The Love Sacrifices Make Life Beautiful.
In 1998, Roberto Benigni’s film “Life is Beautiful” was released; the film set records as one of the most successful foreign films. The movie received seven Oscar nominations and which won three including best actor for Roberto Benigni. Critics describe the film as a soul touching masterpiece, and genius film. The films can be divided in two parts; the first part tells the love story of Guido a carefree Jew waiter and bookkeeper, and Dora a rich non-Jew school teacher. The second part of the film is about the holocaust using comedy and satire; getting mixed reviews for this reason accusing the film of lack of realism and connection to historical events. Benigni’s idea of using comedy and satire to cover the horrors of the holocaust contrast with the characters making sacrifices in the name of love.
Throughout the film the main characters had to make sacrifices in the name of love and happiness, the first character that sacrifices for love is Dora; Guido’s wife. When Guido and his son Joshua are taken to the concentration camp, Dora voluntary decides to go to the concentration camp so she can be closer to her family even though she is not a Jew. Since Dora and Guido first met they fell in love instantly; she loves Guido because he always surprises her and he always calls her “Principessa.” Guido is joyful and optimist always salutes her with a “Buongiorno Principessa.” Dora abandons her fiancé and marries Guido. Dora changes her lifestyle to be with Guido, going against her mom will. They live together happily, until the day of Joshua’s birthday Guido, his uncle Eliseo and Joshua are taken by the Nazis in concentration camp. Dora goes to the train station insists she be taken too; Guido...
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...act of pure resistance.
If “Life is Beautiful” was a Holocaust film it would not have the same reaction that it had when first released setting records and winning multiple awards. If realism and all historical events had taken place in the movie it will have made people remember the holocaust horrors; and with Roberto Benigni storyline the film became a fable about optimism, romance, hope and positivism. Leaving a lesson about what parents are capable for his sons as Joshua says at the end of the film “This is my story. This is the sacrifice my father made. This was his gift to me.” The portrayal of the characters in the film surpasses the screen; clowns can do anything even soft the Holocaust that was without doubt the worst crime ever committed; what will Guido had done with cry and scream “silence is the most powerful cry” and a smile is the most precious gift.
The Holocaust was one of the most devastating events to happen to us a world. On an ordinary day 1,000 people would be plucked from their everyday lives in ghettos. Over 30,000 Jewish people were arrested on Kristallnacht and taken to concentration camps. According to one source, “Over eleven million people were killed and about six million of them happened to be Jews” (“11 Facts”). Producing movies based around the Holocaust is a very controversial topic. There is the ever prominent argument on wheatear or not Holocaust based films can help us understand the different aspects of its reality.
Lee Daniel’s Precious is a movie centered around Precious Jones, a 16-year-old overweight black girl living in Harlem, New York. The movie begins when she is in public school pregnant with her second child by her father. Because Precious is pregnant, the principle recommends an alternative school for her. At home, Precious is a servant to her mother, Mary, who is physically, emotionally, verbally, and sexually abusing her. Mary constantly tells Precious that she is not good enough and that no one will ever want her. At times of distress, Precious tends to dissociate and fantasize about another life where she is a blonde white girl. She wants to be famous and loved by all. Precious arrives at the alternative school hardly knowing how to read or write. She gets placed in a class of girls with a dedicated teacher, Ms. Rain. Ms. Rain asks each student to write in a journal every day, and she will write back to their letters. This is the first time in the movie when Precious feels very
In the film, Guido is a Christ figure to his son. During their imprisonment in the concentration camp, Guido explains things to his son in a way that shelters his son from the reality of what is happening. Guido loves his son and he protects his son from being hurt, even if doing so involved breaking rules and getting in trouble himself. In such a way did Jesus Christ love his followers. Jesus suffered to protect His people. Jesus loved his followers and was not selfish toward them. He always did what was right for the well being of His people, even when it was considered wrong or unla...
But through all of these images of the horror and sadness of the time period, hopes are constantly raised by the humor, and personality of Guido and the magic his character brings to the story. Riding into a hotel ballroom on a green horse, and riding away with his princess—stealing her away from her fiancé, much like the old stories from the past. In the film, the concentration camp is a playground for a young child. And in the same town that Mussolini was driving through, Guido first meets his princess.
?Life Is Beautiful? gives the audience a vivid look into what happened during the Holocaust. Roberto Benigni plays a very upbeat, carefree bookstore owner. His wife, who is not Jewish, and his son are forced into a concentration camp. They are deported on a train with many other Jews. From the point the get to the camp, Benigni shows the audience what it was like for the Jews. During selection, his wife is separated from him and his son, along with his uncle. The movie shows the Jews working where there are hot furnaces having to haul around heavy objects all day. It also shows the German?s being cruel in a verbal way to the Jews. At one point in the movie, Benigni returns late to his bunk where his son is waiting. Another man in the bunk informs Benigni that everyone was nervous he would not return. This shows the fear that the Jews had to live with every day while they were contained in the concentration camps. This would be good ...
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The Bad and The Beautiful (1952) and State and Main (2000) are films within films that unmask Hollywood Cinema as a dream factory and expose the grotesque, veneer hidden by the luxury of stars. The Bad and the Beautiful, directed by Vincent Minnelli, is a black and white film narrated in flashback form. The films theatrical nature requires more close-ups than wide-screen shots to capture the character’s psychological turmoil. For example, Fred and Jonathan’s car ride is captured in a close-up to signify their friendship; however their relationship deteriorates after Jonathan’s deceit. While the camera zooms out, Fred stands alone motionless. Here, Fred is captured from a distance at eye-level and he becomes ostracized by the film industry and
“Good Night, and Good Luck” is a 2005 American drama film about how United States (US) was plagued by the threat of communism, creating a tense atmosphere within US in the early 1950s. Fear of communism was inevitable and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin exploited those fears. CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred W. Friendly challenged McCarthy and aimed to expose him of his agendas. Although their actions brought about many consequences, the two men persevered in their stance and eventually brought down McCarthy successfully.
People that survived the Holocaust made it their mission to spread the word about their lives and what they witnessed during that time.Because the Holocaust was so widely known and televised, many people made movies, books and other tributes about the holocaust, which also made it more widely known. Many people would debate about the way it was televised being inappropriate. But at the end of the day the main point of the Holocaust came across to the public.Which was that Hitler try to turn the world against people’s ethnicities at which he did not like.
This film goes back and forth between what is reality and what is fantasy. To the people watching the film it becomes difficult to decipher what is really reality and what is fantasy. If you watch the film closely some say that Guido touches his nose when he switches from reality to fantasy while others have no idea what the difference...
In 1971 on June 17, President Richard Nixon delivered a special message to the Congress on drug abuse prevention and control. During the presentation, Nixon made it clear that the United States was at war with this idea of drug abuse. What baffled Americans then, and still baffles Americans today, is that we are at war with our own nation with drugs; it is not some foreign affair like the media tends to focus on with Mexico. Nixon stated that at the time of his speech, what was implemented to control drug abuse was not working…“The problem has assumed the dimensions of a national emergency. I intend to take every step necessary to deal with this emergency, including asking the Congress for an amendment to my 1972 budget to provide an additional $155 million to carry out these steps. This will provide a total of $371 million for programs to control drug abuse in America.”(Wolleey and Peters) Since the publicizing of the term “War on Drugs” in 1971, it has been used by many political candidates in elections over the years. In the movie, it was stated, “ every war begins with propaganda …[and] the war on drugs has never been actually on drugs… [Additionally] drug laws are shaped less by scientific facts, but more by political [reasoning].” (Jarecki) The movie, The House I Live In, directly relates to certain themes and terminology that were discussed in Martin and Nakayama’s Intercultural Communication in Contexts book, that have been used in class. Through the analyzing and comparing of The House I Live In and Intercultural Communication in Contexts an individual can begin to localize the ideals behind this everlasting war on drugs; some ideals focus on terms from the text like ethnocentrism, diversity training, and culture while ...
Happy is a documentary that brings to light the different types of livings of people around the world and contrasts how they define happiness. The movie starts out in Kolkata Slum, India, with a man Manoj Singh. Manoj is living a relatively impoverished life. His house isn’t the best, in fact the roof is just a tarp however he says “my home is good.” Manoj is quite happy with his life and it’s not because of his minimal possessions but the community around him. His happiness lies in the fact that he can see his son smiling every day and he is so grateful for his neighbors and friends. He even states himself that he doesn’t consider himself as “poor but the richest person.” Manoj’s happiness is described as the same as the average American.
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There are Holocaust films that are unexpectedly much cheerier than most Holocaust films. There is a never ending comedic feel in Life Is Beautiful that the main character offers with his entertaining and spontaneous personality. His creativity helped keep the story light when it was in reality a grueling subject. The success of Benigni's Life Is Beautiful seemed to mark the beginning of a new trend: holocaust comedies. The comedic aspect of Life is Beautiful brought out a different perspective of the holocaust that could make interpreting the holocaust in a less biased form. It was followed by Jacob the Liar with Robin Williams, the remake of the old GDR Cinema classic about the owner of a small shop in the ghetto who pretends to have a hidden radio-receiver and regularly tells his terrified fellows uplifting news about approaching German defeat that he allegedly learned from the radio. Throughout segments of the film, humor is carefully interwoven into dialogue and scenes to lighten the dark backdrop that the Holocaust stages for the film viewers, similar to the film Life is Beautiful. By using an actor widely known for his talent for humor, it is success to portray a less somber view of Holocaust events than what are typically documented. In the context of a storyline that focuses upon imparting how a ray of hope in darkness can make all the difference in the lives of those for whom the ray shines on, the use of humor would certainly work. Significantly, both films are centralized on a lie that allows the vulnerable Jews to survive the ordeal. Holocaust comedies are able to create a sense of balance in emotions that help the viewing audience see how laughter in a grave matter can benefit their understanding of the subject.
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