Sunday, July 31, 2011

Donald Duck in 'Der Fueherer's Face'


  1. How are the Germans (and Japanese) portrayed in the opening sequence? How is irony created? irony is portrayed because as people who are trying to take over the world be but they don't seem like it
  2. How is propaganda and the effect of propaganda portrayed with the introduction of Donald Duck? 
  3. How is irony continued into the breakfast scene? because he has to cut his bread with a wood saw and thats what the jews bread was like
  4. How is Naxi Germany portrayed in the opening shot at 3:30? as a mean person stupid and fat
  5. What is ironic about the song lyrics regarding work and what is happening in the scene? hail in hitlers face 
  6. What does the conveyor belt portray regarding the lifestyle of Germans? they they use lots bof bombs and bullets
  7. Why do you think that there aren't actually any people that force Donald to work? We only see the ends of bayonets and a speaker. because i honestly do not know the answer to that question 
  8. What is ironic about the vacation? 
  9. In the dream sequence, how are the Germans portrayed? Why? they are potrayed as mean, angry, harsh people that make him work
  10. What do the pajamas when we see Donald in his bed tell us? Donald is wearing the USA flag as pajamas
  11. What is the Statue of Liberty used to convey? it is used to convey home for donald duck and it is safe
  12. How is Hilter portrayed at the end of the film? What is it about his face that is important? he is portrayed as a mean angry person, unhappy man making everybody else miserabl
  13. Why is this a representation of propaganda? Why is it actually ironic considering the way the Nazi's are portrayed?Who are the villains, victims, and heroes?How are the portrayed? Propaganda is advertising. Villains = Germans, victims = Donald duck, heroes = america. Germans act ruff and strong with chests puffed out. Donald acts innocent to the Germans 
  14. What can you conclude about how these characters are portrayed knowing that this was produced in 1943 USA? (write a short essay including a discussion of the director's use of film techniques.) it is portraying that he is saying, thank god i'm in America 

Finding Visual Techniques - Life is Beautiful

Key words/focus:
Camera angle (low, high, eye-level) Long shot, establishing surroundings, high angle shot, vectors, lighting, composition 

(4:20) How are camera angles used when Joshua says 'Thank you' (not in German) the angles are high when on Joshua and low on the German show who has the power? Which angles are used to view each of the characters? ^^^^^ What does each of these angle signify? Signify power

(4:45) What shot distance and angle is used to show Guido's concern for Joshua when the German waiter leaves the room? Describe the composition) The show is a medium shot and eye level not a perfect shot, it is less powerful, and shot is less orderly than the German walking away

(4:46) How is shot of Guido contrasted to the shot of the German waiter walking away to tell someone what has just happened? Describe the composition and compare it to the previous shot of a concerned Guido. it is a long distance shot and it is symmetrical shot, it is also geometric  

(5:02-05) How is the shot of the German's contrasted to that of Guido teaching the children to say 'Thank You'? there is a medium shot of Guido teaching the children and it is a high shot and the germans are on a medium low shot to show power 

HW: How do the characters in 'Life is Beautiful' represent an engaging and unique presentation of the Holocaust experience?


The characters in “Life is Beautiful” represent an engaging and unique presentation of the holocaust experience because their experience in the camp is not taken seriously by Guido and Joshua by making a joke, or game, about the camp but Guido knows that they are going to die there and he protects Joshua from finding out.

The First reason why “Life is Beautiful” is a unique and engaging movie is because of the innocence of Joshua and Guido’s attempt to keep Joshua from finding out what is actually going to happen. It is also very engaging because we know what the camp is and what is eventually going to happen to both of them. One of Guido’s main attempt to cover what is going on is when the German walks into their room and asks who speaks German and can translate into English and Guido says he can but he can’t. He pretends that the German is explaining the and makes a bit of a joke of it by saying that he has 20 lollypops to make Joshua laugh.

The characters in 'Life is Beautiful' represent a very engaging and unique presentation on the Holocaust. The movie is set in a concentration camp with the Jews perspective in the camp. By having a Jews perspective on what it was like to be in a concentration camp we get a sense on empathy and we feel bad for what they all had to go through in World War II and the mass killings of them. By getting the movie in the Jews perspective instead of the Germans, we get more of an understanding of how depressing this situation that they were in was, which makes the movie more interesting and engaging with the audience.

As a conclusion i believe that the characters in Life is Beautiful represent a very engaging and unique story and that the move ie is a very good one

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Heroes and Villains from Life is Beautiful



  • Describe what is happening in this scene. The Germans are explaining to the Jews what they need to do in German and Guido is pretending that he knows how to speak both languages and he says that what he was saying was a game so that his son did not worry and his son thought they were there to win a tank.

  • Who are the heroes and villains in this scene? Why are they heroes and villains? Guido is both a hero and a villain in this scene. He is a hero because he saves his son from being frightened and finding out what happens and he is a villain because he is going against the Germans and what they asked him to do and could be killed and he is also stopping the stopping the other Jews from finding out what they should be doing. 

  • For the hero/es and villain/s, describe techniques used in this shot which highlight their opposing role and how they connect with the audience. There is a light and dark side on both sides of the stories. The techniques used was leaving the door open and put the soldier on one side and Guido on the other to show the different sides. They also have close up of both Joshua and Guido and the soldier. The shots also get closer and closer to Joshua to make it obvious that it is aimed at Joshua. 

  • Tuesday, July 26, 2011

    Holocaust Unit: Key Question and 'Life is Beautiful'

    How are victims, villains and heroes of tragedy and trauma valued and given a voice?

    We need to apply this key question to Life is Beautiful:

    1. What is a tragedy? A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances
    2. How is Life is Beautiful a tragedy? Life is Beautiful is a tragedy because it shows that in the time of the war and it has a tragic ending because Guido, main character, is killed because he was tring to find and save his wife. 
    3. Could it also be a comedy? Life is Beautiful could also be a comedy because there are lots of funny scenes in the first half of the movie and also Guido is also a very funny comedian.
    4. What is a villain? What is a hero? What is a victim? Give examples of each both from real life and from fiction. A villain is and evil or wicked person. A hero is a legend with great courage and strength and a victim is a person who is harmed or killed by another person. 
    Villain

    • Darth Vader 
    • DR Octopus (Spider Man 2)
    Hero

    • Guido 
    • James Bond
    Victim

    • Jews
    • Guido's Son

    1. Who are the villains, victims and heroes? Villains = Germans!!, Victims = Guido, Giosuè (son), Wife, Other Jews at camp, Heroes = Guido, Amercian army
    2. What value do each of these characters play in the movie? Guido = most, Giosue= medium, wife =least  What role do they play in the plot? guido plays the victim and the hero and giosue and his mum play the victims of the war. What role do they play in connecting the movie to history? ^ What role do they play in evoking a reaction from the audience? (List the important characters in the movie and label them as either villains or heroes. Villains = Germans!!, Victims = Guido, Giosuè (son), Wife, Other Jews at camp, Heroes = Guido, Amercian army Then, in dot points, list the important role they play in regards to plot, history, and to the audience.)
    • Guido = most, 
    • Giosue= medium, 
    • wife =least