I just saw the old movie Sunset Boulevard. My parents had told me several times that this was a good movie, so I wanted to see it out of curiosity. I had never seen a black and white movie before. To me, this movie was a window into the past. The movie had a really interesting story and you could not help but feel for the plight of the main characters. I really felt for Norma. I would expect it is difficult to enjoy so much fame and then have it taken away; especially if you derive your self worth from the fame. I would also suspect that this movie is representative to former Hollywood stars of today. I really enjoyed this movie. It turns out my parents were right.
Author Archives: si259
I, Daniel Blake: A powerful and Emotional Movie
I, Daniel Blake was a very powerful and emotional movie. The story took place in England and revolved around an unemployed Daniel Blake, who could not work because of heart problems, and an unemployed single mother named Katie. Both Daniel and Katie were forced to struggle and fight for government benefits in order to make ends meet and live with some dignity. I really felt the pain Daniel and Katie felt as they were treated as almost subhuman and not deserving of any compassion and understanding. The discussion after the movie really solidified my emotions. The entire room was in agreement that something needs to be done so what happened in the movie will not happen in real life.
Black Panther on International Women’s Day
I had the privilege of seeing the movie Black Panther on International Women’s Day. It was a great opportunity for everyone to see women of color portrayed as such strong leaders. Black Panther was the first super hero movie to be culturally sensitive, and star a cast of African American men and women. The movie had a great cast, and had tons of action. Watching the movie gave me the opportunity to avoid studying for a night and just relax. The discussion after the movie was a great finishing touch. I really enjoyed hearing the opinions of my fellow scholars and their thoughts on the film.
Maplefest – A Community Event
I enjoyed my time at Maplefest. The people of Ithaca joined together for a fun day of socializing and learning about nature. There was a huge vat in which maple tree sap was being boiled to make maple syrup. This was fun to watch. As a volunteer, I was there to do what was necessary make sure the event ran smoothly. I had a good time getting off campus and meeting Ithaca residents. The event reminded me of a similar nature preserve near my home. Every year my parents would take me to the nature preserve where we would picnic and spend time with family. Those of some of my earliest memories. It’s funny how communities so different and so far apart are actually so similar. It’s great that a community has an event like Maplefest in which to come together.
Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
Although I was sceptical about watching a movie that was completely in Swedish, I decided to give “A Man Called Ove” a chance. Right out of the gate, the film seemed slow and not interesting. As someone who typically enjoys action movies with an exciting, fast pace, it seemed as if choosing this Rose House event was a bad idea. However, as the movie continued and more about the main character’s remarkable past became revealled, the captivating central themes of the film came to the surface. Although the movie was not built on high intensity, it was perfect for communicating the theme of feeling alone. Ove, the main character, consistantly had his close relationships severed throughout his life, often by a tragedy. After being fired from his job, he attempts to commit sucide but each of his attempts are interupted by others needing his help. Throughout the progression of the film, Ove comes to realize how important he truly is to others. The subtleties found in the film contribute to the theme and allow it to communicate a strong message.
V for Vendetta Significance
On February 8th, I had the good fortune of seeing a powerful film as a Rose House event, V for Vendetta. I first saw the film years ago and I have seen it again periodically whenever the opportunity presents itself. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to see it for another time. The plot of the film is defined by a masked man, known as “V”, on a quest to dismantle and ultimately topple an authoritarian regime that rules a dystopian Great Britain. The story is told through the eyes of Evey, a civilian who gets roped into V’s fight against the government after she helps him escape from one of his attacks. The interesting facet of the concept portrayed in the movie regarding toppling an authoritarian regime was that the primary goal of “V” was not only to dismantle the government by eliminating its leaders, but also by convincing the people not to fear their oppressors.
A part of the film that is looked at controversially is when V imprisons and tortures Evey to teach her to lose her fear. While the viewer must question the ethics of this, this illustrates the point perfectly that V is trying to make. The idea is that the government, captors, or an any authoritarian body only derives its power from fear. V wanted to show Evey and the oppressed citizens that do not have to the fear the government if they stand together. The final scene of the film illustrates this as seemingly the entire civilian population, wearing the same outfit that V wears, flooded the streets and marched in solidarity toward the government building and military checkpoints. Due to V working to remove the leaders of the regime and the individual soldiers not knowing what to do against the united public, the military backed down and allowed the citizens to retake their country.
Mental and Physical Battle
I had never heard of the movie “50/50” before this event and I did not know what to expect. The film ended up being very emotional and tackled the unthinkable circumstances of being given a 50/50 survival rate for cancer. The main character, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, is confronted with how he is going to spend potentially his last few months. This got me thinking as to what I would do if I were given the same diagnosis. I don’t know if I would be able to remain as calm and determined as he did. I do feel, however, that I would probably react the same way to the initial diagnosis as he did in the way that I would be in total disbelief. Similarly to the main character, I also think telling my parents would be difficult. An aspect of the movie that amazed me was how accurately it portraited the responses of his friends and co-workers. They all attempted to sympathize with him and his situation though they were not able to, making things worse. It really showed how isolating receiving a potentially terminal diagnosis can be. However, the main character was able to rely on his best friend, played by Seth Rogan, to keep up his morale while receiving help from a psychologist to discuss his mental state. This movie really illustrated that battling cancer is just as much a mental battle as it is a physical one.
Find A Balance
As someone who loves watching movies, I always jump at the weekly opportunities to watch a new film every Friday night as part of the Rose Scholar event. Up until the event, I had never heard of the movie “Up in the Air”, which caught my interest. While I expected the movie to be entertaining as I often like the work of the star of the movie, George Clooney, I was not prepared for the life lesson that was woven in a the film’s central theme. This lesson was the importance of family connections and relationships, a seemly simple principle that in reality is often overlooked. Clooney’s character, Ryan, is employed for the sole task of firing people with the intent of minimizing legal blowback, requiring him to constantly travel all over the country. As the movie progresses, Ryan slowly realizes the flaw of his lifestyle which is that he cannot maintain a long term relationship with family or friends.
This lesson could be applied to almost everybody’s life, including my own, who prioritize work, school, and other often isolating activates. While these things are important, maintaining bonds and relationships with those close to ourselves is vital aspect of being human. In my own life, I delegate arguably too much time for schoolwork and not cultivating and maintaining critical relationships, leading to feeling isolated. Its important to find a comfortable balance between both aspects of life as the movie suggests.