Author Archives: lmj67

The Truth About Loving

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The film was loving was a moving and emotional story about the sacrifices and sufferings of an interracial couple living in 1960 Virginia. The movie was especially touching because of the depth with which the actors portrayed the raw emotions holding the relationship together. It is unbelievable to think that not so long ago marrying someone of a different race was an action you could be jailed for. Movies like these are necessary because they remind us of this countries ugly history. They put things in perspective and help to elucidate current social and cultural phenomenons.

Despite being a wonderful movie to watch and great lesson on the history of this country there were some things that were changed about the true story to make the movie more “hollywood ready.”

The movie was correct about where and when the Loving’s first met. It is also true that they traveled to Washington to get the Marriage license and become a couple. What was untrue, however, was that Richard’s mom advised the couple not to get married. In reality she only ever told her son not to go to Washington to get married. She advised him to stay in Virginia. She was never outwardly opposed to the marriage and she never told him “you never should have married that girl.” This was likely added to make the film more dramatic.

All in all the film was enlightening and a pleasure to watch and I learned a lot.

Citizen Kane

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Citizen Kane was a very interesting film to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was highly reflective of the times we live in today. The handling of the subject matter and topics brought up was also very effective and ahead of its time.  I was shocked that the film was so serious and did not fall into classical troupes despite its antiquity.

Perhaps the most important matter brought up in the film was the struggle between money,  and family/relationships. Putting equal amount of time and effort into both is very difficult as exemplified by Kane’s situation. Often priority is given to one or the other and the one not given priority falls behind and is forgotten. Kane is an ideal example for the necessity of a healthy balance. His neglect of his child and first wife combined with his insatiable thirst for admiration quickly become a destabilizing factor in his life. His lust for superiority is unstable and makes his behavior erratic and volatile.

As we witness his descent from power it becomes more and more apparent that he is the one most responsible for it. His actions and decisions are all cold but not too calculated. Despite having the outward appearance of a calculated person his decisions are all made based on passion and appearance. His haphazard second marriage and refusal to bow out of the race are exemplary evidence of his lack of judgement.

All in all, Kane is a good model for the citizen and person you should avoid becoming.

Distrust of American Government

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This film was a very interesting viewing experience. This is primarily because I avoid watching older films, and thus, had never before seen anything like it.  The poor film quality is often very hard for me to look past so old movies tend to be annoying for me to watch, but this was definitely not the case this time around. North by Northwest managed to be entertaining while still being tastefully suspenseful.

The movie discussed themes of mistaken identity and cold war survival in a time where the former was of great importance. When an innocent man played by Cary Grant is accused of the unspeakable, he has no choice but to run from the villainous spy trying to kill him. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was a blockbuster hit at the time of its release. It has received many awards.

The film depicted a time of Cold War distress and earnestly represented many of the concerns of American civilians at the time. The film not only draws upon a fear of the Russians to entertain, but also draws upon a fear of the United States government. The characters in the government are portrayed as being just as cold, ruthless, and calculating and the true Russian enemy. This was an interesting way to draw on general american apprehension about what happens behind government closed doors.

Dead Poets Society and Romanticism

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I first watched Schulman’s “Dead Poet Society” when I was 12 years old, so naturally there was a lot I didn’t remember about the movie walking into the viewing on Friday. But watching the movie again, at this age, was like seeing an entire different film. At that age I didn’t quite understand why professors Keating’s words and actions had such a profound impact on the boys’ outlook on life. The entire concept of the film seemed silly. I had attended very high pressure schools since I was a child and had never been suicidal. Why would anyone kill themselves because they didn’t like the career they were being forced into?

The entire premise of the movie seems much more understandable now. Being better able to empathize with Neil’s death I found the heart wrenching. There is, however, still a lot that the movie gets wrong. Mostly about depression, and just exactly how one gets to the point of suicide. The film also romanticizes the effects of both societal and familial pressure.

For one, we never actually see Neil feeling hopeless. His reaction to his father’s demands are more representative a quiet submission and genuine belief that his father does know what is best for him. The fact that he killed himself so suddenly, without much coming before that scene that would indicate he was suicidal is odd. His death came out of nowhere, and suicides rarely ever do.

There is also something of a glamour about the school they attend. The idea of a select group of elite boys who will become the leaders of the future seems fabulous. We never see them struggle over homework, or feel distress or despair. I know first hand that attending that type of school is not all fun and games. This, also ties into the randomness of Neil’s death.

Developing a Speech Impediment

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This week’s movie was very entertaining. It made me think a lot about the way we isolate and berate people suffering from speech problems just because they are difficult to understand or a nuisance to listen to. In today’s world, however, we have much better programs for identifying and correcting these speech impediments early on, so that they are no longer a problem, or are less of a problem later on in the child’s life. With programs like Speech-Language and Occupational therapy, patients can often show marked improvement, especially when they begin such programs at an early age. Although the problem does sometimes disappear on its own, it is better to be safe than sorry, and no harm is done to a child undergoing speech therapy.

Despite our now many ways of treating the problem we are still not able to locate its source. Sometimes it is obvious why a child has developed a speech impediment, obvious in the sense that we can diagnose it using medical equipment. Speech impediments caused by problems with the laryngeal webs (vocal chords) or noncancerous growths. These causes are more readily diagnosable and treatable. However sometimes an impediment will arise when there is no obvious physical reason for it to be there.

The science behind developing a speech impediment a field waiting to be explored and a lot of progress is currently being made in this field. It was interesting to learn more about medical and educational perspectives on the themes brought up in this film.

The Martian: Fact of Fiction?

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The Martian is a science fiction film based on the original novel The Martian by Andy Weir. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and thought it was inspiring and entertaining, however I most enjoyed the film’s visuals. The scenery was breathtaking, so much so, that it left me wondering if that is actually what Mars looks like? Upon further research I learned that the film was scientifically correct about a lot. However some of the inaccuracies do serve to poke holes in the films plot.

The first inaccuracy has to do with the windstorm at the beginning of the film. Although Mars is a dry planet prone the occasional dust storm, Martian storms are very different from the storms we have here on earth. Because the atmosphere is so thin on Mars even the fastest winds would only have the impact of an 18km/h wind here on earth, which would not be enough to send and antennae through Matt Damon’s abdomen.

The film’s second inaccuracy has to do with the health of the astronauts. Due to Mars’ lack of a global geomagnetic field the scientists in the planet are at a greatly increased risk of cancer, so the fact that they all seem to be healthy is quite remarkable. This skepticism can easily be explained away by UV-proof space suits, which could be plausible in 2035.

The last scientific inaccuracy has to do with the maps used in the film, which are outdated and no longer in use.

All in all, considering that these were some of the only inaccuracies in the film, it did a pretty good job of staying true to science.

Technological Advances, Personal Security, and Happiness

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This week’s episode of Black Mirror was an interesting social commentary on the current way in which we document our lives. With apps like Snapchat and Instagram at our disposal we are constantly putting our memories, or snippets of them, on public display. The movie is an even more extreme version of how we document our lives right now. We are more critical of each other’s choices because we have open access to each other’s lives. We can snoop and judge as we please from behind the glass of a computer or phone screen, and in this way recent (when you consider them on the scale of the last 100 years) technological advancements might be dangerous. Automation has advanced to the level at which it might be actually be a hindrance to our personal security. Ultimately If you have access to these memories, someone else does too.

To actually imagine that we have all of our memories at our disposal, that we can play events back frame by frame is difficult. Such technology would be incredibly helpful because it would encourage honesty. But even the primary benefit of having such technology available is problematic because we as humans are adapted to be liars. To live in a society in which we are unable to lie would go against everything we know. To be able to scrutinize everything in detail might drive us crazy.The film includes applications of the device in preventing terrorism, for which it may be very useful. Certainly we would be a lot happier without the ability to record our memories, but would we be better off?