As part of the International Cinema Class's term-long project to connect with another culture and its cinema, we will each be interviewing a person who is native to (or at least has lived in) the culture in question. The interview should last about 60 minutes. You need to have completed the interview by April 10 and then report on it by writing what you learned from the interview in a response to this post. You need to write me enough to show me that your interview lasted the full 60 minutes or more (so, a lot more than two or three paragraphs). Here are some questions to help you get your response started:
- Which questions did you ask that yielded the most intriguing responses? Explain.
- How did what you learned help you see the movie you watched in a new way?
- In what ways do you feel you understand the culture better? In what ways do you feel you still have a long way to go?
- How do you feel the interview prepared you to watch the next film from the country in question?
- In what other ways did doing this interview enrich your life?
First off, apparently, their ice cream is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe questions that I got the most out of where, What were the differences between America and Italy. It helped me understand their culture ton more because I could compare it to ours. Like they stay where they are most of the time. They mainly stay where they are. And that made the movie I watched (cinema Paradiso) a lot more intense because there's one part where Alfredo convinces Toto to leave their town and follow his dreams, and so he left his home. I though. "so what? He just going some where else." But their family ties are a lot stronger then ours, they revolve around family a lot more. They are also more slow paced then America. They take more time to eat and their films are even more leisurely.
I also learned that there are two different sections of Italy, Northern Italy and Southern Italy. And I think that will help me see the differences in the films and their location and how those parts work because I learned that Norther Italy is a lot nicer and richer then Southern Italy where it's more ghetto and there are more crimes. Along with the crime there's a lot of corruption, like cops being part of the mafia and government dudes being susceptible to bribes and stuff.
I also learned the difference between their younger generation and the older generation. The older generation seems more spiritual and the youngsters don't seem so interested in religion.
They also have a lot of old architecture that isn't taken care of the best it could be. But that will be something good to look for in the films especially the one modern one I'm going to watch.
People were also more closed off to new people. They're really friendly to those they know, but not very open to strangers which makes sense in Cinema Paradiso because Alfredo was pushing Toto away until they became friends and then he opened up.
Next film, ether Life Is Beautiful (which I've seen and is amazing) or one called The Son's Room.
Frikin' need to go to Italy and eat some food!
Sir Whovian, out!
When you do go to Italy, be sure to being me back some food and Gelato ;)
DeleteI love reading how the interview helped you understand the stakes in Cinema Paradiso. That is such a great example of how learning about culture can you help you appreciate these films more!
gelato is so easy to make! my grandpa taught me last summer when i went to go see him in Nevada.
DeleteMy country is Japan. My interviewee (yes that's a real word) is my grandmother. The two questions that I got the most responses out of are kind of tied together. Why committing suicide is such a big deal, and what this system of honor is.
ReplyDeleteIn Japan there's some sort of honor system, which is more or less your social status. If you're an awesome, good person, you tend to have lots of honor. And therefore many look up to you and respect you. But if you're a thief, you're lower than dirt. I guess this system wouldn't be to troublesome. Except people in Japan take it way to far. It's like peer pressure taken to the extreme. If you've been dishonored, it would be better to kill yourself than live with the judgmental stares of your neighbors.
There's also sort of a family wide honor system. Most kids in Japan wouldn't do anything bad, because they didn't want to soil their family name. Actually, my grandmother said that way back when, that if a kid didn't something really bad, all the neighbors around them would get to come into their home and take anything they wanted. And the parents wouldn't protect their children. If you didn't something wrong, they sold you out. Also in this family honor system, it loops back around to suicide. Say, if the father did something terrible, like murder. He would usually kill himself to spare his family of the shame. That doesn't exactly seem like it would make me any less ashamed to be related to him, but this also loops back to the super strength peer pressure.
Also in "way back when" Japan, people had a different idea of what happened when you die. Since most people were buddhist, they didn't have the idea that you were just an empty shell when you die. But you stay in a state of eternal sleep, while your consciousness goes with Buddha to Nirvana. But if you kill yourself, you're just kind of stuck in a suffering darkness for the rest of your "life".
Wow, this wasn't exactly the most uplifting report. Nothing but death. But that's the story of Rashomon.
"Interviewee" is one of my favorite words! It's interesting how well all that you learned ties into the story of "Rashomon". Everything you wrote here made me think of parts of that film.
DeleteYou seem to hint that there were lots of things you tried to ask her about but which she didn't have any answers. I'm curious what sort of questions those were and why you think she didn't have much to say about those subjects.
I'm still waiting for a reply from my friend Sabrina, it's been like two days. Hopefully I can get it in by sometime tonight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up, Rose. Sending good vibes your way!
DeleteMy pen pal from Germany has not responded, and I sent her another message, but I just think it is hard for us to coordinate our dates especially because of the 8 hour time zone and us being in school at different times and then balancing our free time/school work. (Because she is a college student, I believe.)
ReplyDeleteBut the first small part of my questions were basically asking her if, for starters, she had seen the German film 'The Nasty Girl'. And if she has, if she liked it, and why. I also asked her if she'd be willing to watch it for me so we could go further into conversation about it.
I also asked Sabrina what she knows about her country's culture in general. Their involvement in the wars, her views on it, etc. I asked if she was a fan of political or historical films, and also if she was a film lover in general.
I asked her if she was a fan of American film, and why. If she saw big differences between German and American film.
So yeah. I'll see if I can add her on Facebook and I think that may be easier for us to communicate.
Rose, I can tell you're working hard on this so just make it work as soon as you can and report and I won't make it late.
DeleteChildren are expected to care for themself a lot more. And behavior of children is also a pretty big thing. My step dad told me that education is a way big thing in France. Their school system is incredibly different. In order for them to get a diploma they have to past this big long test, and if they don’t pass then they basically just can’t get good jobs or amount to much. I saw in the movie that the children were just kind of running around France without parental supervision, I asked him if this was just for the time in the movie or that’s just how it was there. He told me that children are a lot more independent from a younger age, so it wasn’t completely uncommon for children to be out in the city playing or going to stores on their own to get food for the family.
ReplyDeleteNow that I have a better understanding of how the children are, and how people in France see them, a lot of things make a lot more sense. Like how they put emphases in him being at the school; and the teachers being stricter then here in America. Although I know it’s like that in most of Europe. I want to watch a different, longer film from France so I can get more questions to ask my step farther. I don’t want to just focus on the children.
Now I know just a little bit more information, obviously, so maybe in the next film I watch I can catch some things I wouldn’t have understood before. My step dad did tell me a lot about his time spent in France other than just my questions, so I kind of have a larger understand, larger than I did before, about the country’s way of doing things.
This is great information! And I'm excited that you want to broaden your understanding! Way to push yourself!
DeleteMy culture is German. The person I interviewed is my best friend Mackenzie and I talked to her grandma a little bit. Her family is very cultural with everything they do from holidays to family get-together's.
ReplyDeleteI learned that even today Adolf Hitler still effects some German families, like my friend Kenzie's. Her grandmother was born in 1949, she grew up in a time where everyone was trying to forget or overcome what had happened in the World War 2. I can't imagine what it was like for her to grow up in such a depressing time. I asked her if her parents had ever told her what it was like for them during the invasion, but she said she had never asked because she didn't want to upset them.
I asked both Kenzie and her grandmother if they think it is possible for another dictatorship to start that is equally or as terrible as Hitler. They both replied that they believe it will definitely happen sometime. Something i'm going to look for when i watch the movie again is how easy or how hard it would be for a dictatorship to rise. Mackenzie says, " it can happen anywhere, anytime. I have a feeling it will be in those stupid little strict uniform schools because it already seems like a dictatorship to me . Teachers and the principal are the Nazis and the students are the Jews. "
I Think interviewing my best friend helped me learn a lot about her and her family and i feel a lot closer than i already was with her. I've learned a lot about my best friends culture and we both decided when we're old enough we're going to go visit our hometowns to learn even more about each others culture. I think the German culture is really crazy and interesting and has effected other countries a lot more than i thought.
Good work, Bree! It's so fun to see you learning more about the world. As Germans came out of WWII, it was as if they were waking up from the dream of Hitler's spell and realizing just how much evil had been committed by the Nazi regime. How do you deal with the fact that your people did such things? It's such a difficult question that many of that generation went on to make some pretty dark films (e.g. watch "The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick").
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad that you were able to not only connect with another culture but also bond with a friend. That is pretty awesome.
Sabrina finally responded! I have more questions to ask her, I just thought I'd give her some to start off with so I could go from her responses and ask more questions. I will post more when she responds, sorry I am so behind.
ReplyDeleteI chose the country Germany. I was originally leaning towards something different like Korea or India, but I was having a hard time finding films for myself. I stumbled across The Nasty Girl via Tumblr (yay Tumblr.) and then IMDB-ed it and found my German friend to help me.
Sabrina mainly filmed me on on the people of Germany and their culture in general, and the school system. (The school part wasn't really what I was wanting to know, but it's actually quite interesting.) She lives in Germany, and is actually half-German and half-American. Sabrina says that she feels Americans are more laid back, and aren't as stressed as Germans can be in general. (And I think this will lead to her talking about german filming styes.) She says that most in her culture are always on time and are proud of their unique-ness. (In being German.) They have different foods, and an entirely different school system.
Sabrina says she loves film, and watches a lot of German and American films. So I will probably get more from her to add on.
I'm excited to hear what more you learn!
DeleteHey it's Tucker again:
ReplyDeleteMy county was France and I found the perfect person to talk to. He was my French 3 teacher and he spent his first 16 years in France, then got a student visa to study in the US. I didn't get much time to talk to him because it was right after school and he was leaving. I also was exactly sure if I was supposed to talk about France in general or just about movies.
I was able to find out that he is currently teaching all French classes and has had a lot of success and he also teaches the girls soccer team. He also helps translates if he is needed. He and his Fiancee also had a little boy last year and will be a year old later this year.
I learned that in France there is this cafe (can't remember the name) in the South where a lot of celebrities go to meet and talk about different things come up. I also learned that there are Bocci Ball tournaments every year and when he was younger he participated in Jr. tournaments.
That's all I was able to get out in the few minutes I was able to talk to him, next time I hope there is more.
That's great that you got in contact with him! It sounds like, in addition to learning about another culture, you also had a great experience reconnecting with a friend.
DeleteI think there is still a lot more you can learn from him about the culture in a way that will prepare you to watch films from France and help you understand those you've already watched. I'll give you partial credit for this interview. You can get the rest of the points by doing extra credit or doing another interview with him.
But I am excited that you got in contact with him and have gotten the ball rolling.