“If I was indeed going to die, what did I want to say before I go?” After a tragic bike accident, Tom Shadyac, the director of many successful comedies suddenly finds himself on a different side of the movie industry. In I Am, Shadyac asks the audience one of the most complex, controversial questions known to Man: “what’s wrong with our world, and how can we change it?” It’s not a simple question to ask, but Shadyac attempts to answer it by enlightening the audience and changing the perspective of what it means to be human. What are the root causes of poverty and war? In this documentary, you’ll discover the true way humans are designed to live, and the “mental illness” we all suffer from. Shadyac lays it all out on the table, along with the inevitable truth that if humans do not change for the better, we will go extinct. …show more content…
Most people think survival of the fittest is the idea that competition has the main influence of which species survive and evolve and which species die. However, Shadyac states this isn’t what Darwin meant. In his dialogue about it, Shadyac mentions he states competition only twice, but mentions love ninety-five times. Is this what Darwin actually meant? That love is more influential and powerful than competition? It’s not an idea too far-fetched.
Take for example Martin Luther King Junior and his peace walk. One man, who had a passion to unite all people regardless of race, managed to completely change the southern United States by radiating love and positive words. It sounds like love won to me. Instead of telling people of color the same things white people told themselves at the time (that one race was ultimately superior than another), he instead took pity on those who were told their skin gave them an advantage. He invited them with hugs and words of
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
In today’s society, one of the most natural human traits is selfishness. David Foster Wallace incorporated this idea in his commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. Wallace aims to persuade his audience that, “the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” Although the intended audience of his speech is the graduates and staff, along with their friends and family, the piece has become quite popular since its delivery. Wallace offers, “nothing less than the truth” and captivates the listeners with his complete honestly. His personal tone lets the audience feel like they are a part of the conversation, rather than just receiving it. Wallace successfully conveys his message that society is blind to the world around them through the use of logic, humility and emotional appeals.
It is common knowledge that many people on this planet view the way in which our various societies work are much too detached from the issues disrupt our world. Topics like poverty, hunger, and war are all very sensitive subjects that carry a lot of weight and deal with varying levels of emotional baggage and effects on humanity. Because of this, many people prefer to simply pretend that these issues don’t exist, choosing instead to go about their lives as if there is nothing wrong. However, with this way of living, a common complaint that many people have is that humanity is far too ignorant of the plights and trials of the problems that are often kept hidden from the naked eye. In “Central Park,” author Billy Collins mirrors
... middle of paper ... ... Throughout the process of attempting to achieve these goals, the battle for racial equality was continuously lost and left with it a legacy of social sentiment that would manifest itself through several socio-cultural movements in the forthcoming years. Works Cited: Marable, Manning, et al.
In Dr. King’s words: “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”
During the core of the Civil Rights movement, a man named Booker T. Washington came out and made his speech deemed the “Atlanta Compromise”. Washington’s beliefs were that African Americans should work with Caucasians to make peace using jobs and money. Another man, W.E.B Du Bois, evaluated the “Atlanta Compromise” speech. In his speech called the “Niagara Movement”, Du Bois said African Americans could find peace with Caucasians using laws. The “Atlanta Compromise, made by Booker T. Washington, and the “Niagara Movement”, made by W.E.B Du Bois, have completely different perspectives over the subject of racial discrimination and finding trust between races, meanwhile having the same purpose for protest.
The election of Barack Obama to the presidency was a fundamental symbol of unity for all races in America. It highlighted the Americans’ willingness to traverse racial boundaries. In the article, there was a comment by an African American woman who stated, “As an American citizen, I am proud that this country has elected a bi-racial president” showing renewed hope in the issue of racism.” There was also a comment by a white female American citizen who stated, “I was deeply moved by his acceptance speech and I 'm proud of our country for finally getting (at least somewhat) past the race issue” highlighting elation at the thought of having a black president. It is clear that the election of Barack Obama acted as a unifying factor for both the white and the black communities as a whole. The movement tends to be seen as a stride towards the end of
Throughout the year we have covered many social topics and controversies ranging from racism and sexism to leadership and a plethora of other concepts. In society there are many things that are observed whether we are aware or not. Some things constantly addressed in all of our everyday lives and in media, whether through music, tv or movies, is the idea of fitting in and not being vulnerable to society. Another thing that is also widely addressed is the concept of love and who deserves to be in love and who is not “worthy” or “good looking enough for love”. There is also the largest problem in society, which is honesty. Many people think that the truth hurts and try to avoid it while others only know how to be honest. These are all addressed very often in movies and one movie that addresses all three of these things, believe it or not, is Shrek 2.
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a mass mobilization and unification of people from varying backgrounds fighting for equal rights and equal opportunity for Black Americans. Black male leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. preached about equality and challenged people to consider social injustices within society. The leadership qualities and influence of Dr. King are undeniable. His rhetoric united Black America and identified their entitlement to the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Dr. King’s inspiring speech for Black’s to “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, motivated White and Black
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
One of the world’s best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the extent to which his ideals were rooted in African-American religious traditions which were then shaped by his education. The image of a social activist and leader was the result of extensive formal education, strong personal values and licit ethics. This excellence in leadership can be traced to his character which is shaped by his moral values and personality. We look at MLK and these traits to reveal the rationalization of his rise to transracial leadership in our society. Through studying the life and example of Martin Luther King, Jr., we learn that his moral values of integrity, love, truth, fairness, caring, non-violence, achievement and peace were what motivated him. King is not great because he is well known, he is great because he served as the cause of peace and justice for all humans. King is remembered for his humanity, leadership and his love of his fellow man regardless of skin color. This presence of strong moral values developed King’s character which enabled him to become one of the most influential leaders of our time. Integrity is a central value in a leader’s character and it is through integrity that King had vision of the truth. The truth that one day this nation would live up to the creed, "all men are created equal". No man contributed more to the great progress of blacks during the 1950’s and 1960’s than Martin Luther King, Jr. He was brought up believing "one man can make a difference", and this is just what he did. Integrity has a large effect on what we think, say and do, it is through King’s thoughts and actions that enabled so many people to have trust and faith in him. Through King’s integrity he believed that America, the most powerful and richest nation in the world will lead the way to a revolution of values. This revolution will change the way society views itself, shifting from a "thing-orientated" society to a "person-orientated" society. When this occurs, King believed that racism will be capable of being conquered and this nation will be "Free at last." King’s unconditional love for all humans was another value that strongly influenced his character and allowed him to have such excellent leadership ability.
Since the creation of films, their main goal was to appeal to mass audiences. However, once, the viewer looks past the appearance of films, the viewer realizes that the all-important purpose of films is to serve as a bridge connecting countries, cultures, and languages. This is because if you compare any two films that are from a foreign country or spoken in another language, there is the possibility of a connection between the two because of the fact that they have a universal understanding or interpretation. This is true for the French New Wave films Contempt and Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and contemporary Indian films Earth and Water directed by Deepa Mehta. All four films portray an individual’s role in society, using sound and editing.
Words can influence and move a group of people to fight for what they believe in. There have been several influential leaders throughout time. These men and women have changed the shape and direction of our world. Their influence and passion has made it possible for people to fight against injustices. Within this group of leaders there are several different styles and approaches to uniting people and fighting for a cause. Some of these leaders and their styles are ubiquitous, while others only have a few paragraphs in the history books. The civil rights movement in the United States and the civil unrest in Jamaica had two different types of leaders. The first was the civil, peaceful and universally excepted leader. Bob Marley and Martin Luther King Jr. encompassed these qualities. On the other hand, the militant, revolutionary and controversial leaders also played a major role in these movements. Peter Tosh and Malcolm X were the characteristically hostile leaders of each of these movements. Although, all four of these leaders were effective in their own ways, ultimately, it was only the peaceful and socially "accepted" leaders that had a lasting impact and were able to create, what seemed like, permanent change.
“We fight each other for territory; we kill each other over race, pride, and respect. We fight for what is ours. They think they’re winning by jumping me now, but soon they’re all going down, war has been declared.” Abuse, Pain, Violence, Racism and Hate fill the streets of Long Beach, California. Asians, Blacks, Whites and Hispanics filled Wilson High School; these students from different ethnic backgrounds faced gang problems from day to night. This movie contains five messages: people shouldn’t be judgmental because being open-minded allows people to know others, having compassion for a person can help people change their views in life, being a racist can only create hate, having the power of the human will/goodness to benefit humanity will cause a person to succeed at any cost and becoming educated helps bring out the intelligence of people.
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.