ET 4: BIRTH OF A NATION AND TRIUMPH OF THE WILL

In the production of the films “Birth of a Nation” and “Triumph of the Will”, it was obviously intended for the producers to influence the audience of both films to side with the protagonist(s) and also develop similar beliefs as theirs. However, there are specific talking points in terms of realism, structure, melodrama and propaganda in relation to both films.

Like I said in my first paragraph, both stories revolve around influencing the audience, or in this case – brainwashing. They both portray the good in themselves (protagonists) and how they are depicted as saviors of the current time at the time or even – the solution to the troubled times of war. In my opinion, it is done much better in the film “Triumph of the Will” as everything that was recorded, actually happened. You could practically call it a documentary of Hitler’s visit to Nuremberg. However, in the film “Birth of a Nation”, the black people were obviously white people disguised with make-up on which questions their credibility on the generalization of black people. The biasness on the Caucasians was also apparent and it stuck out like a sore thumb. The realism of both films clearly depicted the biasness and the “good” of the protagonists.

In terms of structure though, both films had brilliant techniques that capitalized on the shots of the scenes. In the film “Birth of a Nation”, they had many long shots of the Klu Klux Klan dressed in white whilst riding on their also dressed in white – horses. This is obviously to sway the audience into thinking the Klu Klux Klan are heroes. In one of the scenes I remembered, was a close-up shot on a little girl crying amidst the chaos, which I felt made me feel pity for the terrorized family. However, after replaying scenes of the blacks being hit on the head and making a mockery out of them, my sympathy for the whites faded almost instantly. In the film “Triumph of the Will”, they had a considerable amount of Bird’s eye view angles on the Nazi followers and also many low-angle shots of Hitler when he was giving his speeches. I suppose both angles were used to portray the belief and power of the army and how they were more than capable of winning battles.

Both films also showed melodramatic qualities. In fact, both films were practically made as melodramas! Firstly, when the Klu Klux Klan were riding on their horses on their way to “saving the day”, the music that played in the background made them feel as if they were heroes. The music also changed when they shot the blacks terrorizing the house. In the film “Triumph of the Will”, in the very first shot of Hitler’s airplane in the sky through the clouds, the music playing made him look like a God descending from the skies as he emerged from the plane after landing. Secondly, in both films, the majority of the public seemed so happy when the protagonist(s) was present. An example would be when the Klu Klux Klan in “Birth of a Nation” paraded through the white public and when Hitler in “Triumph of the Will” landed as the German citizens cheered and raised their arms in respect for him.

Both films also had a clear depictions of them being propaganda. In the film “Birth of a Nation”, it had a scene where black people were seen taking off their shoes and drinking in public. It could not have been any clearer how the film had the intention of practically destroying the image of every black citizen. Conversely, the film “Triumph of the Will” had a different approach. In the film, there were hundreds and thousands of Nazi followers, which had much more impact in terms of credibility. The massive amount of supporters demonstrated the power and control of their leader – Adolf Hitler.

In conclusion, after watching both films, I am beginning to suspect the hidden meaning in every film or movie I watch. The fact that everything I see could influence my current or future decisions scare me. Maybe, reality as we know it could be a manifestation of many hidden meanings. If so, I am also beginning to understand Leni Riefenstahl’s quote of how “reality doesn’t interest me”.

Observing myself as an audience to the film “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” ET2

Ever since young, I have never thought of observing myself as an audience and also notice what my usual preferences are when watching a film or movie. However, I am sure that most of us do not usually observe ourselves as we are observing the movie and through my first time observing myself, I have come to realize that after watching the film “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, I felt specific emotions, realized my preferences when watching films and also had thoughts about the film the next day.

During the film, I remembered that I empathized for the main character that was to be hung. When he was about to meet his demise, he shed a tear and thought of his wife and children in front of what I assume to be his house. At that moment, I felt sad as well and I immediately thought of my own family. However, it all changed when he did manage to escape. As I observed his escape, I began to feel his exhaustion during his extremely long run through the forest, especially when he stopped for a breather while leaning on a tree. There was just something about him that affected me emotionally when he pushed himself to the limit just to see his family again. Another emotion I felt was shock. I felt shocked when all this time, it only appeared to be him imagining his escape. After dodging bullets, cannon balls and even running for an extremely long time, I realized that I grew an emotional attachment to the character. I also thought of whether he really deserved it. In the beginning of the film, a sign on an old tree stump had mentioned, “if any civilian was caught interfering with the railroad bridges, tunnels or trains, they would be hanged”. In my point of view, I still thought of him as an innocent man – as the film never really portrayed nor showed any of his wrongdoings.

Another thing I noticed during the screening of the film was the rest of the audience and how they affected me. I have realized that I tend to pay more attention to a film or movie when I watch it in a group, as my mind tends to wander if I do watch it alone. My reaction to the film would have been different if I had watched it alone as I think I would have been bored and would have stopped paying attention. This is probably so as I like the feeling and atmosphere when everyone sits down together to share an emotion or reaction together. I also prefer watching it with others as I have the option of asking them a question related to a scene I might not understand. Throughout the screening, I felt many different emotions and in my case, I cannot hide what I feel. Most of the time, I was trying to understand how the man could possibly escape from all that gunfire. Thus, making me squint with my mouth wide open whilst trying to make out the sense of it all. It ended when the film showed that it was all his imagination and he had really just died instead which shifted my clueless face into a more shocked expression. Additionally, every time there’s a scene in a movie or film where a character is submerged in the water, I always hold my breath only until they gasp for air. Similar to how the man did when he was submerged in water. I guess this is just putting myself into the character’s shoes to see whether I would survive if I were to be in a similar situation.

After the screening, I had several thoughts on the film. On my way back home, in my car, I thought of the man and his escape. I thought of how things would have gone if he really did escape and he did get to meet his family once again. I guess that’s what we all do – predict the best and also, the worst outcomes of situations. That entire escape scene has even made me consider carrying a pocketknife with me at all times just in case I get tied up. The next day though, when I was having a game of football at the park, I thought of how important stamina was. When I was running, I thought of the man and how he ran and avoided all the gunfire and cannon balls. If I were to run out of breath and be that man, I would’ve died instantly! Sadly, it even affected me as I began to feel more tired and lethargic during the game as I thought of him running with that tired look on his face. It made me consider jogging as a daily means of increasing my stamina.

After watching the screening of the film, I have realized that I might be a very cautious person. I do not want to lose any of my family members, thus I feel emotional when I watched the man tear when he thought of them right before his death, wanting to understand the film as I want to learn as much as possible in order to avoid problems from arising and even going as far as carrying a pocketknife and jogging daily for my safety. The screening has really helped me understand more about who I am and hopefully I’ll understand even more after my next.

the introduction to film class

this blog will be used for an assignment based class - film101 by Rey Buono.

it will contain comments, criticisms, comparisons and essays on movies - particularly SILENT and BLACK AND WHITE (with no spiderman involved)

the main website - www.adprosebud.wordpress.com

that will be all for now.

my thoughts - I have this mad obsession on wanting to watch the movie Wizard of Oz as Rey mentioned today (16th May 2011) that in the movie, there will be a part when the main character enters fantasy, there is color and when he/she goes back to reality - it is black and white.