Assignment 12 – Final – “The Bags” Webisode – Alex Fernandez

Here is the link to my webisode:   It is called “The Bags” and it is a comedy/suspense video about the litter in Queens New York that has come to life and begins to murder people. In this case, this video would be one scenario of murderous plastic bags coming to life and murdering this random dude in his home. It is meant to be comical, so it looks kinda weird and shows the perspective of bags stalking my character, as if it were a collective monster.

Assignment # 11 – Ethnicity On Television – Alex Fernandez

The trip to the Paley Center was very interesting. I was surprised when I found out the screening was primarily focused on ethnicity. I thought it would be more about the film history but ethnicity was a better choice. It was great to see the progression of the tv shows especially since I have never seen any of them. Also, I thought it was great learn about how they store and maintain video content into their archive. I also found it interesting that there were comedy shows about tribal Indians, and that some of them were played by white actors. I wasn’t sure if it was insulting or humorous. Other than this I had a good time on this trip it was very simple and yet informative and interesting. I would like to visit the Paley Center again in the future.

Assignment # 10 – Alex Fernandez

First of all, before I write about this movie Westside Story, I must first express how much I disliked it. Even though it may have been a big hit in the past, I just could not get over the insane amount of dancing and singing, while serious events where actually happening. Because of this, I could not take the film seriously even though it brought up good points about the time period. The location was great for the movie since being in Manhattan really brought a sense of realism to the film. The environments felt believable and the actors look truly involved in defending their turf, when they were not dancing and running after each other in the opening scenes. For the brief moments where there was no jumping around and singing, I felt the film actually grabbed my attention, and there was solid content, and a decent storyline. The love interest in the film between Maria and Tony showed a very interesting concept of two races coming together in a relationship, which I thought was great. Once again the singing when they are trying to express their love for one another completely destroys the sense of realism, and made it seem like a joke.

One of the better parts of the film in my opinion, was when the Jets are discussing their issues and why they are always on the street. At this part, I felt the dialogue was important simply because the situation they described was real, and even in modern times, many people take to the streets because they have no parental guidance or support. I felt this was information that should have been taken seriously and expressed as such, but to go with the theme of the movie it was a song instead. Overall the movie had a decent story and it touched on very important details of the time. Sadly, I did not enjoy the movie, and could not take it seriously no matter how much I tried. I felt that if the movie had removed a few of the songs and left the serious dialogue, it would have had a much deeper impact and would have been more enjoyable.

Powerpoint Presentation – By: Alex Fernandez

Five Points Immigrants

Assignment # 7 – Alex Fernandez

The movie “Gangs of New York” really showed the absolute chaos for control of the Five Points area of New York. It was a time where violence was the only way to prove a point and reach a solution. I felt the movie not only shows the thirst for acceptance in society from the immigrants, but also a chance to live freely. The Irish immigrants were put into difficult situations after coming into America. Based off the movie, they were immediately asked to be part of the war for money and asked to serve their country. It seems that they came to America in hopes of obtaining a new a life with opportunity, only to find tons of poverty and struggle. “Gangs of New York”, although fictional, shows a dramatic version of the immigrant lifestyle, and their struggles to maintain stability. Overall the movie was great, I just felt that the “gangs” in the movie seemed more like small armies that were hashing it out for their territory. I felt the gangs were overly exaggerated, but other than this, the lifestyle of the time seemed to be genuinely accurate.

Assignment # 6 – Alex Fernandez

Going to see the tenement museum and the lower east side was very interesting. For me it was a trip down memory lane simply because I had lived in the area as a child, and I had no idea about the Jewish history that had taken place there. I had also been to the tenement museum as a child and it looks exactly how I remembered it. In terms of the reality of Hester st. vs. the movie was that the conditions displayed from the museum where much more harsh and disturbing. The movie captures this, but in a less realistic point of view. On top of this, the photographs from the actual street view, show Hester st. as well as neighboring streets as beyond overcrowded. There were people and vendors everywhere, and the movie does not show this reality. I felt the movie tried to truly reflect more on the personal experience of the domestic immigrant life of that time instead of the harsh reality. I felt that this idea makes the film a “movie” instead of a “documentary”. It was cool to see how much the Lower Eastside has changed, and yet it still holds lots of the Jewish heritage from the past. The museum and the local synagogs show that the Jewish people are still there following their beliefs. This trip was very informative and showed another side of Manhattan that I did not realize was there in front of me. Learning the history about an area like that really puts things into perspective and reminds you that many people struggled to make a living and to provide for their families across time. It shows you that peoples lives were not easy, and to see their conditions that they were in, truly puts you in their world.

Assignment 5 – Alex Fernandez

The movie “Hester Street” tells the tragic story of a man named Jake who has come to America to build a new life for his wife and son. As he adjusts to the “new world” he rejects all of his original beliefs and becomes a totally different person. He becomes in his mind what is a real American. When he brings his family into the country, his wife notices how different he looks and how much he has changed. Jake has chosen to leave his roots behind and live an American lifestyle. His wife Gitl on the other hand, clearly shows her attachment to her beliefs and at first refuses to accept American ways of living. At multiple points in the movie, Jake asks Gitl to let out her hair, and to dress like a modern woman, and eventually ends up demanding her to change. Eventually Gitl does change her looks to please her husband, but he abuses her instead of accepting her attempts to change. But in the end she still holds onto her beliefs even though they get divorced.

The character Mamie is the complete opposite of Gitl in the movie. Mamie is an independent Polish woman who is modern and up to date with her style. She has accepted and embraced the American way of life and shows she is free to make her own decisions. Gitl on the other hand is dependent on her old traditions and still believes that is the way things should be done. She refuses to let her hair out and always wants to be covered and respectful. She refuses to change at first because she holds on to the traditions she has been living by in her home country. The character Bernstein is the complete opposite of Jake in the sense that he has held onto his traditions. He practices his beliefs and he wears the traditional clothing and spends time reading and writing. He is very similar to Jake’s wife Gitl and they are able to communicate easier because of these similarities. Jake on the other hand, has completely abandoned his traditions and beliefs and has changed his name, style, and personality, to fit in and become an “American”. It seems he wants to fully embrace being an American and forget he had anything to do with his traditions. When Gitl says “You and your Polish whore can jump out of your skins” she really is referring to the fact that they have put their true selves aside and have embraced a new American “skin”. It is like they chose to leave out their heritage and beliefs to become more “American” and to fit in with society. Throughout the film it also seems like them being American also means that they are free to make the decisions they want to make, without being held back by their religious beliefs or traditions.

Honestly after seeing the movie “Hester Street” I felt that the director tried to capture the essence of the images from Jacob Riis’s images from “How the other half lives” but did not really achieve this. I felt that the movie did not actually capture the actual struggle that those people went though in real life. Although the movie showed the small apartment that Jake lived in, and the neighborhood that they were in, but it didn’t really show the darker side of the city or the truly harsh conditions the people lived in. I felt the photographs showed a more harsh reality of the way life was at that time. I felt the movie captured more of the domestic struggles of immigrant life and the constant struggle to fit in or to remain true to their original beliefs.

Assignment # 4 – Alex Fernandez

Answer for Question 1:

In the movie “The Crowd” the primary values shown throughout the film were for a man to become successful, to get married and become the ultimate provider for his family, and be wealthy. As the story progresses getting married seemed to be the easy part for John and Mary. After time had passed their marriage had become tense and expectations from Mary’s family only added more pressure on John to provide for his wife. At one point Mary’s mother rudely asked him when he was going to receive a raise from his job because she knew he isn’t doing as well as he could be. Every time Mary’s family visited them, they all questioned him about his job and about his financial stability. It seemed that having money was their greatest priority, and expected John to provide the highest quality of living for Mary. On top of this, John spends most of the movie trying to figure himself out and become the successful man he believed he could be in the beginning of the movie. After they lose their child in a car crash, John loses his mind and quits his job. At this point Mary expects him to continue looking for work so he could provide for her, and he keeps trying but it only makes matters worse. As he continues trying to get another dead end jobs he puts more stress on their marriage since it comes down to Mary to help out by sewing dresses. So in the end they make things work after John becomes successful but they were both challenged throughout the whole movie by the expectations of her family and society overall. Their marriage was almost torn apart because of these values. But after he had “made it” he was successful enough that they were no longer burdened by these expectations.

Assignment #2 – Alex Fernandez

The museum of moving images reveals a lot about the film industry. From old cameras to video games and even imitation dead body parts, the museum brings you up close to these amazing parts that make films come to life. As a gamer, my favorite part was seeing the collection of classic arcade video games. Even though those pixelated games were not movies, it is still amazing to see how they first started and evolved into what they are today.They are still moving images, but the best part is that they are controlled by a player. Also, seeing the antique cameras and projectors really conveyed the sense of progression. You can see all the old devices of recording film which was pretty amazing especially considering some of them required a crank to work. It was great to see the transition between the cameras and how they changed little by little, while simultaneously becoming more efficient in capturing images. It is pretty amazing to see how far the film industry has come and how impressive the techniques are to make things seem real on film. The museum captures all of this film history and it reminds me of how big of an achievement film making really is.

Assignment # 3 by Alex Fernandez

The movie “The Immigrant” captures the harsh reality of what immigrants were experiencing on their way to America. Charlie Chaplin does a fantastic job of capturing the emotion and suffering of the immigrants but by adding humor to the film, it makes it more tolerable and easy to understand as the viewer. Some of the hardships the immigrants in the movie had to face were: sea sickness, sharing personal space with others, not having enough to eat, and also stealing from others. I felt that Charlie Chaplin also captured the sense of poverty with great detail. When he first arrives and passes through the Statue of Liberty it seemed he was excited at first. As the character, he was probably thinking that he had finally made it to the land of opportunity and all the doors would be open to him. Soon after, he realizes what the truth is, that America is a cut throat place and you need money to get what you want. When he tries to get something to eat at a local restaurant, you can tell immediately that there is a difference in the way they treated him. The waiter was constantly asking him to remove his hat and later relentlessly asking him to pay up. And for another man in the restaurant who didn’t pay, he was beaten up by the staff and kicked out of the place. So because he couldn’t pay, his character made it seem like he only had one way out which was to fight. But soon after he takes advantage of a rich man’s tip and is able to pay for his meal, but it was a struggle for him the entire time, even though it was made into a humorous situation. This short film was funny to watch, but yet revealed tons of sad truths about what it was like to be an immigrant coming to America. It showed that they dealt with extreme poverty, and had to struggle to get a meal among other things. Even though it was the “land of opportunity” it was not all fun and games, and these “positive” things were not just handed to the immigrants. The film for as simple as it was, tells a very deep story about the immigrant experience, and that fact that Charlie Chaplin added comedy to film made it more enjoyable to watch.