Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, a documentary directed by Alex Gibney in 2015, is a remarkable film which succeeds in deconstructing the church's claim by presenting how it is excessively authoritarian, financially exploitative, and brainwashing their adherents. The film begins with David Miscavige, the present leader of Scientology, standing on a stage alone in a ceremony which indicates his absolute power in the organization. This single figure worship was created by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology in 1953. Controversy arose how Miscavige came into the position after Hubbard's death. According to Mark Rathbun, the church's former second-in-command, Miscavige was never elected, but became chairman by worshipping
Beyond the Lights, is a romantic drama film Directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood. The film premiered in September 2014 at an international film festival held in Toronto, and this followed by its release on November 14th, 2014 in the United States. The film is one of the strangest music industry romance based films, alternating between the entertainment business, wisdom and heartfelt flourishes. Yet, Gina Prince-Blythewood manages to show all the elements of her play into an irrefutably entertaining package.
On October 14th, 2016 in class we watched “Two Spirits” by Lydia Nibley. Basically the film explored the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder of the main character. Fred was part of an honored “Navajo” youth who was killed at the age of sixteen by a man who bragged to his friends that he was nothing but a “fag”. While walking home from a carnival he was chased by one of his friends. Once his friend caught up to Fred, he pulled him down from a mountain and smashed his head with a heavy rock. Fred laid there for five days straight where two young boys found his body lying there. He was labeled as a “two-spirit” who was possessed of balancing masculine and feminine traits. In the film, there are two parts that are put together effortlessly like the people it discusses. Most of the documentary focuses on Fred’s murder, but the real issues in the film were those of the lesbian, gay, and transgender community and how its members were viewed in a
achieving his goal of placing doubt into the minds of the religious. Making this a poorly-argued film due
This paper entitled, Imitation of Life is based on the movie Imitation of Life. This movie is set in the 1940s. In the movie, an African American woman by the name of Annie becomes the care taker of a Caucasian woman's (Lora) daughter, Susie. In the movie, the caretaker Annie has a daughter named Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane is the product of a rape, performed by a Caucasian man, which results in her being fair skinned and able to pass as a Caucasian woman, which she does for a long time. Due to the fact this movie focuses on the themes of identity and class, I will use the following psychological views and tests to discuss how psychology can be demonstrated every day. The Kenneth
Lockwood, R. D. (2011). Journal of Contemporary Religion. Cults, Consumerism, and the Construction of Self: Exploring the Religious within Fight Club, 23. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537900802373320
In week one, I immediately found myself interested and alert as I tried to absorb as much as possible from Examined Life. It was difficult to find a balance between taking as many good notes as possible, with making sure not to miss anything these eight philosophers had to say. I took to heart many of the thoughts and ideas that were shared throughout the film. The first that struck a cord with me was that it is not necessary to find meaning. At first that sounds contrary to philosophy at its core, because I find that is usually what we ponder; the meaning of whatever it is we are thinking, doing, or discussing. I realized that sometimes it is fine for things to just be, and not know why. Much of the film has to do with how we think, and what we do in private. Collectively, through these moral and ethical acts (or lack of them) we can impact the public. Also by sharing these thoughts and concepts with the public in the documentary, it can affect our thoughts and actions in our private lives; I know it has at least for myself.
Film Analysis of All That Heaven Allows Chosen sequence: Golden Rain Tree/Cary's bedroom scene. Before the emergence of 'auteur theory' the director Douglas Sirk was a renowned exponent of classical Hollywood narrative, particularly in the genre of romantic melodrama, of which his film All That Heaven Allows is a classic example. However, he is now regarded as a master of mise-en-scene, one of the few tools left to a director working within the constraints of the Hollywood studio/institutional system who is now thought to have been highly critical of American mainstream culture and society in this prosperous era. 1, 2 The 'Golden Rain Tree' sequence occurs early on in the film after the opening panoramic, establishing shot - showing the scene of the action, a small middle-class New England town in autumn. The main protagonists are soon introduced of which the prime causal agent is an unsettled woman, Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), in keeping with romantic melodrama.
Similarly, but discussing more sacred stories the documentary Spirit Doctors was filmed with the purpose of education and to answer the documenters question of how to handle culture and its responsibilities, which became a video that aims to preserve ceremony. The Elders, from both Blood and Cree nations, who are shown through the documentary, decided that it was time that these certain ceremonies were shared openly. They discussed this as an opportunity to remind Indigenous people of their roots and that “ Nothing is forgotten. Only left behind” (Burke, 2005). Indicating that returning to ceremony and regaining language though difficult will never be impossible and also imparting stories and traditions that would normally be passed on solely
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
Philosophy questions many ideas or statements. For example, the Examined Life asks, does life have meaning? This idea was analyzed, experienced, questioned, discussed and concluded in many different ways. There was a common thread between the Philosophy film, the Apology, our class discussions and the video, Examined life. We often ask ourselves, are we obligated to other people?
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” ― Albert Einstein. According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, religion could be defined as, “an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group”. In other word a religion could mean a belief in a supernatural controlling power. In todays society there are many well renowned religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The main thing that all of these above mentioned religions have in common is that they serve as guides on how one should live their life. On the other hand many people started to question religions and their stories. Which in turn led to many individuals becoming atheist. According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, atheism is defined as, “a disbelief in the existence of deity”. Basically atheism is the belief that a supreme overlord does not exist. Let’s forget about atheism and concentrate on religions. There are many religions beside the big three that many people don’t know about. Many may not believe this but scientology is considered a religion. A science fiction author named L. Ron Hubbard created the religion, which is now known as scientology. Hubbard was born on March 13th, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska. He later attended George Washington University, where he studies engineering and molecular physics. From 1934 to 1936 Hubbard started to write novels and gained much success in 1937. On 29th of March 1941, L. Ron Hubbard earned his Master of Sail Vessels license for Any Ocean. Three months later, he is commissioned as Lieutenant of the United States Navy Reserve. With United States involvement in the Second World War, Lieutenant Hubbard was dispatched to Australia. After a couple years in ...
Within the German Democratic Republic, there was a secret police force known as the Stasi, which was responsible for state surveillance, attempting to permeate every facet of life. Agents within and informants tied to the Stasi were both feared and hated, as there was no true semblance of privacy for most citizens. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the movie The Lives of Others follows one particular Stasi agent as he carries out his mission to spy on a well-known writer and his lover. As the film progresses, the audience is able to see the moral transformation of Stasi Captain Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler primarily through the director 's use of the script, colors and lighting, and music.
Scientology was founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard. The Church of Scientology has been known to use manipulations such as isolation and lawsuit to keep members in line. Many consider the Church of Scientology to be a church and not a cult because it is recognized by the IRS, but numerous countries refuse to recognize it as a church including, the United Kingdom, Greece, Canada, Germany, and France. Reverend Sun Myung Moon founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in 1954. After 7 years in the church his followers were told they could choose their marriage partners and he became famous for his mass marriage ceremonies. In 1970s, Moon renamed the cult the Unification Church and relocated it to New York City. The cult still exists even though Moon died in 2010.
“The Mission” is based on a true story that occurred around the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the years 1750’s according to the film and history. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 with the Spanish and Portuguese caused both havoc and death for the people of the Guarini and the members of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, members of the church, tried to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives while keeping at peace with Spain and Portugal. The Jesuits were the teachers for the natives; Teaching them not only the Christian religion but also civilization. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit, is first introduced in the film when he is showing his respects to a former Jesuit priest killed by the natives. He walks through the South American
Everyone is familiar with the name Tom Cruise. Emerging in the 1980s as one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, he’s known for his good looks and versatility. He’s been featured in over 40 films during his lifetime. Whatever comes to mind when hearing Cruise’s name, there is no doubt that he is a renowned Hollywood actor and producer, widely recognized across the world as one of the biggest movie stars. Cruise has been living the American dream. He’s achieved this through his difficult childhood, education, a road to success, and contributions to society.