"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.
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:.
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
‘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).
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
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
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...
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.
...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.
...lay in societal change. However it was only until the works of Durkheim and Simmel that the role of individual interaction and society is brought to the forefront. Durkheim largely viewed the individual as needing society as a mechanism of constraint to the aspirations of an eternal goal. Finally, Simmel was able to expand on Durkheim’s dualism by noting that society could be viewed as more than a mechanism of constraint rather as an accumulation of individual interaction. Either through a combination or as individuals each theorist distinct view of the relationship between the individual and society demonstrates a new understanding towards the nature of social reality.
District 9 is a film that takes us into a realm of a different world from the one that we know now. It combines extraterrestrial life with immense science fiction to illustrate a story we could only imagine to ever actually occur. Although it was created for entertainment purposes, the motion picture can be compared to many different types of individuals and situations. District 9 displays many underlying concepts throughout the movie about racism, prejudice and discrimination. While studying and analyzing the plot and characters, these concepts became more translucent to me, the viewer. This paper will discuss the treatment of District 9 residents and equate their treatment to people with disabilities.
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.
With one of the most memorable transitions in the film (the Silent Scream performed by a Japanese Butoh dancer), Baraka makes clear the consequences of modern human life. When increasing production and profit takes priority over valuing human life, civilization eventually destroys itself; the film walks us through scenes of systemic poverty, exploitation, war, and genocide to illustrate this point. Paired with stirring, ominous music, this sequence is the most effective sequence of the film and can stand alone as an indictment of modern civilization. Finally, the story of modern civilization ends with images of the ruins of great ancient civilizations. The takeaway message is clear: just as those civilizations rose and fell, so too will the great civilizations of
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
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.