This documentary is by far my favorite of all time. It is about Jodi Arias, a woman who made international headlines for killing her boyfriend in the most brutal way possible. He had 27 stab wounds and on top of that a bullet pierced right through him. The sad part is that he was killed right in his home, in the shower.  At first Jodi said that Travis was attacked by intruders , then she claimed she was attacked by Travis, and was in an abusive relationship and acted in self defense. Later on, we come to see text messages of where she was stalking Travis and was spiteful because he didn’t think she was marriage material but just a fling. He was a pastor and she was an artist, she also loved photography. Which is quite ironic. Because while she killed him she so happened to capture it all on camera. Bloody explicit images- she couldn’t have him; no one could’ve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjQvQogRIdg

My two favorite films that we’ve watched in class would have to be Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley and Tongues Untied by Marlon Riggs. I think both of these stories were amazing because it really had the same message when it came to discovering your self identity. I think that both film makers were obsessed with the idea of finally feeling free after being worrisome about others opinion of their lifestyles. I do believe that Polley hindered her story and altered it for the sake of her mothers name. Where as Riggs didn’t care which light his audience saw him in. Both films were poetic, a seek for a sense of realism, harsh truth and acceptance. Polley’s family and acquaintances spoke about Diane’s life, but it to me it was bigger than that. It was about Sarah discovering how one little secret altered her entire life. Even though Riggs is more clear on how he feels on being gay and being bullied along with his brothers for his preference, Polley also went on a hunt to see where she came from. Both of these films influenced a message to be true to yourself, accept the facts and move on, don’t let society dictate your happiness. Happiness lies within.

This film by Kat Vecchio was very interesting. She took a sport that I would’ve never looked in to and revealed how competitive and rewarding it was. It started out as a female dominant sport and the ultimate goal was to involve men in an equal opportunity environment. Instead of genders being divided, they had to work together as a team and as equals. I found this film very empowering on behalf of the female perspective since we are now in a patriarchal time era. Most team mates were very supportive where as others felt as if they’re “purpose” was being stripped. There were many arrogant members as well for example when one of the girls said, “There’s no balls in Derby.” Obviously some women felt as if they’re hard work and attention was being diverted by the dominant men that was joining the sport. I love how Kat Vecchio wasn’t biased. She didn’t intervene in the films much and she let the woman freely express themselves as well as the men. I think her goal was to show a sport that has the potential to be international with team work from everyone, all you need was a passion for Derby.

Grizzly Man was my favorite film that we watched in class . I admired Treadwells passion and determination to understand the grizzly bears . I am an animal lover and I love exotic animals . I think that we must understand that Treadwell had a darker past than what it may have appeared ! He lost a scholarship . He was involved in alcohol and drug addiction . I think his new calling was a connection to how he truly felt inside . Misunderstood ! The bears are seen as vicious and fearful but Treadwell wanted to understand them , live them and protect them . He died loving what he did and he was aware of the danger . His passion became his reality and he shouldn’t be judged for it. I love how the film was realistic. However I disliked the fact that instead of people trying to continue Treadwells study they became very fearful. The scene where the men were throwing rocks at the bears showed that the bears are used to being provoked . The only human interaction they know is when there lives are being threatened . How else would they react to someone who genuinely wants to be around . We need to take into account humans are the most priveleged . Yet when we act and invade their space we feel as if the animals shouldn’t react in the manner they do . We know right from wrong where as animals goes off of instincts . I think the way he died was tragic but he died by the hands of his passion. When someone wants to be a doctor and lawyer we encourage that, what’s the difference by understanding an exotic species . After all humans are more destructive than animals are . Yet we aren’t portrayed as the predator. In reality, any situation can go wrong. It’s up to you too see if it’s worth it.

When I began reading the Introduction to Documentary by Bill Nicholas, I really understood his perspective on film making. “Reflexive documentaries also tackle issues posted by realism as a style. Realism seems to provide unproblematic access to the world ; it takes form as psychological, and emotional realism through techniques of evidentiary or continuity editing, character’s development, and narrative structure. Reflexive documentaries challenge these techniques and conventions.”(195) This quote reveals to the audience that in a reflexive documentary the film maker is in front of the camera providing a narrative in the story that is being presented. This makes the issue or problem more obvious the viewers. This method reminds me of the Tongues Untied. The film maker was involved in the film so much, you clearly felt the burden that the gay black community carried in that time period. At some point in the film, the film maker started zooming into the men’s faces, they were chanting; “from brother to brother” and “we’re just a ****” Marlon Riggs made it clear that the gay black community was confronting racism, homophobia and marginalization. It had a pathos effect on the viewers emotions. Riggs used his personal experiences to influence the emotions of the society by saying that they are being labeled but they are still parents, children of others, brothers, sisters, cousins of, they are just human beings. Riggs definitely made me sympathize this community because I saw it as we are all humans with the right to express our feelings in a respectful manner. I definitely agree with Bill Nicholas. In addition this film proves that it was a success.

This film was significant because Riggs gave the black gay community a voice. When this documentary started, it started off by the men chanting “brother to brother,” this was important because it revealed that they were just human beings loving each other. It was portrayed as a sin to be gay in that community at the approximate time period. I felt as if the edits were very intense and powerful, every-time the film maker would zoom into the men’s faces I felt as if it represented them being trapped, isolated and felt a great burden.  I was a little unconformable with the white men being accepted by society even with them being gay, but the black brothers, were humiliated or taunted because of it.  I felt as if the community was very controversial and it was more of a race card rather than a gender card. However, I did not enjoy the scenes of where the two men were very intimate with each other. Not that I am against gay people, I just rather respect it from a far, those scenes were to vivid for me. In addition, I do feel as if it was put their to make their audience uncomfortable in their aim to confront homophobia.

This documentary was very intense. The film maker did a great job by capturing the the essence of the historical surroundings. It amazed me how people were going “missing” on these trains and yet they were persistent to get on it, for a new start. They overlooked their reality. This film captures the Holocaust. It was hurtful to watch man kind abuse their power. The concentration camps were stink with gas chambers, the victims starved to death, they would crawl and slowly die in the snow or in the soil for a more peaceful death. The audience can relate to human suffrage by having sympathy. The film maker used the pathos and ethos techniques. The images made me see how inhumane and distraught humans can be, even though we have the will to change the outcome, we tend to go along with the crowd. This film can depict the lesson of what can be beautiful on the outside can be toxic on the inside. The camp looked beautiful, almost as a mini town but in all reality it was the death penalty awaiting. Resnais narrative was significant. The body image deteriorating everyday, the political perspective and even though there were traumatizing scenes I was able to feel like I was present in that time period.

When I was watching the documentary, Nanook Of The North, I felt as if I partially understood the hardships the Eskimo’s faced. However, I do believe that this film is somewhere between portraying Eskimos in a negative manner or in a funny way. Some of the scenes were obviously staged. To add on, it was boring because the film maker focused to much time on scenes such as the seal hunting. Since I am an animal lover I guess I wasn’t such a big fan. The scenes were too vivid for me. I disliked the fact of how the Eskimos treated their dogs, . On the other hand, I admired the quality of the family sticking together. The best scene in this documentary was when the little boy looked up to his father. He wanted to be just like him. It was a struggle for survival living in the Arctic. But they did it together.