Scholars Against Films

  Across the pond, arguments are heating up with disputes over TV and Films and the impact they have on cultures. It seems, both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states do not want their "Kannada language, and literature, culture and social heritage" to be influence by what  Hollywood depicts it as being.

Placing my self in the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu States position, it is very easy to see why they would want to keep Hollywood stereotypical films and TV shows out of their state. The tendency to over exaggerated a culture life style or to portrait it as "rural" is Hollywood's way of showing how  America is the Modern world. It serves as an ego busters but it angers everyone else. It is also easy to see how liberal and violent our TV shows and films are. Some few examples are American Pie, The Bad girls club, Honey Boo Boo, and the Chainsaw Massacre. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu States simply just want to protect their culture and heritage from the negative influence ours might have upon their's.




















 http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/1799109/report-scholars-against-films-dubbed-into-kannada

What to look for when watching a Movie

http://www.godawa.com/Writing/Articles/HW-MoviesWhattolookfor.pdf

This is a summary of an article I found online based on a book called  Hollywood Worldview. It sums up 9 possible aspects to keep in mind when watching a movie. Here are the ones I thought to be important.

1) Look for the Protagonist and the Antagonist

It is very important to distinguished which characters is the hero and which is not because it allows you to consider whose side you are on. It allows you to get involved with the movie in a more personal level.

2) Look for the hero/protagonist weakness/fault/ or need

 When you are able to understand why the protagonist wants and needs to jump the fence to save the bag of money from burning because he will used it to pay for his mothers cancer treatment , the movie makes a lot more sense  You should be able to see what his problem is and how he struggles to solve it and what is keeping him from solving it.

3)Look for the protagonist revelation

This usually happens at the end of the movies when the protagonist has a moment of redemption and he lets us know how the protagonist thinks we should live our lives.

4)Look for the antagonist point of view

Try to understand the reason why the person conspiring against the antagonist  is the antagonist . Sometimes those characters tend to reflect society views that many of us are faced with in our daily lives.

   

Movie Trailer

                           G.I.O. 2 Retaliation Movie trailer

So, the trailer for what promises to be the years first action thrill movie is out. It is called G.I.O. 2 Retaliation.   It is directed by Jon M. Chu and some of the cast members are Dwayne Johnson (aka the Rock) and Channing Tatum. It is set to release nation wide this Thursday, March 28, 2013. I hope you have seen the trailer already being bombarded all over those TV commercials because it will get worse through out Spring Break! The Movie shows it's cliche hot Hollywood  leading guys fighting for there counties pride with a hot girl fighting scene. The images are good quality and by the looks of the trailer some of the action scenes look daring and very well edited by all those graphic majors. Just by looking at the trailer alone I feel encourage to go see this movie. Maybe I will go during our Cesar Chavez Day .

Quick Question

What allures you into going to watch a movie? The trailers? The actors? The action scenes? The story lines? etc.

                                              (feel free to answer in the comments section)

The Beauty of Film

Just an example of how the right scene placed in the right order can tell a story. 

An Opportunity to Live more than One Life

 Why is it that week after week and commercial after commercial we are attracted to see a movie? Could it possibly be the unbearable truth that movies serve as an  excuse to leave life outside and enter a new one as soon as the lights go off on the theater. For any reason it is, films have been an important aspects of our lives.The reason I have these images on the left (which you may recognize) is to provided examples of how  films provided  the viewer an opportunity to enter a new role.

     
  I have met a couple of fanatics of the movie Avatar by James Cameron, that have completely submerged themselves with the idea that planer Pandora does exist and while the Army takes there time to release such information to the general audience they will start creating there own Avatar. Sounds like they have been playing video games for to long, right? But that is not it. I think a good few of us have heard at least a couple of times this line, "say hello to my little friend" . Guess where they got it from? yes, a movie called Scarface by Brian De Palma. Oh,        
and who has not heard or better yet seen the movie, The Notebook?  The ultimate chick-flick movie.

These are just few of the films that have shaped some aspects of our lifes. I mean, who did not want to travel across the universe and be cool with a extravagant new species, or be the ultimate gangster shooting down all your enemies with a mechanical gun, or have a romantic love story where your true love fulfills all you desire with  only the though that it might remind you that you once loved him. Movies provide you for at least an hour and a half a window to a different realm were you can be captivated with all your senses. It lets you explore your imagination as you relate to characters on screen and for just and hour in a half it becomes you in that screen living those moments. Flying ginormous birds or kissing your true love, you are provides with a chance to live more than once through the magic of film.                                                                  

Hypothesis

When I was trying to decide on a topic to base my blog on, I could not seem to make up my mind on a couple of topics. It got to the point that I got so frustrated I decided to take a break and watch a movie. I played Seven Psychopaths directed by Martin McDonagh.  It was only when my roommate approached me and asked me "is the movie good?" that I realized, movies is the topic I want to explore in my blog.  For most, films provide an opportunity to escape the harsh struggles of the general life, while for other it provides them with an easy fun date. But it seems that not many know the underlying messages of films beside "and they lived happily ever after"  that is why I decided to dedicate this blog to Film .I will explore the concept of films. Why was it made? why the location? who are the characters? How do they influence the events? what is the underlying meaning? how was the story line developed? Films serve as a life spectrum's. A multitude of scenes and colors and sounds connected  to bring to life one picture,one story, one voice. I would like to invite you into this journey that I am taking as a student of film to analyze and truly appreciate a film.