The Grieving Young: An Analysis of Powerful Images

            Death has been a part of human culture since the beginning of human civilization, yet it is still heartbreaking to those who were involved with the deceased. It is human nature to miss one who had been so close to use had then, in an instant, was taken away from us. When that metaphoric Grim Reaper rears his ugly head, he breaks away the bonds that were formed together by this deceased person. The events that follow is a sense of grieving and loss, as the people known to the deceased share in their sadness for this human being who does not walk on this Earth. Humans form these said bonds with each other, whether it be between friends, husband and wife, or even father and son. Today, I wanted to discuss the later. What I will be talking about is images, which, like death, has had an impact on human civilization.

What Is the History of Documentary Films?

Movies have been entertaining audiences for generations. There are many different types of films and many different genres. One such type of film is the documentary. These documentaries, though not often big box-office successes, have become really popular, popular with critic and most audiences. Some have even been deemed some of the greatest films of all time and have endured for years.

Boys of Baraka (2005)

Boys of Baraka is a film; a documentary about boys trying to find their way out of social poverty that they grew up in and trying to earn an education they rightfully deserve. The film highlights a couple of boys considered “at-risk” from Baltimore, Maryland who get a special opportunity to go to a two year school in Kenya. 

An Argument on Film Colorization

Film colorization, though may not be an extremely controversial topic, it has garnered some debate over the years. Film colorization is exactly that, the colorization of black-and-white movies for distribution or to be shown on TV. My argument is against the colorization of classic movies. I am against this because I believe it is ruining the filmmaker’s original intent.

Influence of D.W. Griffith on Modern Cinema

Many films take influence from other films. As John Huston said in Orson Welles’ unfinished film The Other Side of the Wind, “It’s all right if we borrow from each other. What we must never do is borrow from ourselves.” (Welles) By “we”, he was referring to film directors. A film director is the person who controls the production of the film and its visual style. Many filmmakers take inspiration for some of their favorites and many other classics. The earliest influential film director is considered to be D.W. Griffith. Even though the topics of his films covered are not politically correct by today’s standards, D.W. Griffith helped influence modern day cinema by pioneering new cinematic techniques.