Wag the Dog

1.       

     What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?  Support your answer with examples.

I feel that the director wanted to show a few things. First I think he wanted to show how much we trust the media and how easy it is for them to lie to us. In the limo he says if it’s on TV it must be true. Then they make a fake war to distract the masses from the molester scandal. He is showing use how silly our faith is in the media. Second I truly feel he wanted to point out that sometime the bad guys win. EVERY main character in the movie is either a terrible person or working for a terrible person. They are covering up a molester scandal and the all seem ok with that. Some even seem to enjoy it.

(If its on TV it MUST be true!)

(Oh...the leader of the free world might be a rapist...well...its a living)

2.       If applicable , discuss if you think this movie has accurate depictions of minorities or if they are situational? Why or why not?

I feel that the movie had a few Jewish stereo types. Dustin Hoffman plays the “Jewish producer” a little hard. I also noticed a lack of…”color” in this movie. I feel like the movie is a sea of white and I had to look through all of my screen shoots (like I was playing where’s Waldo) to find anyone that wasn’t white.

(Anything worth doing is worth over doing...right Mr. Hoffman?)

(yup...)

(FOUND HIM!)

(...just tan?)

3.       Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?

I can’t see how it couldn’t! I’m sure if he wasn’t involved with something like wag the dog I bet he knows people that have been. He wanted to show the world what our trusted politicians could really be like.  Also as an adult human the man knows that sadly sometimes the worst people can win and in politics that’s more true than false.

(...Feeding the masses lies...and they love it!) 

4.       What groups (people of color, nationality, culture, class,gender etc.) may be offended or misinterpret this movie and why?

If anything is holy in this world I would hope that ALL people would be offended by this movie. Not because it was a bad movie ( it’s a GREAT movie), not because the bad guys wins and tricks you into wanting them (at times/in the moment) to win, but it should offend people because it point out how much trust we put into TV! It points out that we are lied to and we know it but we want to believe it…so we do because it on a glowing box that vomits words at us.

(Believe.)

  

5.       What the movie added to your visual literacy?

The movie did this thing where it would zoom in on to weird (well I thought they were weird) parts of the environment. It made the scene seem more real. It also gave the since that you were seeing through the eyes of one of the characters in the movie. Or he would focus on a minor prop in the shot that normally would be over looked but it shouldn’t be. It’s the directors way of making us look at what he wanted.

6.       What kind of artistic and/or visual means did the director use in the movie to focus our attention?

The zoom in. He filled the screen with whatever he wanted us to focus on. These things changed the meaning of the scene. The scene of the illegal farmer gaining his citizenship the camera focuses on the bible. To me it was a joke by the director. Something that is used to help stop people from lying was being used to make one work.

(...These people are so bad they use the lord for evil... Lucifer could take notes.)

7.       Additional comments/and or analysis/and or other movies recommendations (optional).

This movie made me feel like a stupid and terrible person. It made me feel stupid because I never really thought the government really did that. It made me feel terrible because I found myself hoping these horrible people survive one more lie. But when a movie can make you feel these things…it makes it a god movie!

(...sooooo evil wins?)

(Really? It does?)

(Yes...yes it does Willie Nelson and Anne Heche...and Willie Nelson can I say I'm a HUGE fan!...Anne I have no idea who you are.)

(well...shit...)

Crash

1.)What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?  Support your answer with examples.

The director was trying to talk about race and the way we view race as a society. He wanted to show that we all have hate in us and given the right circumstances and the wrong decisions we can all be monsters. He wanted to show the path of devastation left behind by hate and that even the worst kind of people can do the right thing when given the choice. The movie starts with a “crash” and ends with one to show that sooner or later we are all dragged into conflict with other people.

(saying something racist...)

2.) If applicable , discuss if you think this movie has accurate depictions of minorities or if they are situational? Why or why not?

I really thought about this question my second watch through. I paused the movie and mentally changed the color of the people in the seen. I left the voice and the cloths the same. All I changed was the color of their skin. The actors did an amazing job in this movie of making every character a person and not a stereo type that the color of their skin (just my 2 cents) truly didn’t matter. When a character did something racist or morally wrong I didn’t think of the color of their skin but there background. Why they made the that terrible choice. Even blatant racism was explained and made the view realize that it was them trying to be hurtful or they were scared and not really believing what they are saying. This painted the racism as more of a defense mechanism then just blind hate.

(Americas princess being SUPER racist...because she was mugged and now is scared but doesn't know what to do...So she turns on the super nice locksmith. Plus this screen shot made me laugh.)

(My favorite character just trying to do his job and pretty woman is  just being a racist bitch...) 

(This character was only put in the scene to drum up tension...I feel like she might be the most racist part of the movie...really doesn't have any lines but is put as the aid of the husband with a racist wife...the movie never say it but I got the feeling that her and her boss...played by Brendan Fraser...aka monkeybone...were sleeping together.)

3.) Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?

I think he did. Being a non-racist white man (and for the most part from Iowa) I feel like I have to go out of my way to prove that I’m not racist. It’s silly I know but it’s a real thing. I have found myself saying and doing things that I would NEVER normally do (here is a small list of these things in no real order….high five, low five, weird slang, liking some music I think is lame,ect, ect, ect)  to prove that I’m “down” with all people of color. Some would say that in itself is a bit racist but it comes from a good place. With that being said I feel like has done the same thing and it comes out in the movie.

(When he said "FUCKING black people"....honestly I paused the movie and looked around...in my own house..just to make sure no one else overheard it)

4.)What groups (people of color, nationality, culture, class,gender etc.) may be offended or misinterpret this movie and why?

No one that comes to the movie with an open mind and clear head. The movies is about human conflict and thus is also about race. When we are looking to hurt another we go after things that a different about them. Gender, race, ear size (this one haunted for years), ect to find a person’s weak spots. In anger all we want is the person to hurt as much as we do. When we know someone its easy to hurt them…we know what they love, fear, and the mistakes they have made in there live but when we don’t know them we have to use what we have. Their appearance, their accent, clothes, ect. That fuels our weapon of hate. Is it stupid…YES! But as human beings we can be very stupid.

(victim of racism in this scene....)

(...and now is the one being racist)

5.)What did the movie added to your visual literacy?

The movie used a lot of close up’s. It showed emotion and gave the characters believability. Made you feel for them even when you hated them!

(Just a few close up shoots...there is a lot more.)

(...about to say something racist.)

(Just got done saying something racist..)

(rapist...and racist...)

(PISSED!)

6.)What kind of artistic and/or visual means did the director use in the movie to focus our attention?

Close ups. The director had to find just the right actors to play these roles. The faces in this movie showed too much emotion for just any actor to play. It tricked me into thinking I wasn’t watching a movie but somehow these characters were real and it was happening in real time. I truly started to care for them and their struggles. I even cried once and I believe this caring came from the emotional connection I made with the characters from the close ups.

(More close-ups)

(rapist to the rescue? Honestly this whole scene made be wounder what the director was thinking.)

(Is this his way of saying sorry?)

(LUDA! Learning a lesson...)

(Thank you Terrence Howard)

(Made me cry...)

(Finally not pissed)

Additional comments/and or analysis/and or other movies recommendations (optional).

Great flick…will watch it again!

(Who's the boss....?)