Directed by Darell Roodt a South African man, Sarafina tells the story of a group of school children in South Africa who rebelled against troops during the aparthied. South Africa was in a state of emergency in the year of 1976. About 750 school children were killed and thousands were tortured and held captive in overcrowded prisons.
Third Wave Feminism- usually incorporates elements of anti-racism, women of color consciousness or support for other oppressed groups. Second wave on the other hand is more representative of upper middle class caucasian women.
The most talked about commercial at this time is the recent cheerios commercial in which an interracial couple were used. There was a huge outcry from many viewers. Apparently many people thought that the commercial was inappropriate. Perhaps they had never seen an interracial couple before and the sight of one was much too much to bare. Ironically enough 1 in 10 opposite sex married couples in the United States are interracial, totaling to about 5.4 million (USA Today). So maybe its safe to assume that these individuals have been living a box for the past decade, perhaps a cheerios box.
The commercial begins with a young girl walking into the kitchen with a cheerios box in hand asking her mom a question.Her mom is seated on a round wooden table in the kitchen wearing a printed blouse and pants. The young girl wears a purple top, ruffled skirt with leggings. This family appears to be a typical middle class American family. The viewer can infer this from the simplicity of the wardrobes as well as the furniture of the home and home structure itself. It is clear that middle class America is the target of this commercial.
There is not much to be said about color codes besides the fact that this commercial seems to have been really determine to stay away from any type of extravagance by using very dull colors. Only the young girl wears a colorful ensemble. The other cast are wearing earth tones, similar to the house decor. The dad wears a button jean shirt which is a dress style usually representative of working class people. If the family were to be of high class the cast dynamic would be very different. It is unlikely that the dad would be taking a nap on the sofa, he most likely would have been in a study room attending to work related matters, The mom would have been adorned in jewelry. These are typical markers of high society. Not to mention the furniture and house selection would have been very different.
This commercial plays on race relations. A first glance you can see a biracial child but the viewer does not necessarily think of a black dad being a part of this pretty normal looking family. Perhaps choosing to make this family a middle class American family was essential on making this commercial more believable. To portray this family as wealthy would have been a bit much for viewers to swallow. Producers of this commercial were obviously making a statement with this commercial as the subject of the commercial is Love, they essentially are trying to say love everyone. Everyone, including those who are different from yourself.
A common culture code which seems to be universal would be allowing the man of the house time to rest on his day off. This image is displayed in movies, books, and in many peoples lives. It is assumed that a man works hard weekly and therefore deserves weekends to relax whether it is watching sunday sports, or simply lounging at home watching movies. Many cultures acknowledge the need for the hard working man to be able to rest as the woman and children in the family give him space to do so.
The most common way this commercial was described by those who did not oppose the concept of the commercial was that it was cute. The camera zooms in on the child's angelic face as she makes facial gestures that almost force the viewer to say "awwww". The use of close ups are also what makes this commercial comical as the dad wakes up from his nap he sees that his daughter has poured cheerios on his heart since she had been told that cheerios were good for your heart. The dad's reaction is priceless an he awakes unsure of what had just happened. The camera then zooms out as the word love appears on the screen. The zoom in option allows the viewer to relate more with the character. To closely see a physical or facial gesture we are familiar with familiarizes us with the scenario being displayed.
If the purpose of this commercial was to inform people of its nutritional value it clearly made its point in a very funny way it is just unfortunate that the race of the parents completely overshadowed the commercial itself. The commercial was viewed millions of times on Youtube. Cheerios however had to disable comments from the video because they had become to harsh. Viewers criticized the look of the child and of cheerios decision to use the family in the first place. However sadly enough cheerios has seemed to fold to the remarks. The commercial is barely used, another one with a Caucasian family is now in rotation. People can now resume their lives again after such a catastrophe. [sarcasm]
On a better note a video was done showing the reactions of children to the same Cheerios commercial. There just may be hope for humanity. {watch below}
Today we discussed the case of Trayvon Martin in class. This case has gained so much attention worldwide. Is it a racial issue? A moral issue? A Gun law issue? Questions seem to constantly pop up. There have been several petitions going around since Zimmerman's acquittal. These petitions aim to send Zimmerman back to trail for a trail many believed to be unjust. On facebook nearly every friend has posted a status in regards to the issue, some supporting Zimmerman while others oppose him. The power of our words is that it is able to travel far beyond what we imagine. Centuries ago it was through word of mouth but due to the ever growing technology we have our words are able to travel even farther and reach many more people. In light of our discussions of imagery and videos I found a very interesting video of a regular guy with no ties to the case or legal background giving his take on what transpired between Zimmerman and Martin that night. The fact that he chose to video tape his thoughts is what inspired me to post this link.
This video has already been circulated thousands of times on facebook and other social media sites. One viewer stated " He should have been a part of the prosecution". Many others have praised him also for what seems to be a pretty sensible yet overlooked concept of what really could have happened the night of the incident.
At first glance one would assume this is going to be pretty moronic movie, you are right.
The title of the film is placed right in the center with the main cast surrounding the words "trainspotting".The characters expression give pretty clear clues of the type of movie this is. Besides the fact that they each have silly expressions on their faces, their character names are also written nearby. The cast names are Begbie, Diane, Sick Boy, Spud and Renton. The viewer can pretty much guess that this film is not an American story due to the foreign names used.
The film poster itself is otherwise pretty simple and basic. From the poster the viewer can also see that this is not a high budget film. There are no fancy effects or any extravagance. Its simply straightforward. The viewer can guess that the movie will be similar, silly but no overdone theatrics and camera effects. The mood of the movie comes across exciting based on the characters.
The flyer also has the words 18 and older on the left hand side. You can be sure that this movie will be very inappropriate for children. Sick Boy for one uses his hand to form a gun while there is a sinister smirk on his face. Despite that the only words and the most important words on the flyer not including the actors names etc. is the title itself. What is trainspotting? Observing trains and logging the numbers. Generally involves standing around in bad weather, watching the tracks. A British hobby. The cast in the movie do not seem to be the type to enjoy or participate in such a hobby. The urban definition for trainspotting is shooting up heroin or the like. Called so because a session will leave a dark linear mark (known as a "track") at the site of the affected vein. Hardcore users will tend to have multiple sites of injection and will locate, or "spot" an optimum vein - one with minimal "tracks" and discomfort or infection. A hit can be analogous to the impact of a locomotive or train. This definition seems more fitting for the cast. The title alone lets you know exactly the type of ride you are in for.
For those who are amused by overzealous foolery, this would be the right pick of a movie. The movie poster is not exactly successful in letting viewers know what the movie would be about. The only people to understand would be those familiar with the slang definition of train-spotting. As Americans it is less common that we would understand this term that was originated by the British. Nonetheless the comedic tone is obvious and those looking for a funny movie would be interested in watching.
While the movie producing business was once largely a boys club, times have certainly changed. From The Hunger Games to Inception to the Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty, some of the greatest movies of our generation are being produced by women who are major Hollywood players. (Complex) Below are a few you probably should take notice of, In fact you BETTER take notice of! 1.Diablo Cody ( Independent ) Produced Juno(2007) and Jennifer's Body (2009) 2.Drew Barrymore (Flower Films) Produced Charlie's Angels (2000), He's Just Not That Into You (2009), Whip It (2009) 3.Megan Ellison (Annapurna Pictures) Produced Spring Breakers (2012), The Master (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) 4.Karen Rosenfelt (Sunswept Entertainment) Marley & Me (2008),The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) 5. Nina Jacobson (Color Force) produced Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), The Hunger Games(2012)
6.Gale Anne Hurd Produced Armageddon (1998), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
7.Emma Thomas Produced The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010),The Dark Knight Rises(2012)
8. Kathryn Bigelow Produced The Hurt Locker (2008),Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
9.Kathleen Kennedy Produced Jurassic Park (1993), Lincoln (2012)
10.Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust)
11.Cheryl Dunye (Watermelon Woman, Stranger Inside- HBO fim)
Such phenomenal movies are indeed produced by women despite the disproportionate number of women to men producers in the industry. We can surely be proud that the women who have managed to climb all barriers and succeed in the industry are making us proud!
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