City of God

“City of God” takes us to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Based on a true story, the film shows us a dark side of the city Rio de Janeiro. Most of the film takes place in western Rio de Janeiro in Cidade de Deus, which means City of God in Portuguese. This area would be considered the slums. The film is takes us on a journey through the point of view of an actor named Rocket. We watch as Rocket is subjected to crime and poverty as he grows up. Rocket makes friends along the way while trying not to get on the bad side of the crime bosses. Rockets childhood acquaintances Lil Ze and Benny become two of the biggest crime bosses by killing off all the bosses except one. Rocket watches as the one gang left, which is ran by Carrot finds itself at an all out turf war with Lil Ze. Rocket chooses to stay out of gang activity and tries to rise out of the slums by getting a job at the newspaper. This is Rockets big break which takes him farther than he could have imagined.

Violence and Drug use are a huge problem in Rio. Mostly these problems are located in the favelas, which refers to shanty slum areas. As we see in the film there is great majority of youths from these areas that partake in the drugs and the crime. These youth would be considered foot soldiers. Leaders of the gangs have much of their dirty work done by these youths because of lesser penalties. According to the film’s special edition cut, one person dies in Rio de Janeiro every half hour. 90% are shot by large caliber bullets.

A prevalent theme in the movie is the drug use. The gangs in the film see this as their great opportunity to make big money. Drug trafficking employs 100,000 people in Rio de Janeiro, which is also mentioned in the special edition of the DVD. This actually the same number of people that the city has on its payroll. The first Tuesday of every month, the Rio police force brings all there confiscated drugs for the month to a certain junkyard. The drugs are incinerated in a high temperature oven. This takes about two hours to burn them all. The police confiscate on an average between 200 kilos and up to 3 or 4 tons a month in drugs.

I thought the “City of God” was a great movie. Though, I would not recommend to people with weak stomachs. It was a very violent film and had some disturbing scenes. I thought the directors did a great job at capturing the realness of this true story. Though, it is not really a happy story but a story that needed to be told. “City of God” educates the viewer on the ongoing problems that are happening in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The picture that is above this paragraph is a favela neighborhood. I would recommend this film to others in the future.

The Syrian Bride

“The Syrian Bride” takes us to the Golan Heights, which is located in the middle of Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. In the film we learn of the struggles of a family faced with political borders that are tearing them apart. The story centers on a girl named Mona, who is getting ready to marry a man from Syria. Mona is from Golan Heights and will not be able to return home to ever see her family again after she gets married. This is due to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The film shows us the difficulties faced by Mona and her family to get her across the border to get married. Finally after six months she gets approved to cross the border. Though when she finally get to cross she is upheld by political red tape.


Mona has a religious family that is Druze, which is a traditional religion of an offshoot of Islam. Mona is to be married to a fellow Druze across the border. This is family tradition and is not always followed as we see her brother in the movie is married to a Russian doctor. He is seen shunned by his father in the film. Even though Mona gets her request granted she is still held up at the border stuck in political tape.

Since the Six-day war in 1967, Israel has occupied the area of Golan Heights. This left many citizens in this area who were Syrian. In the film the town of Majdal Shams is Mona’s hometown. Majdal Shams is the largest of the four Druze villages in Golan Heights. In the film we see that there are divided loyalties in the community. Many of the citizens are pro Israeli and the others are pro Syrian. This creates a rift within the community.

"The Syrian Bride" gives us a chance to look into the struggles that face the citizens of Golan Heights. Educationaly it enable us to understand how things got to be the way they are and the sturggles that it creates. This film does a great job at bringing these issues to the forefront. Before viewing this view I had little knowledge on this difficult to understand topic.

The Band's Visit

We head to the Israel in the movie “The Bands Visit”. This movie follows an Egyptian Police band as it tries to find its way to an initiation ceremony, in which they were invited to play at. Coming from Egypt the band finds itself in trouble as it is abandon at the airport. This is the begging of their troubles. The band finally gets a bus, but mispronounces the town and heads in the wrong direction and they find themselves in a tiny Israeli community in the middle of the desert. Friction between locals and the band seem likely because of different cultures present but is not the case. The town takes them in and embraces them. This is a story of encounters between people, encounters between cultures and coming together of different people.

“The Band’s Visit” is a movie that the plot really plays second fiddle to the characters. In this movie you really focus on what the characters are about and what their story is. The bands struggle to get the initiation ceremony is really secondary. We focus on mostly three characters. The head chief conductor of the band is Tawfig. Tawfig is a very meticulous and has a restrained personality. He is very professional and we later find out he has a painful personal story. Our second character is Dina. Dina is the owner of a small restaurant who takes the band in and encourages other citizens they should do the same. Dina has lightness to her personality and a positive joy. She also seems vulnerable at times with certain loneliness. She is attracted to Tawfig and what underlies beneath his closed shelled personality. Our third character is Haled. Haled is the youngest member of the band. He seems to not be enjoying himself as part of the band. He seems to want to do other things and be free from the band. Haled seems out of place with the band and wants to venture out and meet girls and have fun.

The movie gets through to its viewers a bigger idea than the plot offers through its revealing of its characters. The movie shows that no matter what cultural back ground, people share many similarities. Hopes, dreams, and personal struggles are really universal. “The Bands Visit” shows people that its possible for certain cultures to get along regardless of historical past.

The movie’s underlying factor is the Arab- Israeli conflict. These people have been in conflict for many years. In the 20th century the Arabs have initiated four wars with Israel. So you can understand that in the movie the citizens of the tiny Israeli town were not ready to accept their new visitors at first.

I believe the movie “The Band’s Visit” is not only an entertaining movie but also educational. Many different educational aspects are shown in the film. Landscapes are show which give the viewer mental image of the area. Pop cultures such as music and night life are shown, which lets us know of similarities we might have with the area. Also we get to see the “big picture”, which is ability of peoples of different cultures of war torn countries to actually find peace and commonality with one another.

The Middle of the World

The Middle of the World takes us on a journey through the eastern side of Brazil. This film is a true story about a rural poor family who treks 3000 km across Brazil on bicycle to find opportunity. The father of the family, Romao, is trying to find a job where he can make 1,000 reals a month. He believes this to be enough to support his five children and wife. Throughout their journey the family desperately tries to find ways to get by. They beg and even sing for money and they also stop in a town where the mother of the family, Rose, makes a few hammocks for some money. Romao is a religious man and believes he will find direction when he visits his patron saint Father Cicero. During his visit to Father Cicero, Romao determines that the family needs to go to Rio de Janeiro to find work. The family then embarks on a long stretch of road which will test the family and it’s relationships with each other.

The major theme in The Middle of the World is rural poverty in Brazil. In the film we are shown that it is extremely hard for Romao to find work. He aspires to be a truck driver but most positions where he lives are already filled. In the film the family starts their trek out in the Northeastern part of Brazil. According to a rural poverty.org, (http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/) the poorest and least developed part of Brazil is the northeast. The areas lack of opportunities force urban migration away from these areas. In Brazil 30% of the population lives on less than $2 a day. We see as the family moves toward Rio de Janeiro their job opportunities slightly increase. Though we never see Romao find a job, we do see his son, Antonio, get a job as a brick layers assistant and the family does a quick job as Indian imposters at a tourist resort.

Throughout this film we get a sense that religion is a big part of Brazilians lives. Early on in the film Romao expresses his need to visit the statue of his Patron Saint Father Cicero. We see in the scene where Romao and family visit the pilgrimage of Father Cicero that crowds of people flock to the statue to be blessed. Father Cicero had great influence on this area as a Roman Catholic priest in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The majority of Brazil belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Also we notice another example of Catholicism in the final scene where Romao and family arrive at Rio de Janeiro and their first visit is to Corcovado Hill to visit the Cristo Redentor statue. This is a statue of Jesus that sits high hill top that overlooks Rio. Romao is a man who is not a sinner and encourages his family not to sin. We get a good idea in the movie of what the values of a religious family in Brazil might be like.

I was intrigued by this family’s long journey across Brazil. Curiosity sent me to plot the route they took. I wasn’t sure exactly where there starting point was in the movie. You can assume they started near the equator in northeastern Brazil. On my map I have their starting point as the first truck stop they stopped at in the beginning. In the map that is attached to the left you can see that I have listed the cities or towns that are mentioned in the film or noticeable on street signs. Click on map to enlarge.

Middle of the World did a great job at educating the viewer on this region. When the movie covers a large geographic area it helps give the viewer a good perspective of the region as a whole. I also thought it did a great job at portraying the problem with rural poverty in the region. My only downfall with the movie was the lack of substance with the plot. We see the family go through the movie with no extreme ups or downs. This is most likely because they told the story realistically to what really happened. I was really hoping they would show a more of a concluded ending. We really never see if Romao gets his job or not. I wanted them to find success.

Yesterday

Yesterday takes us to a remote village in South Africa’s Zululand. This film tackles one of the biggest epidemics in the region. South Africa has world’s worst AIDS epidemic. The story centers on a mother named Yesterday who lives with her daughter Beauty in a remote village called Rooihoek. Yesterday is hit with the news that she has the HIV virus. We watch as Yesterday’s village turns its back on Yesterday and her also infected husband. This is a story of a woman’s courage, strength and determination to not let the disease get the best of her.

As we examine the AIDS epidemic in South Africa we see startling numbers. At the end of 2007 there were 5.7 million people in South Africa that had HIV. There are also 1,000 AIDS deaths that happen in one day. This film shows the fast need for education on the HIV virus. We see in the film that people are very uneducated when it comes to contracting the disease. Villagers think that just being in the same village they will get the disease too. Also they seemed uneducated on condom use in the film. South Africa’s population is actually on the decline because of the epidemic.

There was an area in the film that I thought had some irony in it. Yesterday had the HIV virus and yet she seemed to be hanging in there and battling the illness. She seemed to have a focused positive frame of mind. On the other hand, Yesterday’s husband seemed to fade quickly after becoming sick. I thought it was interesting how he was the bad guy and he got hit harder by the illness. He was the one that was sleeping around and he was very unwelcome to his wife’s news of the illness when he beat her. It was a sign of bad karma when he came crawling back to his wife in terrible shape.

Yesterday does a great job a raising attention to a very serious social issue. Possibly this film is just what this region needed, a main stream media learning tool to teach awareness on this devastating disease. I liked how they filmed the movie in the rural areas. This shows that even the people who live in the rural areas who are married can be still susceptible to the deadly disease.

Tsotsi

We head to Johannesburg, South Africa in our next film titled, Tsotsi. This film centers on a trouble youth, Tsotsi, who leads a small gang out of the township Soweto. The story shows us Tsotsi’s mentality transfer from being a ruthless criminal with no conscious to a person with a new outlook on life. Tsotsi begins his transformation when his friend Boston asks him if he ever had a dog. This somehow breaks the rough edge of him. He recalls when his father broke his dogs back. This was the last time he lived with his parents. With deep emotions leaked out he is even further weakened when he shoots a woman for her car and later finds the woman’s baby in the back seat. He keeps the baby and the presence of the baby brings back memories from his childhood. It all somehow changes his way of thinking. He wants to care for the baby and give it possibly the upbringing he never had. Tsotsi then fades away from his gang and even encourages Boston to go back to school. Eventually Tsotsi’s guilt gets the best of him and returns the baby to its father and paralyzed mother.

The setting of this film is largely set in the township of Soweto. Soweto is a former township from the Apartheid era. The depiction of this area in the film is very poor with some gang activity. According to Wikipedia, parts of Soweto rank among the poorest in Johannesburg. In the film we only really see the bad parts of Soweto, there are also more developed nicer areas. There are many areas which are reoffered to in the film as “the shacks”. These are the poverty stricken areas and crime and violence are its result. The picture attached to the left is “the shacks” in Soweto.

An issue that was prevalent in the film Yesterday was also slightly captured in Tsotsi. South Africa has the worst AIDS epidemic in the world. We see AIDS in Tsotsi as Tsotsi mother is dying of the disease. This could be one of the bigger issues into the breakup of his family. We see as Tsotsi’s father is not dealing well with her disease as he breaks the dogs back. There are a few other scenes where we can see the need for education for prevention of AIDS which was displayed on billboards in Johannesburg. We see two different billboards in the opening scenes of the movie. One billboard says “ We are all affected by HIV and AIDS”.

I found a few parts in the movie to have irony in them. There seemed to be an underlined theme of people or animals being paralyzed not being able to walk. Tsotsi was very heart broken as a child when his father broke his dogs back. This seems to play into the breaking of the soul in Tsotsi later in the movie. Tsotsi learns of the baby’s mother being paralyzed and it seems to hit him hard. This resurfaced feelings of see his dog struggling to get up. Also Tsotsi was intrigued with the homeless man who was in the wheelchair. It was almost like Tsotsi hoped he was just faking to get money.

Crying Ladies

The Philippines is the setting for our next movie Crying Ladies. Crying Ladies is about family, friends and new beginnings. The movie centers on the main character Stella, as she struggles with poverty and struggles to find happiness while living apart from her son, who lives with his father. Stella’s two friends are also stuck in ruts as one is dealing with martial affairs and the other deals with the fact that her movie career is probably over. One man brings the friends together when he needs funeral criers at his traditional funeral he is planning for his father. One thing is for certain these women had plenty to cry about from their personal lives. In being united, these friends find strength, hope and encouragement from one another and ultimately find happiness and success. In the end Stella finds success in the karaoke business and becomes an award winning actress in karaoke videos. While Stella’s friends find happiness with resurgence in their lives.

As we watch Crying Ladies we notice there is large Spanish and U.S. influence on the Philippines. This is because the Philippines were colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and later became a United States territory in the early 20th century. The Philippines became independent in 1946 following World War II. One Spanish influence I saw was religion. Choleng’s church was Roman Catholic. According to Wikipedia about 90% of the Philippines are Christian. This film also shows us that the Philippines are very diverse. Looking at people in the film, there is not one distinct look of a Filipino. There are many different influences on the area.

We see quite a bit from Chinese culture when we get to see Wilson’s father’s funeral. This is a traditional look at a funeral. Funeral criers were hired in the past, but are a trend that has declined. Wanting to make it as traditional as possible Wilson hires Stella and here two friends to cry at the funeral. We notice a stark difference from American funerals. All of the mourners were dressed in white compared to black seen here in the U.S. We also see many similarities in this movie as we saw in Singapore Dreaming. Just like in Singapore Dreaming we see the traditional burning of the paper house. Although, I notice the funeral in Crying Ladies was taken more serious, which may have been due to the wealth of the family.

A small part I took from the film was the transportation. We see in the film many of these jeep looking cabs. These cabs are called jeepneys. According to Wikipedia, jeepneys are the most popular means of transportation in the Philippines. These are jeeps that were left over after World War II. The U.S. either gave or sold the surplus of them to Filipinos. With a little styling up these Army jeeps were turned into taxis. The picture on the left is an actual jeepney in the Philippines. Also in the film, cabs and public buses are present.

Crying Ladies was an excellent film that showed much of what the Philippines are like. You get a good idea of how diverse the country is and also you learn where they get a lot of their influences from. Many traditions are noticeable, which makes it easy to learn about their customs. I have gained a better understanding of this region by viewing this film.

Singapore Dreaming

Singapore Dreaming takes us on a journey into the up and down lives of a contemporary family living in Singapore. The Luh family is working class and has members of the family caught up in the fast growth of Singapore. Wanting a better life quickly, the Luh’s face the realities of their struggle. Finally big dreams come true when Poh Huat, the father of the family, strikes it rich with the lottery. Soon greed gets the best of everyone and battle lines are drawn for shares of the money. Everything changes when father has a heart attack. Everyone shows their true colors in the event of father’s death. Mourning their loss, their relationships with each other begin to strain when they squabble over who is deserving of the money. The Luh family shows the viewer how money and selfishness can tear up a family.

As we see in the film the Luh family is living in what looks like a large apartment complex. This type of complex is government owned and called public housing. In Singapore the Housing Development Board or HDB is responsible for public housing. Public housing in Singapore is not looked as poverty; in fact it is quite common for Singaporeans, whom are middle class, to live in public housing. Singapore has a large population and little space for its residents. Singapore is about 3.5 times the size of Washington D.C. and has a population of 4.6 million residents. These large public housing compounds enable many people to live in close proximity. According to an HDB website, there are about 86% of Singaporeans that live in HDB housing, compared to 9% in HDB’s inaugural year of 1960. The picture to the left is an actual HDB complex.

Language is an interesting aspect in this film as we hear many different languages being spoken. This is a reflection of a multi-cultural society. In Singapore Dreaming we hear mostly Hokkien, English, and Mandarin. We also here something that sounds like English but sometimes is hard to understand, this language is a Creole called Singlish. English was introduced when Singapore became a British colony. There are little hints in the film that Hokkien is a language that is not traditional to Singapore. For many years the Government tried to push for Mandarin and English. In the past they implemented education guidelines that the schools teach the mother language Mandarin. Hokkien and other languages have declined sense the governmental guidelines were enacted, though Hokkien is still commonly heard on the streets.

In Singapore Dreaming we get a clear look at Taoist funeral practices. There is a great deal of preparation that goes into these funeral services. We see in the film that the Luh family goes into great detail in setting up a paper display of their father’s belongings. This is so the dead can use these things in the other world. A large paper mansion is on display along with a car and even a pool. This is all burned in the culmination of the funeral. In the film we see that the family is holding a wake in large communal area. This is actually at their HDB public housing complex and is there for these types of special occasions so the residents have space to send off the dead. The picture to the left is a similar looking paper house that I saw in the film.

In closing, we see this film with many similarities of our own environment. Money and greed are universal and sometimes people get caught up with the thought of money getting them everything they ever wanted, yet we sometimes forget what we already have. Singapore Dreaming geographically gives us much to grasp. Language, religion and just day to life in the film give us a greater understanding of Singapore.

Rabbit-proof Fence

Rabbit Proof Fence takes us to the continent of Australia. As we see in Rabbit Proof Fence, Australia is a very dry place. It is actually the driest inhabited continent on earth. Australia is arid or semi-arid in ¾ of its land. Also as we see in the movie there are not many elevation changes. Australia is also the most flat continent. Its highest point is Mount Kosciuszko which is 2,228 meters high. The population of Australia is about 20 million people with most of the population centers on the coast.

Rabbit Proof Fence is based on true events which give us a look into the treatment of aboriginal people of Australia. Aboriginal people can be traced back 40,000 years as inhabitants of Australia. In the 17th century exploration by European settlers began. It was in 1770 when Captain James Cook took claim of the area in name of Great Britain. Rabbit Proof Fence takes us to 1931 when there was a special law or aboriginal act that controlled the lives of the Aboriginal people. The goal of the Aboriginal act was to breed out the black race. A man named A.O. Neville was the chief protector of Aborigines and was the legal guardian of every Aborigine in the State of Western Australia and held his position for 25 years. As we see in the movie, the state has the power to take any half-caste child away from their family and then taken to Moore River. It was here the children were taught to be white and was the place where the main character and her sister and cousin escape and make the long journey back to their homeland Jigalong. I can’t even imagine the strain this put on the Aboriginals. This was in fact stealing generations from these people and stealing their identity.

I was wondering while watching, what the true meaning of the film’s title. The title Rabbit-proof Fence was indeed the actual purpose of the fence. The fence was constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits out of Western Australia pastoral fields. We learn in the movie there are actually three fences. A map of the fences is posted to the left. The rabbit was introduced to Australia when it came over on the first fleet from Great Britain and was released into the wild in 1859. The rabbits spread like wild fire and had a real negative effect on Australia. Today many native plants and animals are extinct due to the introduction of the rabbit.

Once Were Warriors

Once we were Warriors takes us to Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. It is located on the North Island and has a population of about 1.4 million people. New Zealand is broken up into two islands, the North Island and the South Island. New Zealand is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and is 1250 miles southwest of Australia. This movie shows us urban life of an indigenous Māori family in the City of Auckland, New Zealand. Māori is the word that refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand. This film is a graphic look into a Māori family dealing with issues such as alcoholism, domestic violence, and poverty.

There are many social economic issues we see present in this film. Māori’s are depicted as a struggling society. Many examples of poverty are noticeable. Also there are examples of Māori’s belonging to gangs and being involved in criminal mischief. This is actually a big issue in New Zealand. The majority of Māori are a struggling society. Māori account for 14% of the population and yet 50% of the prison population is Māori. Māori also suffer from more alcohol and drug problems than any other group in New Zealand. The Māori also suffer from racism in New Zealand. This film did a good job at bringing these problems to the surface. Along with Jake’s domestic violence issues and his alcoholism we see that he also has a gambling problem. In scenes we see him betting on horse races and he becomes very agitated when being interrupted when watching the race. Horse racing is actually major contributor of New Zealand’s economy. There are actually 59 horse racing locations in New Zealand and the industry alone provides 18,300 full-time jobs. New Zealand generates about 1.4 billion a year from its racing industry. The racing is not where New Zealand stops with its horses. New Zealand has many breeding company which breed top horses for exportation to such areas as Australia and Asia.

In the film we see that some Māori are more connected to their ancestry than others. The family of focus in the film really doesn’t get back to their roots till the end when everything falls apart. Their son Mark “Boogie”, becomes attracted to his ancestry when he is taken from his home and at his boarding school he is introduced to Māori customs. During the film we see many examples of Māori customs. We see many Māori adoring tattoos on their face and body. Tattoos or in Māori language “Moko” are very traditional to the Māori. Tattooing is started in adolescence, usually to celebrate life events. We also see traditional Māori weapons in the film. We see Boogie using a wooden stick to break out windows in his boarding school. This was no ordinary stick; it was what is called a Taiaha. A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of Māori from New Zealand and is about 5 to 6 feet long. The weapon was used in close combat situations. It is pointed on one end and widens out on the other in broaden blade. The Taiaha is not commonly used for combat for today’s generations, though it is still used in traditional dance rituals.

One thing I found interesting with the film was there were a few parts that had American influenced items. In the scene where Nig is being driven to the gang beat in initiation ceremony we here a reference to Michael Jackson. The gang leader lets Nig know that he will not have to pay for his face to get rearranged like Michael Jackson. I thought it was quite a funny line in a movie that had little humor. Also I noticed a few movie posters in Gracie’s room. They were movie posters of Lethal Weapon 3 and White Men Can’t Jump. Both movies came out in 1992 which just a couple years prior to Once Were Warriors debut.

Eat Drink Man Woman

Eat Drink Man Woman takes place in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan is an island southeast of mainland China and is north of the Philippines. Taipei is the capital of Taiwan and has the largest population at 2.6 million people. Taipei is a major industrial hub and most of Taiwan's textile factories are found here. In this film we learn about what is different and what we have in common with people of this region. Culturally we see many things that are unique to Taiwan, but we also see that family problems and situations are really universal. We can easy relate to how this family operates. It is just like many families here in the United states. Many families alike may only get together during a dinner maybe once a week and have to deal with issues such as divorces, pregnancies, marriages and death. Usually they all don't happen in such a short period of one another, but this just shows we are very much alike.

As we look at this film and examine the society it is hard to define different social classes. Throughout the film we don't see the poverty that was apparent in Beijing Bicycle. Not to say there is no poverty here but it just wasn't shown. Mostly we see people in the same economic class as Mr. Chu's family. Mr. Chu is a well known chef and his family is well off. They live in a nice house and have nice clothes. Even all of his daughters seem to have a computer in their rooms. Looking at unemployment rankings, Taiwan has a fairly low ranking at 47 compared to the United States 62. Not showing a wide perspective of social classes as a geographic learning tool was probably the only downfall compared with Beijing Bicycle. Though this movie had much more dialogue which gave us a chance to see into their thoughts and understand them better.

I have come up with some advice for anyone that is going to watch this film. Don’t watch on an empty stomach. Food, food and more food. We see many different dishes prepared by Master Chef Chu throughout this movie. Fish, ham, tofu, chicken and crab are just a few of the foods we see. According to a web site I visited, fish is the most popular meat in the country. Of course we see all these foods eaten with the chopstick utensil. The chopstick is believed to be originated in ancient China during the Shang Dynasty in 1600-1100 BC. The chopstick is traditional in use in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. I also discovered on the Internet that Taiwan has a conservation effort and is making a push for reusable chopsticks to limit litter.

Athletic activities were highlighted in the film. It seemed like every day at Jia-Jen’s school they were playing volleyball. Volleyball must be a popular sport in Taiwan. Also we see that Mr. Chu enjoys going jogging. During his run we also see others out exercising. Similar to the Beijing Bicycle we see Mr. Chu getting rough massages.

Transportation in this movie was a little different than that of the Beijing Bicycle. There were not near as many bikes in this movie. There seem to be mopeds in their place. Mopeds were abundant on the streets of Taipei in the film. Mopeds are clearly the choice of transportation in Taiwan. Roads are crowded and mopeds are the easiest and fastest way to get around the city. Driving a car through the cities centers can be difficult. To the left I have attached a picture taken from a street in Taiwan. As you can see Mopeds are highly relied on. Also we notice that public transportation is utilized. Taxi's and buses are shown frequently in the film. Mr. Chu has a well off family yet we never see any of them driving their own car. I have attached a link I enjoyed that gives a short overview of Taiwan trasportaion. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/12547-taiwan-transportation-video.htm

Beijing Bicycle

Beijing is the setting of the movie Beijing Bicycle. Beijing is located in Northeastern China. It is the political, educational, and cultural center of the People’s Republic of China. Its population is around 17.4 million people. This film does a great job at showing the viewer many different things geographically about this region. There are many examples of cultural, environmental, and economical geography in Beijing Bicycle.


Economically we see many different levels of social class. Early in the film it is shown that rural-urban migration is present. Many come from outside farming communities to find work to survive. In the first scene of the film the countrymen are applying for the bike delivery position. You can assume from their nervousness that they may have never applied for a job and quite possible are uneducated. In this film I noticed a distint prejudice attitude toward the country migrators. They seem to be really looked down on. Guei's friend even tell him that, "the trick is, not to let anyone know you're not from here", reffering to their neighborhood. We see the living conditions of this social class in Guei’s neighborhood. These families have their own living areas, but all other areas seem to be communal. The buildings they live in seem to be connected or nearly on top of each other. There are skinny roads that go through these communities and look something of a maze. Water seems to be short supply and faucets are found outside and shared by many neighbors. Even Guei and his friend share a tooth brush in a scene. As Guei starts his new job as a bicycle delivery man he begins to see new luxury style places and you can tell he has never seen anything like them. This is ever so present when Guei does not know how to navigate through a revolving door. As we see Guei working as a bicycle delivery man we realize the bicycle is an important means of transportation in Beijing.


Bicycles are seen in very high numbers in the film. Bicycles are the number one mode of transportation in Beijing in front of cars and public transportation. There are an estimated 10 million bicycles in Beijing. Bicycles actually in the past were relied on more, but automobile usage has increased. It was common site for bicycles to cover the streets from side to side. Now bicycles are restricted to bike lanes which are quite wide. In the film we see that there are actually traffic lights specifically used for cyclist. They look like an ordinary traffic signal but have an image of a bicycle in each light. In the film we also see examples of how bicycles are utilized for many things other than going somewhere. We see people using there bikes as vendors and also we see the bicycle as a mode of moving things. Refrigerators, furniture, and a mattress are seen being moved throughout the city in the film. There are many common areas where citizens’ store there bikes. In the scene where Guei gets arrested for allegedly stealing a bicycle, he is looking through a common bike storage area. Streets are also littered with bike racks filled with many bikes. You could say bicycles are a big part of Beijing’s culture.


Culturally we do see a few things that represent the area. Tai Chi is seen performed in two scenes. Tai Chi is a Chinese exercise technique that uses smooth and slow body movements that relax the body and the mind. Also in a scene at Jian’s school we see basketball courts in the background. Basketball is becoming more and more popular in China. Yao Ming who plays in the NBA was a big part in the spring board of the sport in China. Recently the 2008 summer Olympics were held in Beijing and basketball was one of the more popular events. Many believe that basketball may not be far from becoming the most watched and played sport in China. In the last chase scene in the film you can see a group of older gentlemen gathered around a board game with wooden moving pieces. I am not sure what it was but I think it may have been chess. A Chinese chess board looks much different than our version of chess board. Chess is also a popular sport in China and China places very well in competitions with the rest of the world.


Lastly I wanted to comment on a couple things I found interesting from the film. First I was curious if there was a big problem in Beijing with bicycles being stolen. Turns out it is quite a problem. I found a stat on a web site that stated that in the months leading up to the Olympics that law enforcement had cut bike thefts in half from 4 million to 2 million bikes stolen in a 9 month period. There are actually bike theft gangs. It is so common for your bike to get stolen that most people don’t even report the thefts to the authorities. The government is implementing a plan for bicycle registration numbers to prevent the theft and resale of the bicycles. Another thing I was intrigued by was the seen where Jian is taken in the trees by his girlfriend. She is looking up at the sky at the sun like it is a rare sight. This made sense; they probably rarely get a look at the sun with all the smog in the area. China is the 2nd largest producer of greenhouse emissions in the world and are projected to overtake 1st from the United States. China is industrializing at record pace and air pollution issues will increase. With acid rain and many documented respiratory issues, this will be one of Beijing’s biggest challenges in the years to come.

Veer-Zaara

India sits in south Asia between China and Pakistan and this is where the movie Veer-Zaara takes place. Veer-Zaara is a Bollywood production. Bollywood is the name of the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. Veer-Zaara is story of forbidden love by a man from India and a woman of Pakistan. During the movie you get the feeling that there is something of a barrier between cultures of the two countries. Not much on the Indian side though. Indians seem to treat their guest very well. Pakistani’s seem to keep a barrier up. We find this out a little more to this toward the end of the movie. In a court scene near the end of the movie, one of the attorneys mentions to the other of bitter war memories of 1947-1965 and 1999. This somewhat pieced my suspicions which grew throughout the movie. Additionally I spent some time with readings on the internet to find that Pakistan and India have been in rivalries for over five decades.

In Veer-Zaara we get to learn not only about border relations, but also what the landscape has to provide and customs of the two countries. I would say that the movie focuses on the Indian culture more, but I find the two countries had many similarities. In the musical scene where Veer shows Zaara his land, we really get a great vision as to what India’s landscape looks like. In one scene I notice a few girls harvesting these orange flowers. I had seen these flowers in other Indian movies in the past and was curious of their significance. The flower is called a Marigold and is used in Hindu religious ceremonies. Another landscape attraction I noticed was the abundance of wheat fields. India is actually the second largest producer of wheat in the world. Approximately 12 percent of the world’s wheat productions come from India. Northern areas of India are covered with wheat fields. Many fields in the movie were also growing sunflowers. India has a national priority in vegetable oil production and their sunflower fields are a main reflection of this market. Not only do we get a grasp of landscape, but also we get an idea of cultural activities of this region.

I had no idea that carnivals and fairs were such a big part of Indian culture. In Veer-Zaara we see Veer and Zaara attending these fairs. India is actually known for its carnivals and festivals. Everyday festivals are celebrated all around the country to celebrate religious passion and respect for life. Fesitals are used to celebrate many different things. They are not only a big draw for locals but are also a big attraction for tourist. Sports were also shown in the film. Veer’s Dad (uncle) is portrayed as a sports fanatic. He is seen playing two different sports. One sport was Cricket and the other sport I was a little unsure of the name. After doing some looking around on the internet I discovered that it was field hockey. It is known as the national sport of India. Field hockey is not the most popular sport. It plays second fiddle to Cricket. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in India. You can go anywhere in the country and Cricket will be played there. India’s are obsessed with the sport. India is usually one of the best teams in the world and actually won the World Cup of Cricket in 1983. The ’83 team is still talked about and much pride is still there for that Championship team. The picture above is the '83 team photo.

I wanted to touch on the hospitality of the Indians in the film. As Veer introduces Zaara to his parents we hear very hospitable quotes that suggest India is a warm place for visitors. One quote was, “In my country a guest is revered as a God”. This really speaks volumes to the hospitality of Indians. Another quote says, “And no matter what land he comes from, he becomes part of the land”. This lets the viewer get an idea that there are no enemies in this land.

Lastly I just wanted to comment on the snack that Veer’s lawyer brings to him in Jail. In the movie the snack was referred to as Ladoos. I discovered a minor significance in the director's choice of snack. A ladoo is an Indian, Pakistani or Bengali sweet. This shows that they though they live in different countries, yet they have much in common. A ladoo is made to celebrate festivals or weddings and are made of flour and various other ingredients, depending on which type you are making and to cap it off it is dipped in sugar syrup.

Veer-Zaara was a wonderful movie that really let the viewer soak in much from this region. There was so much that I could of have written about from the film. It helped that in the film one character was showing another all about their homeland which gave the viewer a chance to learn many different aspects of the region. I would recommend this film to anyone wanting to learn about this region.

Good Bye Lenin!

Good bye Lenin is a movie that takes place in the time period of the breaking down of the Berlin wall. The film does a great job at showing the viewers the different ways of life were on each side of the wall. We watch as the main character Alex and his family deal with the uniting of East and West Germany. One big obstacle for Alex is to convince his mother who was in a coma during the fall of the wall, that it is still up. Her doctor fears that too much excitement could result in a fatal heart attack. Alex’s mother is devoted to East Germany and is an activist for social progress. This is when the movie gets real creative to ensure keeping the secret from Alex’s mother.

As the wall comes down we see the distinct difference in the two sides. Alex ventures off for his first trip to the West and we watch as he walks into a porno shop. A few East Germans, men and women, are gathered around a TV which is showing a naked female rubbing whip cream all over her body. Neither disgusted nor excited the East Germans watch with blank stares on their faces. They are watching something they never even imagined. Changing of person choice is also evident as Alex’s sister Ariane quits studying economic theory and begins to flip burgers at Burger King. Capitalism really floods into East Germany after the fall of the wall. Coca Cola and Burger King are two companies who are shown as examples of capitalism invaded the East. Many of the working class hero’s lost their lost their jobs. Alex’s TV repair company shuts down and he then begins his job as a door to door satellite TV salesman and installer.

As his mother wakes we get to witness Alex transform everything back to his socialist society so his mother will not go into shock. Alex begins to move all the old furniture into the house. Alex goes to lengths to keep it from his mother. East German food is now unavailable and has been taken over by westernized products. This is an obstacle for Alex. He can’t find the products that mother wants so he fills old jars with similar products. Mocca Fix Gold and Spreewald Pickles are a couple of mother’s favorites. Another product that is East German Approved was the Trabant. In the scene when they are trying to get mother to sign over her money the name Trabant comes up. Unsure what it was, I did some research and found out that it was the most common vehicle in East Germany. In Latin Trabant means “fellow traveler”. The name was inspired by the Russian satellite sputnik.

I found Good bye Lenin to be a very informative tool as to grasp how it was for citizens of East Germany when the wall fell. There were many things that I learned from the movie. I had no idea that the German soccer team won the world championship following the fall of the wall. I can’t image how much that helped unite the country. Many times when there is adversity in a country or a institution, it seems that something like sports like can really unite people and bring them together.

Run Lola Run

Berlin, which is the capital of Germany, is the setting for the movie “Run Lola Run”. Berlin is the country’s largest city with 3.5 million people. This could be compared to the size of Los Angeles and its 3.8 million people. Berlin is located in north eastern Germany. Germany has many neighboring countries. The country nearest to Berlin is Poland which is about 55 miles to its border.

"Run Lola Run" did a good job of familiarizing the viewer on landscape of a German city. A good plus in the movie was that it was hard to miss anything because it plays three times. Culturally there were many things that jumped out at me during the movie. The first thing that I noticed was the road systems. In the first scene we see Lola running down a very skinny one way street with cars parked on both sides. This was probably a side street, but you still don’t see many streets like that in the U.S. One kind of vehicle you did not see were SUV’s. Maybe the roads are too skinny for these. There were many forms of transportation that were shown, including trains, subway and bicycle. Cycling is quite popular in Berlin. 1 tenth of all trips made in Berlin are made on bicycle. After researching cycling in Berlin I found that it is actually illegal to ride a bike in the street. One must stay in the designated bike lanes. That got me thinking… The bum in the movie that offers to sell his bike to Lola is driving his bike like a mad man in the middle of the street. Quite fitting that he stole the bike and now is rebelling, driving illegally in the street. Further research on cycling in Berlin presented some alarming facts. 60% of Berlin’s 2007 traffic fatalities were cyclist and pedestrians. Which was evident in the film when Lola gets ran over.

Did anyone else notice all the graffiti? There was plenty of graffiti everywhere as Lola ran through the streets. I wasn’t sure if this was added to give the film some edge or if it was actually graffiti on the natural landscape. Not knowing what to think I did some research on graffiti in Berlin. Turns out graffiti is quite popular in Berlin. The roots of graffiti culture are traced back to West Berlin in the early 1980’s. Graffiti in Berlin is referred to as “Bombing” or “Tags”. In Berlin there are actual graffiti stores where you can buy your supplies. The local police have done little to stop the art. Police make on average of 15 arrests in one week and the punishment is quite minimal. 35 to 50 million dollars in damage are caused by graffiti yearly in Berlin. So this information would explain all the graffiti on the run to find Manni.

The setting around Manni seems like a major intersection. A couple of cultural things that stood out in Manni’s scenes were the yellow phone booth and the Bolle Supermarket. I knew that in Britain they historically had the red phone booths so the yellow must have been culturally German. Looking up German phone booths on the internet it was confirmed that originally they were made yellow. Now most phone booths in Germany are glass with gray or pink trim. Some phone booths are card only and some are coin only. This would explain Manny borrowing the old lady’s card. These cards are not credit cards, but are called “smart cards” and are exclusively used for these phone boxes. You know what would have been real handy for Lola and Manni? Cell phone would have helped them out a lot. I guess the film was made in 1998 and Cell phones were completely main stream at that point. Speaking of being handy, that is actually what Cell phones are called in Germany, “Handys” or also called “Mobiles”. In the phone booths background stood the Bolle store. At first I thought it was a sunglasses store and then when Manni went to rob it, it was a supermarket. This sparked my interest. Turns out Bolle Supermarket is a traditional chain of Berlin. It was founded by Carl Andreas Julius Bolle in 1933 and became nationally known as Bolle in May of 1987.

There were a few other things I observed in the movie that I found interesting and was curious if anybody else noticed. Did anyone notice what Lola’s mom was drinking in the opening scene? Jack Daniels was her choice of drink. I found it interesting that she was drinking an American whiskey. Also I was unsure of this, but was the guy who crashed his moped in the final scene the guy who stole Lola’s moped in the beginning? That would be a fitting example of Karma if it was. A funny thing I noticed in the beginning was when the bum offers to sell his bike to Lola and Lola declines his offer and in the next scene Lola runs past two unattended bikes. I guess Lola really wanted to run. One last thing that I was trying to put together was the meaning of Lola’s ambulance ride with the bank security guard. I am guessing he had a heart attack, but the ambulance ride was in the third scene and Lola robbed the bank in the second. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie a lot and have already recommended it to others.

My Sassy Girl

“My Sassy Girl” takes place in Seoul Korea. Its neighbors are China to the West and Japan to the East. “My Sassy Girl” is a romantic comedy which somehow brings two people together which have a strange relationship. The guy main charters name is Gyeon-woo and the female co-star is never given a name in the movie.

Early on in the movie the couple stays at a hotel. This hotel gives us a view at what are called “sex hotels”. These hotels can be a less expensive stay than other hotels. Sex hotels can be rented by the hour or by regular night stays. Unlike what you would imagine these hotels are nice and comfortable to stay in. The only thing risqué about the rooms would maybe a red light. The movie keeps most of its scene’s in the heart of the city. Korea has a similar look to its neighbor Japan, but is not near as nice. During the day the buildings are noticeably outdated, but at night the neon lights shine bright. Also Korea has a good train system but is not as great as Japans.

One thing that culturally stood out in my mind was the shots of alcohol. In many scene’s of the movie the actors are hammering shots of alcohol. The father of the girl is really drunk and continues have shots till he passes out. When Gyeon-woo is hanging with friends they all do shots and laugh and have a good time. It seems like all ages get into it too. It must be a cultural tradition. I was curious what they were taken shots of.

Another cultural aspect I noticed was the emphasis that was put seniority. Early on in the movie the girl begins yelling at people complaining to a younger man that he need give up his seat to the elder man standing. I know she later puke’s on the old man but she was still looking out for him. Also later in the movie Gyeon-woo tries explaining to his girl that she is not allowed to talk down to him like she does because in fact he is 1 year older than her. He seems serious when he expresses this, so it must not be taken lightly.

I enjoyed “My Sassy Girl”. It gave a good idea what it is like in Korea and at the same time was entertaining. In doing research on this movie I noticed that an American version came out about 10 days ago. I would really like to watch it to see which themes they kept in it and also which themes they changed to American culture.

Train Man

Train Man, which takes place in Tokyo Japan, is centered on a young man whom would be considered a geek who falls in love for the first time on a Train. The main character, who is known as “Train Man” is a secluded individual. He keeps to himself and his computer. Train Man is into Anime, which is Japanese animation. Japanese whom are obsessed with anime are typically geeky and lack social skills.

Train Man and his secluded life take a turn when he breaks up a fight on a train and falls for the girl he was protecting. The fight that occurs on the train was between a drunken business man and the patrons on the train. It is very common for Japanese businessman to go have drinks after work with colleges and instead of going home they will just sleep on the ground and go to work the next day. The beautiful girl after being saved by Train man, wants to send him a thank you gift, so she gets his address. This is the part in the movie where we really get the idea of Japanese computer culture. Having no friends train man turns to the online community for suggestions on how to go about landing this beautiful girl he met on the train. Many from the online community begin to chime in on how he should go about everything. The train man was a very nervous guy. I thought his acting at times was a little over the top as far as being too nervous or too shy. But it does a good job at showing how this type of person is lacking in social skills. The overabundance of advice given to train man shows us there are many others like him.

Doing some research on the film, I found that this actually was based on true events. At first it came out as a novel then the movie and then it evolved into a TV series. This shows the popularity of a Anime geek finding love.

The Little girl who sold the Sun

“The Little girl who sold the Sun” shows the dramatic differences in quality of life in Dakar, Senegal. A developed country Senegal has many issues with poverty and unemployment. The movie centers on a girl named Sili, who is determined to scale all obstacles to provide for her family. Even though Sili is a cripple who need s crutches to get her everywhere she needs to go, she sets out to get a job selling news papers to provide for her family.

Early in the movie we are shown the drastic qualities of life. In one early scene we are shown a poor man pounding stones into smaller stones. We can assume this is what this man does day in and day out. Behind this man you can see planes taking off and a group of youths dressed in bright running gear training for long distance running. This shows the drastic comparison of their economy. The streets of Dakar are full of people whom are unemployed. People are seen milling around the streets begging for money or begging for work.

Sili determined to get a job, talks the newspaper people to let her sell the paper. Generally this is a job done by just young males. With much perseverance Sili uses her crutches to pedal the streets and sell her newspapers. I found her determination quite admirable. As she began to gather clients she became unpopular with her competitors. They would even stoop to stealing her crutches and knocking her down. This just shows how cutthroat that it is for money in Senegal.

Le Grande Seduction

The movie “Le Grande Seduction” highlights what it is like in a dying town. A comedic film that tells the tale of a once booming fishing village that has turned into an unemployed town of little over a hundred people. The film takes place in St. Marie-La-Mauderne a town in Quebec. The town has an offer of a plastics factory to be constructed in the town but would require a resident doctor in the town. A former resident of the town, now cop in the big city stumbles upon a doctor under the influence of drugs. The Cop sets up a month long community service in St. Marie as a resident doctor. Now the town must shape its self up to become attractive enough for the doctor to never want to leave.

I found the movie very humorous from this point on in the movie. The lengths the town went, to impress the Doctor were quite clever. One of the subtle ways the town was made more impressionable was just the cleanness of the characters. The mayor before the doctor came to was a mess. His hair was everywhere; he was unshaven and was wearing dirty looking clothes. He and many others almost looked like entirely different people. The town figured out what the doctor liked, such as beef stroganoff, bare footed women and cricket. They then made sure he was always presented with things.

I enjoyed how each character had specific roles and personalities. This was great because that is what you get in a small town. Everyone has their thing and is well known for their personality. The attractive female postal worker had an interesting role I thought. She was not in many scene but had a significant role in the movie. Throughout the whole movie I was thinking where the good-looking girl was. Thinking that she could really help the town out if she herself would seduce the doctor with charm and her good looks, but now looking back that would have been too easy and would have taken away from all of the other clever things the town was doing. You really got a grasp of the postal ladies personality without even her talk in the movie. It safe to say she is a truthful person, since she did not participate in the swaying of the doctor.

This was a great plot line for a movie. Along with these dying fishing villages, there are many other dying towns in the world that once had a niche and now are no longer thriving. A drive through Nebraska and you will see dying towns first hand. I have grandparents that live in a town of about 350 people. When I was younger it wasn’t a booming town by any means but was more populated and had excitement in the town. People would cruise up and down main street on a Friday night honking their horns and the bars were filled with people. Now you would be lucky to see one car go down the street and the bar would most likely close early. Whether the town used to be a fishing village or a railroad town they will be faced with the growing trend of people moving to the big city where the money is.