I hope all of you enjoy this blog with two categories (Cinema and documentaries information and a second one with different tasks for English classes). You will be able to see interesting cinema reviews about films related to different topics, videos, documentaries,songs, texts…
Documentaries:
China Blue
A clandestinely shot, deep-access account of how the clothes we buy are actually made.
88 minutes
Directed by Micha X. Peled
Produced by Teddy Bear Films
English with portuguese subt (possibility of using English subt) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu5VG-pA8aE CHINA BLUES:
Like no other film before, China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don’t want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made.
Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers’ faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China’s rapid transformation into a free market society.
China Blue is the second film in Micha X. Peled’s Globalization Trilogy. Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town focuses on consumption in the U.S., and China Blue investigates the manufacturing of the clothes we all consume. Bitter Seeds looks at the raw materials. It goes to India and follows the farmers growing the cotton exported to China’s garment factories to be used for the clothes sold in the West. Each film explores a deeper layer of the production-consumption chain.
* Planned obsolescence
Sometimes marketers deliberately introduce obsolescence into their product strategy, with the objective of generating long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. One example might be producing an appliance which is deliberately designed to wear out within five years of its purchase, pushing consumers to replace it within five years.
After watching this documentary (in several languages and with subtitles in Spanish ),we will start a debate about the different matters you can find in it.
The Stuff Story (with English and Chinesse subtitles)
CHINA BLUE (Documentary)
CHINA BLUE, a fascinating investigation of the denim industry in China that puts a very human face on globalization. [Director Micha X.] Peled introduces us to both the staff and the boss at the Lifeng Clothes Co. Ltd. where workers take the wage cuts so name brands can buy cheap (Source: Whyte 2005 np link). http://www.followthethings.com/chinablue.shtml
Kenneth Bancroft Clark (July 14, 1914 – May 1, 2005) and Mamie Phipps Clark (October 18, 1917 – August 11, 1983)[1] were African-American psychologists who as a married team conducted important research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement. They founded the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem . Kenneth Clark also was an educator and first Black president of the American Psychological Association. They were known for their 1940s experiments using dolls to study children’s attitudes about race. The Clarks testified as expert witnesses in Briggs v. Elliott, one of the cases rolled into Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The Clarks’ work contributed to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in which it determined that de jure racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the Brown v. Board opinion, “To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone”. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante named Kenneth Clark on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
Source: Wikipedia
A conversation about race
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Hello! I hope this time you enjoy the video Strangers. We will work on it during our lessons this week. I hope you think and reflect about it.
Multimedia production by journalist/videographer Elles van Gelder & photojournalist Ilvy Njiokiktjien about the right-wing organization Kommandokorps in South Africa. White South African teens wrestle with an uncertain identity. An extreme right-wing group is teaching young Afrikaners to eschew Nelson Mandela’s vision of a multicultural rainbow nation. The fringe group Kommandokorps, led by old-apartheid leader Franz Jooste, organizes camps in school holidays where Afrikaner teenagers learn to defend themselves against crime in South Africa. But that’s not all. They learn they are their own people – not South Africans but Afrikaners – that shouldn’t integrate in the new democratic South Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSLyEPeWjNk One of the songs sung by Senead O’connor (the song belongs to Bob Marley,WAR) is also about racism. What do you think about these ways of fighting against racism? What happens at the end of Senead’s concert?. In the song war you can follow the subtitles in Spanish. She changes some of the words for the sentece “child abuse”. What do you think about this way of criticism?
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early-to-mid 19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.[2] The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives.[3] Various other routes led to Mexico or overseas.[4] An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession (except 1763–83), existed from the late 17th century until Florida became a United States territory in 1821 (and ending the safe haven for escaped slaves was the main reason it changed nationality).[5] However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, and reached its height between 1850 and 1860.[6] One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the “Railroad”.[6]
British North America (present-day Canada), where slavery was prohibited, was a popular destination, as its long border gave many points of access. Most former slaves settled in Ontario. More than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network during its 20-year peak period,[7] although U.S. Census figures account for only 6,000.[8] Numerous fugitives’ stories are documented in the 1872 book The Underground Railroad Records by William Still, an abolitionist who then headed the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee.[9] RIDING the Railroad lyrics song Follow the Drinking Gourd
Journey To Freedom (documentary about …two slavery stories from this century sXXI) Journey to Freedom is a documentary that brings to life the startling similarities between historic slavery and human trafficking, inspiring today’s freedom fighters. Produced by the National Underground Freedom Center, with support from US State Dept and Google
Eye-Opening Documentaries about Human Trafficking Call+Response (film)(for adults) I’m not usually one for hyperbole, but I’m sure the 27 million people living in slavery right now might forgive a little drama. Call+Response is a wonderfully entertaining and enlightening film about the plight of modern-day slaves, from child soldiers in Uganda to child sex workers here in the U.S. It includes musical performances by Moby, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Switchfoot, Rocco DeLuca, Justin Dillon, Talib Kweli, Emmanuel Jal and Five for Fighting—and Dr. Cornal West steals the show. —Josh Jackson
Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul has committed her life to rescuing and returning home men from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and other Southeast Asian nations who have been sold to Thai fishing companies by human traffickers. Once at sea, these captive men go months, even years, without setting foot on land, earning little to no pay, trapped in a modern form of slavery on the boats and forced to endure horrific and often deadly conditions. Patima and her small team of activists risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find these men, fight for their emancipation and seek justice for them. In the face of illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination reveals stories of criminal conspiracy at the heart of the global seafood industry, as she calls on her nation and the world to wake up and take action.
“You and I have to work together to tell this story. If this is going to change, it’s going to take all of us.” – Patima Tungpuchayakul, film subject, Ghost Fleet
Her name is Green, she is alone in a world that doesn’t belong to her. She is a female orang-utan, victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. …
Questions to think about the film:
1.Do you agree in doing something to: a) save the orangutan and other wild life
b) save more paper / wood / and food or cosmetics which use palm oil
If your answer is yes. Why would you do it?
3.Do you know anything about the investments many banks make in industries which give a big profit such us the ones you have read about in the official page of the film (greenthefilm.com ), and about the “banca ética”
4.How could you, your class or the school colaborate with this “enviromental matters”?
HOME (in English)
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SHOCK DOCTRINE (a really interesting talk about environment …)
It will be used the VD we have with subtitles as it is not possible to find it in Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU
5 Minutes Of What The Media actually Does To Women
“Real Women Have Curves” href=”http://www.cineddhh.org/guias-didacticas/mujeres-de-verdad/i-introduccion/#g”> Real Women Have Curves.Information from IPES about this film (Spanish & Vask)
This is the story of Ana, a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the predominately Latino community of East Los Angeles. Freshly graduated from high school, Ana receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. Her very traditional, old-world parents feel that now is the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. Torn between her mainstream ambitions and her cultural heritage she agrees to work with her mother at her sister’s downtown LA sewing factory (a sweatshop ). Over the summer she learns to admire the hardworking team of women who teach her solidarity and teamwork. Still at odds with what her mother expects of her, Ana realizes that leaving home to continue her education is essential to finding her place proudly in the world as an American and Chicana.
INTERVIEW Patricia Cardoso (A vivir que son dos días- Cadena SER):05-10-2013 Patricia Cardoso: “La tiranía de la estética es una dictadura para la mujer”
*WHAT IS GENDER? (definition by FAO Produced by: Economic and Social Development Department:)
Gender is defined by FAO as ‘the relations between men and women, both perceptual and material. Gender is not determined biologically, as a result of sexual characteristics of either women or men, but is constructed socially. It is a central organizing principle of societies, and often governs the processes of production and reproduction, consumption and distribution’ (FAO, 1997). Despite this definition, gender is often misunderstood as being the promotion of women only. However, as we see from the FAO definition, gender issues focus on women and on the relationship between men and women, their roles, access to and control over resources, division of labour, interests and needs. Gender relations affect household security, family well-being, planning, production and many other aspects of life (Bravo-Baumann, 2000).
[Box 1] DEFINITION OF GENDER ROLES AND GENDER RELATIONS
Gender roles are the ‘social definition’ of women and men. They vary among different societies and cultures, classes, ages and during different periods in history. Gender-specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions (FAO, 1997).
Gender relations are the ways in which a culture or society defines rights, responsibilities, and the identities of men and women in relation to one another (Bravo-Baumann, 2000).
*Gender studies
From Wikipedia
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.[1]
The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one”.[2] In gender studies, the term “gender” is used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities, not to the state of being male or female in its entirety.[3] The field emerged from a number of different areas: the sociology of the 1950s and later (see Sociology of gender); the theories of the psychoanalyst Jaques Lacan; and the work of feminists such as Judith Butler.
Each field came to regard “gender” as a practice, sometimes referred to as something that is performative.[4] Feminist theory of psychoanalysis, articulated mainly by Julia Kristeva[5] (the “semiotic” and “abjection”) and Bracha Ettinger[6] (the “matrixial trans-subjectivity” and the “primal mother-phantasies”), and informed both by Freud, Lacan and the Object relations theory, is very influential in gender studies.
Interesting page related to many intelligent women written in Spanish (it is worth having a look at it).The section is called ¿Quién es la más inteligente? and it is included in the section “celebrities” from the page masquechicos.com
QUESTIONS ON THE MOVIE (Real Women …)
1.- In Los Angeles, one of the biggest cultures is Mexican, or more generally known as, Latin-
There are different cultures in your city, which are they?
2.- Do you think that the shock of generations happens in all the cultures in the same way (like with Ana and her mother)?
3. Do you think Ana is a strong person? Why or why not?
4. What do you understand by beauty?
5. What kind of relationship can we have between anorexia and bulimia and standards of beauty that we usually see on TV, magazines and fashion?
6. Is Estela’s little factory really a sweat shop? Do you agree that selling a dress for $18 which later sells at Bloomindales for $600 is “just not right”?
7.Acording to the information taken from several newspapers, the Spanish retail chain ZARA, was found to be using “slave labour” to make garments. Would you buy clothes (even if ther are really cheap) if you knew they came from these labour conditions?
8. What did you like and not like about this movie?
* We are going to work on the scenes in which Ana, before meeting her boyfriend, goes into the drugstore (chemist´s in british English) to buy condoms and the two following scenes, the moment in which she is with her boyfriend in a bedroom and after being with him she says goodbye to him for ever. Why do you think she says bye in that way? Does she really love him? Why does she say good bye in that way?.
At the end of this fragment, her mother realizes Ana´s lost her virginity and talks to her. What do you think about her mother’s reaction?
See from minute 1.30
– What do you think about the fact of Ana buying the condoms?
– Why does she say good bye to her friend?
-Why do you think she doesn´t want to meet him again?What does she tell him?
– What is her mother´s reaction?
Short Film: Because I´m a girl
Storyboard-How the short film was prepared:
Animate short film” Because I´m a Girl”
VERY interesting article about gender Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres
Text taken from the radio programme “Carne Cruda” and written by Javier Gallego. Radio 3 (93.00 FM)
Once you are reading the article in Radio 3, there is a link (where it says aquí) which will take you to the work done by the media artist Yolanda Dominguez. You can see, among other works, Poses. We will talk about it in the classroom.
Here you have another interesting link from the programme “Carne cruda” with the first Spanish woman film director Josefina Molina with her ideas about cinema, and situation of women in the cinema, television…
Is it possible to be a mother in the distance? Is it possible to educate from a booth? Women who travel thousands of miles to give a better future to their children, tell us how they live through the reality of being mothers across a telephone or a computer, making the booth their second home and transforming their voices into their most valuable resource. Madres 0,15 el minuto
Read the information about this shor film using the link (you will be able to read and see part of this very interesting short film about these women)
Once you have read about the shor film, see the following video with information related to the above information about these women.
*Related matters to create debate:
Video I love impartiality
What do you think about the Chicago´s Orchestra case and the matters bellow?
-Male–female income difference, also referred to as the “gender gap in earnings”
-Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender
After the above matters, see this short cut about a group of children from a poor neighbourhood in Panama. They are in the beach and one of the girls speaks about her wishes (related to the violence her stepfather uses against her mother…).
ITALIAN DOCUMENTARY. What do we think about women?
*Books on obesity (miraculous recipes for losing weight, analyses of the phenomenon) are so popular that The New York Times has given them their own category in its best-seller list.
Why do you think women pay more attention to their look, go on diets… than men?
Text from the book Cuestiones de género by Juan Vicente Aliaga (Editorial Nerea 2008)
What do you think about the different presents for boys or girls?
Do you think boys don´t like dolls? Why?
Do you think football balls are only for boys?
What do you think about this poster created for a gender meeting?
Made by ANA GARCÍA
After reading this story ( link below), we will talk about your opinions and read some of the commentaries written by other people.After it, we will see other documentaries about this topic.
COMIC by Ana Garcia about gender (woman surroundes by women publicity)* in a different file
Short films about gender done by students 3ºESO IES Pérez Comendador,Plasencia (Cáceres)
Read more about the film Los invisibles (in English) directed by the actor Garcia Bernal:
=Watch this second part from the film INVISIBLES by Garcia Bernal.
Six Out of Ten
Gael García Bernal talks to three women from Honduras who are travelling in search of a better life for their families. They are taking a huge risk. Six out of ten women who attempt the journey are sexually abused.
What do you think about the way of acting of these women in the film?
Can you imagine the way of life these women are going to have in the case they reach their goal?
What kind of families are they trying to support or do they belong to?
Short Cut: REMESAS (by Juan Carrascal Ynigo)*See Guía didáctica in Making of Nº78(last pages)
After watching REMESAS, you will see that Angelita´s family is a matriarchy. What is the meaning of MATRIARCHY?
What kind of families do you know?
Could you mention some of them?
La Jaula de oro (Diego Quemada-Díez)
Las mujeres migrantes
Competencias: Comprensión Escrita, Comprensión Oral / Expresión escrita y/o Expresión Oral
Mira de nuevo el tráiler y cuenta cómo se prepara Sara para el viaje:
watch
– ¿Por qué crees que se viste de esa forma y que cambia de nombre?
– Sara representa a las mujeres dentro de la migración. ¿Por qué crees que el viaje puede ser más peligroso
para las mujeres que para los hombres?
Visita la siguiente página y explica a qué tipo de violencia pueden estar confrontadas las mujeres
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/498603121866440705
Actividad 8.DOSSIER
PÉDAGOGIQUE
FILM PROJETÉ DANS LE CADRE
DU 24E FESTIVAL DU CINÉMA
ESPAGNOL DE NANTES
Examples of FAMILIES in the cinema:
After having seen PRECIOUS. What kind of family is Precious going to form?
VARIOUS TYPES OF WOMEN IN THE CINEMA:
FILM FRAGMENTS from several films to comment about the way women are treated/ seen… in films.Most of the commentaries and titles of the films are taken from the course Cine y DDHH organizado por IPES y el CAP-Pamplona(Enero 2011)
Stereotypes of women in different films:
Jeane Dealman By Chantal Akerman………… (the woman seen as a mother)
What do you think is the role of this woman? What does she represent?
Riding in cars with boys………………………(the woman with a different view about maternity)
Do you think she really dislikes her son?
Do your know anyone of your age who is a young mother?
The Godfather (first three minutes)…………………………..(the woman seen as a “saint”)
Topic: HONOR. What kind of woman does the father like?(he would really like her doughter to be a …….)
What do you understand by the sentence he says “she was obliged to drink”. What does the father think?
What does the father think about her daughter once she has lost her virginity?
Torrente ………………..(Women as an object)
New ways of representing women:
North Pole (2005)En tierra de hombre………………(woman as “Juana de Arco”)
Is she a kind of heroine?(working as a miner…)
Irina Palm………………………..(.every day heroins)
What do you think about the representation of this “everyday heroine” in this film?
Transamerica /Breakfast on Pluto…………………………transexual women
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Song by The Gossip “Listen up” kill the rock
What do you think about the singer´s appearance/look and the rest of the women in the video?
Can you relate both videos (Cut the World and Secretaria)?
Can you find similarities?. What is your opinion?…
Representations of Gender in Advertising
CINEMA AND VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN
Saving Face (trailer)Nomenee Oscar´s 2012
Film: PRECIOUS
In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Discussion Questions
1. Precious is a very powerful film depicting intense situations – including graphic
language, images, and situations.
a. What feelings and/or reactions did you have while viewing it?
b. What scenes and images in the film stand out for you?
c. For the images that stand out the most, why do they stand out? How do
they relate to your life?
d. How did the film affect you?
e. In Push, Precious says she feels invisible. What does Precious mean when she says that
she’s “invisible”?
f. Who thinks that Precious is invisible? Why?
g. What forces, both internal and external lead her to feel that way?
h. The word “push” also appears in different contexts in the film, and of
course it is the title of the book that Precious is based on. Why do you think Sapphire titled the book Push?
a. Do you feel that Precious feels this way as a result of abuse or as a result
of society?
b. What contributes the most to this feeling –her obesity, marginalization, all
of the above?
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Reviewed by Stella Papamichael
Updated 05 October 2006 Contains mild language
The humour is as spiky as a pair of Manolo Blahniks yet The Devil Wears Prada isn’t just a satire on the fashion industry. Anne Hathaway provides a soft centre as wannabe journalist Andy struggling to reconcile her ambition with a deeper core of human decency. Except for a dull romance plot, helmer David Frankel brings believable warmth to Lauren Weisberger’s scathing book. Still, the real joy is in a smoulderingly sinister turn by Meryl Streep as Andy’s egomaniacal boss.
Magazine editor Miranda Priestly is so imposing, she doesn’t need to shout. Her indictments of Andy’s weight and dress sense are softly spoken, languid and bitterly funny. As one colleague points out to the new assistant, “pressed lips” denote “catastrophe”. But Streep presents more than a simmering cauldron of evil. Besides the designer clobber, she wears a discreet veil of tragedy and draws sympathy even while turning her nose up at the less fabulous.
“HOLDS A MORBID FASCINATION”
Frankel wisely avoids any mushiness in portraying what is basically a sadomasochistic mentor-protégé relationship. Andy takes as much humiliation as Miranda can dish out, but within that perverse dynamic, mutual respect develops convincingly and quite movingly.
It’s a shame that Frankel ties pretty bows around the story in the end and it could have had more bite. Still what he does reveal about the fashion biz holds a morbid fascination. Understated moments like the withering once-over Andy is subjected to during her interview with Miranda are classic. Hathaway is an endearing foil, but it’s Streep strutting her best stuff that really ties it all together.
The Golden Dream (Spanish: La jaula de oro) is a 2013 Mexican drama film directed by Spanish director Diego Quemada-Díez.
Plot[edit]
Like the 1987 film, and the song, the plot concerns immigration to the United States. However unlike the plot concerning a successful and now middle aged Mexican immigrant of the earlier film, the plot of this film concerns younger illegal immigrants, Juan, Sara and Samuel, three Guatemalan adolescents who fall into the hands of human traffickers. Hermanos en el camino
La jaula de orohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DU6AT-Y8SQ
Documental: El tren de la memoria-The Memory Train
Dirección: Marta Arribas, Ana Pérez Duración: 85 min.
Género: Documental
Josefina’s personal journey back to Nuremberg, Germany, where she arrived as an immigrant from Spain being only 18, along with other 2 million Spaniards who left to Europe in order to find a future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhTJ2FuLU-s
THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy
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After watching the film, read the following questions and work in class with your partners to talk about them.
1.- Find out the meaning of the following legal terms:
asylum, bag and baggage letter, deportation, detention, removal proceeding or deportation proceeding, due process, green card.
2- Which of the characters in the film did you relate to most? Why?
3-Why do you think Walter decides to let Tarek and Zainab stay at his apartment even though he knows nothing about them?
4-In your opinion, who is “the visitor”? In what way is each character “visiting”?
5- What was the most memorable moment in the film? Why?
6-Think of someone in your life who immigrated to your country. Why did they come here? What hardships has s/he faced as an immigrant?
7-What was your impression of the detention center? What did you notice? Is this different from what you expected?
8-What do we as global/American citizens have to gain or lose by providing immigrants and refugees with the right to due process?
9-What are arguments for and against detaining immigrants and refugees in prison-like conditions?
10-Can you think of alternative ways the U.S. government could handle cases like Tarek’s?
11-How do you think Tarek’s deportation will affect each character’s view of the world?
12-Is there any situation in the film you could consider racist?
These questions are taken from “The Visitor” Discussion Guide
Follow the link and learn about this film.
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WELCOME – Movie Trailer
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Read the article fron the megazine WIRE (see link nine lines below) to SALIL SHETTY. He speaks from experience when he says that ordinary people can make a real difference when they organize and raise their voices. He joined Amnesty International as the new Secretary General. He talks to WIRE about the challenges ahead.
Could you relate the situation about the nomads from the film “The Story of the Weeping Camel” to the nomads from Tibet?
To know a bit more about the situation of the nomads and Tibet, watch parts of the following film and read about the present situation of the director in an article from THE WIRE, the AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL megazine in English.
The Story of the Weeping Camel is an enchanting film that follows the adventures of a family of herders in Mongolia’s Gobi region who face a crisis when the mother camel unexpectedly rejects her newborn calf after a particularly difficult birth. Uniquely composed of equal parts reality, drama, and magic, this film is a window into a different way of life and the universal terrain of the heart.
Part3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ3T-tmo7i0
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vng4AbdWcHE
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_TrnCeaD8
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X5UVSP7vzE
Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGVnR-e9dQc
Short and sweet, delicate and sensible, “Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho” (“I Don’t Want to Go Home Alone”) brings us the story of Leonardo (Guilherme Lobo), a blind teenager who develops a crush on Gabriel (Fabio Audi), a new boy in his school of whom he becomes friends, and Leonardo also deals with the jealousy of his long-time friend Giovanna (Tess Amorim) who is always taking him home, and now she’s more on second plan after the appearance of Gabriel in their lives (Rodrigo Amaro)
This video, following the pursuit of a young gay couple by an angry mob, and referencing the persecution of the LGBT community in Russia, went viral soon after release.
HOZER´S song with English and Spanish subtitles (+ interview in The Guardian)
Amnesty International believes that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy the full range of human rights, without exception.
However, every day, across the globe, sexual orientation or gender identity leads to abuse in the form of discrimination, violence, imprisonment, torture, or even execution. Persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity can take a variety of forms and these contravene the basic tenets of international human rights law.
By highlighting instances of abuse against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, Amnesty’s activists work to protect the basic dignity of LGBT people.
*Daniel Zanudio´s case: The recent tragic death of 24-year old Daniel Zamudio following a brutal attack by alleged neo-nazis has brought the scourge of homophobic violence to world attention and cast a spotlight on Chile’s lack of legislation to protect and defend the rights of vulnerable minorities.
-VIDEOS:
By Allan Tong
A TIFF ’05 audience favourite, C.R.A.Z.Y. is a funny, infectious ride through Quebecois pop culture of the ’60s and ’70s. The movie is seen through the eyes of narrator Zachary Beaulieu (Marc-André Grondin), who was born on Christmas Day, 1960, and has hated sharing that Holy Day with his birthday ever since. Zac is raised in a middleclass family alongside three brothers he can’t stand, an affectionate mother (Danielle Proulx), who irons toast in the morning, and a warm but traditional father (Quebec star Michel Côté) who lip-synchs to Charles Aznavour records at family functions.
Like his dad, Zac expresses himself through music, and C.R.A.Z.Y. is bursting with songs by Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. In one memorable scene, Zac sings along to Space Oddity with intensity so that he can escape his drab life yet express his nascent bisexuality. (Patsy Cline’s signature tune supplies the film’s title.)
Zac’s sexuality and the influence of the Catholic Church are two of the themes running through C.R.A.Z.Y. The rough-and-tumble Beaulieus are homophobic, which immediately sets Zac apart from his kin. This storyline is clearer than that of the Church’s, whose influence grips the family in the’60s but wanes in the ’70s. Zac’s eventual pilgrimage and spiritual reawakening are unconvincing. What does ring true is the drug abuse, which becomes Quebec’s new Gospel. Zac and his arch enemy – older brother and bad boy Ray (Pierre-Luc Brillant) – become mired in weed and heroin, respectively.
Vallée’s visual flourishes enchant but do not distract; C.R.A.Z.Y. is a pleasure to watch because it is so full of energy and truth. Apart from the film’s last 30 minutes, C.R.A.Z.Y. skips along like an early Stones song, taking delirious turns along the way. Though the message is blurry at times, C.R.A.Z.Y. is a charming film about growing up a little differently and finding your place in a mad world. (TVA)
FILM: FUCKING AMAL
Sweden, 1998
Running Length: 1:29
Cast: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecka Liljeberg, Mathias Rust, Erica Carlson
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Hollywood films about teenage girls invariably focus on two things: boyfriends and popularity. It’s not surprising, since those two aspects of high school life comprise a significant portion of the average teenager’s existence. With hormones raging and bodies changing, girls struggle for a means – any means – to bolster their self-esteem. Few ways are more effective than being part of a social circle and having admirers of the opposite sex. When approached with sensitivity and intelligence, this is potentially rich and stirring material, but American filmmakers are often less interested in delving deeply into the psyches of their characters than in presenting lightweight, feel-good romantic comedies that will appeal to the target audience. For that reason, most Hollywood-produced teen movies have a manufactured, formulaic feel. They deny reality and go for the safe, neatly-packaged fantasy. Every boy is Prince Charming. Every ugly duckling turns into Cinderella. And the two dance at the prom as a prelude to living happily ever after.
Show Me Love, the feature debut of Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson, is not bound by those constraints. It’s a powerful, deeply affecting depiction of the tribulations of two teenage girls who are struggling with their sexuality and identities. By forming a deep emotional bond between the audience and the protagonists, Moodysson develops a simple, cliché-free drama that contains great truth. Show Me Love has a romantic element, but it is not the sanitized version prevalent in Hollywood films. Instead, Moodysson captures the uncertainty, anguish, heartbreak, and giddy highs that accompany a first love. And we don’t just observe this happening; we feel it along with the characters. The fact that the romance is between two girls only intensifies the emotions, because both participants face the possibility of being ostracized. Yet Show Me Love is less about lesbianism than it is about self-discovery. The movie might have been less provocative with a traditional girl/boy romance, but it would have worked as effectively on an emotional level.
16-year old Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg) is a loner living in the small, dead-end town of Amal. Perhaps the worst place on Earth, and certainly the most boring (or so many of the underage inhabitants believe), Amal is a backwards hamlet that always seems to be a step behind the rest of the world. Despite having attended the school in Amal for the nearly two years since her family moved there, Agnes has no friends. Although attractive, she does little to care for her appearance, and rumors are making their way through the classrooms and hallways that she likes girls. However, while the nature of Agnes’ sexuality has yet to fully emerge, she has a deep crush on a fellow female student, the pretty and popular Elin (Alexandra Dahlström), a precocious 14-year old who is every boy’s wet dream. And, like Agnes, Elin despises Amal. One night, prodded by her older sister, Jessica (Erica Carlson), Elin plays a practical joke on Agnes by kissing her on the lips. Giggling, Jessica and Elin race away, leaving a stunned and hurt Agnes behind. Later that evening, however, Elin feels remorse, and returns to Agnes’ house to apologize. She arrives just as Agnes is making a halfhearted attempt to slit her wrists. The two end up spending most of the night together, talking and sharing their innermost thoughts, and their unplanned “date” ends with a real kiss. The next day, frightened by her feelings for Agnes and determined to assert her heterosexuality, Elin nabs the willing Johan (Mathias Rust) as a boyfriend and ignores Agnes, who is understandably devastated.
Show Me Love is an emotional roller-coaster ride for viewers of both genders and all sexual orientations, because the feelings it uncovers are universal in nature. No matter how far removed an individual is from high school, this film has the ability to strip away the years. And, although Moodysson is obviously sympathetic towards both of his protagonists, he does not hesitate to show the mean and selfish sides of their natures. The adults (chiefly Agnes’ parents) are not presented as boorish clods; they are helpful and sensitive to the needs of their children. The script’s perceptiveness provides us with a fresh, non-manufactured perspective on what it means to be a bored teenager. And it gets the details right. Too many movies about this stage of life aren’t concerned with the little things. (In one scene, Jessica and Elin are grounded while their mother is at work. Of course, they sneak out, but, to fool their mother, they gobble down the available snack foods to make it look like they were in all evening, munching on chips and watching TV.)
Both Rebecka Liljeberg and Alexandra Dahlström deserve a commendation for their natural, unforced portrayal of girls who, despite outward dissimilarities, are not so different on the inside. Liljeberg’s Agnes does little to hide her uncertainty and pain. Dahlström’s Elin, on the other hand, is just as confused as Agnes, but she puts on a show of false bravado to hide her turmoil. These two are at their most real when they’re with each other, and it’s during those scenes that both actresses sparkle. When it comes to chemistry, Likjeberg and Dahlström have it, and it’s difficult not to root for their characters to find some way to steal a few moments together.
Released overseas with the attention-getting title of Fucking Amal, Show Me Love became a film festival favorite and an international box office success. It has not fared well in this country, however, due to the lack of an influential distributor. Strand Releasing, which owns the U.S. rights, is doing what it can to ship prints around the country, but the company’s financial resources are limited. It’s a shame that so few audiences will have an opportunity to see Show Me Love. Not only is this the most dramatically sound depiction of the life struggles of adolescent girls since Alex and Sylvia Sichel’s 1997 indie picture, All Over Me, but it is one of the most honest and heartfelt teen dramas ever to grace the screen.
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Information from Amnesty International
DIDACTIC UNIT:
(To be translated into English)
Responde a estas preguntas sobre la película…
1. Esta película la calificarías de:
• Interesante
• Verosímil
• Aburrida
• Curiosa
• Divertida
• Polémica
2. ¿Cuál es el tema central de la película?
3. ¿Destacarías alguna escena? ¿Por qué?
4. En la película aparece una relación homosexual. ¿Cómo es tratada?
5. Describe al menos la reacción de tres personajes ante la homosexualidad de Agnes
•
•
•
6. Imagínate que puedes hablar con alguno de los personajes ¿qué les preguntarías?¿Tu instituto se
parece al que aparece en la película?
7. Imagínate que hacen la segunda parte, ¿Cómo te imaginas que sería?
8. Al final de la película Agnes y Elin están encerradas en el cuarto de baño y un grupo numeroso de
compañeros están esperando a la puerta ¿Te parece que podría suceder algo así en el instituto? ¿Cómo
reaccionarías si estuvieras dentro? Y ¿fuera?
9. ¿Conoces alguna otra película cuyo tema sea la homosexualidad?
Responde a estas preguntas sobre la vida real
Las relaciones homosexuales en ocasiones pueden plantear problemas en el mundo actual. Estos problemas
pueden ser:
Sociales – el individuo con las instituciones, estatales o religiosas-
Individuales – él o ella consigo misma-
Interpersonales – con la familia, los amigos, compañeros… –
¿Sabrías citar casos concretos en que los protagonistas tengan problemas por ser homosexual, bisexual o
transexual?
En Estados Unidos hay grupos de presión del colectivo de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transexuales
que se dedican a hacer públicos los nombres de personajes famosos que son gays o lesbianas en su vida
privada. ¿Qué opinas sobre ello?
Y ahora.. tú
Si tu mejor amigo o amiga te dice que es homosexual ¿qué le dirías? ¿seguirías siendo su amigo o
amiga?
Si fueras homosexual y se lo dijeras a tus padres ¿cuál crees que sería su reacción?¿ y la de tus
amigos? ¿tu familia? ¿tus profesores? ¿tus compañeros de instituto?
Agnes tiene situaciones problemáticas por ser lesbiana. ¿Cómo reaccionarías tú en su lugar ante esas
situaciones?
DERECHOS HUMANOS Y HOMOSEXUALIDAD
La postura de Amnistía Internacional es que la orientación sexual, como el genero y la raza, está
ligada a aspectos fundamentales de la identidad humana, afectando al eje central del derecho de las
personas a la integridad física y mental.
Amnistía Internacional es consciente de que en muchas partes del mundo no se respetan los derechos de
gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y transexuales:
• Se les niega el disfrute, en condiciones de igualdad, del derecho a la vida, a la libertad y a la
integridad física.
• Se les despoja de otros derechos fundamentales como la libertad de asociación y la libertad
de expresión.
• Ven mermados los derechos a la vida privada, al trabajo, a la educación y a la atención
médica.
Por todo ello, Amnistía Internacional trabaja desde hace más de una década por los derechos de
gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y transgénero:
1. ¿qué opinas sobre ello?
2. Leyendo la Declaración de Derechos Humanos ¿qué artículos consideras que son aplicables al tema
tratado?
3. ¿Conoces algún caso actual donde se transgredan estos derechos en la comunidad de lesbianas,
gays, bisexuales y transexuales?
4. ¿Podrías relacionar los Derechos Humanos con el tema tratado en la película?
En Medellín, a finales de 2002, una muchacha de 14 años fue desvestida en una de las calles del barrio y
le fue colocado un cartel en donde decía: “Soy lesbiana”. De acuerdo a la versión de pobladores del
barrio, fue violada por tres hombres armados, presuntamente paramilitares. Días después fue hallada
muerta, con los senos amputados.
Amnistía Internacional tiene constancia de que al menos 70 Estados han entrado en el siglo XXI
con leyes que prohíben las relaciones sexuales entre personas del mismo sexo. En algunos países, estas
relaciones pueden conllevar la imposición de la pena de muerte.
5. ¿Podrías citar alguno?
Mediante la lucha para poner fin a la tortura y los malos tratos contra esta comunidad, Amnistía
Internacional trata de promover el principio fundamental de la universalidad. Si toleramos que se nieguen
los derechos a un grupo de personas, debilitamos todo el marco de protección de los derechos humanos al
suprimir su columna vertebral, que todos los seres humanos tiene iguales derechos y dignidad. El derecho
a no ser sometido a tortura y a malos tratos ha de aplicarse a todos los seres humanos sin distinción.
6. ¿Qué conclusión puedes extraer de este texto? ¿Te parece que refleja de algún modo la película?
¿En qué?
LET ME IN
Directed by Lukas Moodysson.
Written by: Lukas Moodysson
Memfis Film Sweden 2002 Colour
Genre: Drama/ Soundtrack
Synopsis
16-year-old Lilja lives in a dreary and poor suburb somewhere in the former Soviet Union. She dreams about a better life. One day her mother moves to the USA along with her new man, and Lilja is promised to be able to join them soon. But as no letter from her mother arrives, Lilja realizes that she’s been abandoned. She’s forced to move to a small dilapidated flat with no electricity or heating. Heartbroken and without any money Lilja becomes more and more desperate. Her only friend is the 11-year-old boy Volodja. Together they travel around the area and fantasize about how one could make life easier to live. One day hope arrives when Lilja falls in love with Andrei. He asks her to follow him to Sweden to start a new life. Little Volodja gets jealous and suspicious, but Lilja packs her bags. Suddenly she’s sitting on a plane on its way to Sweden – not knowing what awaits her there.
Review
I can say one thing – Lukas Moodysson is like a sign of quality – it’s not a question if the film is great or not, it’s a question of how great it is. Unlike Fucking Åmål and Tillsammans this is a rather dark film, but you still recognize his style – and it confirm once again that a Lukas Moodysson film isn’t like any other film. Even though you can’t read my complete review yet – every Norwegian newspaper, magazine, radio and TV-program with respect for themselves have of course reviewed Lilja 4-ever – with not one single negative review this time! Almost too good to be true? Well, it’s not very strange. Lilja 4-ever is a very politically correct film, and hard to say anything negative about because it’s about such a real and important issue. It’s a typical film that film lovers love because we love to see all kinds of films, not only those with the standard happy ending, while the normal mainstream audience won’t that easily go to see this film because they want to be entertained, they don’t want to have to think and reflect and leave the cinema hall sad. That’s quite understandable, and is also shown by a massive media interest that isn’t reflected in number of audience – and not a full-scale premiere here in Norway. Smaller cinemas will have to wait a while before they get the film. This is sad of course, but it’s just the way it is. I’m happy that Lukas finally shows us this side of himselves, that he can also make films he knows isn’t for everyone. But he certainly made a film for his true fans… for true film lovers…
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
I wanna use you and abuse you
I wanna know what’s inside you
(Whispering) Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Movin’ on!
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
I’m gonna use you and abuse you
I’m gonna know what’s inside
Gonna use you and abuse you
I’m gonna know what’s inside you
See the four first minutes of the following video. It is a video about Gaza’s war. After watching it, only if you wish, try to find more information about Gaza’s war in the wikipedia (see the link below). Read and listen in this blog the poem “The Clock on the Wall” and find the relationship between the video and the poem.The Clock on the Wall
My city collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
Our neighbourhood collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The street collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The square collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The house collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The wall collapsed
The clockTicked on.
By Samih Al-Qasim a) There are examples of repetition in this poem. Why do you think the poet used this technique? b) The wars seem to be a constant repetition. Can you see any similaryty between the repetition in the poem and the repetition of the bombing? c) Translate the poem to your language ..In the second link you will also be able to have the opportunity of seeing the author reading one of his poems in his language, Arabic.///See these links: About Gaza’s War, About Samih Al-Qasim
The Clock on the Wall /
My city collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
Our neighbourhood collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The street collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The square collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The house collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The wall collapsed
The clockTicked on.
