The Butterfly Circus - directed by Joshua Weigel
Cheri Natale – ENG 3051
Alyson van Beinum
http://vimeo.com/17150524 Complete short http://vimeo.com/17474072 2 minute teaser
“If you could only see the beauty that can come from ashes”
Butterfly Circus is a 20 minute dramatic short film which is a testament to the power of hope and faith in oneself. It is a wonderful reflection of the themes of good and evil, man vs. man, man vs. himself and hope conquers all. It can be viewed as a religious film but need not be. If you believe in yourself, you will be saved.
Synopsis
During the Great Depression, the Showman of a renowned circus starring those with unique abilities, rather than those with
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Rather than raise the issue of racism the film makers have chosen to use Will as a symbol of those who may not fit in – those who do not feel they have a purpose in life. Racism is a non issue when people respect themselves and others.
Topic
The topic of those marginalized can be discussed within the context of current society. Will believes he is the man “even God has turned his back on“ in his physical limitations. While touring with the Butterfly Circus Will realizes he can overcome his physical disabilities and swim – it is through this baptism by water, the very act of swimming, he is reborn and realizes his potential. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly.
Cultural
The culture of American society during the Great Depression can be examined. The hopelessness and loss of innocence is an excellent teaching opportunity to discuss what exactly defines a person. How would the students handle the loss of their money, jobs and their homes? The culture of those marginalized and important societal norms within the can also be examined. Are disabled people more respected in certain societies? Does Will consider himself disabled by the end of the film? The culture of the group vs the individual, man vs. society as larger issues can also be developed as topics along with the theme of hope and rebirth . Do most teenagers feels there is hope in the world?
Textual
We can examine the text ie. the language of the film . There are wonderful quotes not the least
Although this paper uses a mainstream movie, at all times you should use scholarly writing and language throughout the paper.
To start, the film seems like your basic run-on-the mill coming of age tale with a group of teenagers growing up to desire more after they graduate high school. However, there are various more themes discreetly displayed throughout the runtime of the film. For example, one central sociological overtone of this film is Marxism. With this overtone, it becomes possible to view this light-hearted and comedic movie in a
The 1998 film, Pleasantville, written, produced, and directed by Gary Ross is a “swell” example of the three perspectives of sociology. Two 1990 teenagers get trapped in the blue-sky world of a 1950’s sitcom. While spending time with the people in the small town of Pleasantville, the teens begin to drastically change the the bland ways of the townspeople and alter their world completely. Throughout these events, viewers can find examples of the functionalist perspective, interactionist perspective, and conflict perspective.
Bulman explains, “I analyze these films as data, as cultural artifacts, to see what patterns and trends they reveal…I intend to gain access to certain aspects of American society through the myths that Americans tell to them in the movies (12).”Therefore, this shows how the division of social groups and economic inequality plays a role in our perception of American society. Bulman introduces his topics of different social school by separating each and dismembering them WORK ON INTR
This movie is a great example of social groups, leadership, culture, norms, society, nature and nurture, and social lives. This movie represents how the American culture chooses our social class in society. Some sociologists believed that lifestyle choices are an important influence on our social class position (Giddens, 209). Our class position is the way we dress, where we eat, where we sleep, and how we relax (Giddens,
The purpose of this essay is to analyse the original drama text with a newer film version, while comparing the
The personalities and depictions of the characters in the movie had to be "interpreted" by
The Great Depression broke down security and belief in American society during the early 20th century and brought out hidden prejudices. The once optimistic mood during the Roaring 20’s turned to pain. The dire economic situation caused Americans to return to past social stigmas where certain groups of people were seen as inferior; as a result, the American Dream, where everyone could seek their ideal of success, was reduced to merely a dream. John Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Like in his later work, The Grapes of Wrath, he was inspired by his environment to expose the lives of people during the Great Depression using Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Steinbeck demonstrates in Of Mice and Men through the characters that the American Dream was naturally discriminatory towards certain groups of people because of common perceptions held during that period.
1. What are the main themes, politically and socially, that are portrayed in the film?
Although this film is disadvantaging to many people, it is also very beneficial. I think people that come from the lower class or an abusive household can really benefit from this film. The main point of this film is to show people that you can achieve anything you want to do no matter what background you come from, and although it might be hard because of economical/ personal issues you are not less of a person than anyone and you can still be successful. I love the idea of success because it doesn’t really have a set definition. You don’t necessarily need money to be/feel successful. You can work at Subway and still be successful while a twelve time Oscar winning actor can be successful. You sort of carve out your own success and make your own definition for it. This movie will also teach people that they are not on their own. Although you might think nobody is there for you, when you enter a room you don’t know what everyone is thinking or how everyone feels; you might now even know everyone. It is kind of like when you’re putting together a puzzle, you put certain pieces together and you get closer to finishing and you just need to keep trying to solve the puzzle because if you give up you just wasted your money on a puzzle
This film presents an individual that chooses not to conform to modern society, and the consequences of that choice. The main character
(Preview these questions before you watch the film. Take notes as you watch the film, then answer on a separate paper.)
The review of this movie is based on sociological matters that are outshined in the film and touch on the lives of the individuals, their way of living, morals, behavior and cultural aspects. The film is set in a real society and concentrating much on social issues of the society more than the economic, technological and political status of this society based in New York.
I can’t say that I felt there were any substantive resolutions to the ethical dilemmas portrayed in the film. The film seemed to be mostly concerned with putting a spotlight on the dilemmas themselves, from the perspective of the working class, unemployed, and poor people. I perceived that the film is intended to provoke the viewer to reach their own conclusion. In the film, the wider subject of American culture and society during the Great Depression is also examined. It is during this section we are introduced to the film’s second most important character, a resourceful and energetic young orphan who, in conjunction with the Tramp, serves to illustrate the human cost of the Great Depression. Through them, we are shown a country torn apart
Another issue in the movie was attitudes. All races have attitudes towards people that are not like their own, whether they are good or bad. Attitudes I believe are connected with experiences. What one experiences with another race can affect the way their attitude is towards them.