“American History X” by Tony Kaye is about two boys living in Los Angeles.  The brothers are drawn into a neo-Nazi gang.  The older brother Derek takes the role as the skinhead pack leader.  While telling the story of these boys, the film uses the tone of racism to get the message across.  When two black kids try to break into Derek’s car for revenge, the younger brother Danny runs into his room to warn him.  Derek takes matters into his own hands and kills both kids.  The outcome of his actions is being convicted of murder and sentenced to prison.  While Derek is in prison his younger brother takes his place as leader of the skinhead pack, to some degree, but does not have the same intelligence as his older brother.  This film is provocative, rushes through each of the scenes leaving them undeveloped and is hard to follow.

            The opening scene is extremely provocative and offensive because it is a lustful scene that does not hold back.  This is a little shocking for the viewer because it is the first thing they see in the opening of the movie.  The next scene is even more graphic. Before Derek takes the life of one of the black kids that has attempted to break in his car, he places his mouth on the curb and smashes his head with his boot.  Watching this you feel uneasy and are not sure if you want to finish the film.  The scariest part of the film is watching the skinheads bond at a party.  They are fueled by drugs, beer, tattoos and heavy metal.   It is almost as if this film is supporting racism rather than disapproving. 

“American History X” seems to be undeveloped which makes it unbelievable.   When Derek is in prison he is raped in the shower by his fellow neo-Nazi brothers.  He starts to believe that bad people are bad people. One second Derek is a white supremacist and the next he is an angel trying to spread equality. Somebody who is full of so much anger would probably not use this as their excuse to be a better man. They spoil the conclusion of the movie by giving the fact that Derek has changed in the beginning of the movie without any build up.  The ending of the movie is really random.  Danny is shot by a black kid that he has barely had words with.  Once again there is no build up for a big part of the movie. This so called shock ending is plane and pointless.

            Throughout the film there are flashbacks being shown in black and white.  This almost makes the film confusing because you have to keep each image posted in your mind.  If the viewer looses track of these images, they will not know when new characters enter the film or even how the two brothers became part of the skinhead gang.  The flashbacks can also be a symbol because the neo-Nazi’s only see black and white. This symbol is creative but is also arrogant at the same time.

            “American history X” was I disappointment because I was hoping for it to take off.  Instead I was left with a provocative, rushed and undeveloped film.  This film would not change the opinion of a person who was racist but only be humorous to them.  Tony Kaye has good idea with the film but should have taken more time in making it better.

Peter Jackson’s film “District 9” takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa.  When a large group of aliens are given permission to leave their broken down craft and live on Earth. Things do not go as planned. A man named Wikus Van Der Merwe is given the task to move 1.8 million aliens to a new location by a private company.  He is sprayed in the face by an unknown liquid.  He starts to turn into one of the aliens and seeks the help from an alien named Christopher Johnson.  They make a plan to break into the private company to steal the indispensible fluid and discover that the aliens are being used for research.  After the company discovers their presence in the building it becomes a war to capture Wikus and Christopher.  Watching the film it seemed to be written in symbols of religion: heaven, Moses, and Christ.

The first symbol I see is the mother ship that hovers above the city for three months before human contact.  I think the ship is a symbol for heaven because it gives the aliens a sense of belief that they will get home to their planet.  Because this ship hovers over District 9 it reminds them not to give up in the search of the indispensible fluid needed for the joining of the command module to the mother ship.  In real life we hope to reach something better when we leave Earth and go to heaven.

Wikus is symbolic of Moses for many reasons in the film.  Wikus’ arm becomes alien because of the fluid.  This fluid is the only way the aliens can go home and the only way Wikus can be set back to his normal self.  Just as Moses gives up his riches, Wikus sacrifices to be human and his wife for the alien race.  Towards the end of the film Wikus leads Christopher and his son to the safety of the ship, compared to Moses leading the slaves to safety out of Sodom.

The alien Christopher Johnson is a symbol of Christ.  In the film it takes him twenty-eight years to recover the fluid to save his people, almost like the preparation time of Christ.  At one point he is beaten to his knees and blood runs down his face.  Watching this I could not help but think of  “The Passion of  Christ”.  Christopher makes a promise to Wikus and his people to return in three years to help them; this can be similar to the three days of Christ’s resurrection.

The symbols of heaven, Moses, and Christ are very clear if you pay close attention.  Some may say this is a big stretch of the imagination but then again so is the movie.  I hope the readers of my essay will be open minded and not judge my analysis because it is based on religion.  I think Peter Jackson does a very good job in making the audience see how we treat someone who we consider “different”.

shaffnersroundtable:

Media influence on fashion seems to appear every and anywhere people go today. From the gym’s to the fast food drive thru’s media is a strong influence. Media seems to affect the way we feel about ourselves and our personality. You could almost lose confidants in one’s self by not upholding…

 I like how you brought popular entertainment into this discussion of media’s influence. Commercials aren’t they only bits out there telling how we should dress, etc. Entertainment on tv, movies, and now the internet is driven by advertising. Without advertising there would a whole lot less of all three. The shows themselves are often advertisements themselves. Add to that the fact that most media outlets are owned by giant corporations, it gets harder and harder to sort out the difference between a commercial and a program. You brought up Twilight and I would just like to say that many of the messages to young girls in that series are potentially very damaging. I like your idea of broadening the type of people we see in the media. We are a country made of all types of people, so we should see more than just a couple.

 I like how you use the most popular movie out right now.  These advertisers say sex sells but maybe if they stop using commercials that have sexual content people would stop being influenced to think this way.

shaffnersroundtable:

Christopher told Vikus that he would be back for him in three years. What do you think will happen when he comes back?

 I think Christopher will come back to help Vikus and save the rest of his people but do it in a peaceful way.  I do not think he will start a war because he does not want to risk the lives of his people.

The most important component of feeding an entire culture is the food staple. Food is any substance or material eaten to provide nutritional support for our body. In order to give our body support we need to eat healthy and most important of all is to be aware of what is in our foods. I believe…

 I totally agree with you, that Americans should do some research before purchasing food.  I think it would be great if people shopped organically but the sad thing is the majority of america can not afford to shop this way.

Food Inc. is a documentary that is out to reveal the current state of American food industries and shows the mass production of food.  Shockingly, this film is extremely one sided.  Throughout the film, there are certain facts that are misrepresented and are only given an opinion from one side.   The documentary fails to reveal each corporations story, how mass production has affected the food supply, and the purpose of chemical usage in food production.

            It is easy to make a big corporation look like the villain when all the facts are not laid out on the table.  This film twists the facts of Monsanto’s activities and purpose.   According to a critic named, Michael Chu, the people interviewed about the company Monsanto “violated contracts or engaged in illegal activity”, which was not mentioned in the film.  The seeds sold by Monsanto took years of research and experiments.  After all the hard work that took place, the company rightfully patented their product.  Whether these farmers like it or not, it is against the law to recreate someone else’s invention or product.  Even though Tyson has been in business for 70 years, they have around long enough to realize the importance of getting food out as fast as possible.  This company’s goal is to help families make dinner faster, bigger and cheaper.  They are one of the biggest meat companies and have a lot of business, which gives the reason to think that are doing everything to standard. It is understandable to feel the depth of a chicken’s misery, but at the end of the day, you have to think about your family and their needs

           The mass production of food has been good for the United States and the whole world for that matter.  The majority of America buys and eats cheap, conventional food.  Many people do not have the option to shop at stores that offer organic foods because of the high cost.  Feeding America is a concern for all.  New Mexico is the third in the nation in hunger and second in food insecurities.  Producing inexpensive food is a necessity to meet our food needs.   These corporations make it possible for families to have a decent meal at a cheap cost every day.  A writer named, Michael Arndt, says, “2 billion more people might occupy the planet by 2030”.  If this is true these corporations are helping make sure all that of America has enough to eat by producing food that is “bigger, cheaper and faster.”

            In food we eat many chemicals that are either naturally in the product, purposely added or from contamination.  This does not necessarily mean that they are harmful to our bodies.  If eaten in a moderate amount there will most likely not be an effect from these chemicals in our food.  The human intake of these chemicals and pesticides is low.  Many chemicals are used to reduce bacterial growth, decrease the spread of disease, and increase shelf life.  There has been no evidence that these chemicals and pesticides have harmed anybody in long term.  A human’s body naturally produces hormones and they are important to a person’s development.   If our bodies naturally create hormones and there is no evidence that they cause harm, then who is to say they are to blame for health problems.

            I give a round of applause to Food Inc. for putting the message out there about food, but next time they should reveal the whole story.  It is evident that Monsanto is not the nicest company, but they are not the big bad wolf either.  These corporations are making sure America does not become malnourished, by putting hormones and pesticides in the food, which currently have no evidential harm on the body.  Food labels should reveal actual food sources, genetically modified food, cloning, etc., so people can make informed decisions.