Sicko

In Michael Moore’s film, Sicko he produced an effective piece of social commentary that highlights the inadequacies of the American health care system. By focusing on the plight of people who were ensured, and yet not able to receive the care they needed, Moore highlights the racket that in American health care. One of my favorite parts of the film is when he loads a boat of Americans who need medical care and heads to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. By showing the health care available to the Cuban people, which is more accessible than here in the U.S., then bringing citizens to a prison just off the coast where prisoners are afforded better health care than citizens, Moore is effectively sandwiches the inadequacies of our health care system between that of a Socialist, antagonist of America and the irony of the services provided to criminals who attacked our country.

Becomming Death

To find a photograph to blog about I decided to just google "photograph" and pick an image that challenged me. I was about to select an old photograph of a hanging in the 40's when this image caught my eye.

I don't think one can express the sadness that this image portrays. The photo was taken in souther Sudan by photographer Kevin Carter. It is easy to understand why he took the photograph and the argument he is making. The photo successfully illustrates the dire struggle that is going on is souther Sudan (and many other parts of Africa) where there is not enough food to sustain the population.

Michael Moore & Farenheit 9-11

Documentarian Michael Moore has been a thorn in the side of whatever subject he decides is important enough to make a film about. In Fahrenheit 9-11 Moore successful states his partisan view using his time old guerrilla film tactics pared with his witty sense of humor.
Moore argues that the Bush administration is at fault, or at least knew about the terrorist attacks of 9-11. He takes his classic comedic approach to underline and connect various parts of the Bush's lives to build a plausible argument about their involvement with Saudi Arabia.
An interesting part in the documentary is when Moore uses a bunch of archival footage of both Bush Senior and Junior and their administration officials shaking hands with Saudi Leaders. During this montage the viewer is lead to believe that the has been a long standing and ongoing relationship. Moore also creative set the mood for underscoring this friendship by using the REM song Shiny Happy People, which supports a happy and jovial mood for the montage.
In all I think the film raised a lot of important questions about the Bush family and U.S. involvement with Saudi Arabia. I feel however that we as the public will never get the whole truth. I am thankful that Michael Moore is able to make his films and raise his social arguments to the masses. I also see his agenda in the process, but feel that he approaches his work in an honest way. His work is surely skewed to his perspective, but hes the one raising the question and presenting evidence to support his arguments. So though I may not agree with him 100%, I do say more power to him for standing up for what he believes in and doing what he can to get answers.

Hearts and Minds

After watching the documentary " Hearts and Minds" by Peter Davis I found myself disappointed in our involvement in the conflict. I was always aware that Vietnam was a quagmire for the United States, but have never seen anything detailing some of the specifics.
By having the documentary focus on a few main characters and their thought and perceptions of the war Davis brings the emotion of the war back to life. He carefully focuses on characters who contrast each other like the pro war POW, and then the seemingly pro war Marine who later states that the war took his life and his national pride away.
In all I think the film did a good job of establishing the atrocities of the war. Also I think it brings home the fact that we knew in order to win the war we had to win "the hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. The fact that the soldiers over there were trained to see them not as people but as the enemy goes a long way in showing how detached and lost we were in the struggle.

Susan Sontag's "America Seen Through Photographs, Darkly" Focus- Diane Arbus

Susan Sontag's article "America Seen Through Photographs, Darkly" is a unique look into the perception of the "dark" side of America. She starts off focusing on Walt Whitman's work and his ability to undress the polished side of life that we prefer to see. This serves her motives to highlight the fact that by looking into, or at the other, darker side of life. Where the filth and the freaks reside that we can and are forced to take a more surreal stock of where we are as a society.

Sontag's deliberate focus on what she refers to as "Whitmanesque" attributes in art are her catalyst to underscore her perception of what is true, raw, real photography. To her true photography embodied these Whitmanesque attributes that challenged what is beautiful and put all things in the world into that realm that affords them the opportunity to be seen as beautiful.

After establishing her perceptions of what she believed to be true art in photography, she turns her focus to photographer Diane Arbus. Arbus's photographs were definitely unique for the period. She focused on the unusual, or freaky as some (especially Sontag) saw it. Arbus herself stated that when "you see someone on the street, and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw." That flaw is defiantly present in her photographs. However in those same photographs you are able to see not the flaw, but the beauty of the flawed subject. Surely this is what attracted Sontag to Arbus's work and served as the corollary with her work and Whitman's.


In these two photographs by Arbus it is easy to see what Sontag means by "the mystery of Arbus's photographs lies in what they suggest about how the subjects feel." In both photographs you get a straight on look at the subject. With the "Mexican" you see a dwarf head on, in your face. However you also see past the uneasiness of that handicap. You see deeper into his life as a person, embodied by his posture, smile, and the comfort which he has with himself. Conversely in the other photograph you have a mother and daughter in an embrace. An image that in not foreign to us, but the feeling and mood of it screams uncomfortablility. There is nothing in the photo that stands out as a physical handicap. Instead the uneasiness is seen through the eyes of the subjects. You can see pain, fear, worry, and a yearning for hope. All together the photo works to take the pair who are clad with the Christian cross on each and a wedding band on the mother, and makes the viewer struggle with the question of what is wrong with them.
The feeling of Arbus's work is what makes it stand out. No matter the subject, Arbus's didn't toy around with emotion or iconography. She let it show as is, untouched. A true gift. A gift that allows us as citizens to embrace and understand that this country has a dark side that we all to often either forget or choose to ignore. Regardless I feel that this is a global case that we as viewers and benefactors of the arts, have the luxury to contemplate. Much as is those who are freakish or scarred, have had to contemplate and deal with to get along themselves.

Ethos-Pathos Image

This image serves as an example that incorporates aspects of both ethos and pathos.

Intro

So this is my first blog ever. I took this class because it is mandated by the university, and have to say I wasn't really looking forward to it. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised by the format. I am a little put off about having to learn a lot about film. But I am game for a challenge, and am excited to develop interpretive writing skills pertaining to documentary films and the like. Previously being an engineering major my writing skills are seriously lacking, so needless to say I look forward to developing them and hope they are up to snuff for the course!
I am a junior who is majoring in government and minoring in business. My goal is to work with NGO's in the social realm with the long term goal of operating my own not-for-profit organization focused on sustainable agriculture and development. I have begun the process of setting it up already, but with being a student, working, and all that comes with that, I have had to learn to be patient. Which is hard for me. You can check out the basic website I have set up for the Non-profit by following this link solflow.org.
I look forward to the semester and the blogging experience.
Cheers,
Josh Whitcomb