Catfish

Catfish

This film was especially applicable to our generation.  It's about a guy who starts a relationship online through Facebook and it escalates into an obsession.  The relationship exists purely online and over the phone for over 9 months.  The style of filming is mostly hand-held and so the viewers can feel like they are right there with the characters.  It also tells the story chronologically and so the viewer knows just as much as the characters of the film do at the time.  In the end, the guy discovers that the woman with whom he was having a relationship online was a complete fake and had created a completely false identity for this relationship. 

The director managed to make me care because the whole I had the suspicion that the girl wasn't completely honest with him because if that was so then there wouldn't be much of a story for a film.  Even with this suspicion, I was hoping that I was going to be wrong because I didn't want this to happen to the guy.  The reason that I cared for this guy is because I have some friends that have gone through a very similar experience with online dating as I'm sure most people of this generation know someone that has gone through something similar.  

I think the point of the film is to show the experience of online dating as it develops from the beginning and the risks that are involved with it. I feel that this goal was achieved because it made me personally feel that online dating is rarely a smart option.

Forks Over Knives

Forks Over Knives

This was a very powerful documentary.  I learned a great deal about the controversy of which foods are truly healthy for you and which foods aren't healthy for you even though you may think they are.  What surprised me most from the film was learning that many food companies that say on the box of their product that it's healthy and important for your daily diet are twisting their words and deceiving many people.  I felt that the director of the film was ethical and effective in sharing this message because it wasn't biased.  There were significant inputs from both professionals that believe meat and dairy is bad and professionals that believe the opposite.  The usage of simple animated statistics and graphs also made it not confusing and easy to understand the message of the film. 

The director managed me to make me care but since the whole film was filled with shots of food it also made me hungry and I may have eaten multiple snacks during the coarse of the movie.  Regardless of my poor eating habits I felt bad about eating what I did and I feel motivated to improve my diet but I wouldn't say I'm going to drastically change what I eat because of the film.  

The tools that the director used to present the message of the film were testimonials from individuals that experienced both the good and bad, interviews with doctors and professionals, animated graphs and statistics and also the director himself went through the process of changing his diet to gain a personal experience with the message of the film.  The fact that the director was willing to undergo a dramatic lifestyle change for the making of the film gained my respect and helped convince me of the truthfulness of the message of the film.

The Thin Blue Line

The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris)

I am so glad I watched The Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris. I had always heard about this film in my classes and now I can understand why so much is said about it because it was extremely well done. I think almost every filmmaker makes films because they want to make a difference no matter if it's a small difference or a big difference. This goal is true in all types of films fiction or non-fiction. The Thin Blue Line is a prime example of a film that made a difference. The film uncovered new evidence on the case of a man that was on death row and because of the new evidence the man was released from death row and prison.

I would say that the director was very effective in his storytelling approach because of the difference his film made in that mans life. It was also exciting to watch because even though I knew the ending of the film I still felt the suspense because of the way the information was gradually revealed throughout the film. The complicated story made it a little hard to follow but it all came together by the end. The reenactments of the film were very helpful to visually see what happened make it easier to understand. I really liked how with the interviews we spent time with some of the people even after they finished speaking and we just watched them in silence. This allowed the viewer to get to know the characters on a deeper level. I highly recommend this film because its a perfect example to show how much power and affect a film can have.

Fireside

Fireside Reflection Statement:
This was definitely one of my favorite things we have done all semester. I gained so much from it that I don't even know where to begin. I was blown away with the amazing stories that were told and all of the hardships that everyone has overcome. It made me feel like my trials that I've gone through were very minuscule to what everyone else has overcome. Their stories were very inspirational to me and I have learned a lot from their examples.

My favorite part of the night was Scott's turn. I loved his telling of the story of being a member of a different faith at BYU. He said he appreciated many people's attempt to share their beliefs with him and he knows their intentions were charitable, but many times it saddens him that so many people are eager to change him. I had never thought of it that way but now I will never forget that perspective and so I am really grateful for Scott sharing this experience at the fireside.

The story I told was one I have told many times but it actually has been a while since I told it last. It was very good to reflect on that personal story again and remember how much of a difference it made in my life. From this fireside I have learned that it is very important to reflect on past experiences every so often so that we can learn from our past experiences and make sure we don't make the same mistakes over again when we should have learned from our past.

Concerned Citizen

Artist Statement:

Initially, when we began this assignment, we wanted to highlight the work that Josh W. and his roommate were doing to help a Hispanic family in the area.  Each week, they go and visit this family, specifically to help the kids out with their homework.  In doing so, they've gotten to know this family and the struggles they undergo as a hispanic family in a predominantly English speaking place.  However, as we talked about this, we realized that the family themselves had the more interesting story.  Here is a small family, living in a to them foreign land, learning a new language, and trying to fit in with their new community.  So we asked them if it would be alright if we came over and asked them some questions about their life.  We know that they are undergoing some current struggles, and thought that it would be good to highlight this subset of the community of which many are unaware.  

They were very welcoming, and the kids enjoyed having some extra motivation to goof around.  When we asked Manuel, the father, about his experiences in coming to the United States, about leaving his family, and other struggles he has had, we ended up getting a lot less "drama" than we expected, or perhaps hoped for.  Though he had had some difficulties, his journey, as well as that of his family, had been relatively smooth.  Manuel is an exemplary person and a hard worker.  In fact, he some advice to those who wish to enter the United States, or those who are struggling to fit in.  One of his biggest tips was to work hard, and follow the law.  He even stated that the law was there for everyone's own good.  

This was a good experience for us.  Instead of highlighting or finding some problem within society, we were able to uncover these hidden gems, a wonderful family that flourishes despite some difficulties.  There are several things going on that they didn't discuss in the video that we know are difficult trials for them, yet it seems that they have maintained a positive attitude, another great help for getting through difficulties.  

These sort of exercises are great for expanding our awareness.  It's a responsibility we have as adults and members of our community to be aware of these things, and learning more about communities, or subsets within our own community that we're unfamiliar with, help us to be better citizens ourselves, and increase our understanding of others.

Protest Poster

Artist Statement:

                I'll be honest, before this project the most research I had done on the election was watching the hilarious "Bad Lip-Reading" of the debate on Youtube. So it was a good thing that I was given this assignment so I would have to do more research on the matter. As I did I saw that the number one issue seemed to be how to fix our decaying economy and inside that how to create more jobs for everyone in the US. I saw that it was addressed by both candidates very heavily and they both agreed that something needed to be done but no solid or specific plan of action was presented to us. 

                My own understanding of the Issue has grown because through my research I learned of a few of the not so solid plans that were given as possibilities to create new jobs. Romney wants to lower the wages and benefits of government workers and he says that by doing so we can save 47 billion dollars. Then by doing this the money saved can be used to create new jobs. However one problem with this is that the Electoral College is going to basically be accepting a pay cut if they vote for Romney. Obama wants to search for oil and other energy resources here in America and that will create lots of jobs. I guess it will, but are they really going to find anything? I feel like if there was it would have been found by now.

                 I chose to represent this issue in this way because it addresses the problem in a simple and easy to understand way and it delivers all that I wanted to share. The main thing I wanted to share is that this question isn't a Yes or No question and somehow Romney and Obama missed that part. As I shared this on Facebook I didn't get too much feedback, just some likes. The reason I think I didn't get much feedback is because I was attacking both the democrats and the republicans and so no one felt strongly to stand up because both are in the wrong on this one. 

Webspinna

This is what it was supposed to sound like...

Artist Statement:
           I really enjoyed the web searching I did for this project because I found sites that not only worked for this project but they were sites that I plan on using in the future for various kinds of projects. I first searched for flash player interactive instruments where I could play the notes of an instrument with the mouse or keyboard. I was able to find a good amount of them however most of the instruments were difficult to play a melody on. The one interactive instrument that I ended up using was a drum set. The next sound bytes I searched for was repeating loops. I was happy to find a website called "http://looplabs.com"looplabs.com. Here you can choose between genres of music and then there is hundred of different riff loops of many different types of music. It then lets you drag your selection of riffs/loops into a timeline and you can decide when the different instruments come in and out. Next I searched for some ambient sounds that I could use. Of the various ambient sounds, the one I used at the beginning and end of my portion was an assemblage of sounds that were heaven-like. The last sounds I found to finish the piece were some quotes from Steve Jobs' keynote presentation of the first iPhone.

           I was really disappointed with my performance because it did not go anywhere near to what I had planned. All the links worked but for some odd reason the looplabs site didn't have the loops that I found when I practiced it on my home computer. The heaven sounds and the Steve Jobs keynote were about the only parts I could get to work and I didn't wan't to go over my time limit so I sadly had to give up my attempts to get it all to work and let the show go on to the next person. It was definitely a bummer to not be able to show everyone what I really wanted to, but it was a good lesson to be learned on the difficulties of performing live.

           I really enjoyed the whole night with all of the sounds and food. The party was centered on pleasing two of senses, tasting and hearing, and I feel that both of those senses left very happy. This experience was different from recording a song in a studio for a couple reasons. First it was live so there were no different takes or cuts. Also you would have no idea what the student before you was going to leave playing so there was a chance that your song wasn't going to transition well with it. This project was different from most of the narrative driven media that were accustomed to because the story is up for your own interpretation. As we listened to the music I think we all naturally as filmmakers pictured what footage we would shoot for each part of these songs, but all of us are picturing maybe completely different things with different meanings. That's what great about it all.