We just watched episode 1 today in class and I am left with mixed feelings about it. It is highly entertaining and suspenseful and it really makes me want to keep watching. If not just for the football content, who doesn’t love an underdog story? What leaves me feeling odd about it though is all the stereotypes that seem to be promoted. They put subtitles on the players who had thick accents, which doesn’t seem malicious, but that wasn’t necessary. The documentarians also didn’t miss a single prayer that was said by the team, I’m sure. Even the spectators of the game they made seem really really southern and foreign to the rest of Americans. I understand that’s all true, but when the only video you see of citizens of that small town is some men cooking burgers next to their pickup truck and saying a prayer with a beer in their hands, it doesn’t project the best of images. The thing that stuck out to me the most was when “Ollie” told the camera that the world thinks everyone from Mississippi is stupid and fat, and then they show him saying he’s hungry and a little later on talk about how bad he’s doing in school. I know it’s all honest, but the heavy use of things like that never help any cause.

I saw Faces, Places a few weeks ago in the quad theater in the village. This movie really captured me. Agnès Varda, the director of the film (she directed The Gleaners and I as well!), really captures herself and her life philosophy so well in her films. This one is no exception. She celebrates life, and youth, people, and stories while touring France with the photographer JR. This movie highlighted the lives and stories of some of the more common people in France and, in the process, took their seemingly mundane stories and made the audience believe they are noteworthy. These small stories are noteworthy, and all life is. Memories of her past come to life before her eyes with massive prints of some photos Agnes took in her youth. JR, the photographer, makes all this magic happen and lets Agnes’ mind run wild with artistic vision. This movie, at it’s most basic level, is a true celebration of human life in all shapes and forms. It is inspiring, mentally heavy, and really a true work of art. I don’t want to ruin too much of it because I think everybody should go see this movie, especially with the deeper appreciation of documentaries that we all have after taking this class.

I just watched the interview with Wiseman, and I have to say he is not at all as I pictured him. I thought him to be a pseudo-artist all caught up in his own ego, from the kind of movies he makes, and how he doesn’t believe anything aside from raw film can be considered a documentary. Instead he seemed to be a genuine artist doing something he loved.

Prior to watching High School, I was a little shaky on this form of documentary. Truthfully, it doesn’t seem like great fun to watch on paper, but it really is magic once Wiseman brings it to life. I find it wonderful how he can just string together various clips he’s taken and form a narrative purely based on observation. The fact that he doesn’t clearly state anything, I find alluring. There is a beauty to simplicity, and letting actions speak for themselves, and this film (and I hope other films he makes) captures this so precisely.

I didn’t get the desired effect immediately after viewing, but on my drive home last week I passed by my old high school (which I do every day), and was hit with a wave of nostalgia brought on by the film. That’s when I realized how well that film captured high school life. It really shocked me that generational struggles are a constant in high school, I know it makes sense, but I thought there would be some evolution in school dynamic over the course of 50 years.

I walked away from this film with a great respect for what Wiseman makes, as well as a hunger to watch a few more of his movies.

I recently watched a documentary about Pedophilia in the movie industry. It is really a disgusting and disturbing thing in general, but this industry amplifies how bad it can really be. The movie is called “An Open Secret” and it’s a long, painful watch if you find it hard to grapple with the subject matter. It’s currently on youtube, and I believe that’s the only place you can find it.

I won’t say everything that I can about this movie, but I think everyone who enjoys film, not just documentaries, should give this a watch. This movie throws around incredibly recognizable names that will stun you. Personally, I have stopped seeing (or at least paying) movies that would make these men any money at all. The amount of people involved in this black market industry is really mind-numbing. What makes it worse is how blatant it all is, and how the overwhelming evidence doesn’t matter because of who these executives are. Money is the only reason that all of these men aren’t behind bars.

This film alone contains many testimonials from victims of these Hollywood pedophile big-shots. There are hundreds of others that are too ashamed to go in front of a camera but would go in front of a courtroom. Scare tactics and money are the things holding them back.

This film is mainly comprised of interviews, pictures with narration voiceovers, and some home footage. It scored a 93% on rotten tomatoes, but is relatively unheard of. Awareness on this topic needs to be heightened, and a perfect way to do it is to watch this movie and share it with someone else. I don’t expect anyone to go out and start raising money for a courtroom battle, but I think watching the movie and not paying for any films made by these directors and producers will be enough.

 

I recently watched a documentary on UFOs. I know what you’re thinking, but do you know why you’re thinking it? After that statement most people would roll their eyes, laugh, or write me off as a lunatic conspiracy theorist, but why? Given the nearly infinite amount of planets in the ever-expanding universe, and the billions that can support life, why is it so improbable that we have made contact with aliens? The answer: it’s not, and this documentary explains why.

I admit giving this film a watch will require an open mind, but if you think of everything scientifically, it will not be hard to swallow. It’s far more probable that we have had extraterrestrial contact than not. After all, could we really be the ONLY species in the entire universe to develop a form of higher intelligence (13 billion years after its creation no less)? Humans are a fairly young species, and we’ve accomplished so much in so little time, but have you ever wondered why we have been stagnant for the past hundred years or so? I did as well… until I saw this documentary.

Truthfully I’ve believed in the existence in extraterrestrial life for my entire life. The little greens guys flying around on flying saucers was a little tough for me to believe, but I believed in some form of life outside of Earth. This documentary only affirmed this idea in my mind. This documentary does make some rather outlandish claims, that I really hope aren’t true, but make sense. I think this movie is something everyone in the world should watch, because even if you choose not to believe, at least you can understand others. I truly hope that people can come out and scientifically refute the claims made in this film until then I will be skeptical, and hopeful on my own.

 

Unacknowledged is on Netlflix