Proposal [Violence: necessity vs. oversaturation]

Violence is portrayed throughout a large portion of popular entertainment mediums in an array of genres with countless motives and consequences. What aspect of violent entertainment makes it so alluring? It is the brutal suffering of an individual? Gaining the ability to picture extreme degrees occurring during historical milestones? Watching the self destruction in an overexcited irrational villain’s downward spiral to death? How do these acts of violence and the context in which they are presented affect our psychological selves and the way we interact with others in our day to day lives? I wish to explore the definition of violence and the different kinds of causes and consequences and how they relate to normal everyday moral and ethical functioning. I will be comparing different motives and aspects from the international films we viewed in class including Lady Vengeance, Hero, Hunger, Host, in contrast with popular violent American films including Natural Born Killers, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, and Silence of the Lambs. Each film frames its violence usage around a different aspect of human emotion. It is important to view violence through the scope of logical reasoning. Does the violence serve its purpose of entitlement, or ravenous indulgence, does the punishment fit the crime? And just how do we reason these powerful decisions?

Violence is a manmade invention much like the spinning jenny and automobiles. We have learned that we can gain a sense of power or freedom through violence. Growing up I remember watching violence in cartoons like Buggs Bunny, Batman, and Ed Edd and Eddy. These shows depicted varying degrees of violence among a multitude of characters but they all help tint the views a child has for the world. At a young age our society learns to laugh at pain at the expense of someone else.  Our senses are overloaded with violent acts across all sectors of television and film enabling us to become accustomed to the repercussions of such forcefulness. We let our guard down so to speak and begin to accept violence as second nature. The more we see it the more comfortable we are with all of its connotations. Sure we may be shocked and appalled by extreme acts of violence but we remain oblivious to the small things that affect our thought process without us knowing. Like most things in America we enjoy fast in your face violence that is disconnected from ethical emotions. The body parts fly faster and we hear more chuckles and cheers with each squirt of blood.

Violence is a difficult subject to address. The subjective-ness of the word itself is what coins its technicality. Each person is able to define violence for themselves based on their background knowledge and life experiences. What happens in our lives molds and shapes us through applied experiences. Witnessing violent displays can affect our subconscious attitudes so as a viewer it is important for us to question the ideas presented before us in such violent films. What message is the director trying to explain? Is there a lesson to be learned from these experiences? Was there extreme brutality? And was it integral to the explanation of the experience? Violence strikes the edge between harsh senselessness and tender necessity. This reasoning therefore makes it difficult to objectify violent acts as purely good or bad. It seems ironic to think of violence with a responsible tone but perhaps when viewing such voraciously violent scenes we can reflect upon our selves to realize what our actions might mean if found in the same or similar scenario. I do not normally prefer violent films but throughout this semester I have been able to explore the purposes behind depicting violence through pictorial story. At one end of the spectrum you have a need for violence in order to teach and at the other end you have this abundance of violence that suffocates clear rational thought and poisons the well.

Hunger 8

When you think of a definition for the word hunger thoughts of emptiness resonate through the mind. Hunger is not a want but rather an urgent need to fill a void with sustenance for survival. The emotional stress automatically associated with the digestion of such a draining word is a significant clue into the intentions this film has to render your feelings giving you insight into the ghastly world of starvation. Steve Mcqueen’s feature is a poignant and theatrical poem combining illustrious audio and visual effects that affect the reader’s consciousness.  With stark attention to minor yet volatile details Mcqueen violently consumes the viewer’s senses while congruously portraying the tragically epic journey of a struggle for freedom. The story amalgamates several different perspectives throughout its three acts in which we are given insight into the lives of both prisoners and prison guards in Northern Ireland’s Maze prison. The events depicted explain the key elements leading up to the 1981 hunger strike initiated by political prisoner Bobby Sands in which he and eight other prisoners starve to death in order to enact social change during a time of political war.

The film begins with an emphasis on the bruised and battered hands of a seemingly ordinary man. He dresses himself and partakes in a normal looking breakfast before gathering his things and heading to his car to get to work. We soon find out this man with the bruised hands has a very different leaving-for-work rituals than an ordinary man would. His wife anxiously peers out the window as he stoops down to peak under his car. He discovers no bomb under his vehicle and continues his venture to work where he buttons up his prison guard uniform and faces a new day. At the Maze prison just after the bruised hand man’s arrival we are introduced to a newly captured prisoner named David Gillen. During booking Gillen states that he will not wear the clothes of a criminal and is reported as nonconforming. Refusal to wear criminal’s clothes is just the first step of rebellion for this newly incarcerated political prisoner. Gillen is led down a dim hallway and plunged into a cell where he meets his cellmate Gerry Campbell, who is another Irish Republican Army political prisoner. The walls of the tiny room are caked and smeared feces while Campbell appears to be a wild man with overgrown facial hair and a tangled mess of hair attached to the top of his head. As the new cell mates discuss the terms of their sentences you begin to understand that the next years of these prisoners’ lives will be squalid and dangerous.

Mcqueen fluidly paints us into a hypnotic trance as riot police prepare in full gear for the movies next graphically violent scene. Ornamented with batons and shields like modern war paint the guards stand shoulder to shoulder and begin a ritualistic rhythm that penetrates our senses like a punch to the face. One by one prisoners are extracted from their cells and thrown down the deafening hall of brute force. After several minutes of beating and abuse the prisoner is subjected to a violent cavity search that not only rapes the body but also mind and spirit. These terroristic acts of torture are a breaking point among the unified prisoners. Bobby Sands dangerous and rebellious plan comes into full view during a riveting scene of tennis table talk with a Catholic Priest. Bobby is pleading his case as the martyr of a great cause while the Priest urges him to comply with governmental regulations to prevent the mass starvation suicide. Sands informs the priest that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to enact reform and is comfortable with the idea of sacrificing his life in order to make life better for those yet to come. The remaining portion of the film is a beautiful and yet tragic depiction of the horrific death that comes with the starvation of one’s body. Mcqueen elegantly explores Bobby Sands death in a way that affects how your body feels watching it. Allowing the viewer insight into a starving man’s decsent this film creates an experience explaining what true hunger must feel like. During his final days Bobby Sands body not only starved for nurishment but also for freedom. It was his hunger for freedom that granted him the bold abilities to suffer a self inflicted death in order to be released from the hell he was trapped in. It takes a strong heart and will of character to sacrifice you’re life in such an agonizing way and this film does a superb job of bestowing respect to Bobby Sands legacy.

Pan's Labyrinth 7

           This is a magical film that teaches adults that is still ok to let your imagination wander. When you’ve had an overly stressful day with an overbearing boss a giant mud puddle or the world just seems to be working against you, what better way to come into your own than to escape to a world that invites you to belong. Ofelia is the naïve bright-eyed child once existing in us all. Those are the eyes that saw everyday as an adventure with amazing new things to discover. It seems that when we have come of age we are tied down or tired by our responsibilities or hardships and as adults lose our sense of excitement. As children free from the stress of survival we are able to explore another dimension of our self-being and world awareness. As I child I feel like I was able to have more trust in the world than I am as an adult. The people, places and events of my live have contoured my consciousness sometimes by cautiousness to view the world. I do believe that knowledge is power but I also understand that once we’ve endured the cruelties and harshness of the world our minds become stained making it difficult for such magical curiosities. Ofelia is able to comprehend evil in the world and you sense her dislike when she refuses to call the Captain “father”. She easily distracts herself from confrontations with the Captain by exploring this new realm of existence she has unlocked.

The most thrilling scene in this film occurs on Ofelia’s second task when she must use her key and retrieve a mystery. She enters a long hallway and soon finds herself at the end of a table full of delicious food. She is not supposed to eat anything but the grapes looked so juicy and delicious I wanted to take a bite. Her little fairy friend’s frantically try to stop her but she bites down with a look of instant gratification only the fattest juiciest ripe red grape can produce. For a split second almost out of the entire movie this is the one time we see Ofelia truly in a state of nirvana. Then he awakens and slowly, carefully presses his peepers in the palms of his gangly pale hands. He raises his hands to his face and his fingers fan open like the flutter of eyelashes. This sickly looking pale man has no intention of flirting with Miss Ofelia how has suddenly realized she has flirted with disaster. And she’s off, round the corner down the stretch and her timer runs out. Is she out of time? She must have had ballet lessons to learn to balance to elegantly on her toes as she stretches with her chalk to draw door on the ceiling. She push the door open and pulls herself up just in time to slam the door keeping the pale man locked in his secret place.  I think the coolest thing about this scene is the way they managed the special affects. I was able to watch some DVD extras that showed the creation of the fantasy characters. The extras explain that the director has a background in special effects and you can really see that it helped them seamlessly combine the computer-generated graphics to what was captured on the film. I will be interested to see if he creates more film with this method.

I’ve seen this film a few times and the violence always jars me. This time was too much and I looked away or left the room when the fascist Captain began playing with his tools. I accidentally peeked just as the camera show Mercedes slicing open the Captains cheek and it made my insides feel weird. Blood and anything that’s grown inside of the body I find best when blanketed inside the succulent skin shell it grew in. I try to consider this movie through the scope of Ofelia’s delicate but indubitable eyes. We see her float easily away in moments throughout the movie and I think it is safe to conclude that she has subconsciously chosen to not deal with the stresses of her new life by creating a cooler even newer one to run away to. In Ofelia’s alternate life she is a princess of a powerful under-lord and her father and kingdom have been waiting her return for a very long time. Even with all of its strange schemes and tricks Ofelia’s alternate reality welcomed her with loving stability and that was something found lacking in the house of the Captain. I will think of Ofelia when life cuts me a difficult hand and remember that there is always a way to change your future if you really believe you can!

Shortbus 6

I didn’t see this coming…or maybe I should say cumming. I was regretful the day I missed class and missed this film. I had caught a buzz that it was an interesting indie film but I had no real knowledge of its thesis so I thrust it to number one on my DVD queue and waited the mail for its delivery. I popped it into to play as soon as it arrived and instantly my regret disintegrated. I was left with relief that I awarded myself the luxury of viewing this odd artistic exploration within the comfort and privacy of my own home. I’m always up for new experiences, but viewing intimate altercations among a room full of strangers? It seems this was my day to sit out; but then after deeper reflection following the films conclusion it hit me. That’s not how the wheels turn at Shortbus. Shortbus is the place where strangers are family, candy, and personal therapists. A one stop semi-anonymous shop where it seems anything is possible. All of the characters quickly become acquainted and their connections strengthen with swift appeal.  There seems to be something in the air at Shortbus that allows people to open their senses up to trust any possibility.

            This film blares a bold sexual statement invading our comfort zones and expanding our openness with its use of sexually explicit storyboards. This film can allow us to get comfortable with the idea of skin, of being in our own skin and nothing else and being proud of that if we let it. It is a conditioning factor interjecting our conscious with new awareness of sexuality. The sexual social norms of our county harvest an idea of secrecy around sex especially if it is unconventional. Sexually Explicit images are hidden from public view and labeled as pornographic which opens an entirely new can of worms that we don’t need to get into. So allow me to set that can aside by saying that the extent of the sexual content of the this film was absolutely necessary and integral to it’s message and theme. If adults were comfortable enough to openly express sexual issues we could all find our own inner peace. This doesn’t mean you find peace inside a man’s asshole while screaming the national anthem however subjecting your conscious to such a sight familiarizes your brain for acceptance of future images of a similar nature.

            It is possible that if you see enough sex eventually it won’t seem unordinary? I find the explicit nature of this film to be in no way vulgar or offensive. This is a showcase of pure human emotions, passions, and sensations. The sexual pleasure humans feel is a rare and exotic gift from nature that we should not take for granted. I have always found irony in the way our culture cast shame and hides so many of the natural functions our bodies require. We will lose touch with our sexual selves and our awareness of sexuality if we do not learn to be more open and honest about what sex is, what we enjoy about it, and how those experiences affect the people we love and care about. Sex isn’t something to hide we should openly celebrate and cherish such opulence with the style and grandeur of Shortbus.

Moolade Essay 5

In the film Moolaade, a deeply pressing issue of women’s struggle for personal rights is presented. The scenery is painted of a small village in rural Africa where polygamy is a popular practice. One husband will have many wives that live together in a singular compound and rely on each other for substantial and emotional support. The women respect each other and work together to further the survival of their families and the village. Throughout the movie we see an intricate struggle for power between the men and women of the village. The village’s spiritual views are a mélange of ancient tribal beliefs and rituals and slanted Islamic views. The combination of these religious aspects allows one woman the opportunity to stand up for what she believes in. The woman’s name is Colle and she is the second of four wives married to a powerful man of the village. Colle shares a special bond with her husband. She endures numerous birth complications and failed pregnancies before she is able to produce one child, a daughter, through cesarean birth. Colle’s birth complications are a direct result of the “purification” rituals she was forced to participate in as a young girl. During purification elder woman of the tribe use sharp instruments to sever parts of the female genetalia for the purposes of preserving virginity for proper marriage. Through the special bond Colle shares with her husband she is able to convince him not to have the painful and traumatizing ritual practicing on their daughter Amsatou.

Several years later six young girls deflect from the group of elder women during the beginning stages of a purification ritual. Four of these girls run to Colle for sanctuary. Colle is able to keep the girls safe from “purification” by invoking the ancient protection spell “Moolaade”. The elders are stunned and baffled by Colles dominance in protecting the young girls. The Council of wise men and the elder women of the “purification” conference to decide how to force Colle to surrender the protection spell on the young girls. The decision is made that Colle’s husband must force her through a public beating to utter the words thus ending the incantation. Believing in women’s rights to make their own decisions when involving their bodies Colle refuses to release the protection of Moolaade from her home. When one of the young girls was snatched from the house of protection during Colle’s public beating and died on the purification table women across the village begin to feel much differently about the so called pure practices they are socially expected to endure. The confidence Colle exhibits through her dangerous decisions facilitates a rise of empowerment among her fellow wives and village women. The men are frightened by this new found power the women are brandishing and decide forceful detainment of all village radios in order to prevent further empowerment hysteria. Instead of intimidating the women of village the confiscation of their only outlet of worldly entertainment drives the women to mob the council of wise men and declare no women would ever be purified again.

It is refreshing to observe such a strong following among women. So often it seems women are pitted against each other in some sort of competition. The women of this village discovered that if they work together they are able to achieve what they want and or need from the social structure of their society. The subject of female genital mutilation (FGM) is an extremely gruesome conflict to discuss. It is a ritual shrouded in mystery and the people who practice it have a highly emotional attachment to why they believe procedure is necessary. Women are forced to understand that it is necessary in order to survive while essentially the practice causes the death in a high amount. The conclusion of the movie shows us how a community that is deeply affected by the consequences of a particular action, in this case FGM, can induce imminent change when people discover they have significant power in numbers.

Children of Men Essay 4

In this action-tapped film director Alfonso Cuarón has derived a tale from a similar book by P.D. James. On screen Cuarón creates a poignant hyper stimulating piece depicting an unknowing world’s journey to save one woman and capabilities she is developing while fate sneers with impending doom. The future is rot with dystopic hysteria and our heroin Kee holds the key to continuing the reign of mankind on planet earth with the help of the noble hero Theo. The audience is bombarded with visual and audio over stimulation. During a number of intense scenes I felt myself leaning towards the edge of my seat, heart-racing anticipating what horrific outcomes might come from the current predicaments our heroes were in. This film throws you onto a death defying roller coaster and before you know it half of the cast has disappeared into the ash of a tumultuous fire.

I very much enjoyed this feature even though my personal preference does not usually coincide with tragic doomsday death appeals. I consider this film a fair lesson in perseverance for a valiant cause. My favorite scene is quite possibly the most brutal and sensually offensive in which Julian is viciously murdered as they troop begins their voyage. The entire scene is done in one shot using a specially designed camera to reflect the reactions of each person in the car and everything happening outside of the car. You feel the intense danger immediately following the shot that eventually kills Julian. The motorcycle assassins are so close to the getaway car you can see they’re facial expressions and as they pull in closer to take another deadly shot, with deadly ninja reflexes Theo whips his door open and the motorcycle simply disappears like magic from the cameras view. This is a small victory for our heroes as they begin to discover the world cannot be trusted. Fate offers up a five-course meal of knuckle sandwiches with barely any time to breathe in between.

While digesting this interesting story and film I began to ponder what the author/director meant to imply by the title of both book and film. The statement “Children of Men” is powerful and carries a strong connotation based on socially excepted ideas of what defines a man. Logically it alludes to a description of the progeny that is a direct production of the male gender. As I tried to relate this definition to the films storyline I began to have trouble making a connection. Through outside research of popular movie reviewers such as Robert Ebert I soon realized that the book and the film have a distinct but entirely influential discrepancy. One scene in which Theo and Miriam discuss the human infertility problems facing their society strikes me as a highly influential dysphemism for popular American culture. In the scene Miriam explains to Theo how she began to realize there was an infertility problem among humans. Miriam recalls the slow process of failed pregnancies until one day there were no new reported ones and the pregnancies that were known were complicated. The word began to spread that no pregnant women anywhere across the world were coming to the obstetrician’s office. Eventually the world could only remember a faint whisper of children’s laughter. Miriam’s vital description relates our brains to process this information with the conclusion that the film’s current infertility conflict was a result of female complications. While the movie does not directly make this statement it does a fine job planting the idea seeds into our heads. Ironically the James novel describes the infertility problem as a direct result of masculine infertility. By rendering the male half of the species as infertile, the idea is that men are verifiably inadequate, or deficient and weak is easily perceived and therefore counteractive to the perception of strength one might get from the captivating title. Now that I know the book was written with different context of infertility I am able to understand the bold significance explained by the title. However it is unfortunate that modern American cinema makers allow their own insecurities with masculinity to diminish the value of a phenomenal thought-provoking piece of art.

Christmas on Mars Essay 3

Christmas on Mars is an eccentric independent film made entirely by the band The Flaming Lips. The low budget B-movie set in mostly black and white was made over the course of seven years. Taking the viewer on a science fiction voyage celebrating hope, life and brotherhood the Flaming Lips created a story fused from an idea beginning in an old movie and ending in an unearthly dream. The story’s location is set on the planet Mars in a newly founded settlement during the Christmas season. The cast and crew are all members of the band or close friends and family creating an intimacy only those loved one can. There are a few instances of flashing colour throughout the film during peak plot moments allowing us insight to what the future may hold for these space crusaders. The journey is long and strange but in the end serves a poignant purpose.

In the beginning scenes a woman enters a small plastic chamber through an opening symbolic of a female genitalia. This woman is adorned in a minimal amount of white clothing. She seems to be mixing something in a cup and as the camera pans over her glass we see an egg flash into colour with a tiny little red sperm swimming towards it. This will be the first baby of mars. As the adventure progresses a notable amount of tension is felt among the crew aboard the crafted station; amidst the unknown planet the crew is fear stricken with thoughts of how they will survive in their new world and the impending holiday celebration. One space man is clothed in a Santa Clause costume and is seen on a small monitor screen having a bit of a mental fit. His journey soon comes to a close after a terrible case of cabin fever leads him off the plank of self-destruction. Just after Santa makes his last exit a mysterious new being appears before the crewmembers in their desperate Mars mandate. The Alien is always shown with a silent and calm demeanor; even when berated by the crew’s captain torn with frustration and anger the alien looks straight ahead with kind eyes. In various scenes throughout the movie when the Alien extends his silent knowledge of hope his face will flash with brilliant green tones.

The crew is informed that their ship is malfunctioning and their oxygen supply is decreasing at an alarming rate. The captain demands these problems be fixed but the crew does not have the parts they need to return the ship to working order. After intense oxygen deprivation Major Syrtis describes the insane hallucinations he has been having to the Mars Psychiatrist. The Major sees a baby lying on it’s back in a open space. The baby is crying and need help or attention from an adult but no one is around. Suddenly a marching band appears in the distance beating on drums and creating loud music that drowns out the sound of the crying child. As the band marches closer their faces appear to be made of female genitalia. The vagina faced marching band continues to stomp towards the defenseless baby without signs of surrender. Major Syrtis concludes the description of his vision with agonizing details of the baby’s skull being crushed under the marching bands murderous feet.

After much deliberation the crew decides the alien will be Santa during their Christmas celebration. The Alien Santa provides a feeling of hope among the rattled crew as they come together for the birth of the first Christmas baby of Mars. Like most of the Flaming Lips creative projects this film is full of symbolic messages of peace, respect, hope and brotherhood. The director Wayne Coyne has an immense obsession with the female form and proudly displays it throughout the film. In all its weirdness I find the images of a vagina faced marching band to be loudly supportive of women and their bodies. Our society likes to put a mask over female sexuality and pretend it doesn’t exist. I find it refreshing to see images of vagina celebrated in such an artistic way.