweight equipment is also an advantage to capture their North American traditions. The film makers do not precipitate the events, which are not expected. Occurrences in the film are unplanned. Therefore the filmmakers present themselves unobtrusively to the citizens of the island and to the audience. Once the film is finished there is very little editing. This film was not about portraying truth, but showing the viewer more about the lives and personal moments of the “characters” in the film.

Direct cinema is a short video that discusses the origins and philosophy of direct cinema. It also explains the benefits of filming in this way, which is what Pierre Perrault was taking advantage of. It gives an idea of what was going through Perrault’s head when he was trying to decide what kind of documentary to make.

Part 3 - A personal reflection on the two films

In the two films Pour la suite du monde and Les Voitures d’eau, the residents of l’Isle-aux-Coudres say that they follow traditions they learned from their ancestors, and pass those traditions to the next generation.  They are also concerned that the old ways are ending, even though not all the old traditions are good – such as their poor education or the poverty that many grew up in. 

In Pour la suite du monde, they set out to catch a beluga whale. Yet even this hunt was not the real thing. It was set up to imitate (or perhaps to honour) what their ancestors did – but in the end, it was only a copy of the original. Still, the islanders show us the importance of a community: learning together, working together, and even playing together. Perhaps we have lost too many traditions in our modern society. We have technology and modern comforts, but we no longer have the same sense of community. Although the films were made in the 1960s, the islanders were living in an even older world. By showing us their much older way of living, the films are trying to tell us how a community can stick together. 

Technology has become part of our lives. The film shows that the islanders have accepted some of the changes that have taken place around them. We must also learn to adapt so we can live on this planet. It’s OK to hold onto old traditions but one must learn to balance technology and ancient practices. The islanders were also fighting to keep their traditions including their particular dialect, their songs, and their stories, with some success and some failures. To lose any old dialect, old music, or old tales is a shame, and some have already died out. Documentary films let our generation see traditions that were abandoned long ago. Even though these traditions have died out, film can help keep the memories alive. The films show us that it is important to remember the old ways, and to teach the future generation of what life was once like.

In Les Voitures d’eau, the islanders talk about how the iron boats (made elsewhere) have taken away their business of making wooden boats. Then they complain that the big ships have taken business away from their small boats. Finally, at the end of the film, they comment on the last of the sailing ships. Do they realise that it was their small boats with diesel engines that put the sailing ships out of business? So the people of the island have been responsible for some of the changes as well. 

Today, the web site for l’Isle aux Coudres shows one way they have adapted: by transforming themselves into a tourist attraction, complete with bicycling, winter sports, and other activities. There are hotels and restaurants, some even offering WiFi  The old boats are gone, so at least the islanders can show their memories and a few relics instead. 

Tourism web site for l'Isle aux Coudres
http://www.tourismeisleauxcoudres.com/history_and_heritage.aspx

Conclusion

We feel that by watching both films, we received a greater understanding of the older generation’s view on life and changes in their world. They try to battle it, but at the end they realise whether they like it or not that they have to compromise with the world. It’s OK to not like certain changes, but one must learn to adapt to them. Every day we learn how to adapt to the changes that are happening around us, and by doing so, learn how to keep our ways of life. It all comes back to a question of balance.

7 - Heroes and Quests

Heroes and Quests

By: Ramandeep, Emily, and Harjaap 

     In class this week, we watched a remarkable documentary called Touching the Void about two climbers whose journey is documented as they make history, accomplishing something no one had done before. Outside of class, we watched Man On Wire, a film about a man who illegally connected a wire on top of the Twin Tower buildings in New York and stepped foot on it in order to create an art of his own. These films show us how heroes come to be and how they are among us everywhere.

Touching The Void

   Touching the Void is a documentary film, directed by Kevin Macdonald in 2003, about Joe Simpson’s and Simon Yates’ attempt to climb Siula Grande, a 20 814 feet high mountain situated in Peru. The climb of the mountains had been attempted before, but no one had ever successfully climbed it through the West face. This made the two climbers even more eager to reach the top of the mountain. With the unpredictable weather that constantly threw wind and snow smack in their faces, Joe and Simon successfully made their way to the top, but their journey to the foot of the mountain is where things got more complicated. Although they thought their route was well planned out and that the worst had passed, they had yet to surpass the biggest obstacles of the course. Soon after they started going back down the mountain, Joe and Simon get lost in the blizzard, not even having the option to stop and wait as they would have gotten sucked in by all the snow. The troubles continue and they are faced with the difficulty of descending the mountain on a completely vertical wall, which then results in the worst of their troubles: Joe breaking his leg. This becomes a burden on Simon, as he tries to drag both of them down the mountain with a 300 feet long rope connecting them. Joe would slide down 300 feet, as Simon acted as an anchor to hold the rope and then Simon would go down as Joe waited for him 300 feet down. This cycle continued until Joe was unable to keep his control and climb back up for support when he was stuck in the air beside a vertical wall. Simon felt as though something had gone wrong, but with 300 feet apart and no communication between them, they were both unable to move without the other. 

   Although they had a great amount of trust in each other, there is always a question of helping the other person or helping yourself. Simon had to save himself and he therefore cut off the rope that was keeping Joe alive. Joe falls straight into a crevasse, unable to believe he was still alive. He spends four days getting out of the crevasse and back to where they had started the journey and where Simon had already reached. He struggles to survive with no food on him and with a completely non functioning leg, but still he makes it back to his tent, badly bruised everywhere, hungry, weak and to say the least: tired. 

   This week, we discussed heroes and quests in class. We talked about what a hero's journey consists of and what a hero is described to be. Essentially, the hero is called for help, then he makes the decision to leave for his journey, he accomplishes his task and finally, he returns home. The hero comes back from his journey as a different person, having gone through life changing experiences. These concepts are related to the movie, because Joe and Simon go through an experience where they come back as completely different people. The separation part of their journey is when they leave to climb Siula Grande. The initiation is the whole journey itself, when Joe and Simon climb all the way to the top and back to the foot of the mountain. Finally, the return is when they successfully come back from their quest to their tents. During this journey, they learned life lessons such as never giving up and to always persevere in order to achieve the impossible. In class, we also discussed how this hero can be characterized in several ways. People can honor this hero, ignore him or completely dislike him. In Touching the Void, Simon and Joe are the heroes who are admired by society for doing such an extraordinary thing, unachievable by anyone else. 

   Touching the Void is a great example of Greiman's actantial model, dividing the film into 6 separate categories: the sender, the receiver, the subject, the object, the helper and the opponent. The sender in this particular film is the glory and achievement Joe and Simon would receive after the quest. The receiver and the subject is Joe and Simon, as they are the ones who benefit and undertake this quest of climbing Siula Grande, which is the object of the film. Joe and Simon's helpers are each other. As much as they can, they help one another to get through this tough climb. Finally, their opponent is simply the harsh weather conditions that they must face during their climb. 

   What was so special about this documentary film is the fact that throughout the occurring events, although not many gruesome scenes are provided to show the audience how painful the journey really was, we still feel those emotions of pain and horror. For example, when Joe broke his leg, there is no image to show the audience what happened. The interview from Joe in the background, describing his hurting knee and what he was feeling was more than enough to have the audience look away from the screen and block their ears. This was a very effective way of getting the audience to react to the film's events. This mix of interviews and reenactment in the film allowed the audience to better understand the experience of the journey. The descriptive comments Joe and Simon give along the way help support the images and make the audience feel as though they're going on the journey them.

Here is a link to the trailer of The Matrix, a film that follows a different kind of journey from Touching the Void, but is a good example of the actantial model none the less: 

 

Man on Wire

     Man on Wire is a documentary film about Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker and street performer, who walked a wire than ran between the rooftops of New York’s Twin Towers. On August 7^th 1974, 24-year-old Philippe stepped out on the wire he and his friends strung on the world’s tallest buildings of their time. Petit spent forty-five minutes walking, kneeling, lying and dancing on the wire with no harness or safety net, until he was arrested and thrown in prison. Philippe and his team of accomplices managed to keep their elaborate plan a secret for eight months of preparation up until the day of their illegal ‘coup’. Their seemingly impossible task consisted first of bypassing the World Trade Centre’s security and smuggling in the cable and rigging equipment, suspending the wire between the two buildings and securing it safely, and, finally, performing the walk itself.

     Over the course of the film we are taken back through Petit’s past wire-walking achievements up until the ‘coup’, learn about his friendships, and see how his passion for adventure leads him to succeed in accomplishing his dream. Man on Wire was adapted as a documentary in 2008 from Philippe Petit’s book, “To Reach The Clouds”, and was directed by James Marsh. Philippe Petit stars in the film as himself, with archival footage of his wire-walking and current interviews. Also appearing in the film are some of his friends and accomplices, including Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, David Forman and several others.

     Philippe Petit is the hero of the story. In correspondence with the classic characteristics of the hero, Petit is a personage of exceptional gifts. His wire walking requires extraordinary balance, control and focus; not to mention bravery, for daring to attempt such dangerous tasks. It is a talent that very few people are able to master, so when “ordinary” people witness Petit in action, they are amazed and honor him. When Philippe walked the wire between the two tallest buildings in the world at the time, onlookers were in awe.

   Man on Wire is a good example of a “hero quest”. According to Greimas’ Actantial Model, the action in the story is divided into 6 actants: the subject, the sender, the helper, the object, the receiver and the opponent. Following this concept, In Man on Wire, Philippe Petit is the subject; he is the one who undertakes the quest, with the object of walking on a wire between the world’s tallest buildings. His six-year dream of wire-walking the Twin Towers is the sender, triggering his quest, and Petit’s group of friend and accomplices in the “coup” are his helpers. The hero’s opponents are the security guards and police officers who could potentially prevent him from completing his quest. Philippe Petit is the receiver, along with his team of accomplices who helped him achieve success. They all benefit from the quest, with a great sense of pride and accomplishment from having fulfilled a dream.

     The Wizard of Oz is another great example of the hero’s journey. This is the trailer for the original film, and in the clip we can see how the story follow’s Greimas’ Actantial Model as well:

Personal Response: Fear of the Unknown 
 

     As human beings, we are inherently afraid. Afraid of failure, afraid to step outside of our comfortable environment, afraid of change and the unknown – never wanting to leave the path we’ve been told we’re “supposed” to take.  

 

     In Man on Wire, after Philippe Petit had successfully completed his high wire walk across the World Trade Center, he was mobbed by reporters, all asking him the same question: why? To which he replied - “there is no why”. We are questioners and storytellers, when something shakes us out of the ordinary, we feel compelled to fill what we don’t have an explanation for, with a story. We have this desire to make sense of our planet, to shrink it into a single idea so that we can make our world seem less uncertain — and more predictable.  

     We wake up at 7. Get to school by 9. Eat lunch at noon. Come home at 6. Plant ourselves in front of the computer screen until we fall asleep — and then, the next day, and the day after that for months and years, we continue with this same routine. By doing so, we owe the world no explanation and no one thinks to ask us why. Now, if we were to suddenly go backpacking in Nepal for a year, or decide to climb the west face of the Siula Grande, or string a tightrope between two towers and walk from one end to another. Then, we would endlessly be asked: why? Touching the Void and Man on Wire are both helpful reminders that we don’t always need a why for everything, that sometimes, beauty and inspiration themselves are enough of an answer.

    

     How many dreams do we nip in the bud because they seem to us, our friends, and our families to be a little crazy? Most of us have this desire to be comfortable and play it safe; letting thoughts and emotions of doubt and hesitation take over. However, these films strike a chord as they remind us that true enjoyment and fulfillment comes from those moments when we step outside of our circle of comfort and into a life of uncertainty. 

     Human beings strive to overcome obstacles and barriers, the life of comfort and ease is not what we were made for. Thus, we should live out our dreams instead of our fears. Be our own hero and overcome the challenges in our path through perseverance and not fearing the unknown. We must take a chance and put ourselves out there. After all, life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

      In conclusion, documentary films not only provide us with facts but they can also teach us about heroes and quests. We are able to learn life lessons from these heroes and their journeys. As we can conclude from the film, Touching the Void, heroes are simply ordinary people facing extraordinary challenges. These documentary films provide us with hope that heroes don't only exist as fictional characters but rather they can exist in our everyday lives, all around us.

6 - "Berlin: Symphony Of a Great City", "Window Water Baby Moving" and Sound

By: Mehwish, Robert and Jacob

Here lie the three most interesting films ever made! This blog features an analysis
of the two films viewed in class Window Water Baby Moving and Berlin: Symphony of a Great City , as well as a presentation of the additional film Night and Fog. We will see how each documentary effectively toys with our perception and the key role played by sound.

The symphony and silence in films

The documentary film Window Water Baby Moving (run time 13 minutes) is filmed in the United States, and is directed by Stan Brakhage, demonstrating the beauty in the natural process of childbirth. It shows the woman throughout the many stages of her pregnancy and climaxing with her giving birth. The viewer sees a series of montages in different sequences. For instance, the mother's pregnant stomach in different stages of development, the pregnant woman bathing, and then giving birth in another montage of random order. What makes this film so special is that it lets the men and women experience this intimacy. This was something that was never captured before on the silver screen. The film portrays the intimacy that the mother shares with her child while the infant is in the womb making the movie spectacular and definitely an eye opening experience. The movie really captured the rawness of child birth for instance, all the fluid and exposure of the woman's insides creating a truly captivating experience. In addition, what alters our experience completely is that it is a film without any sound. Sounds contribute to the realism of film and also helps to create a particular atmosphere. With it being so important, our entire perception and reading of this film was altered since there was no sound to guide our understanding of the film. Imagination became the central source of sound with the images being powerful enough on their own.



The film Berlin: Symphony of a Great City directed by Walter Ruttmann (run time 65 minutes) is a film that is shown in 5 parts. Our professor played his own music while the film was being played muting the original sound track. The film portrays the city and the people of Berlin as a large metropolis and films the streets of Berlin showing what a full 24 hours is like in Berlin. We watched part one with no sound, so the viewer can truly feel the intimacy of the images on the screen. The film shows Berlin in early morning form showing the quiet streets and closed shops and restaurants. Then as early morning progresses the film shows men going to work, walking on the streets, and using public transportation. In part two, the film shows off mid early morning in Berlin with classical music being played, and it is as if the sound is coming from the film itself. It is clear that sound is pervasive and omnidirectional. Later on in the film, the streets begin to fill up, all the men are arriving at work, shops and restaurants begin to open, and elementary children and high school teens are on their way to school. It's twelve in Berlin, and men and woman are socializing on the streets. All restaurants and shops are open, workers are on their lunch break, and the day is officially in full effect. Part 4 has exotic music playing for the film is portraying the city of Berlin as a jungle when the work day is officially over. The men are punching out their time clocks, school is over, and the streets are overloaded with children, teens, men and woman. The city is chaotic once again. Public transport is being used for people to commute back home. Men and teenagers are participating in sports and work and children are in the park playing. Romance is in the air work and school is finished! Part 5 has club music playing. Director Walter Ruttmann is now showing the excitement of the Berlin night life. For instance there is a montage of fireworks, gambling, boxing, and juggler's all mixed together. The film is trying to display that Berlin is not only a working city it also has a lively night life with lots going on. There are also displays of the various architecture of Berlin. Throughout the film we observe the fact that music gives us a sense that time is passing, continuity to the image and it creates locale with the atmospheric tone.

We discussed in class different concepts for instance, music and time. Music and time harmonize and structure our perception of film. Window Water Baby Moving is a silent film. While the entire class viewed it in silence, one student decided to watch it with his own music. This put him into a whole different understanding of the film with a mood entirely different from the rest of the class. It allowed his perception to be more like the music he listened to, from happy to sad or whatever it may be. By letting the audience listening to their own music it created a different mood while watching the film also gave the audience a different way of interpreting what the director of the film is trying to explain.

Also another topic we discussed in class is specifics of film and sound. We build the identities of the characters in a film through three key components such as sound, music, and silence. It is important to note as well that sound is often brilliantly conceived. The effects of sound are often subtle and processed by our subconscious minds. Yet, it forces us to foster an awareness of film sound as well as film space so as to appreciate the film as a whole. Throughout the different parts of Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, music adds emotion and rhythm, It provides a tone and an emotional attitude towards the story. In the original sound track of the movie the director played soft classical music has people began to wake up in part 1. In part 2 the music began to pick up a few beats as people got into work. Than in part 3 it was midday and the classical music was deep and in full effect. Part 4 the music slowed down as people were head back home. Than Part 5, the music became very dramatic as people were enjoying the night life of down town Berlin. In general terms, we expect an acceleration of music during car chases and creaky doors in horror films which shows that film sound is comprised of conventions and innovations. The director used rhythm in the music to create a meaning through audio. Every situation had a different loudness making every part very different and unique. The following link shows an evolution and development of sound to as we know it.

Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955, Poland, 32 mins)

The additional film illustrates the horrors of the genocide of approximately six million Jews during the Second World War through Alain Resnais’s documentary film Night and Fog. Filmed in 1955, it combines colour and black and white in a total length of 32 minutes, showing footage of Poland’s most inferior concentration camps to tell the story of how thousands of lives were inhumanly taken and the direness of man’s brutality.

Alternating between the past and the present, Night and Fog describes the rise of the Nazi ideology. It reveals the life of the Nazi party “Schuztaffel” compared to the tortured prisoners in the concentration camps. Images of the dying, broken, and starved bodies are shown to start with and the presence of extreme cases of sadism inflicted upon the ruined inmates, including torture, executions, scientific and medical ‘experimentation’, and prostitution. The film then focuses on the gas chambers and the mountains of bodies and finally the emancipation of the country, the discovery of the revulsion of the camps, and the questioning of who was responsible. It investigates the inveterate nature of man’s violence towards man and presents the unsettling suggestion that such history may be possible to reoccur.

10 years subsequent to the Holocaust, Resnais was one of the first to show cinematic reflections of the abandoned camps which contrast the stillness of them. Quiet, empty buildings with a haunting feel. We are shown a tranquil sky above a huge grassland, the camera then reveals a fence of rusted barb wire leading to a watchtower of a concentration camp, showing how any serene seeming land anywhere could actually be the home of a derelict camp. Resnais presents a dream-like suspension within the concept of the film which nonetheless holds the nightmares of wartime destruction. Midway through the film, it is narrated that “even a quiet country scene, even a field harvested, and crows aloft, even a road with cars and people passing, even a village fair, may lead directly to a concentration camp” (Night and Fog, 1955). The tone of the narrator is soft as opposed to miserable or angry, and the music takes yet another deviating approach by the use of an impulsive and redolent soundtrack instead of a loudly orchestrated one. We are effectively able to see how “the image, text and music in Night and fog thus coexist with a lightly surreal tension that reflects the endlessly self-deluding, fantastical [oppositions] of a humanity driven wilfully to create monstrosities and think them as normal, […] nothing, after all, is more surreal, at least at a temporal distance, than the Nazi’s ‘Final Solution’ and it structural manifestations.” (Rees 2005, p. 119) The key factor here was the music which helped suggest a point-of-view where it is meant to strengthen the image being shown rather than question its prestige.

The images of naked bodies, rotting flesh, dried bones, of men, women and children were ghastly and extremely disturbing. Piercing images of open-eyed dead bodies were unforgettable. Although many aspects of Night and Fog were unbearable, they just had to be seen. The unabridged drive of the film was to be a reminder to humanity of what can happen when an inhuman world-view is fused to state-of-the-art technology.

With the disconcerting realities of the now-empty camps after the war, the viewer able to piece together the fact that these silent buildings were once heaving with the sound of gunshot, fear, and screams of uncountable people. Sound gives a new value to silence. A quiet passage in a film can create almost unbearable tension, forcing the viewer to concentrate on the screen and wait in anticipation for any sound that will emerge. The breaks that have a lack of music produces an emotional involvement in the material. Any music or silence together take turns on playing with our emotions. They guide us with how to feel from moment to moment  and change the way we understand the film from beginning to end.

The entire purpose of documentary film is to remind us about our past and how vital it is to learn from it and, more importantly, to forbid ourselves from forgetting it. Is the nature of human beings set to a position where we are doomed to repeat our mistakes?
With the image playing with our perception and the sound influencing our reactions, can we ignore such destructive nature of human beings? The film’s uncomfortable analysis poses many difficult questions, which breach the heart and force our eyes open to the fact that human beings may potentially be animalistic and willing execution machines.

This pain evoking exhibition of The Jewish Museum of Berlin is aimed to recreate what it was like to be a Jewish person during the holocaust. The floor is made from steel carvings of faces and walking on them not only creates scream-like sounds but also paints an image of the desperation felt by the victims and the irretrievable loss which resulted from the Holocaust.

How are we effected?

In our opinion the films we watched in class taught us a lot about peoples actions when they are most vulnerable.

In the film Window Water Baby Moving, it showed a man and woman getting ready to give birth. This shows a couple at home in possibly in of the most vulnerable and honest situations you can be in. The fact that there was no sound also lets you feel their emotions for what they were and not for what the sound was telling you, for example its very easy for a movie director to change the perception of the scene by simply changing the music. If there were to be horror music in the background, you could interpret that scene as a horror scene, where something goes wrong in the child birth. But if you were to change that around and put a love song, it could be seen as a very romantic scene with a couple fighting threw child birth together. The fact that there was no music, really gave us the honest truth with no distraction and it engages a distinct sense which can lead to a synchronization of sense, making a single rhythm or expressive quality unifying both image and music.

The other short film Berlin: Symphony of a Great City also captured the everyday life of people in the big city of Berlin. With the rhythm provided by the sound of different paced music, the viewers were easily able to establish the time of the day, based on people everyday habits and rituals. In this case the music added to the production by our professor's choice and helped express what time of the day it was, in the mornings the music was more upbeat and at night it was more of a party type of music. In our opinion this didn't tamper with reality but helped remind us of the reality given the time of day. The time of day changes peoples attitude, for example people act different on Monday mornings than they do on Friday nights. The music helped remind us why the people were acting differently in different sections of the movie, the simple answer to that, is the time of day. We thought that these films expresses reality and people living everyday lives but we also learnt that by adding things such as sound, you can can tamper or change the reality into something completely different. All three films Window Water Baby Moving, Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, and Night and Fog, silence, and rhythmic sound influenced our feelings and puzzle together the final image transmitted through the films. Sound is universal, it does not discriminate and is understood by people speaking any language. It is a variation of frequencies that have the power to transmit emotions, self-expressions and messages to its listeners. Music can be a form of expressing one's self, in other cases it also creates an identity. On a personal scale, Western music is different than the music of other cultures where I am able to unite with the people from my culture through music, even though I am far from home. Music itself plays a crucial role in my life where it helps me to reduce stress, escape to a different world, alleviate boredom while doing repetitive tasks, and creates an environment appropriate for particular kinds of social occasions. In short, music is used by individuals to enhance the quality of their lives.

This video demonstrates how one scene of a film can be perceived in different ways based on the background music.

In conclusion these films teach us how sound can greatly impact how we perceive a film and how it play with our emotions. Documentary films in general continue to teach us about ourselves. Visual media is a powerful tool of persuasion, manipulation and communication. Through it we are able to see who we are, where we come from and what our role is in society. These films collectively  transmit messages and reminders all delivered through powerful images and/or sound.

5 - "The Celluloid Closet" and Stereotypes

"The Celluloid Closet" and Stereotypes 

By Nabeel, Brendan and Raven

Introduction 

We had the chance to watch a very unique, informative and eye-opening film during this week in class called The Celluloid Closet. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman, this American movie showcases the stereotypes of gays and lesbians in Hollywood films. It explores the mass population's general perception of this specific group. Outside of class, we watched Reel Injun, a documentary of similar format directed by Native American filmmaker Neil Diamond, with Catherine Bainbridge and Jeremiah Hayes. This movie presents the different roles that the natives have held throughout the history of Hollywood films and how it shaped society’s opinion of them. Both of these films share common themes such as the presence and portrayal of stereotypes and hegemony which were discussed in class.


Part 1: Analysis of The Celluloid Closet

(The Celluloid Closet, Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman, 1995, USA, 107 minutes)

Theatrical Poster for "The Celluloid Closet"

The Celluloid Closet was released in 1995 and was directed by Academy Award winner Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman. This film depicts the characterization of gays and lesbians throughout 100 years of Hollywood films. Through the use of interviews with homosexual actors and filmmakers, as well as straight actors who played gay roles, we gained insight on their opinions regarding how Hollywood portrayed the gay and lesbian community.

Gay characters had a place in cinema since its early beginnings; they were even present in early silent films. Since that time, they’ve had three distinct roles. Initially, they had a comedic role and were known as the “sissy”. Throughout the usage of this stock character, we were taught to laugh at and pity them. They were also used to make men seem more manly and women more feminine. The second character we were introduced to was the "victim", who had us feeling pity for gays and lesbians. These characters were always shown to be miserable, treated unfairly, depressed and unable to fit into the norms of society. A common occurrence featuring this type of gay character involved their death at the end of the film. These movies once again reinforced the notion that being gay was some sort of horrid anomaly which led to a life filled with hopelessness and despair. The final portrayal revolved around how homosexuality was a flaw or human disorder. To represent this, the film producers conceived the gay characters as the primary antagonist or “villain” of the movies. They were shown as monsters who lacked a conscience and had no remorse. This type of character altered entirely society’s viewpoint of the gay community. We went from laughing at the humorous “sissy”, and feeling pity for the "victimized gays" to fearing and hating the gay villain which further ostracized the homosexual community. All three of these roles in Hollywood film helped to influence the gay stereotype; being gay was unnatural and wrong. Since these ideas and images of gay people were widely accepted and acknowledged to be the truth, they became living stereotypes.

This video explains how gay members of society viewed the usage of the sissy, as well as the characters role in popular film. 

The ruling group at the time; mostly heterosexual producers, set the roles and ideals of what it meant to be gay; they created the hegemony of the time. Anything outside of their frame of "normalcy" was labelled as inadequate. The use of ethnocentrism, or using the norms of one group to create the "social norm", allowed the hatred and ignorance to continue. One concept we learned about known as social types, involved a group of people who lived by the "rules" of society. They were shown to have a sense of freedom, since they adhered to the norm. Those who were different, such as gays or lesbians, were made to be condemned, since the rules were designed to exclude them. The usage of synecdoche, or taking the part for the whole, was extremely prevalent. If you wore pinched clothing, had a soft voice or were somewhat effeminate, you'd immediately be classified as gay. And being classified as gay brought on negative connotations, such as being an inferior human, being feared and even hated.

Part 2: Analysis of Reel Injun

(Reel Injun, Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge and Jeremiah Hayes. 2009, Canada,56 minutes)

Cree filmmaker and director/narrator of Reel Injun : Neil Diamond

As mentioned before, the plot line for Reel Injun resembles very closely to that of The Celluloid Closet. Director Neil Diamond, who is a Native American filmmaker from the Cree tribe up in northern Quebec, grew up watching many cowboy and Indian movies while growing up. At first glance, nothing seems very strange about that. Hollywood has made over 4000 Native American themed movies in the past 100 years However, Diamond noticed a weird trend: he found that in the majority of the films, cowboys were favored more than the Native Americans and that he used to cheer for the side that was fictionally destroying his home, completely forgetting the fact that he was from an Indian heritage as well. It's this bittersweet insight that serves as the motivation for Diamond to make Reel Injun. 

The film discusses the various stereotypes of native people in Hollywood. It also discusses the affect that these stereotypes have had on the native community and concludes with how native filmmakers are representing their people in films today.

The movie is divided into sections and much like The Celluloid Closet, describes how each decade of film has portrayed the aboriginal people. (It should be noted that the 1980’s were skipped due to no film regarding Native Americans were produced).

The early decades talks about how the American people used to be fascinated by the Native Indians. Therefore, they weren't depicted as being a source of any kind of danger. As a matter in fact, early films showed native Indians as noble heroes and helpers of the white man. No matter how positive the portrayals were, people interviewed by Diamond, such as Indian activist Russell Means and Hollywood star Clint Eastwood, agree on the fact that they weren't accurate representation of the Native American culture. Hollywood producers didn't care though. They even went to the extent to employ white actors to portray Indian people in movies!

The good portrayal of the Indian didn't last long though. Things changed drastically in the 1930’s with the arrival of The Great Depression and the economic collapse of the United States. Weak and poor, Americans so desperately wanted to see themselves being dominant over other people that they transitioned this idea into film. Aboriginal people became the center antagonists of the movie, always setting out to destroy the white protagonists of the films (John Ford's Stagecoach released in 1939 could be used as a prime example). For the next three decades, Westerns epitomized by the films of John Ford cemented the image of the Indian as fearsome aggressor. In Ford’s films and other Westerns of that era, “The Cowboy” became a new kind of hero who could kill and tame the wild Native tribes threatening western settlers. However, a new and usual depiction of the aboriginal people emerged. In the 1960’s Native American were portrayed as a free-spirited, headband-wearing, sensitive characters which were largely influenced by the hippie culture. Also during this time, natives started revolting against injustices they had long been suffering. An important event takes place in 1973 which the film briefly discusses. Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) took over a town called Wounded Knee in order to protest against the treatment of aboriginal communities. The FBI got involved and tension between the two parties escalated quite quickly. During the 45th Academy Awards, Marlon Brando, who won in the Best Actor category for his role in The Godfather, declined the award in order to show and raise awareness of treatments of Indians in Hollywood. Instead of going up to the podium himself, he sent Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American rights activist to conduct a speech on his behalf. The speech can be viewed with the link down below.

Not so long after, the incident ended. Hollywood decided to portray Native Americans on screen as generous, fleshed out and complete characters. The 90’s saw the resurgence of the Western genre but this time, Indians were also part of the good guys. Films like Dances with Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans were box office hits. However, they still didn't capture the essence of the culture as the aboriginal people were hoping for because they were still produced by non-Indians. The 2001 film The Fast Runner became the turning point for Native American filmmakers, who began producing films showing Indians as real people, as they are today. The culture represented was raw and pure. Finally, an accurate portrayal of Native Americans was being conveyed to the people!

Unlike how gays were always negatively portrayed in Hollywood film, Native Americans and their role in film went through major shifts, though being a native was not always considered to be a bad thing. The presence of fixed, stereotypical roles was ever-present, ranging from the "mystical warrior" native to the savage, underdeveloped native. Since the native people did not fit into the classification of what was standard at the time, they were quickly stereotyped and excluded because of this classification. Some of the most recurring stereotypes showed Natives wearing feathered headdresses. They were also portrayed as being skilled horsemen and archers, as well as being deeply spiritual and connected to nature. Hollywood's attitude and portrayal of these people quickly affected the general population's outlook on Natives. In Reel Injun, a man recounts how every week, after watching a movie with his brother at the cinema, a gang of white boys would engage them in a fight, simply because they were Native.

Part 3 - Personal Response: How do stereotypes affect us?

Based on the films that we viewed in class, many different thoughts came to mind and made us begin to think outside of the box. In the first movie, that is entitled “The Celluloid Closet” directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman, we witness the drastic stereotypes of homosexuals that Hollywood portrays. 

The homosexuals in this film are always looked down upon because of their unordinary sexual orientation. According to us, this is an inappropriate film choice because it makes people more afraid to confess and accept themselves. People in the movie industry tend to forget that these gays and lesbians are normal people. It was not a choice that they made, because no one willingly chooses to be isolated by society. With that being said, we are not trying to say that we should make them seem like extra good people, but we do believe that we should avoid putting emphasis on the way they should be viewed (positive/negative).

We think the problem firmly lies in the heterosexual’s perception over homosexuals. When we watch movies, we always put ourselves in the character’s place. We imagine ourselves being part of the fiction world. Once most heterosexuals witness a scene involving homosexuality, they’re disgusted and frightened because they themselves would never dare commit such acts. It’s just not in their mentality. Therefore, they develop this huge fear against homosexuals which in return helps them shape a negative perception over gays and lesbians. This homophobia sadly encourages homosexuals to hide themselves from the general population.

What was remarkable during our reflection was the title choice. We searched up the word “Celluloid” to get a better understanding and we discovered that it was defined as being “A transparent flammable plastic made in sheets from camphor and nitrocellulose, formerly used for cinematographic film”. We interpreted that in a special way. Since celluloid is something that is transparent, we related it to homosexuals. According to us, homosexuals are somewhat transparent because of the difficulty the general public encounters to exactly perceive gay people for their true nature. Stereotypes conveyed in movies make the process very difficult and therefore forces the homosexuals to isolate themselves from society. The following word in the title is “Closet” which gives us a better understanding of the movie because it showed us how homosexuals are afraid to come out of the “closet” since they’re afraid of how the society might treat them. 

We've been recently hearing in the news about the Obama administration urging states that haven't adopted same-sex marriage, such as Florida, to do so. This shows that that the majority of the population have progressed from living in a state of fear to accepting reality as it is by supporting gays and lesbians in their unions. 

From a technical aspect, we found that Reel Injun was quite inferior to The Celluloid Closet. It was considerably shorter, a feature which we found undermined the film’s ability to convey a more complete explanation of what was going on on-screen. For example, there is a segment at the end of the film where the director wants to show us the reactions of young Indian children after watching a violent movie in which Native Americans are being killed. We just see glimpses of the children’s faces while they’re watching the movie. They appear rather disturbed by what they're seeing but the film doesn't follow-up or explore it any further. There's no discussion with them afterwards and it's problematic for us that we don't actually hear what they think about what they've just seen. 

However, from a critical point of view, Reel Injun is in itself a very powerful documentary showcasing how it’s important to the aboriginals to let people know of their real culture. Even though Hollywood has portrayed them as nice and loving people from time to time, the Native Americans still weren't satisfied which is quite intriguing. The interviews are meaningful but sometimes rather short. However, we do appreciate the message the film is trying to convey to its audience.

Reel Injun has helped the public understand the image of Native people; it has opened the window on their cultures and let the world know that Native people have something to say, that they are not necessarily noble and treacherous people, but just human. We, as fellow humans, must respect them like we would with any other person.

Conclusion

In conclusion, after watching the two movies, we are still left dazzled and amazed on how much power films have over the minds of the mass population. Not only does it influence us but also shapes how we interact and perceive other people. The Celluloid Closet and Reel Injun both demonstrated that this is possible by presenting to us many facts from Hollywood films as well as great testimonies from various people.