The article “Facebook Exodus” is concerned about the ex-users of Facebook. Different ex-users with their different reasons are discussing the negative side of being a Facebook user.
“Facebook is the devil”, “it is not your Facebook profile, it is Facebook’s profile about you”, “Facebook ownership of user’s contributions to the site”, and “the whole site is crawling with mercenaries trying to sell books and movies”, are what the ex-users said about Facebook. These individuals are complaining about how Facebook is controlling them and forcing them to do things. Facebook is becoming an expanding force on the web and the users are in no position to object or change. Unconsciously, these users are losing their real physical contact with their friends and families, and just be satisfied with a post on their walls. Also, they are losing the meaning and right of privacy and can’t control it or own it in Facebook. Thus, Facebook for them is something to Exodus. They need to leave Facebook to resume their original normal routine of their daily life.
Moreover, I’m a Facebook user and I do believe that I will reach the point where I will need to leave it as well. I see Facebook like any other social website but with more accessories and options that led its users to stay longer than any other social website. We the users get excited about any new thing at the beginning and spend a long time on it, but then we realize that we are basically wasting our time and nothing is interesting anymore. Thus, once we know Facebook 100% and there is nothing more to know about it, we will eventually leave it.
Heffernan, Virginia. “Facebook Exodus.” The New York Times. 30 Aug. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2010 < http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html>
Monday, November 29, 2010
Haifa Beseisso. Movie Critique. Second critical essay.
Mike Newel is the director of some of the most popular and successful movies like Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (2005), Love in Time of Cholera, Mona Lisa Smile, he also produced Pirates of the Caribean and many more...
Mike Newel won 11 awards and was nominated for 5. He won awards in prestigious film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, and Fantasy & Horror Films USA. Newel was born in England, UK, March 28 1942, and attended Cambridge University.
The reason why I chose this director is not because of his fancy record, instead it is because of the fancy work, love and profession that he puts while making his movies and this is what eventually gave him this golden record. By the way by fancy I’m not referring to "expensive and fancy devices and cameras" instead I'm referring to "flawless high standard work".
One of the most movies that I admire of his is "Prince of Persia".
Prince of Persia is a movie that collects a number of amazing well projected factors; the story is well said; the camera shots, the music, and the actors, every detail of it is well worked on and well chosen. Truly, love is in the Details! ;)
The story is about a courageous prince that goes in a journey in an attempt to find his father's murderer, prove his innocence, and protect the kingdom. In his journey joins him a princess that aims at protecting a sacred dagger that can go back in time and change the way things took place, and that in itself is powerful for the holder can control history thus the present. Adventurous and interesting events take place and that ends up in building a beautiful love and a leadership story.... so for anyone that is interested in leadership or simply entertainment this movie is for you. ;)
In this movie critique, I am going to focus on camera shots and camera movement, since I believe that it is one of the most important factors that determine whether a movie is a success or not, it is the eye of the viewer.
As the movie starts the camera movement follows the narration and the story line; what the narrator is saying is being showed to us, for example in the first scenes when the narrator refers to the kingdom a wide shot of the kingdom is shown, furthermore a lot of wide shots are taken to show action since there's lots of action and fighting taking place in the movie, when the rulers are talking a medium shot is taken of them. Zoom is taken when a character takes a weapon or an important object is to be stressed on. When something important is being discussed the camera slowly zooms in to the characters, to show that what they are saying is of importance for the movie.
So many shots are taken from over the shoulder of the characters to show the view they are looking at, because the view is both important for the story and is beautiful and enjoyable for the viewers. When the characters discuss a plan; camera shot are presented after eachtoher in a high beat sequence that shows the places that they are referring to, that in turn adds a thrilling touch.
The characters being shot are constantly being either out of focus or in focus depending on the text of the scene, what is meant to magnify will be in focus. The first time the princess was shot, the camera was taken from a low angle to resemble her highness, as if we are looking up at her. Slow motion is detected when a character is approaching to attack another, another form of adding a thriller spice to the movie. When the Dagger was detected for the first time, an important element in the movie, it was in focus and everything around it was out of focus and the camera slowly zoomed in to it, all those factors together show its significance.
Those camera shots and angels define how we percieve the characters and the events, for example when something (an object, or a person) is zoomed in, it will get it closer to the viewer's heart and mind. As well as other factors that were mentioned above.
Thank You.
Works Cited:
Nielson, Leslie. "Mike Newel." IMDb, The internet Movie Database. N.p., 2010. Web. 29 Nov 2010..
Mike Newel won 11 awards and was nominated for 5. He won awards in prestigious film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, and Fantasy & Horror Films USA. Newel was born in England, UK, March 28 1942, and attended Cambridge University.
The reason why I chose this director is not because of his fancy record, instead it is because of the fancy work, love and profession that he puts while making his movies and this is what eventually gave him this golden record. By the way by fancy I’m not referring to "expensive and fancy devices and cameras" instead I'm referring to "flawless high standard work".
One of the most movies that I admire of his is "Prince of Persia".
Prince of Persia is a movie that collects a number of amazing well projected factors; the story is well said; the camera shots, the music, and the actors, every detail of it is well worked on and well chosen. Truly, love is in the Details! ;)
The story is about a courageous prince that goes in a journey in an attempt to find his father's murderer, prove his innocence, and protect the kingdom. In his journey joins him a princess that aims at protecting a sacred dagger that can go back in time and change the way things took place, and that in itself is powerful for the holder can control history thus the present. Adventurous and interesting events take place and that ends up in building a beautiful love and a leadership story.... so for anyone that is interested in leadership or simply entertainment this movie is for you. ;)
In this movie critique, I am going to focus on camera shots and camera movement, since I believe that it is one of the most important factors that determine whether a movie is a success or not, it is the eye of the viewer.
As the movie starts the camera movement follows the narration and the story line; what the narrator is saying is being showed to us, for example in the first scenes when the narrator refers to the kingdom a wide shot of the kingdom is shown, furthermore a lot of wide shots are taken to show action since there's lots of action and fighting taking place in the movie, when the rulers are talking a medium shot is taken of them. Zoom is taken when a character takes a weapon or an important object is to be stressed on. When something important is being discussed the camera slowly zooms in to the characters, to show that what they are saying is of importance for the movie.
So many shots are taken from over the shoulder of the characters to show the view they are looking at, because the view is both important for the story and is beautiful and enjoyable for the viewers. When the characters discuss a plan; camera shot are presented after eachtoher in a high beat sequence that shows the places that they are referring to, that in turn adds a thrilling touch.
The characters being shot are constantly being either out of focus or in focus depending on the text of the scene, what is meant to magnify will be in focus. The first time the princess was shot, the camera was taken from a low angle to resemble her highness, as if we are looking up at her. Slow motion is detected when a character is approaching to attack another, another form of adding a thriller spice to the movie. When the Dagger was detected for the first time, an important element in the movie, it was in focus and everything around it was out of focus and the camera slowly zoomed in to it, all those factors together show its significance.
Those camera shots and angels define how we percieve the characters and the events, for example when something (an object, or a person) is zoomed in, it will get it closer to the viewer's heart and mind. As well as other factors that were mentioned above.
Thank You.
Works Cited:
Nielson, Leslie. "Mike Newel." IMDb, The internet Movie Database. N.p., 2010. Web. 29 Nov 2010.
Talar Kazanji- Facebook Exodus
Facebook has a major advantage of connecting different kinds of people from different locations, but is it always true that Facebook enhances communication? In some cases, as the article discusses, communication in real life is cut off. Many people communicate virtually through Facebook with one another, but face-to-face verbal communication is absent. Facebook creates some sort of gap between the person you act as on the internet and the person you are in reality. For instance, I know people who act as my good friend on Facebook, but in reality, they do not even greet as they pass by.
Also, Facebook claims ownership over any user's profile information. The photos, videos, and personal information we post on our profiles give Facebook the right to own them and use them willingly. This sounds like a scary thought to me, because this just proves that no matter how private you go on Facebook, it is not enough.
This contributes to the issue of privacy. You never know who is on your profile and what they might be doing with your personal belongings. Many people choose to go public, without any limitations to the profile; therefore, this gives you a sense of violation that you are being stalked. Facebook's privacy is not much of an effective form of keeping the information to yourself and to your friends, because in any other case, Facebook, itself, is given the right by you to keep track of your information and the things you choose to do in the community.
Sarah Al Shaybani - With Friends Like These Summary.
Hodgkinson, T. (2008, January 14). With friends like these [Article History].
Retrieved from The Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/
Retrieved from The Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/
With friends like these criticizes Facebook by stating mostly the harm that it can cause our societies nowadays. If it is considered beneficial, then the reasons are possibly very trivial or minor. The author speaks of how we have become so attached to the virtual world, rather than being connected to our real world. For example, we wish people happy birthdays and merry Christmases online rather than to try and meet our loved ones for support when it comes to holidays and occasions as such. We are judged by our appearances through pictures and videos, and judged by our popularity if we do or do not have enough friends on Facebook. Moreover, we are somewhat disconnected from what life can offer us because of our society's attachment to online communities such as Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, and that leads us back to the point of quantity vs. quality. Societies have preferred the quantity of what online and virtual communities can offer over the quality of what our life can offer.
I have always agreed to how superficial and ridiculous the idea of putting Facebook (or anything that is related to the matter) as one of the priorities in life. It might not be the top of our priorities, and it might not be in our most-important-priorities kind of list. But our Facebook accounts are surely checked by us every day, most of us…if not all. And putting all the disadvantages or the negativity aside, most people, including me, know that the above criticism about Facebook is true and very disappointing, but we still own accounts and we still engage ourselves in whatever this generation is offering, and surely more will be offered from the next.
Nawar Al Akawi - Facebook Exodus
Facebook Exodus basically discusses the negative side of Facebook, and uses real life examples to back it up. Having read this article, and "with friends like these ", it is safe to say that Facebook is a growing force on the web. Many people feel as though Facebook has set them apart from one another rather than keeping them connected. And thats not the only downside, Facebook used to claim permanent ownership over every user's contribution to the site, although that law has been adjusted, they continue to save our information, photos, videos, and everything that we post on our profiles. In other words, Facebook has a saved profile about each one of it's users.
Facebook has blurred the line between private and public. Even when privacy settings have been regulated, according to the article, "Postings that seem private can scatter and slip unpredictably into a sort of semi public status. "
Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of Facebook, I still have my own account which I check on a daily basis. Facebook has helped me find many jobs around Dubai, and it continues to do so. It also helped me get in touch with old friends and family abroad. There are many things I do not like about Facebook, but it also offers a lot of advantages as well.
Facebook has blurred the line between private and public. Even when privacy settings have been regulated, according to the article, "Postings that seem private can scatter and slip unpredictably into a sort of semi public status. "
Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of Facebook, I still have my own account which I check on a daily basis. Facebook has helped me find many jobs around Dubai, and it continues to do so. It also helped me get in touch with old friends and family abroad. There are many things I do not like about Facebook, but it also offers a lot of advantages as well.
Ahlam EL-Zubeidi - Facebook
I was never much of a "facebooker" as we like to call it and i don't really understand why does it have so many applications and things on it. Nonetheless, i do have an account, i might not use it all the time, or not use all the tools on it, but i still have an account. After reading the articles in class "With friends like these" and "Facebook Exodus" i realized how much power facebook has, not only as an "addiction" but also the facts that it saves all the information we enter in it. "Facebook Exodus" is an article i really liked, it shows the true colors of facebook and how people are realizing the affect it has. It shows that people are leaving facebook and how facebook will one day become a "ghost town". To be honest, I'm all for it, i never really liked facebook all that much anyways... 
Nawar Al Akawi - Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN messenger of peace. She has spent at least twenty five years of her life observing and studying the behavior of chimpanzees in the wild, making her the world's leading expert on chimpanzees. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute as well as the Roots & Shoots education and activism program for young people.
Goodall had always been passionate about animals and Africa. She began studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe, Tanzania in 1960. She has worked very closely with these animals, and she was able to observe the most intimate details of the family and social life of the chimpanzees. How they played, brought up their children, communicated with each other, what food they ate and how and where they built their home. Moreover, Goodall witnessed that chimpanzees seem to show expressions of emotion similar to our own, such as sadness, curiosity, anger and pleasure.
Today, Goodall is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats, devoting almost all her time to support them and their environments.
Goodall has received numerous awards for her environmental and humanitarian work.
Goodall had always been passionate about animals and Africa. She began studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe, Tanzania in 1960. She has worked very closely with these animals, and she was able to observe the most intimate details of the family and social life of the chimpanzees. How they played, brought up their children, communicated with each other, what food they ate and how and where they built their home. Moreover, Goodall witnessed that chimpanzees seem to show expressions of emotion similar to our own, such as sadness, curiosity, anger and pleasure.
Today, Goodall is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats, devoting almost all her time to support them and their environments.
Goodall has received numerous awards for her environmental and humanitarian work.
Ahlam EL-Zubeidi - Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, having closely observed their behavior for the past quarter century in the jungles of the Gombe Game Reserve in Africa, living in the chimps' environment and gaining their confidence.
Her observations and discoveries are intemationally heralded. Her research and writing have made, and are making, revolutionary inroads into scientific thinking regarding the evolutions of humans.
Dr. Goodall received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1965. She has been the Scientific Director of the Gombe Stream Research Center since 1967. In 1984, Jane Goodall received the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize for "helping millions of people understand the importance of wildlife conservation to life on this planet." Her other awards and international recognitions fill pages.
Her scientific articles have appeared in many issues of National Geographic. She has written scores of papers for internationally known scientific journals. Dr. Goodall has also written two books, Wild Chimpanzees and In The Shadow of Man. She pleads to thousands of people throughout the world on behalf of her career-long sponsor, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.
Some primatologists have suggested flaws in Goodall's methodology which may call into question the validity of her observations. Goodall used unconventional practices in her study, for example, naming individuals instead of numbering them. At the time numbering was used to prevent emotional attachment and loss of objectivity. Claiming to see individuality and emotion in chimpanzees, she was accused of "that worst of ethological sins".
Many standard methods are aimed at helping observers to avoid interference and the use of feeding stations to attract Gombe chimpanzees is, in particular, thought by some to have altered normal foraging and feeding patterns as well as social relationships; this argument is the focus of a book published by Margaret Power in 1991. It has been suggested that higher levels of aggression and conflict with other chimpanzee groups in the area were consequences of the feeding, which could have created the "wars" between chimpanzee social groups described by Goodall, aspects of which she did not witness in the years before artificial feeding began at Gombe. Thus, some regard Goodall's observations as distortions of normal chimpanzee behavior. Goodall herself acknowledged that feeding contributed to aggression within and between groups but maintained that the effect was limited to alteration of the intensity and not the nature of chimpanzee conflict, and further that feeding was necessary for the study to be effective at all. Craig Stanford of the Jane Goodall Research Institute at the University of Southern California asserts that researchers undergoing studies with no artificial provisioning have a difficult time viewing any social behaviors of chimpanzees at all, especially any related to intergroup conflict.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Seera Akra - Monthly summary - A crunchy Granola
Rothstein, E. (2006, September 25). A crunchy-granola path from macramé and LSD
to Wikipedia and Google. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/arts/25conn.html
to Wikipedia and Google. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/arts/25conn.html
Summary
The article views nowaday's "cyberculture" or "counterculture 2.0" as continuation of the counterculture of the 60s, which was supported by the "Whole Earth Catalog". Both, counterculture and cyberculture, have means to oppose and question authority. Moreover, the founder of the "Whole Earth Catalog" also founded the online WELL, which is part of the cyberculture. Both of these helped creating amateur's who act as professionals and have access to all information. Freedom is given to everyone and hierarchies are omitted which create a change in government-people relationship. Democracy and utopianism are ideas to which both counter and cyber cultures were developed to achieve. However no one realizes the connection between the two cultures and that they both work towards the same goals.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Haifa Beseisso; Critical Essay 2 I Love this movie people!
Mike Newel is the director of some of the most popular and successful movies like Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (2005), Love in Time of Cholera, Mona Lisa Smile, he also produced Pirates of the Caribean and many more...
Mike Newel won 11 awards and was nominated for 5. He won awards in prestigious film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films USA, and BAFTA and for titiles like "Best Director", "Best foreignn Film" and much moree.
The reason why I chose this director is not because of his fancy record, instead it is because of the fancy work, love and profession that he puts into his movies, and this is what eventually gave him this golden record. By the way by fancy im not reffering to "expensive and fancy devices and cameras" instead I'm referring to "flawless high standard work".
A bit more on Mike Newel:
Mike Newel was born in England, UK, March 28 1942.
Newel attended Cambridge University. Three year training course at Granada Television, with intention of going into theatre. Graduated to directing TV plays, building strong reputation for work with David Hare, David Edgar, Hohn, John Osborne, Jack Rosenthal.
Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001565/bio
One of the most movies that I admire of his is "Prince of Persia".
Prince of Persia is a movie that collects a number of amazing well projected factors; the story is well said, the camera shots and angels, the music, and the actors, every detail of it is well worked on and well chosen. Remember love is in the Details! ;)
When I watched Prince of Persia for the first time (yes, I watched it more than once in the movie theatre) I walked out of the movie theatre feeling high from how artistic that movie is, and the story was amazing to mee, it carried beautiful themes and lessons. I'm going to give you a glance of the storty but remember watching the movie is always different,
The story evolves around a man who was adopted by the king as a child because the king saw that this kid is extremely courages and brave. He had other two biological sons. The story evolves around that prince "the adopted one" and another princess who together go on a journey to save the kingdom, their lives, and the world, but they care about their lives the least here, they aim on the bigger picture which is the people and the world. The prince's whole town goes against him including his brothers for they have been decieved to believe that he has killed the king, his father. The princess is in a journey to protect a sacrid sword that contains sand that can go back in time and change the way things has taken place. The sword is stolen by people who want to concore the world, and both of them the prince and the princess go thtough adventures that are dangerous and sometimes comic, they are two characters that are exteremly courageous, smart, dedicated, charismatic. indeed are True leaders... so for anyone that is interested in leadership or simply entertainment this movie is for you. ;o
To video games lovers: Did you know that this movie is based on a video game? intresting huh? ;) An Arabian Prince they call him.
Mike Newel won 11 awards and was nominated for 5. He won awards in prestigious film festivals like Cannes Film Festival, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films USA, and BAFTA and for titiles like "Best Director", "Best foreignn Film" and much moree.
The reason why I chose this director is not because of his fancy record, instead it is because of the fancy work, love and profession that he puts into his movies, and this is what eventually gave him this golden record. By the way by fancy im not reffering to "expensive and fancy devices and cameras" instead I'm referring to "flawless high standard work".
A bit more on Mike Newel:
Mike Newel was born in England, UK, March 28 1942.
Newel attended Cambridge University. Three year training course at Granada Television, with intention of going into theatre. Graduated to directing TV plays, building strong reputation for work with David Hare, David Edgar, Hohn, John Osborne, Jack Rosenthal.
Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001565/bio
One of the most movies that I admire of his is "Prince of Persia".
Prince of Persia is a movie that collects a number of amazing well projected factors; the story is well said, the camera shots and angels, the music, and the actors, every detail of it is well worked on and well chosen. Remember love is in the Details! ;)
When I watched Prince of Persia for the first time (yes, I watched it more than once in the movie theatre) I walked out of the movie theatre feeling high from how artistic that movie is, and the story was amazing to mee, it carried beautiful themes and lessons. I'm going to give you a glance of the storty but remember watching the movie is always different,
The story evolves around a man who was adopted by the king as a child because the king saw that this kid is extremely courages and brave. He had other two biological sons. The story evolves around that prince "the adopted one" and another princess who together go on a journey to save the kingdom, their lives, and the world, but they care about their lives the least here, they aim on the bigger picture which is the people and the world. The prince's whole town goes against him including his brothers for they have been decieved to believe that he has killed the king, his father. The princess is in a journey to protect a sacrid sword that contains sand that can go back in time and change the way things has taken place. The sword is stolen by people who want to concore the world, and both of them the prince and the princess go thtough adventures that are dangerous and sometimes comic, they are two characters that are exteremly courageous, smart, dedicated, charismatic. indeed are True leaders... so for anyone that is interested in leadership or simply entertainment this movie is for you. ;o
To video games lovers: Did you know that this movie is based on a video game? intresting huh? ;) An Arabian Prince they call him.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Ola El Barkouki- Critical Essay 2 (Youssef Chahine)
The Alexandria where Chahine was born on January 25, 1926, was a vibrant and cosmopolitan city at the time. His family background reflected this: his attorney father was of Lebanese heritage, while his mother was Greek. At home, as in the rest of Alexandria, some five languages were spoken, but the director has often joked that as with other Alexandrines, the Chahine's failed to master any of them very well. Both Alexandria and Egypt's other main city, Cairo, would later feature prominently in his films. "The introvert is often associated with Cairo," noted Film Comment, "with its narrow streets and cramped dwellings - while the extrovert is associated with Alexandria. . . . [which] remains the golden city of Chahine's work, a cosmopolitan Utopia where Europe and Africa peacefully coexist, where Christians (Chahine's family was Roman Catholic), Jews, and Muslims could once live together, providing a model for a now lost Middle Eastern harmony. The image of the port, open to the world, becomes an image of acceptance and synthesis."
The Chahine's were a middle-class family, and Chahine was educated at private schools, including the elite Victoria College, Alexandria's English-language institute. He was fascinated by theater and the performing arts at an early age, and even began to stage shows at home. Tragedy struck when he was nine years old, however.
In his teens, Chahine spent a year at Alexandria University, and then convinced his parents to let him travel to Hollywood in order to study acting. He spent the years between 1946 and 1948 at the Pasadena Playhouse outside Los Angeles, California. When he returned, he found apprentice work with an Italian documentary filmmaker, Gianni Vernuccio, and found another Italian mentor in Alvisi Orfanelli, an influential figure in Egypt's cinema history. The film industry in Chahine's country had a successful and storied past by the time he began working in it. Since the 1930s Cairo had been known as the Hollywood of the Middle East, and its studios annually produced scores of films that were seen in theaters throughout the Arab world. It was this tradition that Chahine entered when he made his first film, Baba Amine (Father Amine), in 1950. His next one, Ibn el Nil (The Nile's Son), he took to the 1951 Venice Film Festival, where a sudden storm caused festival-goers to flee to his showing in droves - some in their bathing suits still - and the fortuitous timing served to launch his career in earnest.
At age 81, Chahine has finished his 45th film Heya Fawda, that is expected to be released in Egypt early 2008. The film has been selected at Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. In June of 2008, Chahine was in a coma due to suffering a brain haemorrhage. Chahine remained in the coma for month, until he passed on in July 2008. He will be missed.
Heya Fawda is the movie I chose to tell you about. It was released in 2008. It is written by Abdel Rahman Nasser, produced by Gabriel Khoury, Jean brehat & Maged Youssef. The story of the film is settled in Choubra, a cosmopolitan neighbourhood of Cairo. Hatem, maggoty police officer, handles this neighbourhood with an iron hand. Every single citizen fears and hates him. Only Nour, a young woman he lusts after, dares stand up to him. But Nour is secretly in love with Cherif, brilliant and uncorrupted deputy public prosecutor. Green with envy, Hatem comes between. He wants Nour for himself. He whipsaws her and turns her life into a nightmare. The story of a frustrated love like Choubra experiences some since the mists of time.
All about Youssef Chahine, the great Egyptian director, is mentioned in his website http://www.youssefchahine.us
The Chahine's were a middle-class family, and Chahine was educated at private schools, including the elite Victoria College, Alexandria's English-language institute. He was fascinated by theater and the performing arts at an early age, and even began to stage shows at home. Tragedy struck when he was nine years old, however.
In his teens, Chahine spent a year at Alexandria University, and then convinced his parents to let him travel to Hollywood in order to study acting. He spent the years between 1946 and 1948 at the Pasadena Playhouse outside Los Angeles, California. When he returned, he found apprentice work with an Italian documentary filmmaker, Gianni Vernuccio, and found another Italian mentor in Alvisi Orfanelli, an influential figure in Egypt's cinema history. The film industry in Chahine's country had a successful and storied past by the time he began working in it. Since the 1930s Cairo had been known as the Hollywood of the Middle East, and its studios annually produced scores of films that were seen in theaters throughout the Arab world. It was this tradition that Chahine entered when he made his first film, Baba Amine (Father Amine), in 1950. His next one, Ibn el Nil (The Nile's Son), he took to the 1951 Venice Film Festival, where a sudden storm caused festival-goers to flee to his showing in droves - some in their bathing suits still - and the fortuitous timing served to launch his career in earnest.
At age 81, Chahine has finished his 45th film Heya Fawda, that is expected to be released in Egypt early 2008. The film has been selected at Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. In June of 2008, Chahine was in a coma due to suffering a brain haemorrhage. Chahine remained in the coma for month, until he passed on in July 2008. He will be missed.
Heya Fawda is the movie I chose to tell you about. It was released in 2008. It is written by Abdel Rahman Nasser, produced by Gabriel Khoury, Jean brehat & Maged Youssef. The story of the film is settled in Choubra, a cosmopolitan neighbourhood of Cairo. Hatem, maggoty police officer, handles this neighbourhood with an iron hand. Every single citizen fears and hates him. Only Nour, a young woman he lusts after, dares stand up to him. But Nour is secretly in love with Cherif, brilliant and uncorrupted deputy public prosecutor. Green with envy, Hatem comes between. He wants Nour for himself. He whipsaws her and turns her life into a nightmare. The story of a frustrated love like Choubra experiences some since the mists of time.
All about Youssef Chahine, the great Egyptian director, is mentioned in his website http://www.youssefchahine.us
Monday, November 15, 2010
Maryam Abdallah - Bahman Ghobadi - Turtles can fly...
Critical blogging: Children, a symbol of reality
Choosing a non Hollywood blockbuster pushes people to watch movies that are not aimed at show business, it pushes people to reflect on what is really going on in our world. Seeing how many go homeless, hungry, uneducated, abused and the list goes on, it is not surprising why many may choose to watch something entirely fictional because we can leave the movie feeling glad it's not really happening.
 |
| Bahman Ghobadi |
The movie I chose to watch and learn about was 'Turtles can fly' by Bahman Ghobadi, an Iranian film maker contributing to the Iranian New Wave. Bahman Ghobadi was born in 1968 in a town called Baneh in Iranian Kurdistan. Due to the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s, Ghobadi's family moved to the provincial capital Sanandaj. Ghobadi's father was a policeman and in order to discipline his son to stay away from drugs, he urged him to partake in wrestling. Close to the wrestling ring, there was a photographer who befriended 15 year old Ghobadi. When Ghobadi's first pictures were published, his friend encouraged his talent. This was when his love for art and creation began. Coupled with his love for watching movies, Ghobadi was on the right track and he later went on to study film in Tehran however, Ghobadi felt he learnt more by being hands on and creating films rather than just studying. When Ghobadi created his first film with an 8mm camera, about the competition between Iranian and foreign cigarettes, he sent it to a festival and won some money which paid the rent for the next few months. There on, Ghobadi's mother encouraged him to make more movies and then as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Growing up as a Kurd was hard for Ghobadi. Having lived the Iran-Iraq war, he has been exposed to life of the displaced person. When Ghobadi went to Iraq to shoot 'Marooned in Iraq', he came across children who were living on the border of Iraq and Iran. He could not help it, he had to give those children a voice; and so 'Turtles can fly' was created.
The story revolves around a refugee camp homing displaced Iranian Kurds on the Turkish-Iraqi border who are waiting for the fall of Saddam Hussein. Through out the movie, a 13 year old boy called Satellite, who is known for installing satellite dishes for people to watch the news on the war. Satellite is in charge of the refugee camp children; he creates jobs for them by making them collect mines and later selling them to arms dealers. Satellite loves the children and is always concerned about making sure they are safe. The only adults in the movie are the really old and wrinkled, who depend on Satellite to translate the news. One day, Satellite falls in love with a girl named Agrin who is travelling with her armless yet clairvoyant brother Hengov and three year old blind Rega, who later turns out to be the child of Agrin after she was raped by soldiers. The movie starts off with Agrin jumping off a cliff and the remainder of the movie is told in flashback so we see the events that led to Agrin suicide.
To begin with, I want to ask you, to think about a little child in your family or neighbourhood, or a child you have seen somewhere. What were they like? Carefree? Irresponsible? Powerless? Innocent? Dependant? What did they do? Play all day? Watch cartoons? Have an afternoon nap?
Well, this is not what the Kurdish children are like. They are hard workers. They are desperate to work on mine fields in order to get some money for food; their desperation is brought out when Satellite is choosing which group of children will go to work on the elders' fields, they are all anxious for him to chose them. However, this desperation is intensified when we have Hengov pull out a mine with his mouth while closely watched by his sister. This image brings to life their futile situation; the children are aware that certain things have to be done to survive, but if they lose their life during the struggle for survival, they don't lose much as life is all they have. Unlike ordinary children, these children are in control and the elders are more dependant on them. This can be brought out through the opening of the film when the boys call out to Pashow which way their father must turn to get the picture on the television; it symbollises who is calling the shots and it is not the parents. The elders of the tribe also have to plead with Satellite to stay and translate the news; he cuts them short explaining he hasn't got all day to sit around with them but if he manages, he'll be back by sunset to translate, once again characterizing the reverse of roles, driving home the notion that the children have no one to depend on yet hope of the future lies in their hands.
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| Hengov, risking his life for his family |
On a superficial level, the movie serves to bring about the evident suffering of the children. Primarily, these children have no parents. No parents equals no steady income, no unconditional love and security. All the children have are each other which is why they come together as a pack. This can be brought out through two different accounts, at one point, Agrin is seen feeding Hengov and Rega, bringing to life the idea that these children take care of each other because no one else will. Early in the movie, Hengov and Satellite get into a fight, and Hengov headbutts Satellite bleeding to the ground. However, when Satellite gets news from the other children that Rega, who he identifies as the brother of Hengov, lost on his own in the mine field, he risks his own life by going in to save the child. As a result, Satellite's foot is injured but the baby is safe, and that's all that matters, that they look out for each other. These dispossessed Kurdish children do not have time to get an education; the school desks are left empty while they lie on mounts while learning to fire arms and use weapons. The irony is striking when the professor (yes, he look a thousand years old too) comes and asks Satellite why the children are playing with weapons and that they need to get an education. Satellite's reply rings true when he says that the children already know how to count and that math is not going to get them far but now is the time for them to learn how to defend themselves. To prove himself, Satellite randomly asks two of the children some math questions and they reply incorrectly but the professor doesn't pick up on this, adding to the notion of the futility of the situation, it is like the blind leading the blind. This notion also reoccurs when the old men hurdled around the TV ask Satellite to translate, and Satellite replies saying that the news is telling them that it will rain tomorrow, clearly this is not true and they ask but he simply repeats that it will rain tomorrow and the elders just believe him because this is all they have, and regardless of what the news says, they probably believe their life will not get better.
And on that notion, I would like to thank you for reading my blog, I hope I have somehow interested you to watch Turtles can fly, it is a beautiful movie, I cried at one point but there is a lot of dark humor and the children are trully sweet and inspiring.
If you would like some more information, here are links to my inspirations:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/oct2004/ghob-o02.shtml
http://www.chris-kutschera.com/A/bahman_ghobadi.htm
http://sudiptopondering.blogspot.com/2009/06/turtles-can-fly.html
(Ghobadi's website) http://mijfilms.com/feature-films/turtles-can-fly/
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/20/interview_bahman_ghobadi?page=0,0
Mohammed Dhaifallah- critical paper 2 "City of life" movie
The movie I choose is "City of Life". The film was directed and written by Emirati filmmaker Ali F Mustafa. It is the first feature Emirati film and it is a successful movie. According to official box office data from Italia Film International (2010), The film made AED509,085 ($138,598) in its first four days in release, April 22-26, which is more than what "Clash of the Titans" generated in the same weekend, AED4,087,043. According to the director Ali (2010), Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktom liked the idea of "City of Life" and gave him open budget to achieve his dreams in the cinema, which is a great support of Emirati cinema.
Ali Faisal Mostafa Bin Abdullatif. Ali's mother is from the UK and his Father is from the UAE. He grew up in Dubai and his date of birth is 25 September 1981. Film has always been a central part of his life and since childhood. He has experimented making his own short films and mock TV ads. After he finished his higher education, he established a dissection from an obtainable company focusing on set and interior design. After that, he achieved and practiced his goal in film production when he enrolled at the London Film School in 2003 to gain an M.A. of practical training in film technique. Ali has worked on short films and TV commercials in all areas of production above 2 years, but directing was his place of interests. In his graduation, he makes a short film called "Under the Sun". This short film has been officially selected and nominated for the best Foreign in different international festivals across the world. Moreover, his short film won the best Emirates film 2006 In the Annual Emirates Film Competition held in the countries Capital, Abu Dhabi. Additionally, he won "Best Emirati Filmmaker" at the 4th Dubai International Film Festival 2007 and won "Young Filmmaker of the Year" at the Digital Studio Awards 2010. However, Ali started his first international journey by making his first international feature film "City of Life".
This film talks about a fortunate young Arab male at probability with his cultural identity, and his less fortunate street smart friend; a disillusioned Indian taxi driver who tolerate a strange similarity to a famous Bollywood star, and a former Romanian ballet dancer working as a flight attendant and searching for friendship and love. They all live in Dubai and their lives are about to crash for better or for worse. In this city "Dubai" the goal development and chance are encouraged and dreams can still visible. This movie is a city drama that shows different intersections of multinationals people, and how these random interactions can irreversibly impact another's life. The name of the movie "City of Life" reflects the extremely humane kaleidoscope of meeting experiences which establishes a city that is in itself a living exciting character. However, it provides how unexpected tragedy and loss can change to hope and thoughtful transformation. It also looks at and pictures the complex network of multi cultural society's race, class divide and ethnicity.
In this paper I choose to focus on the multi cultural society in Dubai and how the movie displays it. The main characters in the movie are chosen from different cultures: Emirati, Hindi, and Roman. Each one of them has his/her own story which reflects his/her believe and attitudes for being in this country. I will talk about the different cultures of the three main characters in the movie which are Saoud Al Kaabi, Sonu Sood, and Alexandra Maria Lara.
The first character is Saoud Al Kaabi who plays the role of the rich Emirati guy "Fisal". The movie shows us how the UAE community is not equal in their level of income and wealth. Some of the wealthy people do not interact with those with lower level. For example, Saoud Al Kaabi's best friend, Khalfan, was from a lower wealth level. They are very close and go out together. However, the other wealthy local friends do not want Khalfan to be with them. The film also shows how Emirati guys stereotype the foreign women as they are unpresentable Russian women. For example, one of the local guys asked a foreign woman in the party" how much". Moreover, these wealth guys fear about their reputation, because they are known in this society. Additionally, wealthy guys do not want to work, they just depend on their father. 
The Second character is Sonu Sood who plays the role of the Hindi taxi driver" Basu". According to the official website of population in UAE, 16% of the populations are Asian. This movie shows how these poor people are suffering from the hard works with low salary and the bad treatment of the society to them. For example, when "Basu" knew that the foreign guy is working in advertising, he tried to talk to him, but the foreign guy did not listen to him. Moreover, it shows how people dreaming in big things such being a Bollywood stars because it is the city of the dreams and everything is possible. Additionally, we see Hindi people live together in one area with their same community.
The third character is Alexandra Maria Lara who plays the role of Romanian flight attendant lady "Natalia". This woman is from the middle class people in this society. The movie shows that she was looking for a love or a relationship. Her other friends are looking for the money and the entertainment with the Arab. Additionally, the movie shows how these women become victims to the men because of their naivety. When "Natalia" becomes pregnant from the foreign guy, he forced and threatened her to abort the child. Moreover, the movie shows the power of some people because of their relations with important people in the city. The director did not use her to be specific to Romanian people in Dubai, but he refers the foreign people in general.
It is interesting to see this diversity in the movie which is exist in Dubai. How these people interact and what are their dreams. The director was successful in choosing multi cultures characters and using them to reflects the picture of life in Dubai. I think that it is a good start for the Emirati cinema. The film has encountered many of the criticisms about the story and how it shows Dubai's society. According to Mustafa (2010),"Personally, I don't think there is any negativity surrounding the film. It shows reality and puts Dubai on par with cities such as London and New York which have real problems. In my film, the stories are real and their problems are real too," Now he is working on a new movie about the relations between UAE and Lebanon.
References:
Hajras, M. (2010, April 15). Mustafa Ali: the movie "City of Life" The Story of a global success and great responsibility. Al Khalej newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.alkhaleej.ae/portal/6c47f010-d19b-4e5a-a7d8-c2591b8a2d94.aspx
McGinley, S. (2010, April 30). 'City of Life' makes AED500,000 in opening weekend. Arabian business. Retrieved from http://www.arabianbusiness.com/-city-of-life-makes-aed500-000-in-opening-weekend-155278.html
Wagner, T. (2010) City of life. Retrieved Nov 11, 2010, from: http://www.cityoflifefilm.com
Ashwaq Hasan- Critical Essay2- HAYAO MIYAZAKI (Princess Mononoke)
Hayao Miyazaki was born in 1941 in Tokyo. In 1963, He started working as animator at the Toei Douga studio, where he involved in working in many early classics of Japanese animation. At his starting, he attracted many attentions regarding his incredible drawing ability and talent and his wild imaginations for movie ideas. Later on, he became the co-founder of the animation production company Ghibli (Sutajio Jiburi) where he produced and directed most of his successful and box office works. His works are Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo on a Cliff. Most of his movies are well known and awards winner, one of them and my favorite one is Princess Mononoke.
It is a classic once upon time story, a story about human verse nature, nature verse human, human verse human, and nature verse nature. In this film, no one is really evil and no one is really good, everybody is a human being. The film gives all the creatures a real physical manifestation such as the forest, animal, and spiritual beliefs. Everything is done dramatically and creatively that let the viewers to forget that it is an anime film and draws them in it. It is like a whole new unforgettable experience because of the great imagination of Miyazaki and breath taking story.
Work Cited
Leong, Anthony. “Princess Mononoke Movie Review”, MediaCircus 1990. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. < http://www.mediacircus.net/princessmononoke.html>
“Critical Essay of Hayao Miyazaki”, The Student Pages of Aaron Malcolm. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. < http://students.ou.edu/M/Aaron.W.Malcolm-1/index.html>
“Ghibli 101: Past, Present, and Future of Studio Ghibli”, The Hayao Miyazaki Web. Web. 14 Nov. 2010 < http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/ghibli/ghibli101.html>
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| Canon: The Boy in Future / عدنان ولينا |
The animation TV series “Conan: The Boy in Future” (1978) which is a very known anime in the Middle East as (عدنان ولينا / Adnan wa Lena ) is one of the first’s animation work that was done by my hero and role model animation artist, the director HAYAO MIYAZAKI
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| Hayao Miyazaki |
Hayao Miyazaki is the most famous Japanese director of many anime feature films. He is the most influential animation director for all the animators in the world. He opened a new wave of the Japanese animation into the world. He writes, storyboard, draws, directs, and produces all of his works.
He made movies that are masterpieces in the animation industry, which led Disney Company’s commitment to distribute his films to the rest of the world. He is loved and appreciated because of his high-quality works that draws people in it.
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| Studio Ghibli's Logo |
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| Princess Mononoke: Japanese theatrical release poster |
Princess Mononoke is a masterpiece film that grossed more than $150 million at the Japanese box office in 1997. It was the most popular movie until Titanic appears. In 1999, it was released in United State of America and Disney's Miramax purchased U.S. distribution rights.
The film is an epic story that revolves around a princess and a worrier. Ashitaka is the worrier who falls under a deadly curse after killing a ramped demon boar-god. Then, in order to save his life from the curse and find about the demon spirit of the boar god, he starts his own journey alone to the west. There he finds himself in the middle of battle between the humans and the forest’s god animals. The humans are under the control of lady Eboshi who develops guns to kill the forest’s gods, and the forest is under the princess San who is a girl that was raised by wolves.
It is a classic once upon time story, a story about human verse nature, nature verse human, human verse human, and nature verse nature. In this film, no one is really evil and no one is really good, everybody is a human being. The film gives all the creatures a real physical manifestation such as the forest, animal, and spiritual beliefs. Everything is done dramatically and creatively that let the viewers to forget that it is an anime film and draws them in it. It is like a whole new unforgettable experience because of the great imagination of Miyazaki and breath taking story.
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| Princess Mononoke; Internation poster |
About this film, I will talk about the drawing style aspect since I am seeking to develop my drawing style through studying others’ drawing style. Miyazaki is known for his beautiful illustration and drawing abilities that seems so real and natural. In Princess Mononoke movie, he drew all the cells by himself which is a total of 144,000 cells. Mostly, everything was done by hand and through traditional anime technique. However, Princess Mononoke film was the first film for Miyazaki to use computer-generated image. The characters were done by hand, frame by frame; the backgrounds and foregrounds also. Everything was painted traditionally by oil paintings. The computer images were added later on the hand drawing frames which were a small portion of the film. Miyazaki till now still prefers to use hand drawing over computer drawing in his movies and his latest released was Ponyo (2009) was done completely by hand. As for me as an artist, drawing by hand is something can drive a person crazy to do it for feature film length. It needs patience, great focus and real drawing abilities.
In the movie, sometimes I got lost with the story because of the beautiful details in each frame. He captures the movement of the objects and imitates it so realistically, especially the human body’s movements. For example, he emphasizes the hair’s movement, shivering, and breathing when the character is scared or fighting or in any intense situation. He makes the character comes alive and more than a just flat 2D image. For me, I can call him the king of the 2D image. Reviewer of the film Princess Mononoke Anthony Leong says in his review, “Like all of Miyazaki's work, the animation is pristine and often breathtaking, particularly the sharply realized action sequences. The care and attention to detail that Miyazaki's pays to each animated cell is the result of the master animator single-handedly drawing every single frame in the film. Those who believe that only the workshops at Disney can create vivid landscapes and dynamic characters with a paintbrush should certainly see the artistry at work here.” (“Princess”)
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| Spirited Away International Poster |
Another masterpiece, an Oscar winner film and other international awards is the animation feature film Spirited Away (2001). Spirited Away is a Japanese fantasy film done by Miyazaki and beat Titanic in Japan. This film is about ten-year-old girl and her adventure at the spiritual and magical world. Spirited Away is one of the greatest animation films in the history of Japanese animation films
Finally, Hayao Miyazaki’s works are a real inspiration for any animator or anime fans. I really admire his works and efforts to produce a high quality animation films and respect him as a person. His works are real art and science as well. It pleasures the eyes by its visual image and the minds by its brilliant and original stories. And I wish to meet Hayao Miyazaki and be able to produce my own animation feature film one day.
Work Cited
Leong, Anthony. “Princess Mononoke Movie Review”, MediaCircus 1990. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. < http://www.mediacircus.net/princessmononoke.html>
“Critical Essay of Hayao Miyazaki”, The Student Pages of Aaron Malcolm. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. < http://students.ou.edu/M/Aaron.W.Malcolm-1/index.html>
“Ghibli 101: Past, Present, and Future of Studio Ghibli”, The Hayao Miyazaki Web. Web. 14 Nov. 2010 < http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/ghibli/ghibli101.html>
“Hayao Miyazaki Biography”, The Internet Movie Database 1990-2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. < http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594503/bio>
Photos are from Google.com
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