Abstract This paper discusses the 1991 television docudrama,"Separate but Equal", that details the story of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 landmark Supreme Court ruling to desegregate public schools.
Tags: Movie, Docudrama, Television, Separate, Equal, Education, African-Americans, Court, Brown
A comparison between the films 'Fahrenheit 911' and 'Bowling for Columbine' versus films 'FahrenHype 9/11' and 'Celsius 41.11 - The Temperature at Which the Brain Begins to Die'.
Abstract This paper takes a look at, and compares, the docudrama films 'Fahrenheit 911' and 'Bowling for Columbine' versus the docudrama films 'FahrenHype 9/11' and 'Celsius 41.11 - The Temperature at Which the Brain Begins to Die'. The paper takes a look at how these films influence the reputation of docudrama as a film genre.
From the Paper "Within Fahrenheit 911 Michael Moore uses footage that is simultaneously disturbing and humorous, in which President George W. Bush is shown, immediately after hearing the news of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, continuing to read the children's book My Pet Goat to a group of Florida elementary school children, while also looking blankly off into the distance trying to figure out what to do next. The sequence of events leading up to that series of shots, in which Bush reads "My Pet Goat" and looks perplexed, for at least five full minutes, is obviously intended by Moore to illustrate that, even though Bush comes from a powerful, privileged family, he is still unfit, on his own, to be President. "
Abstract This paper discusses the 2004 docudrama film, "Fahrenheit 911" directed by filmmaker Michael Moore. The paper describes how the film takes an in-depth critical look at President George W. Bush's leadership of the United States, from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., until the presidential election season of 2004. The paper claims that the film is highly entertaining to watch, but also contains a distinct ideological perspective. The paper analyzes the presence of a distinctly leftist ideology within Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911".
From the Paper "The film shows extensive preferential treatment, on the part of George W. Bush's presidential administration in particular, for the other "haves" of the world (as opposed to the "have nots" of the world). For example, members of international terrorist Osama Bin Laden's wealthy family are shown being given U.S. government-chartered flights back to Saudi Arabia after the 911 terrorist attacks, in a U.S. government effort to "protect" them. The film also implies a close previous (and ongoing) business association between the Bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia and members of George W. Bush's own wealthy and privileged family, including George W. Bush himself. "
From the Paper " The film One Man's War, produced for Home Box Office and directed by Sergio Toledo in 1990, is an example of the television docudrama, a drama based on real events and purporting to show those events in a dramatic but truthful fashion. The film raises a number of ethical issues related to its story of Dr. Joel Filartiga, member of a prominent family in Paraguay and a doctor who ran a free health clinic in that country during the dictatorship of General Stroessner. The story told in this film raises a host of ethical questions and issues related to different characters and to the social situation itself. The film does not address all of these issues in depth, and indeed many of them are more implied than examined.
The film also raises the issue of making ethical judgments about a different culture, because at some point ethics become.."
Abstract This paper explains that, although Steven Soderbergh has had prize-winning commercial film successes such as "Traffic", "Erin Brockovich", "Ocean's Eleven", "Ocean's Twelve", "Syriana" and "Sex, Lies and Videotape", he also is known for his art house films such as "The Limey". The author relates that, born in 1963, Soderbergh, who began filmmaking when he was only 13, was the youngest producer or director to win the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, which he was awarded in 1989 for "Sex, Lies and Videotape". The paper relates that Soderbergh's seminal filmmaking techniques include the use of non-linear narratives to show different perspectives, a docudrama filming style that creates an aura of reality and the use of pastoral scenery.
From the Paper "In the new millennium, Soderbergh has hit it big with success such as "Erin Brockovich", "Traffic" and "Syriana". "Erin Brockovich", a movie that portrays the real-life Erin Brockovich, only through a sexier Julia Roberts, tells of an assertive woman who, without a legal education, managed to sue and claim victory over Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation. The lawsuit was the largest civil penalty ever awarded at that time in 1996, and the film went on to be nominated for Best Picture."
Tags: brockovich, syriana, traffic, art-house, oscar
Examines three movies ("The Best Years of Our Lives", "Seabiscuit" and "Malcolm X") to show how they have successfully and accurately portrayed events in history.
Abstract The trouble with filmmakers using history as a genre to appeal to the mass audience is that most times the view of history is skewed to fit the status quo perception of the event. Fortunately filmmakers like Spike Lee, Gary Ross and William Wyler have brought it upon themselves to attempt to make movies that tell a history in the correct framework of historical context. This paper examines the three films: "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Seabiscuit" and "Malcolm X" to show how these filmmakers worked to bring the stories of historical events to light and used different film techniques to accomplish this feat.
From the Paper "Because for much of his racing career the horse was considered undersized and therefore the underdog, this movie is considered a feel good film for today's audience. The movie takes place during a time of the American economy at its worst, during and after the Depression. The movie effectively paints the picture of how bad things were for people by using a grey color scheme and grey urban settings. The only time the viewer sees color such as reds and browns are in the context of the rich or the businessman's home."
Tags: World, War, II, Captain, Derry, docudrama, Martin, Luther, King
Abstract This paper studies Michael Moore's award winning docudrama "Bowling for Columbine" (2002), which provided an eye-opening look at the social problem of violence in the United States, particularly violence with guns. The film focused on events leading up to the Columbine High School shootings. The paper demonstrates how, from a sociological perspective, Moore effectively showed that both social institutions (e.g., the community, the school) and social relationships (e.g., within the community, between students) played a role in the Columbine tragedy. The paper also lauds Moore for effectively presenting the causes and consequences of this recurring social problem (i.e. gun violence) in an effective manner.
From the Paper "One portion of the film that I found extremely revealing was when Michael Moore went up to Canada with his film crew for this movie, and interviewed people up there, who seemed less afraid, and said they were less afraid, than Americans he had interviewed for the film earlier. These two sets of interviews illustrated the point, very convincingly, that America has far more general fear bred into its culture, in terms of anxieties people feel just living life, than does Canada. For that reason, Moore implies, many Americans feel they need guns simply to protect themselves against the frightening elements "out there", a feeling that then feeds on itself, with more fear and more gun ownership. In contrast, Canadians who were interviewed for the film do not even lock their front doors, and most do not own guns or feel any need to own guns. Moore convincingly explored, also, how the mythology of the Wild West (e.g., Western movies starring actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood) are so much a part of the American identity that Americans actually also identify with guns and gun ownership as if it were needed in order to feel safe."
An analysis of the facts presented in the film "JFK", by filmmaker Oliver Stone, regarding the autopsy of President John F. Kennedy after his assassination.
Abstract This paper explains that, in the political docudrama "JFK", Oliver Stone asserts that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, that the F.B.I. had a vested interest in hiding important information from the public and that the C.I.A. had an active role in the assassination in hopes of fueling the military industrial complex of the United States. The paper further explains that, in the film, Stone attempts to make viewers conscience of the possible tampering of evidence and lack of investigation into the murder of the president. The author stresses that Oliver Stone does not want his viewers to accept all of the events portrayed in the film. Rather, Stone directed this film to act as a "counter-myth" in reaction to the "myth" he believes the Warren Commission Report fed the public. The paper stresses that Stone's accusation that the Archives somehow lost the brain, which it did not, affects the viewer's understanding of what actually happened.
From the Paper "Perhaps the most shocking claim that Oliver Stone makes in his film in relation to the autopsy is that John F. Kennedy's brain has been lost by the National Archives. This particular claim arose in 1972 when pathologist Cyril Wecht was allowed to examine the Kennedy autopsy records at the National Archives. Wecht tried to open the footlocker where the stainless steel container and microscopic tissue slides were held, only to notice that they were gone. Wecht then blames the Archives for losing an important piece of physical evidence due to negligence and carelessness."
