Film Analysis: The Stories We Tell

Sarah Polley’s film Stories We Tell is as much about how we interpret images – what we take as “true” – as it is about how we remember. Through a close analysis of the film discuss what you think the film sets out to do and how it achieves these aims. In answering this question you might also want to look at reviews of the film.

The Frontline film Separate and Unequal discussed about creating a new school system; however, there are opposition by others who wants to maintain the current school system. If we look at the perspectives of the two groups, it is understandable in why there is support and opposition from the people of the city. The supporters of the new system wants a system that can provide better opportunities for their children without any violence. As the film claimed “the school was not teaching and were only babysitting the children”, which was likely a reason why there was a need for a new school system. With the chaotic and uncontrollable situation in the current system, many supporters have push forward the idea of a new system in a new city. From

A League of Their Own (Marshall, 1992) explicitly characterizes an American era when a woman’s place was in the home. Even our modern perspective implicitly follows suit. Although women have gained rights and freedoms since the 1930’s, sexism remains prevalent in America. This film offers an illustration when men went to war and big business men utilized women as temporary replacements in factories, sports, and so on. Here, course concepts, such as gender socialization, gender expressions, role stereotypes, emotion expressions, and language, correspond to the film’s characters and themes.

Firstly, it is important to understand how the documentary form is best suited to illustrate the film’s theme. In order to do this, one must have an overview of the documentary style of filmmaking. Documentaries concern themselves with the “exploration of

In a ground breaking documentary, that gained rotten tomatoes of 93%, The Hunting Ground, displays a monumental depiction of the rape culture on college campuses. This film spread like while fire and was highly talked about among college campuses. The documentary captures real life survivors known as “degraduates” because they are seeking not only their degree but justice (Dick et. al., 2016, p. 4). Some of the victims feel that justice still has not been served, which brings upon devastation on not only the victim but the victim’s families.

"Precious Knowledge," is a film which focuses on the successes of Tucson Unified School District’s ethnic studies. "Precious Knowledge" comes at a precipitous time as Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) faces a state-mandated deadline to dismantle the program, which has offered elective courses to students, primarily at the high school level, or face stiff financial punitive action. Students and teachers, fight to eliminate Arizona legislation banning ethnic studies programs in Tucson high School in Arizona. Because the bill of dismantle the program [Bill 2281] would remove/destroy curriculum in Tucson high school, which would otherwise provide innovative social-justice curriculum, students who become engaged, informed, and active in their

In the documentary, Stories We Tell, one family discusses their perspectives of the memories of how they found out that Sarah, one of the siblings in the family, had a different biological father. This family story shows many dramatic elements. For instance, the father assumes the narrative role. His uses his voice to create a dramatic flair.

Also, different ethnographers have various perspectives and personal understandings about the “reality” they choose to capture, therefore, their preexisting schemas or intentional attitudes will directly affect their way of framing the film as well as the particular aspect they may choose to emphasize and explore. In this respect, this form of interpretation of the culture is very much based on the ethnographer’s chosen way of description and explanation of the reality. In this regard, audiences are standing on their perspective ways of looking at the social practices, which is obviously biased. Therefore, film itself is simply a visual illustration, a medium of presenting, of the particular aspect the ethnographer chooses to analyze and explore.

Stories We Tell is an observational and participatory documentary that tells the story of Diana's Life through her family and friends. The documentary is structured to reveal Diana through other people's stories of her. People close to her are interviewed and asked questions to recall her past, personality, life, and death. The piece is an investigation setup interviewing her relatives and friends with clips and photos of her past. It is interesting that Sarah is conducting the interviews, yet she is not the narrator of the documentary, her father is. The piece flowed greatly through time and it displayed past and present emotions.

Part 1 - In American author's 2009 book, The Help, the primary thesis is the relationship between Black maids and white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. The story is really told from three perspectives, Aibileen and Minny are Black women, both maids, and Skeeter is the nickname of Eugenia Phelan, daughter of a prominent White family. Skeeter has just finished school and hopes to become a writer. In general, the relationship between the Black maids and the White employers is six sided: On one side we have the White employers who have three views: 1) Their personal and private beliefs that can range from extreme scorn and bias to kindness regarding race; 2) Their public persona that must have the "proper" attitude about Blacks and "the help," and 3) Their employer attitude, which is condescending and parental. The Black view also has three segments: 1) Their personal and private beliefs that usually range from understanding not all Whites are the same and an extreme love and empathy for the White children for whom they care; 2) The public persona that is deferential, polite, and stoic to their White bosses; and 3) Their attitude and view among the Black community, which usually separates the "poor and ignorant but rich" White souls from the Black view of family and common sense. All in all, the relationship is contentious, phony, and based on economic advantage.

Many live attempting to decipher the riddle of life. What is life? What is the purpose? What makes? Even though we only seek happiness why can’t we ever seem to achieve it? When we do reach happiness why can’t we seem to grasp it and hold it for more than the few short hours that pass like seconds? The question we must answer first is “What makes happiness, true?”

The challenge of accurately representing ethnography, the critical analysis and systematic inspection of everyday life across cultures, has been repeatedly attempted with myriad intentions and has subsequently evolved over time. This paper will examine four iconic anthropological filmmakers in the mid-twentieth century in their individual distinctive endeavors to contribute to and accomplish this goal of developing ethnographic film. From Robert Flaherty 's objective to showcase culture as art, to Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson’s intent to produce a purely unbiased and scientific cinematic record, to John Marshall’s desire to present works which would engage audiences politically, one can trace the evolving narrative of ethnographic film itself, climaxing in the ultimate quest for reflexivity.

In the short film, Yours and Mine, by Beyoncé, a message is being sent about how women should always be confident in themselves and not feel obliged to meet standards of society; the short film uses Beyoncé’s voice over black and white images and scenes to send it’s important message. Beyoncé talks about her struggles of being famous and not wanting to be a people pleaser, while claiming herself a “humanist.” When one is famous, the public is always pushing them to be some sort of way, and it can be hard to find yourself with that pressure, but Beyoncé manages to use her love for herself and her family to push through that. This film is inspirational and gives a more subtle point of view on feminism than the common aggressive and elaborate views of the movement.

Analyze This is a hilarious, feel good movie about two men from different backgrounds living completely opposite lifestyles. Through a series of very funny, random and bizarre moments they form a memorable friendship together. The movie came to theatres in 1999, was directed by Harold Ramis and included a cast full of some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. It begins with two gangsters leaving a café, discussing their plans to attend a meeting involving the countries major crime bosses. One gangster goes back in the café to get a toothpick and at the same time the other gangster is killed from a drive-by shooting. The movie’s plot is based upon the surviving gangster seeking out a psychiatrist to help with his emotional

With Film Analysis comes the analyzation of films and movies that depict narrative structure, cultural context, the evaluation of discourse, and many other approaches. The film, “Friday” (1995), is a comedy and drama that displays the relationship between two childhood friends growing up in an impoverished neighborhood. These two friends became affiliated with a neighborhoods drug dealer, and were startled and clueless as to how they were going to come up with the money they owed him by the end of the night! The characterization, setting, and conflicts are the three main elements, in which are portrayed can indicate the analyzation of contributing a larger meaning of this particular film.