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| 329:question:329--week_1_questions_comments-2018 [2018/08/30 16:41] – [Reel History, Introduction] 76.78.225.157 | 329:question:329--week_1_questions_comments-2018 [2018/08/30 19:57] (current) – [Introduction: Why Movies Matter] kmoore6 |
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| On page 11 the author used a quote by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre that stuck out to me, "Understand, don't judge". In the film media making sure that us as historians we do not just steam roll over why these films are not accurate or how offensive they really are, but to understand the time in which they were created. Understanding that primary source is very important in the analyzation of the film and helps us as historians create not a factual history but a supposed history. Davis talks about this also on page 11, that these films are not meant to be a supposed history of fact but rather a way to simulate how characters would live in history. The simulation of history Davis argues is similar to the poetry of the ancient greeks, in that the poets of their time would situate historical figures but with additions of intrigue that would keep an audience in a performance. Looking at the films as a supposed world for the historical figures for the time can be problematic if the director is not that communicative in the validity of the historical aspects of the film and what type of story is being told. Just like in the poetry there is a lens that is being shown through the film and that specifies feelings or rationale that is not there in the historical context. Yet this lens from the director does show the reasoning of the director and the goal of the director. -Jack Hagn | On page 11 the author used a quote by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre that stuck out to me, "Understand, don't judge". In the film media making sure that us as historians we do not just steam roll over why these films are not accurate or how offensive they really are, but to understand the time in which they were created. Understanding that primary source is very important in the analyzation of the film and helps us as historians create not a factual history but a supposed history. Davis talks about this also on page 11, that these films are not meant to be a supposed history of fact but rather a way to simulate how characters would live in history. The simulation of history Davis argues is similar to the poetry of the ancient greeks, in that the poets of their time would situate historical figures but with additions of intrigue that would keep an audience in a performance. Looking at the films as a supposed world for the historical figures for the time can be problematic if the director is not that communicative in the validity of the historical aspects of the film and what type of story is being told. Just like in the poetry there is a lens that is being shown through the film and that specifies feelings or rationale that is not there in the historical context. Yet this lens from the director does show the reasoning of the director and the goal of the director. -Jack Hagn |
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| | In “Slaves on Screen” the author makes the point that a film can be limited to the lense that the director chooses to portray the information, as historians most of the time try to portray the information as accurately as they possibly can. The lens in which the director portrays history can also reveal what the perspective at the time was on the historical subject. With that perspective becoming its own historical document that can be studied by historians. Comparing recent movies with movies in the past can be jarring because of how apparent the difference of racial attitudes was not that long ago. -Kyle Moore |
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| ===== Introduction: Why Movies Matter ===== | ===== Introduction: Why Movies Matter ===== |
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| I believe that just like the way that some books are a reflection of the times and tend to give a message that projects the views and thoughts of the author, movies do the same thing. Often, patrons will view a movie and subtly be influenced by something in the movie that directly relates to the time period. For instance, to go off of Straight Outta Compton again, (I do not know why I keep thinking about this movie), writers made sure to include instances of police brutality that happened to N.W.A. and so many other members of the African American community. For many, including me, the inclusion of these scenes were not really nostalgic, but instead familiar. It is gross to watch a film that takes place in the past and see the almost identical events happen on the news in the present day. -Lake Wiley | I believe that just like the way that some books are a reflection of the times and tend to give a message that projects the views and thoughts of the author, movies do the same thing. Often, patrons will view a movie and subtly be influenced by something in the movie that directly relates to the time period. For instance, to go off of Straight Outta Compton again, (I do not know why I keep thinking about this movie), writers made sure to include instances of police brutality that happened to N.W.A. and so many other members of the African American community. For many, including me, the inclusion of these scenes were not really nostalgic, but instead familiar. It is gross to watch a film that takes place in the past and see the almost identical events happen on the news in the present day. -Lake Wiley |
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| | It is interesting to look back at films and pick up on just how much they influence trends in consumerism and social climate. It would not have been the first thing I looked to in regards to a movie's impact on its audience; and in hindsight, that should have been something I picked up on rather quickly. I am fully aware that product placement exists in almost all movies. I can't even begin to count the amount of times I've seen Pepsi cans or Starbucks logos thrown into places where they blend in enough to look natural, but are just annoyingly obvious enough that you know it's a corporate move. But what this reading shows is that it is more than just simple product placement. As the readings state, movies can impact trends in food as well as clothing; movies can teach us how to think about gender and race and what should and shouldn't be justified in confronting social issues. Branching off of that, movies can even influence political stances; not just our opinions on politics, but they can act as eye-openers to political events happening in real-time that we wouldn't have known otherwise unless someone told it to us. -Robert Dallas |
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| | In “Why Movies Matter” the author brings up how culturally ingrained movies have become with American culture to a point where it shapes culture in the future. This is apparent for movies that become very popular shape American discussion from social media to national politics. With that film has a lot of power in steering public opinion when it catches a hold of the interest of the people. Recently the Marvel movies have had national influence to a point where they are continuously discussed months after people have seen it.- Kyle Moore |
| ===== Hollywood's America ===== | ===== Hollywood's America ===== |
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