A Left Handed Endeavor

I remember in the handout that Mr. Bennet had given out in class for The Asphalt Jungle, that Emmerich had said that "Crime is a left handed form of human endeavor". I was really fascinated by the idea that his statement made.
In Egypt, the law states that one may not eat with his left hand; because though on the outside, it may be clean, it is used for vile purposes, in particular cleaning after yourself after you take a dump. The left hand is seen as the weaker counterpart to the right hand. Even those who are left handed are sometimes looked down upon.
The word endeavor means to make a "strenuous effort".
Therefore Emmerich gave the best possible definition of crime. Though criminals work hard very at it, so that in the end, they may make some profit or gain a reward, it is looked down upon by society, much like the left hand. I guess those who don't commit crimes and work hard at their socially acceptable jobs are committing right handed endeavors then. 

Good Guys and Bad Guys

Unforgiven gave a very unique perspective on the idea of moral ambiguity in films and stories. The characters in the story, originally seemed to be categorized as good or evil. Will Muny was first thought of, at least by myself as the protagonist of the movie. But as the movie continued, none of the characters actually seemed nice. Even the main characters were having company with prostitutes and killing other men, just for the sole gain of many.
Finally, after finishing this movie, the idea that was left in my mind was that people live and do things for their own personal gain. Even if it is to help others, many always look at what they can get out of the situation. Moral Ambiguity is definitly a huge theme in this movie.

So far in the Seventh Seal

There are many observations that I have made while watching the Seventh Seal so far. One that stuck out to me was when the Knight was talking to Death because he mistook him for a priest. I noticed that while the knight was talking about the uncertainty he has about his faith, that light was streaming through the window in the confessional but it was only lighting up half of the room. Perhaps the light symbolized his uncertainty and his pursuit for what's true and what is fiction. I also wonder if there is a deeper meaning in the fact that he mistook Death for a priest?
Another observation that I have made while watching this movie is that the characters are very hypocritical. When the ex-seminarist tries to rape the girl in the house, the squire comes along and saves her from him. He is made to seem like he is very noble in his actions but then he contradicts himself by telling the girl that he could rape her just as easily. In addition, when the people in the town hear about the apocalypse and that it's the end of the world, they seem very sullen and depressed, as if they are ready to die. The next scene shows that they are partying it up at the tavern. These two actions seem to emulate the idea that hypocracy is a motif that is shown throughout the movie.

Symbolism in Runaway Train

Throughout the film, Runaway Train there are many symbols and allusions that are present if the viewer looks close enough. The main characters, Manny and Buck even have symbolism when it comes to their names. Manny quite obviously, represents a macho man and seems to enjoy doing things on his own without interference from a third party. Rankin, the Alaskan Jail's warden symbolizes the idea of categorizing and ranking people. Buck, a welter weight boxer at the jail symbolized someone who does things without thinking and going "buck wild".
What I found very interesting was the scene on the train when Manny was beating Buck very ferociously almost to the point of death. All the while, they are on a train which is hurtling at great speed to their demise. I found this dark behavior very disturbing but after thinking about it, even this scenario has symbolism in it. The train can symbolize life, a vehicle that is transporting us in one direction. And very quickly. Everyone knows that they're headed in this direction yet they choose to focus on other things in their lives, things that when we look in retrospect, seemed to have no purpose and was a waste of time such as petty fights or having grudges against people. In the end, we would all end up in the same place, so what's the point for all of this nonsense?
Runaway train had many great symbols, only a few of which had been shown in this blog. I can't say I enjoyed the plot that much but the actual ideas and thoughts that the movie provokes definitely made it a worthwhile watch.

Existentialism

The idea of existentialism that was brought up many times during the class was very thought provoking and I enjoyed looking at life through the existentialist viewpoint as stated on one of the sheets that was given to us in class. After reading these points, I was reminded of a movie that I have recently watched called The Grey that in my opinion, had an existentialist viewpoint implemented in it. The movie in short was about a few men who had survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness and are desperately fighting to survive. It was an intense movie that captured the viewer by forcing them to view the film through the eyes of the main character and imagine what it would be like for one of them to be in this horror because all of the events were very possible and that's what get's the viewer scared. It was a great movie and the ending (not to spoil it) really got me thinking. I believe that anyone who watched AQoWF would enjoy this movie and I strongly recommend it.

All are quiet Indeed

This film showed much about the true identity of war and not what it's portrayed as publicly. It brings out the realism in the war, the death that is all around, the intense rush to be alive, and truly lets the viewer know that it is anti war. It shows the horrors that the men face throughout the story, and the amount of lives that are needlessly thrown away towards a cause that the soldiers themselves pointedly say that they are against.