"Baraka" exemplifies everything Emile Durkheim referred to as sociological functionalism. This is the perspective that various parts of a society or social system affect other parts within that system, and how they function in the overall continuity of that system. Durkheim showed that all the aspects of human society work together much like the parts of a machine. The concept of social solidarity - ties that bind people to one another and to society as a whole- play a major role in the lives of humans. This film reflects these ideas. "Baraka" showed the beauty and destruction of nature and humans. Its key was to show urban life and technology compared to the environment. The film made the viewer compare the things found in nature against those things that humans have created. Traditional society is shown as being calm and peaceful through the images of natural landscapes: waterfalls, forests, and volcanoes. The birds flocking together and the indigenous people performing rituals/dances represent unison and solidarity. The film moves to a change in scenery- it goes from the beautiful natural world to sawing down a tree, commercial passenger aircrafts, images of poverty, demolition, explosions, traffic formations, rush hour workers, machinery, etc.. The film went from traditional society- ties of a strong, binding community to a modern society- a mass of individuals with limited solidarity. "Baraka" can be translated as an "essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." This can be directly linked to Durkheim's idea that society is a life form (a social science), an organism, a living thing. Durkheim was greatly influenced by the theory of evolution. He says social life has evolved from simple (traditional) to com... ... middle of paper ... ...d to find meaning so they are not just a “cog.” Individuals need to find a closer integration among the division of labor. Durkheim said they needed an instrumental meaning- not doing it because its valuable and meaningful, but as a means to reach a goal (means-end). Do the job for itself, because it has value to you, or just because you want to. The film portrayed everything Emile Durkheim was referring to in his writings. “Baraka” showed us exactly what is in the natural world – the mountains, waterfalls, volcanoes, peaceful life. It also showed the rapid, high pace, urban specialized world. The natural world exemplified social solidarity while the industrialized world proved dehumanization and anomie. People were disconnected and missing something in their lives. Traditional society had strong moral order where everyone shared the same set of norms.
The movie, “The Perfect Dictatorship” (“La Dictadura Perfecta”), directed and produced by Luis Estrada and released in 2014, is a political, satirical comedy story of two reporters attempting to repair the image of a corrupt governor after he signs a deal with the boss of their television company, Television Mexicana. That’s one way we could describe the plot of the movie. Another would be that the movie depicts the inherent corruption of the Mexican government and the lengths to which they will go to retain (or regain) their reputation. Equally, we could see the movie as a demonstration of the corruption of the Mexican media and the ways in which the media influences and effects politics. In fact, the
How accurate do you think the film is in portraying the ancient Spartans and their peculiar society and culture? Based on the reading on the ancient writing in the Plutarch on Sparta book and reviewing the 300 film, I don’t believe the film is very precise in portraying the Spartans and their peculiar society and culture. Growing up in Sparta was very harsh given its corresponding customs. However, this does not go to stay that the movie had absolutely nothing in common with the information presented in the readings. On the other hand, there were numerous aspects brought up in the readings that were absent in the movie. For instance one thing was during the discussion of the examination of newborn males. It was mentioned “that is why women
J. Edgar, a 2011 film staring Leonardo DiCaprio, is biographical drama that is, obviously, about J. Edgar Hoover. It was written by Dustin Lance Black, a LGBT rights activist as well as a gay man himself. It focuses on both the public political life and the private life of J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The film jumps around in time, as the main premise is that J. Edgar is retelling the story of the FBI to a writer so that the public can know the truth.
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
Saw is a American horror film directed by James Wan. The film is about a killer who calls himself the Jigsaw. He kills and/or “teaches” his victims to respect life. He watches his victims and then abducts them when learning their problems in life.
...of the world, they will act like lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now." (Quinn, 85) Here Ishmael argues that civilization believes that in order to make the world a better place, one has to conquer it. When a natural disaster happens it is viewed as an attack by nature, as it disrupts the sense of control that mankind has over the planet. When leaver’s view these events are as unfortunate incidents that they need to adapt to in order to survive. What Baraka does for Ishmael is provide real life examples of the taker’s habits of expansion and dominance and the leaver’s desire to live a simple side by side with nature. Thank you for time and I hope you have a great day.
Crash showed many different elements of the Emile Durkheim theory where norms were used and the characters were confused, unclear or not present. Durkheim's Anomie describes that these Individuals cannot find their place in society without clear rules to guide them. Changing conditions as well as adjustment of life leads to dissatisfaction, conflict, and deviance. He observed that social periods of disruption brought higher rates of crime, suicide, and deviance. Another theory that was shown through the movie was Karl Marx theory called Marxism. Every character showed the different social classe...
...e is different inequality socially and politically. The inequality is determined by people’s ideals of what they were taught and society projects as the superior and inferior races. This film shows that there is a way to change that if you make the other side see how they affect the people they are discriminating against. It is the responsibility of the adults to stop these learned behaviors and teach the children that people are all equal, that is what needs to be instilled in the generations to come otherwise everything will stay the same. We have come a long way as a people but we still have a long way that we need to go. Nothing will ever be perfect but it should always get better. The lesson that is learned from this workshop is lessons that should be taught in every classroom all over the world maybe then we will see that we are no different from each other.
‘Society makes and remakes people, but society is also made and remade by the multiple connections and disconnections between people, and between people, places and things’ (Havard, 2014, p.67).
I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.
One of the major sociological perspectives is Functionalism. Functionalism is centered around the work of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Robert Merton. Functionalism is described as a system of connected parts that are designed to achieve
Dear Zachary is a heart-wrenching documentary made by filmmaker Kurt Kuenne. Originally intended as a tribute for the deceased Andrew Bagby’s unborn son, Zachary, the purpose changes drastically when Shirley Turner, Andrew’s ex-girlfriend and killer (and Zachary’s mother), kills Zachary in a tragic murder-suicide. Believing that Shirley Turner should never have had custody of Zachary and that poorly made bail laws led to Zachary’s death, Kuenne alters his documentary to have a more argumentative message. Kurt Kuenne’s argument in his documentary Dear Zachary is that bail laws for those charged with a serious crime need to be reformed in order to protect people – especially any children – who may fall under the custody of the accused criminal.
Baraka is a non-linear environmental documentary released in 1992 and directed by Ron Fricke. The film is full of sweeping shots of breathtaking landscapes, intimate scenes of individuals in their environment, and time-lapse sequences of both natural and man-made structures. Without dialogue or a linear structure, the film successfully uses visual context to tell several stories that weave into the film’s overarching theme. First, Baraka tells the story of the importance of ritual and religion in the human experience, with a focus on indigenous cultures. Then, the narrative shifts focus and Baraka tells a new story, one about human modernization and the consequences of modern society. Finally, the film makes apparent its overarching theme:
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which conveys the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies?
One of the most debated topics in recent history questions if Casablanca is the best film of all time. The film was originally released in New York in late 1942, and then nationally in early 1943. Given the time period and the plot, many found this film to be controversial, yet informative, as the movie follows the story of a group of refugees during World War II. With any discussion, criteria must be set to determine this answer. In this particular review, I will discuss why I believe Casablanca is the greatest film of all time and why. Specifically, I will be comparing the following factors; Plot, music, and casting.