Inside Job

Not having any advance knowledge of economics, I found the documentary Inside Job surprisingly easy to follow.  Though many of the technical terms were lost on me, the film did a great job of breaking down and explaining all that went in to the economic crisis of 2008. As a director, Charles Ferguson does a wonderful job at making his interviewees come off looking, how do I put this – dumb.  He seems very educated on the topic at hand and is able to ask the tough questions that put his subjects in the hot seat.  Watching this film was interesting to me because at the time that the recession I wasn’t quite aware of what was happening.  At home I saw the effects: the budget getting tighter, laying off our house cleaners, and my mother taking on more jobs.  Little has changed since this time; I have just become more accustomed to that way of life. I found this documentary very interesting with how far back it went to explain the financial down fall, starting with the Reagan administration and connecting it today.  This film helps the viewer in understanding what exactly took place by including Iceland and a smaller scale example.

Here is an article on Iceland’s financial recovery since 2008:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/world/europe/icelands-economy-is-mending-amid-europes-malaise.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Overall, I feel this film provided me with a lot of information despite the unfamiliar vocabulary, to help me understand just why money became so sparse.

Here is an interview with Charles Ferguson on his film Inside Job where he claims the original cut was much more harsh.

Crazy Life

Koyaanisqasti is a powerful film.  Consisting only of time laps film segments and a score composed by Philip Glass, this documentary conveys a strong message.  Koyaanisqasti, meaning “crazy life” or “a state of life that call for another way of living”, is a word we have not equivalent for in English. 

Here is a Hopi elder speaking about the Hopi way in Hopi. 

The film begins with scenes of nature, showing clouds as forceful, massive figures and quickly transitions to show the world under human destruction  The entire film seems to be organized chaos. Glass’ soundtrack is a bit frantic and frightening; there is no mistaking the message of this film. Director Godfrey Reggio is illustrating that we are destroying our world with our way of life. Something is out of balance. While watching the flashing images of this film I couldn’t help thinking of my childhood favorite film FernGully. 

The concept of Koyaanisqati is a common theme in many films.

Paragraph Revision

Original paragraph:

       The editing and choice of footage taken by Treadwell himself suggest a mocking of his character.  It leaves the viewer to wonder if this is how Treadwell would have presented himself in the final cut of his own film.  Herzog focuses the scenes on Treadwell’s seemingly fleeting sanity.  In the scene of Treadwell praying for rain he calls on various gods, including “Hindu floaty thing” (Herzog, 1:15:06).  To request a favor from multiple gods of contrasting religions, seems a foolish act and could be taken offensively.  Why include such a moment in an effort to describe Treadwell’s environmental work? Herzog also highlights Treadwell’s growing separation from humanity.  Such scenes that exploit this are of Timothy reacting to the messages left by visitors, such as the smiley face. Herzog cuts and places it in such away that it characterizes Treadwell as a paranoid mad man.

Revised Paragraph:

       The editing of Treadwell’s footage by Herzog suggests a mocking of his character. The documentary leaves the viewer to wonder if this is how Treadwell would have presented himself in the final cut of his own film. Herzog focuses the scenes on Treadwell’s seemingly fleeting sanity. In the scene of Treadwell praying for rain, he calls on various gods, including “Hindu floaty thing” (Herzog, 1:15:06). Requesting a favor from multiple gods of contrasting religions seams foolish and could be taken offensively.  Why include such a moment in an effort to describe Treadwell’s environmental work? The film also highlights Treadwell’s growing separation from humanity.  Scenes that exploit this are those of Timothy reacting to the messages left by the visitors, such as the smiley face.  As a director, Herzog cuts and arranges footage in a way that characterizes Treadwell as a paranoid mad man.

The Horrors of Plastic

Werner Boote’s documentary Plastic Planet works to expose the horrors of plastic.  He explores the cases of plastic leading to infertility, cancer, allergies, and even death.  This news did not come as a surprise to me.  My mother has been limiting the amount of plastic in our kitchen for years.  We own no Tupperware – I thought I was safe.  However, Boote’s film brought my attention to the many forms of plastic that surround me everyday.  From saran wrap to my cell phone, I overlooked the hidden toxins in my life. 

Here is a link to an article written in 1999 about the harmful effects of saran wrap.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/13/dining/eating-well-plastic-wrap-and-health-studies-raise-questions.html  Boote’s discovery is nothing new.

It is a frightening truth that we cannot escape our societies dependency on plastic products; we can only limit our own intake.  The only hope is that companies with make safer choices of packaging as people begin to protest the use of plastic.

This is an original tupperware commercial from 1961.