Persepolis

Persepolis wasnt what i expected to see in my Global Film Study class. It was in all black and white and it was a weird type of animation. I wasnt too fond of it. The only part i liked about it was that it was in english. The main character was a little weird. She did a lot of different things, like she stepped outside of her culture to be her own person and do what she wanted instead of what others wanted.

The film was based in Iran, and how and what this girl had to go through growing up there. Which with what i learned from the movie is VERY difficult. At least compared to what im used to, growing up in the United States with freedom of expression and speech. There they had to follow very strict rules. She was caught wearing make up out in the street in the middle of the day and was about to be questioned by the police about it. Whereas here you can wear what you want, look how you want, and its just overall a lot less strict in that sence here in the Unitied States.

She branched away from the traditions of the Islamic womens culture. She got into drugs and sex and rock and roll. All which were very against Islamic rules. Sex before marriage?! That was severly frowned apon. And especially with multipul people/partners.

Overall this was a film about the life of an Islamic woman and how she rebelled.

Run lola run

Run Lola Run is a German film that was very unique. I dont think ive seen a movie like it before. Its all about this one situation, but this girl Lola can go back in time and restart it incase something happens or goes wrong. She has the ability to restart the situation.

Some similarities i found between the German culture presented and American culture was the clothing choices. We dress very similarly, just a t-shirt and jeans, no traditional clothing. And then for work they wear suits and get more dressy then they would if they had the day off. So basically same as us!

Another thing i noticed is that Manni Lola's boyfriend is a drug dealer of some sort. I just feel like that is a common thing cultures share around the world. In every country someone is dealing drugs.

I dont know that i really enjoyed this movie though. Because it was the same siuation just played over and over again, the only reason it was replayed was because the characters made stupid and dumb decisions. Something that when i was watching the movie even knew was wrong and wasnt going to end well. I just wanted to yell at the characters and tell them to stop, because they obviously just couldnt get it right until the very end. Which was about the third or forth time through that situation.

Tsotsi review

    Tsotsi is a weird movie. The logic this movie betrayed didnt make much sense to me. This guy stole a car and then crashed it, then realized that there was a baby in the backseat. And instead of leaving it there for the cops to find so they could return the baby to the parents, he takes the baby with him which seems really stupid because thats going to be a huge hassle for him because his focus has to go to the baby and so does his money. Its just an overall big inconvenience for him. 
    But something i noticed was that they have mostly bad neighborhoods, but then they have some nice houses that are gated in. I thought that was a little weird because here where we live we have bad neighborhoods but then we have good neighborhoods but they arent within each other like it is in the movie. Ours are by each other but yet separated.
     Another thing i noticed was the type of living. The house Tsotsi lived in was what looked like a one room place build from metal scraps and possible clay? i know that some of the other houses were built from clay. And they were all close together and had small allies everywhere in between each house. And if you wanted water you had to go to the pump that was kind of in the middle of all the houses, and you had to pump your own water. And it was also really easy to rob each other although rarely was there something theyd want to steel in the neighborhood because they were all poor and didnt have much at all. But there werent strong doors or big locks to keep people out, so if someone wanted to get in the house it would be fairly easy.

Chak De India review!

This was a good movie. It was confusing because the languages switched back and forth between three or four different ones. So it was a little hard to follow. But it was nice that they used English because i actually understood that language.
   I thought that this was a kind of unique but yet cool concept for a movie. A womens field hockey team, and how they struggle making themselves known to India. And it teaches a good lesson to never give up and to keep trying even if the people you care for dont believe in you and dont want you to do something you love, that you should still do it because no one can stop you but yourself.
   It was unique because the United States isnt really known for field hockey. I dont think ive even known anyone whose played on a field hockey team before. But in India it seems to be pretty popular. But in both countries sports are a big part of culture which is something we share. The only difference is that our popular sports are different.
   There wasnt much you could compare between India and the United States because the movie was more about the field hockey players bonding and learning how to put aside their differences and work for the same goal. And it showed that no matter where you come from or what you believe in but that sometimes you just have to put that aside and stop thinking about yourself. Because if you want to win its going to take more then just you, it takes a team.

The Host review

    I was told The Host was going to be a horror comedic movie. For me i found nothing funny in it. It is really scary! Its about this creature that gets mutated from chemicals dumped in the Han river in Korea. Long story short, it starts eating people. And he takes this mans daughter and him and his family go on a hunt to find the monster. Because they have reason to believe that she is still alive.
  In this movie I noticed the food they ate. Some was weird, like they ate squid at the small stand on the river. One food that i noticed we have in common with them is instant noodles, which here is known as ramen. They had lots of different varieties like  we do.
    Family is also very important probably just as important as it is here in the United States. So theres another connection the United States and Korea have in common. Although i believe that family is very important almost all over the world. Well actually all over the world.
  

The Kite Runner review

     This movie is hands down my favorite so far, not only because it was in english and there were no subtitles, but because its really good. So good you begin to feel for the characters. It got me to a point where i actually cried because it was so sad. Its really touching. Some parts of the movie you couldnt even imagine could actually happen. But they can!

     Something i noticed is these kids have a lot of free time. I never saw them go to school, they just spent their days flying kites. And in Amir and Hassan's case also ready books and telling stories. But its nothing like American culture. Most Americans go to school and learn to read and write. Whereas Hassan hasnt because he's a servant. Also in America children cant work because thats called child labor and its against the law.

    But the biggest difference i saw was when Amir went back to Afghanistan after 20 years. And how the Taliban had taken full control. And how strict things were and how unfair people could be. If they didnt like something about you they could kill you. It was insane and scary to think that actually happened/happens. So i feel very lucky to have grown up in America where you have LOTS of freedom. You have freedom of speech and you can wear and look like what you want to look like. There are no rules against who you can become and there are no restrictions to your ideas. Its almost all up to you.

The Kite Runner

     The Kite Runner is a movie based off a book. Its about a young boy named Amir growing up in Afganistan with his friend Hassan who is his fathers servent Ali's son. All the problems begin on this lovely day after the giant kite flying tournament that Hassan and Amir win. When Hassan runs off to get the kite they won. But as he gets the kite three bullies come up and beat him up and rape him, and with no one knowing Amir just hides and watches and doesnt butt in to help his friend. Soon after Amir and his father move away to America. After 20 years there Amir writes a book and gets married. But goes back to Afghanistan to help out Ali. Only to find out terrible news, so he decides that its his job to fix somethings. Which he does.

Maria Full of Grace review

     Maria Full of Grace is a pretty good movie, for me so far its my favorite. You get a really insightful view of this poor girls experiences and the hard decisions she has to make. But the living conditions are a lot different compared to most of the United States. There in Colombia they live in crowded homes. All the roads are basically just dirt.

     Another big difference between Colombian and American culture is the jobs and job opportunities. You have a varity of job options in America. All different difficulty levels and all different salary options. But from what i saw from the movie the jobs in Colombia, first of all there didnt seem to be many. And what was avalible wasnt a very good paying job or was a very common job. And Maria's job working in that flower factory she wasnt treated very well. She had to go to the bathroom but you have to raise your hand and ask to go. And then the man didnt let her and she threw up on some flowers, and instead of having her go home and get better. He made her clean off the flowers she threw up on and still use them and then keep working until her share of the days work was done. Whereas here in America most jobs would send you home and not force you to keep working. So there are a lot of differences between American and Colombian culture.