The movie Sicko was such an interesting movie. I have never seen a documentary before and I really enjoyed it. When I was watching the movie, I was getting so upset and I wanted to pack my bags right away and move out of the United States. But once I finished the movie and read the first article, I started thinking about what really goes on in all these countries. It really sucks that America is supposed to be this great country, yet people are suffering and dying because the hospitals won’t treat them or their insurance companies decided to turn on them and the patients become upset. I asked my dad if we have ever been denied by our insurance and it was sad to find out that my mom has over a lot of things because of her illness. I thought to myself though because not everyone is suffering. America is good in a lot of ways. In France and Canada there are many other problems also and the article “'Sicko': Heavily Doctored, By Kurt Loder,” talked about how much money it is costing them to have socialized medicine and the problems they are having because people have to wait on waiting lists to get procedures done.
When I read the article “Out of focus,” it talked about a documentary that was made about Iraq insurgency. The article talks about how film makers make it seem so bad, but they miss so many things. They don’t seem to have the real reason why people killing people over there. The documentary makes it seem like they do it because of the simple question “What would you do if someone invaded your country.” The article talks about how this isn’t the reason for a lot of people thought, because the main reason is their religion. This article doesn’t have to do with the movie Sicko, but it deals with the broader basis that documentaries leave out a lot of important information, and a narrator to explain things during the movie so you don’t get lost. In Sicko, I never got lost because Michael Moore was the narrator throughout it. He did a great job at explaining what was happening, the problem was that he didn’t explain the full truth. When you watch that movie I’m sure everyone is just ragging after it, but is that really the entire truth. Not everyone in America is suffering like those people, and Moore makes it seem like everyone is suffering.
The last article that I read was “From Ballet to Buddhism.” It was about a documentary a young boy made who is now making more and is famous. He was just eight years old when he shot his first documentary. The boy has won many prizes and has continued to keep making documentaries. Anyone can make a documentary; it’s the quality of the documentary and the truth behind it that will determine if people are going to enjoy it. Sicko was a good quality because of the narrator, but the truth behind it is sketchy. There are two types of people after watching this movie, the ones that believe it and the ones that don’t. The documentaries the little boy made made it seem like everyone was for it because his seemed simple. Sicko is a little more confusing and takes some time to think about it.
So what is the truth? The more I think about what side is right the more and more confusing it gets. So this is what I have decided. I believe the movie Sicko to some extent. I know that our insurance companies have too much power on the people. I know that there are people in the United States that are being denied healthcare, which is extremely sad. I also know that other countries have socialized medicine which seems very good in many situations. I don’t believe though that Sicko told the truth in every situation and that he found the worst people that have had problems with our healthcare so of course it looks bad. He didn’t explain the entire truth about Canada, Britain, and France either. So after watching and thinking about this documentary, I have decided that I am 50-50 on it and that is how I will remain until I know what exactly the truth is.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Matrix
The Matrix was always a movie that I heard of, but I have never watched it. I had no idea that The Matrix was about people living in dreams and are actually slaves for computer generated machines. When the movie began I didn’t know what to think about it. As I kept watching it, I became very frightened when he took the pill and woke up from a dream which he thought was his real life. Once he woke up I wanted to get up and leave because it got me thinking and it really scared me. I didn’t leave though, and as I sat and continued watching the movie I was less scared. I followed the movie closely and by the end of the movie I would have to say it was a good story outline, but it still gave me the creeps. The directors did a very good job at making the movie, because they really got me thinking so I am sure that they got other young adults to think just as I did.
When I read the article “Buddhism, Christianity, and The Matrix: The Dialectic of Myth Making in Contemporary Cinema,” it made a lot of sense. The movie really did portray lots of religions throughout the movie. I never even noticed any of it until I read the article and then it all clicked. I was so into understanding the movie that I didn’t pay attention to all the details. I would really have to watch in a couple more times to probably understand everything. The article talked about how Neo portrayed “Jesus” I thought that was really neat because he really did portray him. Neo was reborn and sent to save them from the matrix, just like Jesus was sent to save us from our sins. The article didn’t only talk about the Christianity aspects of the movie; it also talked about many other religions. I liked how the movie incorporated the religion Yogacara Buddhist, which uses your mind. When they were in the chairs connected to the wires in a different world, they were “sleeping” using their minds to control what they were doing.
The article also talks about myths. The Matrix is considered a myth according to the article. I totally think that it is a myth also and anyone else who watches the movie should also think that, but it gets me thinking into why people make up some types of myth or where they even get the idea. I believe that the directors of this movie obviously made up their myth by combining parallels of religions together. That is what the article talks about, but I just think that it is fascinating how people even come up with these ideas in the first place. The directors did a magnificent job at putting the myth together.
I have to talk about the costumes in the movie because they made me think. I really thought it was neat how the people that were not in the “dream” wore sleek black outfits, or the one girl wore all white. I believe that only that one girl wore white because she was always protecting and watching out for the group, like an angel, and even though she died she protected them while she was alive. The others that wore black were daring and sleek with their movements. Their costumes were not like the other people in the movie and that is because they were different themselves, they knew they were living in the matrix. Neo never really wore anything sleek until the end of the movie when he knew that he could save Morpheus. When his costume changed it was a big symbol that he changed and he was ready to kick some butt.
The Matrix was an unusual movie that was thrilling, creepy, and mysterious. I know that there are sequels and I would actually like to see them to see how the story ends. I have myself thinking about what Neo is going to do in the other movies and if he saves everyone.
When I read the article “Buddhism, Christianity, and The Matrix: The Dialectic of Myth Making in Contemporary Cinema,” it made a lot of sense. The movie really did portray lots of religions throughout the movie. I never even noticed any of it until I read the article and then it all clicked. I was so into understanding the movie that I didn’t pay attention to all the details. I would really have to watch in a couple more times to probably understand everything. The article talked about how Neo portrayed “Jesus” I thought that was really neat because he really did portray him. Neo was reborn and sent to save them from the matrix, just like Jesus was sent to save us from our sins. The article didn’t only talk about the Christianity aspects of the movie; it also talked about many other religions. I liked how the movie incorporated the religion Yogacara Buddhist, which uses your mind. When they were in the chairs connected to the wires in a different world, they were “sleeping” using their minds to control what they were doing.
The article also talks about myths. The Matrix is considered a myth according to the article. I totally think that it is a myth also and anyone else who watches the movie should also think that, but it gets me thinking into why people make up some types of myth or where they even get the idea. I believe that the directors of this movie obviously made up their myth by combining parallels of religions together. That is what the article talks about, but I just think that it is fascinating how people even come up with these ideas in the first place. The directors did a magnificent job at putting the myth together.
I have to talk about the costumes in the movie because they made me think. I really thought it was neat how the people that were not in the “dream” wore sleek black outfits, or the one girl wore all white. I believe that only that one girl wore white because she was always protecting and watching out for the group, like an angel, and even though she died she protected them while she was alive. The others that wore black were daring and sleek with their movements. Their costumes were not like the other people in the movie and that is because they were different themselves, they knew they were living in the matrix. Neo never really wore anything sleek until the end of the movie when he knew that he could save Morpheus. When his costume changed it was a big symbol that he changed and he was ready to kick some butt.
The Matrix was an unusual movie that was thrilling, creepy, and mysterious. I know that there are sequels and I would actually like to see them to see how the story ends. I have myself thinking about what Neo is going to do in the other movies and if he saves everyone.
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