The filmmaker uses dramatic filmmaking techniques when making the documentary wasteland, following memorable characters as they transform through the journeys that grant access inside closed worlds.Vik Muniz outlines the real life journey represented in the documentary the wasteland, demonstrating how art transforms the artist. As he interviews the the pickers allowing the viewers to look beyond the art and how the film explores society downgrades and the purpose and power of art. Wasteland which is a documentary based around the lives of garbage pickers created by Muniz as he intended to inform people on the harsh reality of the landfill. Throughout history, society has tried to understand why some people are dealt a fairer set of cards,
“Waste Land” and “Emmanuel’s Gift”, After watching these films, I have been thinking about the happiness to be found by work that is honest and valuable. I also thought about how hard some people are prepared to work, and how inspiring it is to see the individuals in these films find ideas to demonstrate the power of art and media to bring curiosity and cultural awareness in the poorest, most underprivileged people. “Waste Land” follows an artist Vik Muniz as he works on his art project in Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs catadors or garbage pickers as they pick recyclable materials from the garbage. And upon meeting the characters at the landfill, Vik decides to turn the project into collaboration with the catadors. In the end, this collaboration reveals both dignity and despair in the lives of the catadors. “Emmanuel’s Gift”, is about Emmanuel Ofosu, a man born in Ghana with a deformed right leg, he bikes around the country to help raise awareness and build relationships in a culture that ridicules those with disabilities.
This film captures this class distinction without subduing the atmosphere through the use of a variety of cinematic devices. “A good film is not a bag of cinematic devices but the embodiment, through devices, of a vision, an underlying theme” (Barnett, 274). The audience can see this theme of the realities of the oppression, poverty and despair of this time period through the use of the things mentioned, but also through the character development that is driven by the character’s hopelessness. Each of the characters associated with the lower class is motivated by the conditions, which are viewed through the cinematic devices mentioned above: color, spherical lenses, long shots, and high angle shots. Sources Cited:.
Drugs and gang affiliation influence the youth in the communities with resources to escape for better things being so limited. This film shows issues that coincide with the class as well, we have pushed the indigenous people off of their lands and limited them so much that this is the life that they are forced to live. Environmental issues with these problems include drugs going into the water streams and waste, old furniture being disposed of by burning it. The conditions of life for the people living on this reservation is very bleak and the director does an astonishing job at showing
Throughout the film, the filmmaker follows the three victims around in their everyday lives by using somber music and backgrounds of depressing colors. The documentary starts off with colorful images of the scenery
Outer islands have dumpsters that are used for trash generated by workers. Most outer island work is occasional and involves few individuals; therefore waste generation is minimal. Dumpsters from Illeginni, Legan and Carlos are replaced at least quarterly, and more frequently if barge transportation is available. Wastes are shipped to the Kwajalein Solid Waste Management Yard for segregation, incineration, and/or landfilling as needed. Dumpsters from Gagan are transported to Roi-Namur for disposal. When special projects take place on these or other outer islands, additional dumpsters and waste receptacles are delivered and used as needed. Wastes from construction projects are removed from the islands at the conclusion of the projects or during the project as needed. No wastes are disposed on these islands with the exception of green wastes which are left to decompose naturally.
Located just outside Rio de Janeiro, Jardim Gramacho, Brazil, is the world’s largest garbage landfill. Waste Land is an academy award winning documentary about a modern artist, Vik Muniz, who journeys from his home base in Brooklyn, New York, to his native Brazil, where he visits the landfill. There he photographs four catadores-pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to paint portraits of the catadores using garbage, auction off the portraits, and give the money to the catadores, as his way of giving back to the community. However, his collaboration with these inspiring pickers as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both dignity and despair as the pickers begin to re-imagine their lives.
In effect all the techniques mentioned above portray a society of individuals who are weary of the world they live in. They are rejects who lead a pitiful existence in a wasteland called earth because they are not fit enough to go the out-world colonies. Suppressing their own natural instincts for the sake of physically surviving they really the walking dead. Scientific progress conducted not for the best interests of humanity but for the best interests of business has effectively brought about the progressive degradation of society. By exploiting and destroying the natural world human can no more find solace or beauty so as to recuperate their weary minds and rekindle their dying spirits. In summary the techniques that are unique to film such as camera, lighting, costuming, colour and location works in conjunction with common literary techniques such as visual symbolism, irony and characterisation to effectively convey the relationship between humanity and nature.
There’s a moment in the middle of Neil Breen’s Pass Thru where the DIY auteur, just before insouciantly cleansing the earth of 300 million people, says “this is my reality, not a false human illusion”. Welcome to the cinema of Neil Breen, movies that are on another plane of existence. Only Neil Breen could make a film where the audience winds up rooting for the murder of 4% of the global population.
Filmed for nearly three years, Waste Land follows famed artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho, situated on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eccentric band of catadores, otherwise known as garbage pickers. The catadores are a definitive marginalized populace; jobless in any conventional sense, they turn to picking profitable recyclable materials from the junk discarded by those in Brazil luckier than themselves. Depicted in the documentary is a culture unlike any other that I have ever seen. The people within this isolated culture live in the most horrifying conditions imaginable. They are isolated from society along with the essence of life itself; their homes and lives revolve around a place filled with garbage, trash, and discarded and unwanted items. Therefore, it is impossible to fathom how the people that dwell here don't feel as
Muniz improved as a person throughout his trip because he interacted with several different personalities and impacted their lives. The concept of changing the lives of the pickers was a daunting challenge, but Muniz successfully impacted the picker’s lives. As a result, Muniz’ ethos increases over the course of the video. By assisting the pickers, Muniz not only establishes himself as a renowned artist, but also someone who cares about the less fortunate and is willing to make a difference. Throughout the movie, Vik Muniz transforms from being hesitant with the landfill and pickers to embracing the opportunity and creating friends and a new found respect for all members of
In the novel Trash it highlights the idea of pain, fear and the key characteristics of survival. However, through having a sense of pain and fear, it can enable a solid sense of character and a fearless personality.
It is evident that in order to thoroughly understand current social issues and create possible alternatives, one must study both the material and ideological conditions of a society. In this essay, material conditions refer to the organization of the means of production, exchange and distribution within a society. The End of Work, by Jeremy Rifkin, is an article that will be used in this essay, as it attempts to provide readers with a detailed understanding of current material conditions and a well thought-out alternative for a troubled society. The ideological conditions in this essay refer to the dominant ideas that are prevalent within a society. Theodore Roszak is the author of another article that will be studied, called Where the Wasteland
The reclusive film director Terrence Malick has to date, only directed a small number of films. His twenty year hiatus between directing Days of Heaven (1978) and The Thin Red Line (1998), may provide the explanation for such a sparse back catalogue. Malick’s refusal to talk with the media, has led to hearsay, as to how he occupied his time during the hiatus. Malick’s directing debut Badlands (1973) is a collection of concepts, all carefully moulded together to create one iconic piece of film. This process draws in and also alienates the audience. Malick’s style is positively noted by critics to be influenced by European philosophy. This is clearly due to Malick’s study of philosophy at Harvard and Magdalen College Oxford. There is no given explanation to the mindless violence featured within the film, mainly due to the films resistance to the straight forward approach. The familiar and the unknown are carefully merged together. The only way of gaining an understanding into the hidden meanings within Badlands is by breaking down the film, by looking at the characters, the use of sound, the visual setting and the films genre. The illusionary effect of Malick’s style means that all is not as it seems.
Since American cinema style is terribly known universally I decided to compare a North-American film to a film that is not as popular and is not yet broadly recognisable. Abbas Kiarostami is an Iranian filmmaker who has a sui generis approach to the representation reality. His films can certainly be labeled either has landscape or road movies. Both styles are inherent to American culture, however the metaphorical meaning is easily linked to any part of the world. In many of Kiarostami’s films we can see an inherent desire for human mobility and to highlight this aspect of his work I decided to reflect upon his film Ten, where I think this aspect is most present.
Solid waste can be classified in different types, depending on their source, household waste is generally classified as municipal waste; industrial waste as hazardous waste or hospital waste as infections waste. It quite obvious that South Africa environment is deteriorated by the illegal dumping area that around here. Solid waste is a major problem this country is facing at the moment. The province that is experience this major problem is Gauteng province, this an urban area am taking about, and since it’s clear that over population is the cause of the problem. Gauteng province is an over populated than rural area .solid waste pollution is refuse or garbage that people use in their everyday life in their house, such as plastic