Jewish Film Experience

The films of the Jewish Film Experience were highly enjoyable in a lot of ways. While they ranged in quality level, all of them did meet a level of quality which is worth celebrating as is. However, the first one had an especially profound impact on not just myself but the audience as a whole it seems. In fact, I heard audible laughs and "awws" throughout the entire thing. It is interesting seeing this close knit community that all had a special impact on the film industry and played a large part in some staples of Hollywood and cinematic history, such as The Ten Commandments and Mickey Mouse cartoons among others.

The fact that these people have managed to live long and happy lives and have not grown jaded or bitter in their old age I think is something that really resonates with the general public. We connect with these people instantly because they look vulnerable yet we are overjoyed to find out not just their background but that they are in the long run very happy and have lived (or rather are still living) happy lives.

In a world where people leave too soon and we lose things along the way, it is comforting to know that people who have reached an age where they've seen just about all life has, the good and the bad, and are still as happy, optimistic, friendly, and lively as if it were the first day of their lives. In all, this film, in the context of a strong compilation overall, was lasting and enjoyable; a film that shows how precious a gift life really is.

Blackfish

Blackfish was an interesting documentary in many ways. As someone who travels to Orlando, Florida often I have often been bombarded by advertisements for Sea World and all its supposed "splendor." I do admit as a child often thinking that it would bee cool to see a giant killer whale perform before me, however the thought of something being a killer was frightening to me and as such I was always leery about asking my parents to take me. It turn out, my fears may not have been too far off.

It is shameful the way the trainers at Sea World are put in danger often, under the guise simply that it's part of the experience. By this I mean guests are given the illusion that these trainers are safe with these animals regardless of anything the animal does. Also, it was simply disgusting to find out the way some of the animals have been treated. Both the way they captured and accidentally killed a number of killer whales when building Sea World and of course the sad trainer deaths filled me with immense sadness. I was also filled with anger at the fact that Sea World did not even bother to comment on anything in the documentary at risk of bad publicity (which clearly has backfired).

In all, Sea World boasts itself as a place of joy and fun, yet I see now that it is far from it. While their guest experience may be in a good state (if one can call just at par that), it it just as important in these establishments what goes on behind the scenes. It is that comfort and lack of hidden information that makes experiences at places heavily featuring animals like WDW's Animal Kingdom or Mystic Aquarium all the more enjoyable. On a side note about this documentary, it seems that it has had such a profound affect that the upcoming PIXAR film Finding Dory has needed to reassess certain elements of the story involving the characters and a fish-based amusement park akin to Sea World. We must wait until 2016 sadly to see what changes have been made and how profound an impact the negligence of Sea World has had on something as innocent as a sequel to Finding Nemo.

Foley Room and Cinerama

In class we viewed two documentaries, The Foley Room and Cinerama. Having already watched the film on the Foley Room I was surprised at how much it still shocked me. To think about this process is fascinating because it takes twice as long to create a film, than if they just left the original sound. What I also found to be interesting was the different ways they thought of to create the different sounds and the idea that all this happens in a single room.

The second film we watched was Cinerama. This film was used to introduce the widescreen process. The idea of this was interesting and was a big deal back in the day. What caught my attention was the idea that they used three different projectors and had to synchronize them in order for the pictures across the screen and the sound to line up. If one of the pictures were behind the others it would mess up the showing. Although, this wasn’t one of my favorite films I believe it still has educational value for everyone who has an interest in film.