Reflection on "To Kill a Mockingbird"

To Kill a Mockingbird was honestly such a great movie. Although the music and the black and white picture threw me off, the context of the movie was great.

To Kill a Mockingbird definitely portrayed the state of the society during that time period. The Civil Rights Movement was occurring at that time which led to a lot of the conflicts that were taking place in the movie. The Civil Rights Movement was a time where people fought for human freedom and the urge to extend the rights of full citizenship to individuals regardless of the color of their skin or gender. The film definitely portrayed this push for human rights and shows how the film was inspired by what was going on during the time period.

The racial prejudice that erupted in the film made me mad. I never actually read the novel before watching the film, but as I watched the film I knew the conflict was between blacks not having equal rights and whites taking advantage of the blacks. I loved the fact that there was one particular character who stood out from
the world of prejudice and tried to make a difference in society. He disobeyed what his people wanted and made his own path to a brighter future.

The overall concept of this film definitely made me think about life in a brighter light. A person doesn't always have to follow in the footsteps of others. For example, the black man who was accused never did anything wrong, he was just trying to help out and be generous. Unfortunately, he got blamed for doing the right thing. I believe that's also another important concept in the world: doing the right thing for others although it may be characterized as something wrong. It's important to make a difference in society and to take that first step to change what is potentially bad in the world.

The conflict between whites and blacks in the film represent what has happened in the past and how the world has come to grow. Although there are still many cases of conflicts with whites and blacks, we can still see how the world changed and prospered from the past.

However, in today's society, it seems like the past repeats itself. Taking a look at the riots in Baltimore, prejudice between interracial couples, and many other things that has happened since the history of the Civil Rights Movement, we still feel as though racial prejudice still erupts in today's world. Like the white man
who disobeyed what everyone else believed and decided to take the step to make a change, every individual in today's society could potentially do the same thing and help these race riots and prejudice stop today.

Reflection on "Precious"

Before Bavaro actually told us we were going to watch this movie in AP, I already watched half of it when it first came out. This is actually one of my favorite movies and I'm glad I got to watch the ending of it.

Anyway, this movie definitely spoke to me in various ways. I love the fact that the film revolved around a low class teenager, with two kids, an abusive mother, a long series of brutality throughout her life, but also that Precious had a life full of positivity and spontaneous dreams. Although the ending sucked, it definitely shows how someone who grew up from nothing can actually make it in life.

A lot of people in and around Philadelphia live the same type of life: underclass, abuse, rape, and hardships. It's what a person does that makes or breaks them and this film definitely showed that through the character of Precious. Another aspect of the movie which really made me come to love the film was the fact that the main character, Precious, wasn't a skinny white girl, but instead a black woman with meat on her bones. Most movies nowadays portray the main character as someone who is beautiful or at least has the "potential" to be beautiful. The fact that Precious never judged herself or lowered her self esteem based on her weight was awesome to me. You got to see her grow as an individual internally instead of externally.

Another reason why this movie hit me so hard was the idea of having big dreams. Throughout the movie, Precious has this dream to become a superstar and have guys all on her: to be rich and famous and to have more attention from people. What you notice that doesn't change is her own appearance. Precious wants to change her lifestyle, not the way she looks. In society today, I believe that is the complete opposite. Rather then having bigger dreams then changing ones' appearance, most people today don't make the extra effort to turn their lives around.

If the producer of this movie didn't add the "dreams" theme of the entire movie, I believe the movie would have no purpose. By the ending, you see one of Precious's dreams come true: the ability to move on with her life and be independent. Although her biggest dream doesn't come true, you can tell that that is her next step. I think that's key to life: have the ability to make your dreams come true, but strive for even bigger ones no matter how far out of reach they may seem to be.

Reflection on "Rebel"

I decided to write my reflection on the film created by Anthony called, "Rebel". Not only did I think this was a great film, I also caught a lot of significant criticisms in the film. The whole plot of rebellious teenagers and what society views them as was the main topic of this film. I thought it was unique to capture the minds of these destructive teens and see how they challenge themselves on an everyday basis. The main character showed how family influences could affect a young adult's mind and how they portray that in their everyday behavior. I thought there was a strong connection between external forces being shown through the actions of ones internal self.

Literally the best part of this film was Steinberg. The way he acted is literally the same way he acts in person and it was great. Steinberg portrayed someone who also had a destructive behavior but tried to make himself realize that. When him and the main character got into a fight, it was kind of strange seeing an actual adult throw themselves upon someone much older then them. It reminded me of an abusive relationship mainly because in abusive relationships the person will act out in violence but then try to get the other person to forgive them for what they did, which is exactly what Steinberg did.

The film definitely defined the power of people. One being that of abusive relationships and how that influences who a person is. The main character's actions were a direct result of how his mother and father acted towards him. You could also see the power of people through the girl character whose boyfriend tried telling her what to do and who to stay away from.

By the end of the film, the enemy of the main character dies as a result to violence. I believe this was the resolution to the main character's problems but also the beginning of a more bigger purpose in the characters' life. Overall the film showed what can happen if external forces have power and influence over a persons life. A person could be the sweetest human being on the planet but if they come from a place that has given them negative influence their whole life, then that sweet human being can have a change in character.

The film was awesome overall. The sound, editing, music, plot, and lighting was great. I give Anthony props for this film!