This documentary follow an armored car salesman. He deals with other forms of armored protection but the main focus is on the car. He makes a living by following wars and explains simply it is an opportunity that he has taken advantage of. The flow of money is apparent in all wars and to find a product that can protect people from the deadly nature of war is somewhat noble, I think. There is still a moral ambiguity because people prosper from misfortune but seeing the passion of creating a car that has been developed to the extent that this company has, I believe they are more focused on offering a gaurantee of protection instead of making a profit.
Graffiti nourishes criminal territories. Graffiti creates a community of radically expressive people. Graffiti is a pattern of movement. It is impulsive as much as it is meditative. People hate it as much as others love it. The artist remains anonymous even though they write a name. There style can be recognized like the face of a friend. Some artists are paid big monies for their work. Some artist’s work provide them with jail time. If graffiti is capable of creating so many conflicts, why should any one think it will stop? I think that graffiti chronicles true and reckless expression. It creates a voice for shadows and people who want to change the landscape. Richmond needs more graffiti whether it is a moniker or a mural. Richmond has too much blank concrete for a city filled with artists.
Graffiti collects a wide range of praise, support, hate and punishment. I think that it is a true form of expression and it allows an artist to release their ideas into the public without going through the gallery or theater processes that are overworked anyways. Haters think that it disgraces lawful societies and create a community for criminals. I think it enriches the community. I believe graffiti is an informative message to the urban landscape that establishes the existence of individual expression in public.
I did not feel that Terry’s graffiti expressed anything other than celebrities in sunglasses. He was piggy backing on already exposed images instead of creating something new. Granted his images are new in the vein of production but not in originality. To his credit, he made people thin that his work was inspired and original.
I think he should have called himself Mr. Spit Shine.
What would we do if we could not get our way? I enjoy thinking that people respect the dead and honour their wishes after they have passed but sadly that is an opinion without a backbone. Just as a group of people creating their own idea that refutes popular views, will end up being crushed by the majority more often by dishonest means. After a majority has what they want, they leave all the stings cut and say nothing to their actions.
A friend had recently told me to watch this documentary, when I heard the title I expected a crew to be going from home to home just filming and interviewing as many families that bear the stigma of West Virginia families. Instead, the filmmaker’s focus was entirely on a well known family who bear the last name White. The Whites are well known for a slew of reasons. Their Grandmother raised in the upwards of thirty abandoned children as well as about seven of her own and is called The Miracle Woman. Her husband was a coal miner and a talented and traditional West Virginia tap dancer. The rythm of this tradition was passed on through the sons. All have died aside from Jesco White who has gained the notoriety of The Dancing Outlaw after a documentary (of the same name) was made on his travels and dance. The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia shows the rest of the families life.
The striking things about the Whites is there total honesty with their reputation, family and lifestyle. They are a fiery group of individuals that hold true to themselves instead of the laws of the land. They life by their own means which can be from dealing drugs, government checks ( which their Grandfather had craftily procured after finding loop holes in old mining contracts) and the random robbery of chance.Even though they have a record for being a notorious family, their honesty with their family show their conviction to carry on in their own right.
It is difficult to find a family that is entirely aware of their actions and still willing to fully embrace it without the slightest resistance.
Terry Gilliam’s trial to recreate the tale of Don Quixote into a movie parallels the story of Don Quixote. Gilliam’s imagination seems to be unstoppable but during filming of Don Quixote, his imagination was the only thing that seemed to be concrete. Most of the obstacles that deterred the movie from getting off the ground was the environment and his production team. Almost as if they viewed Gilliam as boundless and reckless, unable to realize he is outmatched by his own ideas. In the documentary he states why he has decided to take on Don Quixote’s story, he says that he is at a point in his life where he relates to the idea of Quixote and his conquest against the odds of age or ability. One person was explaining the end of Quixote’s tale, Quixote gives into the reality of his own being. By the end of the documentary, Gilliam admits to the fact that ” The Windmills of Reality Fight Back.” It was sad to see him admit defeat but I do not believe he has stopped creating his tale of Don Quixote.
I am going to try to get my point across.
Cannibal Tours carries so much power. The dynamic of the people and the tribe generate this strange uneasiness. It seems to create this representation of two groups that have become unbalanced. On one side the tourists seem to have this character that they are people of the world, sophisticated and rich, vacationing around the world. That is a front. Seeing their interaction between themselves and how they carry themselves it is hard to believe they are real. One point a tribesman described them as the tribes dead ancestors as if the tourists were husks holding the spirits of their departed.
I watched In the Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Harvey Darger and was excited to see another Jessica Yu film but Protagonist fell short in my eyes. They focus was spread over what seemed to be five stories including the puppet play. I found myself wanting to hear more from some of the characters and less from others. Compounding so many stories and trying to draw them all together under one idea seemed to be a trial of endurance. Watching it became a trial of endurance. The stories in themselves were interesting and in some cases thrilling but I felt that by the end I did not believe that all had a common ground established. One moment of commonality is that they all realized at a point that what they were following was either not true to themselves and their motivation behind what they were doing. I enjoyed that realization and looking back I may have to watch it again.
The story of a bizarre Frenchman can offer many things. The determination to pursue a desire or goal can be overshadowed by the final product but it is the essence of that product. This Frenchman’s will drove him to accomplish a feat that seems any other daredevil could not dream. With a steadfast team, some of which have help in his other exploits, they were able to scale the twin towers under the guise of construction workers and create a tight rope while that stretched across the towers. The Frenchman walked on the wire for 45 minutes. In the pursuit of a dream there are no barriers so long as the person is determined to follow through.
