I decided to watch God Loves Uganda after Rodger William’s talk on Thursday. I was extremely intrigued by the conversation and the trailer. The documentary did a great job in showing both sides of the argument. The extremists in the film did everything possible to spread ideologies to the people of Uganda making it almost hard to watch. A lot of the things said seemed ridiculous and it surprised me how Williams was able to stay silent and film and even get really close to these people. There were times where I was extremely angry and I remember Williams saying he learned to love everyone even those against his belief. He got that close to them and that something extremely admirable as I’m sure it wasn’t easy. I really enjoyed this film. I was thrown into emotion after emotion getting specifically mad at how much Americans impacted the lives of these people. Williams was able to catch in perfect timing the build up to the anti-homosexual bill that passed in Uganda.

It was also nice to see a documentary that doesn’t show how this flm was personal to the director. It was evident without him being in the film specifically how important this was to him without his personal story in the mix. You can tell in just the shots how much he had to endure in order to catch the moment and put it in his film. He mentioned it in his talk but the scene where they were burying David Kato became a fight between both sides in one shot. He mentioned how rocks were thrown and how the activist had to be rushed away. He put himself in danger as most film makers do to capture the moment and spread it to the world. After watching God Loves Uganda I understood and was grateful that it got the attention it deserved.

http://www.movingimage.us/films/2015/01/09/detail/first-look-2015/

On the subject of experimental film another new form of film has grown into something deeper than we first imaged. We have seen these on websites like tumblr and is known as the GIF. Graphics Interchange Format are short clips of something with no sound seen all over social media sites. They have been seen as nothing more than a comical way to represent an emotion or response but is now seen as more. At the MOMA in January there was an exhibition of GIFs being seen as an art form. First Look is a festival that showcases new approaches to film making. It showcases “works that defy convention, experiment in form, blend fiction and reality, and allow us to see the art form—and the world—in a new way.” This year they showcased animated GIFs as an art form. We may never look at GIFs the same way again!

http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/toolkits/incarceration

I know Professor Sikand posted the John Oliver’s satirical version on the subject of parent incarceration but I looked up the specific episode and found that there was a whole web page on the subject on Sesamestreet.com. This was a bigger deal on show then I expected. The subject went on for a while, they had animation on visiting dad in prison, they had songs, they had specific stories of kids with incarcerated parents, and multiple clips of parents giving advice on how to handle a situation like this. Then on the physical website there is a kid kit with many tools that parents and children can use to help deal with having a parent in jail. Then finally at the bottom there are 7 tips. I think it is important that this subject is being addressed and talked about but it says a lot about what is happening in America. The fact that so many kids are dealing with living with an incarcerated parent to the point where they need to be represented on Sesame Street shows just how many we are putting in jail. Seeing this online was very unsettling.

http://www.imdb.com/video/withoutabox/vi1365680665/?ref_=tt_ov_vi

I looked up the trailer to this movie to see the movie was portrayed and how it would possibly affect the viewers idea of the movie and what they are about to see. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trailer did a good job in showing the real message and point of the movie and definitely made it look like a movie I’d like to see. I wasn’t to happy about how much was showed just because I feel like it was giving away a little too much to the viewer. Other than that I have no criticism. The trailer uses the intense build up music we hear in the movie making us feel that sense of foreboding and anticipation. Almost all of the clips show the action and the explosions to show that it is an action packed movie and even showed clips of the women highlighting their importance in the film. It was also nice to see that every 30 seconds or so it would cut and state the awards and nominations the film earned. It even stated how it was banned in France and was played in the pentagon, which is definitely something that allures the viewer.  It was great to see the last thing played was a quote talking about the relevance of the film and how neither side is painted as the bad guy they are just painted as human. These are two of the biggest points that I noticed from the film which makes it a great thing to see it stated in the trailer. Viewers will definitely go in watching this movie with the right attitude and mindset.

https://tesscetin.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/the-use-of-color-in-amelie-2001/

I found this article that speaks on the colors found in Amelie and I find most of it is very intriguing. The editor used a common video motif called “Digital Internediate” which allows the editor to manipulate colors and emphasize certain aspects of the film through color filters. This really emphasizes how important color was to the director. Color in itself is it’s own character just like the heat was in “Do The Right Thing.” It really tells us a lot about this movie and the characters in the film. The article goes on to talk about the meaning of each color. Green was one major color, which symbolizes hope and nature in some cultures. This can directly relate to Amelie’s character. Yellow would stand for warmth, happiness and comfort but also something surreal, which explains Amelie’s imaginative ways. Red is definitely a color that stood out. In this case, according to the article, red represents warmth, energy, passion, and love, which could represent Amelie’s life and mood. The article states, “Red cherries, raspberries and her red fish all symbolize her passion and vital young mind. Thus, this motif is continued throughout the film as she is always wearing something red to in a way, represent her childhood which is a key time of the development of the character.” This quote brings up a really great point about how much color impacts our knowledge on the character and plot in a movie. The director set these specific colors to tell the viewers something and to send us these messages, which I believe he did quiet effectively.

Cuarón uses sound and music to bring this dystopian world of infertility, illegal immigration, and societal collapse to life. He uses many different genres of music that indirectly comment on the society and events happening around them.  When looking at the titles of the songs alone, you can see the direct relation it has to this movie.  In “The Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson there is a lyric that says, “The keeper of the city keys/Put shutters on the dreams.” I interpreted the meaning as those in power limit the people’s freedom. This is playing while the camera pans over protesters who are yelling about infertility and illegal immigrants are in a cage. It’s a direct relation and perfect addition to the image. “Hush” by Deep Purple has a line that says, “Whenever in doubt, turn off your mind, relax, float downstream.” The lyrics were based on a book on death that argues that psychedelic drugs is essentially similar to the dying process and requires similar guidance, Jasper would smoke often and this lyric correlates to that as well as the suicide drug, Quietus. The one song that stuck out the most was “Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones just because it was the most obvious connection the movie had with song choice. The lyrics where eerily related. There is a stanza that has the words,

“Still I’m gonna miss you…
Don’t question why she needs to be so free
She’ll tell you it’s the only way to be
She just can’t be chained
To a life where nothing’s gained
And nothing’s lost
At such a cost
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday”

Jared’s wife is unresponsive and almost trapped in her own body. Not only she is trapped in herself but everyone seems trapped in this world “where nothing’s gained and nothing’s lost.” At this time Jared feeds her the suicide pill and in an ultimate goodbye and setting her free. The music is one of many parts to the movie that can be analyzed. Cuaróns use of music really helped me connect with this movie on a deeper level and love it even more.