Man On Wire

I really liked this documentary! I was automatically drwan in. The film starts out with Philippe Petit who did the unthinkable-- a wire act between the twin towers. I loved watching Petit because of his fun, wild, and refreshing personality. Though he is reckless, his story is fascinating. I enjoyed the interviews with his friends and "team" who helped him achieve his act. Each come from different backgrounds are very interesting to watch. It was really cool to see the old footage of Petit working on his acts and it really shows just how much drive and determination he has. It really felt like I was watching a suspense movie. The director James Marsh creates such uncertainty with the scenes that it feels like a real suspense movie! The scenes were genuine and inspiring and really capture Petit's passion. I found this interview in which he speaks and it is relatively new. It's about his philosophy on life and it's really inspiring to watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqk4-00RRMs

Blog Update

I have updated my blogs! But they aren't in order now :-(

Inconvenient Truth

I learned a lot more about global warming after watching this documentary. For example, it intensifies the strength of natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes, and if it continues, the coastlines will be flooded.

I felt that Al Gore did a good job presenting the shocking proof, and he made his point without bringing politics into it. Instead of focusing on how we have contributed to the rise of CO2, he focuses on what we can do NOW to make a change. Not only did Al Gore propose valid evidence, but he presented it in a way that makes us actually care why global warming is occuring. Near the end of the documentary, I felt overwhelmed but was relieved to learn the different ways we can reverse the damage whether it be big or small

Koyaanisqatsi

Wow. After viewing this breathtaking documentary, I literally felt as if I'd been travelling for an hour! At first, the film concentrates on nature, and as it progresses, it focuses on the effects man has on the world. Everyone experiences and takes something different from this documantary, so it's difficult to try and explain it to others. I definitely think it's a film that you have to experience firsthand rather than hearing about it or reading reviews from others. Despite the wonderful reviews I read, I was still bit skeptical at first considering the documentary has no words, but the score by Philip Glass combined with the footage by Godfrey Reggio is genius. The fact that there's no commentary only adds to the full effect and makes it even more exhilarating!

Inside Job

Honestly, as soon as I started watching this documentary, I just couldn't get myself to pay attention. I felt bombarded with information! About fifteen minutes into it, I started it back up again and tried to focus. I began listening to a few minutes and then pausing to understand what I had just viewed. I found this documentary to be very informative with a vast amount of evidence and interviews to back up each point. Before watching Inside Job, I never really paid attention to why our system collapsed, but I now have a clearer understanding. Since the markets were so unregulated and corrupt, enormous amounts of money were being borrowed without the ability to pay it back. This went on and on until finally the entire system crashed in 2008 which was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. I liked how the interviewers put the interviewees on the spot and did not settle with lies. Inside Job portrays the economic downfall for what it is through bar graphs, actual data, and makes it easier for viewers to truly understand what happened and why. It presents viewers with scientific data and emphasizes the demolition/effects of the financial crisis.

And here I posted an interview from the intelligent and well-spoken Charles Ferguson, the director of Isnide Job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RzzJ-BKM6cU

Paragraph Revision

Here I have the original paragraph for my essay and the edited version. The sentence fluency chart really helped. I used forms of "to be" SO MANY TIMES.

(Original)

The specific selecting of scenes that portray Treadwell as somewhat unstable invokes viewers to question and attempt to understand the complex man he really is. Immediately, viewers are drawn in to the documentary and want to understand the enthusiast. The legacy of Treadwell is without a doubt captivating, and the documentary only adds to the evidence of Timothy's passion. In the documentary, Herzog included audio from Treadwell's parents. They claimed that their son had always been fond of animals and seemed to be an ordinary child until leaving for college. However, Treadwell appears to be quite childlike in his later years when interacting with the animals. It seemed as if he thought the bears could do no wrong and that they would not hurt him. This resulted in a lack of sympathy from some of the interviewees that Herzog chose to put in his film. For example, Sam Egli who was featured in the documentary stated: "My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he lost sight of what was really going on"

(Edited)

The specific selecting of scenes portray Treadwell as somewhat unstable. They invoke viewers to question and percieve the complex man for who he really is. Immediately, viewers are drawn in to the documentary and want to understand the enthusiast. The legacy of Treadwell is without a doubt captivating, and the documentary only adds to the evidence of Timothy's passion. Around (Specific Time), Herzog includes audio from Treadwell's parents. They claimed their son had always been fond of animals and recalled him to be an ordinary child until his departure for college. Treadwell is noticeably childlike during his interaction with wildlife. His constant shift of mood between shooting and interacting indicates an underlying issue. He assumed the bears could do no wrong and emulated them to ensure his safety. This resulted in a lack of sympathy from some of the interviewees that Herzog intentionally questioned for his film. For example, Sam Egli who was featured at (Time) stated: "My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he lost sight of what was really going on"

Devil's Playground

I learned a lot about Amish people from watching The Devil's Playground that I never knew before. When I thought of Amish, I assumed that they didn't use technology since they considered it "evil" but it appears that they don't use technology in an effort to keep the family close, which is interesting. The kids wear traditional Amish clothing, attend church, and help their parents and neighbors. I was shocked to find out that once they turn 16 they are allowed to run free and do whatever they want including smoking, driving, drinking, partying, and drugs. I think that their view on the "English" world is that everyone just does whatever they want whenever they want which is not the case.

One boy, Faron who is the son of a minister gets involved with crystal meth and becomes addicted to it. I was thinking to myself, "Where are his parents? Why aren't they doing anything about his behavior?" It's because during the "Rumspringa" the parents cannot do anything; all the pressure is on the individual teen. I personally think they are given too much freedom during this period, but I liked the fact that the kids were honest about what they have done during Rumspringa. Like other teens, Amish adolescents must decide which path they want to take except they must make a decision to become a member of the church or not. Once they join the church and decide to leave, they become shunned like Velda. While watching I related to Velda the most and was happy that she chose to take control of her own life and enroll in college. It is sad that her family and friends don't talk to her anymore, but she claims that it's just their way of showing they still love her. Both parents and children go through a lot and deal with the similar problems that non-Amish do. After hearing some of the teens on the documentary say that they can't imagine living an Amish life forever, I was surprised to find out about 80 to 90 percent of teens return back to the Church after their period of Rumspringa to settle down. You can read more here>>> http://www.theocentric.com/personal/reading/rumspringa.html

Posted 29th January by Zeinia Khan

Jesus Camp

After watching Jesus Camp, I felt conflicted and somewhat apprehensive. It is apparent that Becky, the minister, is brainwashing the kids. She claims that they are the warriors of God and need to start training just as the Muslim kids do. The scene where the kids were dancing in army paint was scary enough but the fact that the adults were watching and supporting added to the chill factor. I felt that the camp did more harm than good for the kids. They were persuaded to repent for all their sins as Becky drove fear into them. In scenes where the kids spoke by themselves, they state that they must fight for God and separate themselves from everyone else. Becky tried to hide the fact that they were being manipulated through her speeches about sin and the deathly consequences. I was relieved to hear the rational arguement against her religious war from the radio show host who was Christian himself. This documentary was very thought provoking, so I attached a video of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady briefly discussing their documentary.