Essay 2

The character that I believe stayed most true to themselves and their culture is Olive from Little Miss Sunshine. She worked hard to be successful in her beauty pageant, no matter what other people around her would say. When she was first told she would be able to compete in in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant everyone was happy for her and she was even more excited to be in it. Once they were on the road to get to the pageant her family starts to fall apart. At one point she is told not to eat ice cream because her family tells her that she will not win the pageant if she eats the ice cream. At first she does not eat the ice cream but then realizes that she does not care what other people think. As her families dreams start to fall apart they all start to live dreams through Olive. They put pressure on her to win and worry about how she looks and her chances to win.

Even though Olive hears the things that her family worries about and still keeps her confidence. She still has a huge desire to win. Once she gets to the pageant and starts to compete she sees all the other girls with fake hair, fake teeth etc. But she still sticks with her personalty. She shows worry about the other girls but still has confidence. When she gets on stage there are a lot of people who wonder why she is there and her family starts to believe that she is not going to win. They ask her if she wants to leave and not compete but she stays and tries to get everyone to open up to her being different from the other girls.

In Olive's final performance she gets on stage and dedicate her dance to her grandpa who had died and helped her come up with the dance. When she starts dancing it is a raunchy dance that offends all the parents in the crowd and the judges. When the head judge tells her to stop she keeps going and her family joins in on her dance. They finally come around to embrace Olive's personalty and realize she is perfect just the way she is. Throughout the whole movie Olive is true to who she is and never lets anyone tell her otherwise.

There was not a total strain on her losing her culture. Part of her keeping her culture was her not changing herself to conform to the look of the other girls in the pageant. But overall there was not a threat to her culture.

I adore Olive and how she was able to be herself throughout all of her adventure. Even with all the outside pressuring her to change she stayed true to herself.

Essay 1

My personal favorite movie that we watched this year was Chak De India. It was interesting and and was very empowering.  It is not often that you see a movie about women succeeding in sports. I was also able to relate with the girls in the movie. I am often put down for being a girl. People saying that I am not as important and can not do as much with my life. That was the same issue the girls in the movie were having.  And I am also put down for being a girl who plays sports. People like to say that women's sports are a joke and are not as serious as men's sports. People just like to use the excuse that you are a woman as a way to make you feel lesser. Something that I found very different in this movie to my real life is the importance of field hockey and cricket in India.
All the girls on the team have a strong dream of winning the World Cup in field hockey. They are all also constantly being told that their dream is a joke. Saying that it is a goal that will not be able to be accomplished. Most of this comes from the men in their lives. Weather it is their fathers or boyfriends they say that because they are women it is silly of them to want this dream. All of India is also discouraging them from playing because they do not want to be a joke anymore. They are told that they are women and need to become house wives and moms. They take this criticism and turn it into the motivation to prove all of them wrong. These are also things that I hear in my life. I am told that I am a women and am lesser then men. They say that women are not as smart, not as hard working, not as strong etc. But I also take this and use it to my advantage. Hearing all these things just makes me want to prove them all wrong. It gives me the same motivation that the girls in the movie have. They take it and show that if  you do not let things get to you and turn it into a positive you can succeed. Seeing their success it shows me i can also do anything I want with my life.
This whole movie is an underdog story. These women come from all over India and have to learn to play together to become great team. This is a lot like my soccer team. We mostly do not play together during the off season and we have to become cohesive. We have to overcome some of the same issues the girls in the movie had to. We learned to positions that would help the team. Personally I went from being the one scoring goals to being in charge of stopping them. We also have the issue of egos. The Indian team had many girls who wanted the spotlight and they had to share it if they wanted to win. This is a problem with every team and the ones who can overcome it are the ones who win. Watching this movie was almost a mirror image of my team. We are all so different, but are able to come together and win for our school.
Something different I saw in this movie compared to my own life is the different sports that they play. In this movie the two most important sports they play are field hockey and cricket. Unlike here in the U.S. we play ice hockey and baseball. The reason those sports are more important in India than they are here is because those sports steam from The United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom occupied India for several years. It is all based on our pasts. This shows how much our pasts influence our present.
Overall I really was able to feel connected to these girls because they have to overcome some of the same things that I do. They overcame this problems and it has made me determined to do the same.

Reaction to Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine was good movie. Also it is very hilarious. It was the classic dysfunctional American family. The grandpa was a drug addict that was very supportive of his granddaughters dream. The father was a failed author who was always shoving his message down his family's throats. The mother was the optimist, until everything started to go wrong. But she did come around in the end. The brother was keeping a vow of silence until he was able to enlist in the air force. When he found out he would not be able to get his dream, he focused his efforts  on helping his sister reach hers. The uncle was a depressed man who had fallen from grace. In the end they all did what they could to forget the failures they had had to help Olive reach her goals.
This movie had a lot of cultural similarities to my life. Mostly because is was based in the Untied States.  One thing that is big in the United States is the whole beauty pageant. In the United States a lot of our culture is based around looks. We are a very obsessed with the idea of the perfect beauty. When Olive actually makes it to the pageant she sticks out because she is not made up with fake hair and a ton of make-up. She is true to who she is and does not let the other girls sway her from her way. I always have respect for people that do not want to look fake and change themselves for the benefit of others(which happens a lot more nowadays).
Something that was very familiar to me in this movie was the food. They choose very common American food for this film. The first meal they had was Kentucy Fried Chicken. They had the American problem where everyone has a million things going on. It seems like sometimes a family dinner is the first thing to go to the wayside. But this is something that should be really important in family life.
I can say I have ever been in a beauty pageant or been to one. But from watching this I do not really want to be. It seemed like it was very shallow but did give these girls confidence.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It was super funny and basically made fun of the "typical" American family. I would recommend everyone watches this movie.

Preview to Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is a movie about a family in New Mexico on a road trip to California so their daughter Olive can compete in a beauty pageant. The family that is traveling is a father who has a nine-step confidence plan, a mom who just wants the best for her children, a suicidal uncle, a heroine addicted grandpa, a son who is in the mist of a nine month long vow of silence and a daughter who just wants to win a beauty pageant. On their way to California they go through trails that the average road trip would not have. Their VW bus breaks down and they then have to push start it. Their grandpa dies and have to steal his body. Once to the pageant Olive is true to herself and even though she wins, she learns how important it is to be yourself and how important family is.

Reaction to The King's Speech

 The Kings Speech is the story of King George VI and his battle with his stutter. He was the second son of King George V. When he was required to give a radio broadcast he is unable to go through it because of his awful stutter. His wife seeks the help of Lionel Louge to help her husband. At first he is hostile towards Lionel, but as time goes on they become very good friends. When "Berttie's" brother David is put on the throne after their fathers death, the Parliament start to resigned fearing that he will not be able to handle the threat of Hitler. David ends up leaving throne so he can marry a divorced woman. The country doubts Berttie's capability of being king because of his stutter. When the decision is made to go to war with Germany he must give a radio broadcast to the nation. With the help of Lionel he gives a great speech and is able to inspire a country.

This movie is set in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This was the biggest difference I saw in this movie. The clothes they wore were styled to match that time period. Also the cars and homes all resembled the time period.
The Kings lifestyle was very different for Lionel's and ours. Where ever he went he and his wife were dressed very nicely and people stop to adore him. Also they eat dinner at a very late time. When they would go to dinner they would put their daughters to bed first. Now the average American eats dinner at six and in the movie they would eat at eight or nine. Also the most common drink they would have is tea. Which is opposite from the United States where we mostly drink coffee. The king's family was very wealthy and whenever they had a party the best food and champagne was served.
I really liked this movie. It was a nice balance between history and entertainment. It is a great story and very entertaining. I would recommend everyone watches this movie.

Reaction to the Bet Collector

The Bet collector is a movie about a Philippine woman who goes around collecting bets for an illegal game called jueteng. It is a game that the poor locals rely on to get money. Most of the movie is her going around and getting bets from all of her friends for the game. In the movie you never get to see how the actual game works. This movie ends with them at some sort of celebration where the main character gets shot in the arm.
This movie may have been set in the Philippines but the numbers they used were Spanish. The reason for this is that the Philippines used to be colonized by the Spanish. Even though that was quite some time ago they still left their mark on the country. This can show how parts of different parts of cultural can stay in a country even after an extended period of time. 
Where they were in the Philippines was poverty stricken. Some people lived in shacks made from ruble. That is something you just do not see here in the United States. We have poverty but not to this point. I have never personally seen a make-shift village. It also seems like our government helps people who are in need and there was not any for these people. 

Something that is common in this movie with most other places was the corruption in the police force. Even though they are meant to stop the illegal gambling they still participate in it. In one scene the main character is taken to the police station and while there she takes bets from the officers. You see this everywhere there is always things on the news about someone being corrupt. And there is no exception in this movie. 
This was not the best movie. There was not a strong story line, making it hard to follow. The whole time I was waiting to see how the game was played and it never was explained.

Reaction to Kitchen Stories

 Kitchen Stories is about man researcher who goes into a bachelors house to observe him in his kitchen. When he first arrives his subject stays out of his kitchen as much as he can. He then drills a hole in his ceiling so he can observe the observer. But as the movie goes on they start to accept each other and become friends. But because of their friendship the observer faces the choice of either leaving the home he is in or quitting his job thus keeping his friendship. He chooses to stay and then starts to live his his former subject. The movie ends with the subject dying.
A cultural difference I have seen in almost every movie we have watched this year is the difference in the food they eat. In this movie their food was usually colorless and Nordic based. A treat to them was pickled herring. Potatoes and eggs seemed to be staples in what they chose to eat. Here in the United States you don't really see people eating things like herring and Lutifistk. Unless they have a stronger connection with their Nordic roots.

The landscape in this movie was very similar to the landscape in Minnesota, which would explain why so many swedes and Norwegians immigrated here. The Swedish and Norwegian culture is still very strong here. Unfortunately this movie did not show many aspects of that cultural. Since most of this movie took place in the kitchen. One thing that i did see was that the most common job was farming. When swedes and Norwegians came to Minnesota they came to farm because it was what they knew how to do. That is apparent in this movie.
Overall I enjoyed this movie. It was slow at times, but it showed that no matter how different people are they can still become fiends. Also it showed that its not human nature to sit and observer but to interact and become inquisitive.

Reaction to Little Otik

Little Otik is a movie based on a German folk tale. A man and a woman longing for a child create a child for themselves. One day while out removing a tree the father pulls up a root and envisions  a child. He puts a finish on it and gives it to his wife. She also sees a baby and starts treating it so. They fake a pregnancy and take the wooden baby home with them. Over time the wooden baby comes alive and eats a lot. All it does is eat and eat and eat. After a good amount of time the baby eats their mailman. Overtime he also eats other people. The only person outside of the family that sees this is a little girl living next door. At one point they realize the horror of what their "baby" had become. They lock him in a basement in an attempt to starve it. The little girl them takes it upon herself to feed it. In the end a woman in the apartment building kills it with a garden hoe.                                                   
     There were not many aspects of the German culture shown in this movie. One thing I did notice was the different foods that they ate. It seemed like they ate a lot of soups and things that looked like mush. Something that was similar to the United States was the idea of an ideal family. They all want to have a husband, wife and kids. The longing for a child is what drove these people mad. It was something they wanted so badly that it was able to take over everything in their lives. Their thoughts, their actions, everything.
This was one of the weirdest movies I have ever watched in my life. The story was weird and something we just don't see very often.It could have been considered a horror story. The technology in this was sub-par. Clay-mation was used for the baby and it was not done well. I did not enjoy this movie. It was nice to learn about a German folk tale but the way it was presented was not enjoyable.

Reaction to Of Love and Eggs

"Of Love and Eggs" is a movie about a group of people living in a poor village in Indonesia. Throughout this whole movie they are all waiting for the dome to come to their village to put on the top of their mosque. Each family is struggling with their own issues, from needing money to suicide.

The village that this movie was set in is a very poor village. The newest building that was built in  their village is their mosque. Everything in this movie is based around this building. This shows how important to everyone their religion is. One girl is constantly scolded for drawing pictures of the mosque without a dome on top. Another will not allow anyone to sit on a prayer rug that belonged to her estranged mother. Everything in their lives is based around this building and their religion. Unlike here in the United States where there are fewer people who based their lives around their religion. Also we have more diversity when it comes to religions. In this village everyone has the same religion.
There were some common things that I saw in this movie. There was a daughter who had a strained relationship with her father and did not want to communicate with him. The people of the village were about to come together and convince them to rebuild their relationship. Also a young boy who's mother died when he was a baby attaches himself to a woman and begins to treat her as a mother figure. His father ends up in a relationship with her. All these things happen all over the world. Here in the U.S. and in other countries too. They are common problems that everyone has to face.
At the end of this movie the dome is delivered and everything in the village is balanced again. The girls mother returns and the little boy was able to have a mother he longed for. This movie was okay, the story lines did not seem to mesh together. But overall it was fun to see another countries culture.

Reaction to Persepolis

Persepolis was a very dark movie. It was very sad and depressing to learn about how rough her life had been. As she grew up she had to overcome things we would never even imagine going through. While living in Iran there was a war and her family decided that she would be safer in Austria. She spent some time there but was lonely and came back to Iran. But things became bad again and the movie ends with her starting a new life in France.
There was a lot of western culture that was involved early in the movie. Before Iran was involved in the war they were free to express them selves. They wore western clothing and had other aspects of western culture in it. The music they would listen to were very similar to what we here in the United States would listen to. I found this really interesting at how connected they were with the world and how just because of a war there was such a change in the culture of the country.
Once the war was over, the women were forced to cover up and lost a lot of their freedom. Here in the United States women fought for years to gain the freedom they have been able to maintain over the years. It was sad to see a country go backwards away from what women had fought for. It is unfair to take away the rights of one gender. Everything in their country was now restricted. They had to sneak around to drink alcohol  much like prohibition.
Overall this movie was sad and depressing. But it was also very informing. Seeing what some children had to grow up with and deal with was amazing to me. No child should ever have their childhood taken away from them, and that is exactly what happened in this movie. The happy ending is that she was able to get out of the situation and find a better life for herself. 

Hoop Dreams Essay

    Hoop Dreams is a movie about two boys; Aurthur and William, who go from there rough neighborhood in Chicago to peruse their dreams of making it to the NBA and getting a better life for themselves. To reach these dreams they had to overcome many different challenges. Some struggles that they had were race, class, economic division and education.
   When William and Aurthur start at the high school that recruited them St. Joesph's they are two of the very few African Americans at their school. Most of the other African Americans are also at the school to play basketball. It did not seem that they were discriminated against because of their race, but because of their race it was rarer to see people of their same race at their school. They also had an hour and half commute to their new school because it was so far away from their neighbor hood which was majority African Americans. In my school we have good diversity. Everyone is respectful and gets along. We do not hold some one's race against them and are accepting of everyone. I am grateful that i don't have to worry about my race and what people are going to do to me because of it.

    Their class and economic division make it very difficult for these boys to get out of their current neighbor hood. They do not have the money to move or go to a better school. William is able to attend St. Joe's because he has received scholarships. Otherwise he would not be able to go to a private school outside of his district. Unfortunately Aurthur is forced to leave the school because he is unable to pay for part of his education. He gets a practical scholarship to help pay but the money that his family becomes too much and he must leave the school and attend a school closer to his home. Their parents did not go to college and were not able to get good jobs. That is why they aren't able to leave their dangerous neighborhood and are not able to pay for their kids education. Luckily Aurthur's mom was able to return to school and get a better job. No matter what their parents have done, all of their parents want to see their kids get a better life. I am fortunate that in my life both my parents went to college and also want me to do the same. I do not have to worry about paying for school, food or my home. We are lucky not to have to be  concerned about those things. My neighbor hood is safe and most of my friends also have parents that have jobs and want all of us to become as successful as we can be.
   When both William and Aurthur entered high school they had a very very low reading level and needed to work very hard to be able to graduate in four years. Within their freshman year they made great leaps and bounds in their education. But unfortunately when Aurthur had to leave St. Joe's his grades started to drop and he did not put his best foot forward. He needed to attend summer school to keep on track to graduate. When Aurthur attended Marshall he also was around other students who would not take school seriously which caused him to also lose focus. William on the other hand works very hard for his grades and needs to get a 18 on his ACT to qualify of his full ride scholarship to Marquette. Everyone around him  is encouraging him to get good grades and work hard. Also the teachers at his school are able to teach him and keep him focused better than the teachers at Aurthur's school. In my school they want to help everyone get into college and have also have a lot of programs to help people. I am on the track to college and so are most of my friends. It is what we and our families want for us.
   William went to Marquette and was able to graduate but not without its difficulties. He almost dropped out but everyone was able to encouraging him to stay in school. He was able to become a real estate agent. One hardship he did have was his brother Curtis died in 2001. He was able to overcome all of his challenges and create a great life for himself. Aurthur was also not able to reach his goal of the NBA. He was able to graduate from college. His dad was murdered later in his life. But also like William he created a new life for himself. This movie was very inspirational is shows that no matter where you come from you can over come it and succeed.

Preview to Persepolis

Persepolis is a movie about a girl and her struggles through life. It starts off as her as a child and follows her through her teenage years. While growing up in Iran she is faced with a war and all the constrictions that come along with that. Then as a teenager she moves to Austria to get away. She later moves back to Iran to be with her family. When it becomes even more dangerous for her to live in Iran she moves to France. The movie ends with her starting her new life in France.

Reaction to Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run is a movie about a girl named Lola who goes through a series of events three times. Each time something changes that changes the outcome. Everything she does is to help her boyfriend who lost 100,000 marks. In the first outcome they try to rob a grocery store but Lola end up getting shot and killed. In the second outcome her boyfriend Manny is hit by a car and dies. Finally in the last outcome they are able to recover the money and are able to stay together.

This whole movie revolves around the fact that Lola was late to pick up Manny from a money drop. It is so important for everyone to be on time in this movie. All the events that transpire are effected by time. From this you could tell that in Germany time is very important to them. Them seem to take time very seriously, you need to be sure you are where you need to be at on time. Whereas here in the United States all time seems to be flexible. When a time is set it seems to change and no one is ever on time. It is just not as important as in Germany.
A common cultural bridge that I noticed was the clothing. Both the people in Germany and the United States wear Western style clothing. Most people were wearing jeans and t-shirts. It seemed that most of what they did was very western influenced. One difference that I did notice was that their cars were smaller than the cars we have here in the United States. They were not driving around in giant SUVs. They are the same amount of people but a smaller amount of space, which means they need to have smaller cars.
This movie was very good. I liked to see three different endings. It was cool to see how things change and are effected by time and our choices. I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially teens.

Reaction to Tsotsi

    Tsotsi is a movie about a boy living in the streets of South Africa. He is a self proclaimed gangster. One night him and his crew go out and end up killing a man on the subway for his money. Another night Tsotsi is off on his own and steals a car from a women and shots her paralyzing her from the waist down. What he didn't know was that there was a baby in the backseat. Wen he crashes the car he takes the baby home with him. He finds a woman do breast feed the baby and help him take care of it. Once the woman finds out she is able to convince him to take the baby back. When he returns to the home, he ends up getting shot by the cops once he returned the baby.
 The area of the city that would be considered the "slums". Most people live in homes made from scrap metal. Also they have a make-shift shelters on the outskirts of the town made out of concrete cylinders for the orphans. Unlike here in the United States it is still very rare to see a slum. We have poor areas but seeing homes made out of sheet metal and pieces of wood is uncommon. It is also saddening that the children have to live outside in those cylinders. This shows that their government does not have a set program to help children who have lost their parents.
Another difference I noticed was between the food and clothes. They ate common African foods. And the clothing they wore were also African The women wore warps and would walk around with cartons of water on their heads.
This movie was a good change of pace. It was a nice look into the gangs of South Africa. The people and culture were very interesting to learn about. I would suggest this movie to anyone.

Reaction to Chak De India

    Chak De India is a movie about a female field hockey team in India. There coach was a previous player for the men's team. He was shunned from India when people believed tat he had thrown the gold medal game against Afghanistan seven years earlier. He wants to make his return to hockey and bring the women all the way to the gold medal game and stop the idea that the women's team is a joke. When the team comes together they do not get along and do not play as a team. Their coach starts to punish them and is able to bring them together. When they get to the world cup they are horribly beaten by the Australian team. But after that game they are able to come back and make it to the final round. They play their best game ever and end up winning in a final shootout. They become respected in India proving women can be more than housewives. This movie is similar to the movie Miracle.
      This movie has a lot similar culture concepts to America. They all knew how to speak English and mixed it in with their native languages. Also the idea that women aren't as good as men is seen everywhere in the world. All the men in the lives of the players were all doubting them and saying there dreams were impossible to reach. No matter if it was there father, boyfriend or husband. They were told that their dream was a joke and that women were not as good as men. But in the end they are able to over come all the obstacles and WIN!
      Something that was also different was the fact that field hockey was a popular sport. Here in the United States people do not really play field hockey, if you play a type of hockey it is ice hockey. But in Europe and Asia it seems to be a very popular thing to play. Also there is also a strong influence of cricket in this movie. The sports were very Eastern influenced.
   The food they ate was also different types of foods. They had traditional Indian foods but one sight of the west when they ate a meal at McDonalds
   This movie was very enjoyable. I really like an underdog story, and this one is a very good one. It is also good to see a movie based around women over coming challenges.

Reaction To The Host

The Host is a Korean movie about a creature that has become mutated by a doctor dumping chemicals down the drain. This causes a fish to become a human eating creature. When it attacks the people near the river, it causes panic. While the main character runs away he accidentally grabs the wrong girl's hand. Allowing the monster to grab the little girl. We find out that the monster has placed all the people he has grabbed into a sewer. The girls cell phone still works and she is able to call her father who has been placed in a hospital with the rest of her family because of their contact with the monster. The family breaks out and attempts to save the girl. They end up finding where she is but it is too late she has already been eaten. But one boy who had also been living in the sewer with her lives and the one survivor from the family adopts him.
           The biggest cultural difference I saw in this movie was the food. They would eat octopus legs and other things that are not common in the United states. They ate a lot of different types of noddles. It seemed easy for them to make. They were packaged and then they would add water.
    Family was a very important part of this movie. The whole family was willing to risk their own safety to rescue the girl. Part of this too was that the girl was a daughter who was born out of wed-lock. The mother had left and the young father has raised the girl. This is also a struggle that families in the United States have. Luckily they were able to be a loving family that would do anything for each other.
      Overall this movie was interesting and something fun to watch. The differences and similarities in this movie that stood out the most to me were the different foods and the same struggles within families.

Reaction to The Kite Runner

I really enjoyed watching The Kite Runner. It was one of those stories that is very sad but has a happy ending. This movie was based in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion. It shows Amir's life story and all the ups and downs that he went through.

In his home Amir's father had many people working for him which can be the same situation here the United States. If you have the money why not pay others to do your labor for you. His home was also very similar to what a United States home would look like in the seventies. The difference was in the religious artifacts and the designs. The designs in their home were from the middle east. So you were able to tell that they were living in some place in the Middle east from their home. All the texts that were around their house was all Arabic.

The dress was very different from what we would wear, after the Taliban took over. Before the Taliban invaded the people wore western style attire. Pants and sweaters and the women were not all covered up. When Amir came back they all needed to have beards and wear Islamic wear. The women were completely covered you could not even see their faces. Here in America we are free to wear whatever we want, there is not a threat on our lives when we wear something original.
I feel like there were more cultural similarities in this movie than in the others we have watched. They were very modern before being invaded. Free speech also seemed to be in place before they were invaded and were forced to flee if you were against communism. Overall they seemed to be living a Western style life until they were invaded.
The Kite Runner was a very intresting movie. They seemed to be having a easy way of life before it was torn apart by the Soviets adn the Taliban. It shows just how easy your life can change.

Preview to The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is the story of two boys Amir and Hassan and their life story. It begins with Amir in 2000 living in San Francisco when receives a call from an old friend, which causes him to flashback to his childhood. Amir's father is very wealthy and Hassan's dad works for him. Amir and Hassan are best friends and have been since birth. A big event in Kabul is kite flying. They will duel in the till one person is able to cut the others string. And Hassan is able to run down the cut down kites with ease. At the annual kite competition Amir and Hassan win using the kite Hassan got for his birthday. When Hassan runs down the last kite the cut, older boys stop him and rape him because he won't give up the kite he got for Amir. Amir witnesses this but does not do thing to stop it. When they return home niether mention anything about it. Amir reacts badly to it and tries to get his father to fire Hassan and his father. Amir's father refuses, but in the end Hassan and his dad leave.

Years later Amir is married and learns that Hassan was killed. And that Hassan was actually his brother and that his son is in Afghanistan. Amir decides to go and rescue him. In the end he is able to bring the boy back to the U.S. and adopt him.

Reaction to Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of Grace was a dark look into the sadness that  is drug mules. It is very unfortunate that in some countries people need to become drug mules between America and their home countries. Here in America we see drugs as a bad thing and drug smugglers as awful people. This movie shows that the people that run it find people in poverty to do the grunt work for them. They are the ones who get arrested at the border and die when something goes wrong with the drugs.

The amount of poverty in their town was staggering. If you didn't work in the flower factory you didn't have a steady job. The conditions in the factory were bad and they were worked to the bone. You could tell they were working for minimum wage. From the horrible conditions and low pay you can tell there are not any labor laws in place here. But in the United States we have very distinct laws stating what kind of conditions people can work in and what people can get paid. Also our jobs are not based around one factory or natural source. We have a variety of jobs in our cities. Which means that if one company left we would still have jobs left. But in Maria's town if the flower factory left they would crash and everyone would need to move away to find new jobs.

There is also a lack of education in Maria's town. Maria is only 17 and is working to support her family. She should be in school getting an education so she can get a better job but unfortunately that can not happen because she needs money. In the United States it is required by law that everyone under the age of 18 must attend school. I believe that Colombia will need to create a law like this if they want to restart their economy.

 Compared to my life Maria has to make decisions that i could never make at 17. She needed to decide to take a job as a mule to make money for her family. I don't know i would be able to put myself in harms way just to make money. Also in the end she choose to stay in New York for the well being of her baby. I can not imagine staying illeagal in a new country but i would want to make the best decsion for my child's and my futures.

Maria Full of Grace opened my eyes to the struggles people have around the world. I was able to relate to some of the things that Maria chose to do. I enjoyed this movie and would recomed it to people wanting to understand the underground world of drug mules.

Preview of Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of Grace is a movie about a girl named Maria and her story as a drug mule. Maria is from a poor family in Columbia and has to work in a factory for money. She becomes pregnant and then quits her job in the factory. She takes a job as a drug mule to America. She is forced to swallow 62 pellets of cocaine. She goes on the trip with a friend of hers named Blanca. At the airport she is almost x-rayed but slides by because she is pregnant. Once at the motel Maria, Blanca, their new friend Lucy and the other mules are forced to stay their till the have passed all of the drugs. Unfortunately one of the pellets in Lucy breaks and they kill her trying to get all the drugs out of her. Maria and Blanca run away and stay with Lucy's sister till she finds out that Lucy is dead. They go back and return the drugs for the money. In the end Blanca goes back to Columbia and Maria decides to stay in America.

Reaction to Afghan Star

    I really enjoyed watching Afghan star. It was like getting a behind the scenes look at Afghanistan. Their culture is so important to them. When they were controlled by the Taliban they were not allowed to sing. But now it is allowed.
    The fact that they even had this show was a giant cultural leap from where they were just a few years ago. Unlike here in the U.S. it is always been encouraged to sing and dance and celebrate.
    When one of the girls was voted off she performed her final song. During her song she danced around a little bit, and I mean a little bit. It could be classified as swaying to the music. But when she did this is was a GIANT mistake. In the Islamic religion dancing is not allowed so everyone went into an uproar about it. She received death threats and had to stay in a different city in fear of losing her life. And when she did return home she needed to stay hidden. I didn't know that just by dancing you cold have people calling for your life.
   The clothing that they were was a huge difference I saw between their country and ours. The women were completely covered except for their faces. And in some of the provinces they went to they even covered their face. Here in America we are free to wear whatever we want. This is also weird because in the movie they had a flashback to the 80s where the women were in a pop band with men. They were also wearing metallic pants. It is amazing how in a couple decades they can go from a thriving pop culture to a controlled traditional way of life.
    I learned a lot from this movie about the culture in Afghanistan. It's surprising how different they are from us here in the United States.

Preview of Afgan Star

Afghan Star is a movie about four contestants that are participating in the Afghan equivalent of American Idol. They go through the same steps that the contestants in American go through. First they audition in front of the judges then are either rejected or they move on to the next round. Once through they perform on television while all of Afghanistan watches. They people then send in SMS text messages voting for their favorites. Each week someone is voted off till they have one winner. Throughout the show the constants travel around meeting their fans. Fans will start campaigns to get their favorite constant to win, anything from posters to buying more phones so they can have more votes.

Reaction to Please Vote for Me

    Please Vote for Me was a eye opening movie. I really liked being able to see our type of government function within another type of government. The Communism was very apparent. The main thing was that the children acted like dictators in order to show what they would be like as class monitor. In China they have the "One Child Policy" this means each family can only have one child. When these children found out that they were in the running for this position and they told their parents; the parents wanted them to win more than they did.

Here in America parents are less involved in their children's lives. They will support and help them, but not to the same capacity as the Chinese parents. These parents were writing speeches for their kids and even bribing the other students for their votes. Also every night they made them practice and practice getting ready for their harsh debates.

The Chinese Communism has put a winning drive in these children. They are willing to do anything to win this election. They go around spreading lies and being very mean to each other trying to get the upper hand. I am sure this happens here in America too but I have personally never seen it. I was really surprised that these kids could do this at such a young age.

In the end of this movie Lou Lei won the election. He had been class monitor in the past years and also his parents took the children on a field trip and gave them presents. I believe that this helped his chances of winning and in the end he did emerge victirious. This movie was very good and I really enjoyed watching it.

Please Vote For Me Preview

    Vote for Me is a movie about three children; Cheng Cheng, Luo Lei and Xu Xaiofei who are all running to become their class monitor. To experiment democracy in class the teachers have decided to have these three kids run for it. They will go through debates, speeches and talent shows to prove that they are the best candidate for the position. Because of the one child law in China these children are all only children. Their parents are very involved in the election. From bribery to writing the speeches for them. This is a very interesting look into a communism crossed with a democracy.

Reaction To Mongolian Ping Pong

Mongolian Ping Pong was a slower moving movie. I felt like there wasn't really a climax to it. I expected the boys to go on a bigger adventure to get to Beijing. Though I did enjoy watching to see what their life is like compared to ours.
     Their home was a round home made from wood with a canvas roof. Unlike here in the United States we live in square shaped homes. The families made their living off of there animals. They had horses, sheep and goats. To pay for the necessities they need or the luxuries they want. Whereas here we would use regular currency. They did have paper money but it seemed they used the animals for negotiating more often. Though unlike in The Weeping Camel you could see that the families had bee touched by modern seocity more often. One of the families had a motor scooter and one had a television. Also the man that came to them with the new objects would come to them in a truck.

  
    Near the end of this movie the older daughter is offered the chance to move to the city and be a dance group. The parents are weary about letting her go beacuse they need her to help around the house and care for the animals. Also this is the same time that their son will also go to the city and attend school. Which would cause the parents to be home alone. Though in the end they allow them to go to their respective places. Unlike here parents encourage their children to move out and become a independent person.
   This movie was good overall. I enjoyed it and it was a very good way to look at how people from more remote places live their lives, which in comparison to us is less modernized.

Mongolian Ping Pong Overview

This movie is about a young boy who lives in a village away from the modern world. One day when he is out with his friends they find a ping pong ball floating in the river. Because they had never seen one before they are unaware of what it is. They decided to ask the people in their area and when shown to no one knows what it is.

   The boy's father wins a television and one day the boy sees his white ball. When they hear that it is the "Ball of China" they go out to return the ball to Benji. So the boy and his two friends leave their secluded life to return the ball.

Reaction to The Weeping Camel

The Weeping Camel was a good movie overall. I enjoyed seeing a world different from my own. Even though Mongolia is half way around the world I could understand how they made their living and how people around them lived.
    Something that really interested me was that even though they are in the Gobi Desert they wear many layers of clothing and winter hats. I had a hard time grasping the fact they were in the desert and it was sunny all the time, it seemed to be cold. In addition to this the clothing they wore was very colorful. This added a more vibrant feel to the world around them.
   Family was very important. All three generations lived together in one household. The grandmothers were the home keepers. They cleaned, cooked and looked after the youngest granddaughter. The daughter and her husband were a key role in watching and herding the animals. The grandfathers were also involved in the animals. They seemed to handle the animals less and organize everything that was going on.
   Compared to what we do here where grandparents tend to live on their own. I feel like that is different from other places in the world. Even though they do live in a different home grandparents are still involved in the life of the family. Also they don't feel the need to stay and take care of the family. When there aren't as many jobs needed around the home, grandparents can live on their own and take care of themselves.
   The lack of technology is something very different from what we have here in the United States. Almost everyone here has a television and a car. We take this for granted. The family in Mongolia needed to send their children out on camels to get to the city. Here we would just jump in our cars and go. We would not think twice about it. Once they had returned from the city the littlest boy wanted a television. We were then informed that they did not even have electricity to power it. Luckily in the end they were able to purchase a television for their home.

    Overall this movie was very different. But different in a good way. It gave me good insight into what life is like for the people in Mongolia. I was impressed by the way they lived their lives. They were so in touch with the animals and were very family-oriented. I would recommend this to someone who wants to learn about how people in other countries live.