Film Analysis: Half The Sky

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In the film Half the Sky, various filmic elements and cinematic techniques are used to portray the theme women’s oppression, including narratives by the celebrities, the use of close-ups when interviewing the girls in foreign countries, as well as the use of sorrowful background music. In my opinion, overall these filmic elements are not effective to strengthen the film’s message.

First of all, one of the filmic elements in the film is interviewing celebrities and also having them narrate the film. In the beginning of the film, celebrities such as Hilary Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, Mary Robinson, the president of Ireland are interviewed. I think this part is effective because they are professionals who have background knowledge to the oppression of women, especially Mary Robinson, who used to be the …show more content…

Hence, their interviews could help audiences better understand the issue, and also elevate the seriousness of the issue of women’s oppression in foreign countries, which could raise the audience’s awareness towards the issue. However, the use of celebrities to narrate the film is ineffective in delivering the main message of the film. In the film, famous actresses or models like Eva Mendes play the role of narratives of the film and there are long parts in the film where the actresses are asked about their feelings towards the oppression. However, The actresses lacked background knowledge of the oppression in the countries. After seeing and hearing the stories from the girls, the actresses are shocked and they even shed tears. This may shift the audience’s focus from the girls who are oppressed to the actresses who sympathize with the girls. Besides, having the actresses narrate the film makes the film subjective as their personal feelings are

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