True Grit

True Grit

            I’m not a fan of Western movies, but I did enjoy this film. The story line was about revenge, but there was a lot more that happened besides avenging her father’s death. The storyline was not great, but it had some substance and the other obstacles that arose throughout the film kept it interesting. My favorite part of the film was the acting. It wasn’t typical acting for a Western based movie; I think it was much better. When I think of Westerns, I expect the actors/actresses to act uneducated and primitive, but the young girl in the film was very crafty, smart, and witty.

            This film had an abundance of characters, which made it fun and interesting to watch. Mattie was a smart, intellectual young girl with a powerful driving force behind her. She was determined to do whatever was necessary to get vengeance. She was very articulate and she used her persuasive skills to get what she wanted. I did not expect this from her; I thought she would be an uneducated tom boy. Then there was Rooster Cogburn, the complete opposite of Mattie. He was a typical cowboy, in my opinion. Dirty, drunk, and uninterested in anything that did not benefit him personally. He came across cold and uncaring, but later in the film I was able to see that deep down he was a good man with good intentions. I did not trust him throughout the film, until the ending scenes when he redeemed himself and saved Mattie, despite his fear of snakes.

            The storyline was based around Mattie’s father’s death and her trying to find peace through the capture and killing of Tom Chaney. I don’t believe that revenge will help heal our pains, but I can imagine that in a time of little justice, I would perhaps pursue an evil man also. Mattie felt empowered after killing Tom and it helped her to move on with her life and start anew. The journey that Mattie took not only helped her, but it helped Cogburn too. He was a drunk, with no drive or future, living day to day. With Mattie’s help I think he rediscovered himself and his potential. He faced his fears and he created new relationships.

            I was somewhat disappointed with the end of the film. After Cogburn’s heroic actions, I wanted to see how he and Mattie continued their relationship. However, Cogburn left without saying goodbye. The end left me wondering why Cogburn would do such a thing after the hardships he and Mattie had faced together. I think he did it out of love for Mattie; he didn’t want her to feel obligated to repay him for his services. This action of leaving unpaid also gave me more respect for Cogburn because I thought he was souly in it for the money. I don’t know the real reasoning behind his actions, but I believe he had good intentions.

            This movie is not one of my favorites, but it was definitely worth watching. It gave me some insight into how different life was back then. It made me think about how lucky we are today and that I shouldn’t take things for granted. It also gave me insight into how justice has evolved over the years and how thankful I am that it has. I can’t imagine living in a time where justice was scarce and crime was high. Lastly, it gave me some hope that people aren’t always how they appear or how we perceive them to be. I know that it is wrong to judge a person by their outward appearance, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid doing so. This movie just reinforced that idea that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Crash

Crash

                I liked this movie, but I found it to be offensive and very controversial. The beginning threw me off and was confusing, I think it was out of place and unnecessary to begin it that way. However, as the movie progressed I understood the beginning scene. The rest of the movie seemed to be unorganized and choppy, but I realized that was because this movie was about many different stories and how these people’s lives were intermingled through unexpected ways. I liked how real and raw this movie was, it portrayed how racism is really viewed and dealt with by different ethnicity's. There were many scenes that were offensive to different races, which made the movie real because racism is still a huge issue in the world today.

                The movie had a lot to do with personal biases that different ethnicity's have towards one another. It gave insight to how people treat one another differently because of the color of their skin, which is very sad, but unfortunately true. It proved that based on what we have been taught, how we have been raised, and what we have experienced affects how we act, respond, and react to different people. The film also stereotyped different races and what is “expected” of them by the majority group. It made stereotypes real and it also made them questionable. There were some things that were expected by a certain ethnicity, but in the film they broke the stereotype. On the other hand, there were things that were expected by a certain group and they were carried out by them. It was controversial because it gave a typical stereotype for a variety of ethnicity's, but stereotypes are not held by everyone of a particular group.

                The theme of this film was the struggle that all of the individuals were dealing with based on their ethnicity. Each person had a separate, individual struggle, but they were all united because everyone had to deal with some type of personal struggle due to their ethnical background. The main concern of the film was racism, but more specifically, it was biases and stereotyping. Each individual story was connected through each person’s beliefs about others. The film was very ambitious in looking at racism in the core of modern society. It allowed the viewer to see how others, different from themselves, view racism. The film was not afraid to show the truth behind racism and how it affects our daily lives. I think that this film took a huge risk, but the risk is what makes that movie so interesting.

                This film makes a huge social statement. It shows the truth behind racism, stereotyping, and personal biases. Each story within the film has a separate struggle, but at the core of each struggle is how people discriminate other ethnicities. The film communicates its point very well, through depicting different points of view. The film doesn’t show how just one group struggles with discrimination, but how all people have to deal with their own struggles within society. This film definitely made an impact in how I think and stereotype different racial groups. It tries to influence us into thinking differently and not being so close minded. The film tries to change how we think of other people and how we act towards them. The film attempts to interpret how life really is and it gave me a sense of how our actions and words really affect others. The film was very emotional because the stories within it were so real. It gave an array of emotions through different situations. I think that the whole film was emotional; there was no time within the film that lacked emotion.  

                Overall I really enjoyed this film. It allowed me to reflect on my own beliefs towards others. I was able to question myself and how I act towards different ethnical groups. I thought about my personal biases I have towards different races and I questioned myself to why I have them. The movie really made me think about what I truly believe. I think that everyone is racist on some level; I think it is normal for people to discriminate, but I don’t know exactly why I believe this. I think it has to do with how we are raised, what we see in the media, and our life experiences. I would recommend this film to everyone, it teaches about the affects of racial discrimination and it allows us to reflect on and question our own personal views and beliefs.