Class Repsonse #1
Shea Garber September 16, 2009
In our first class of Jewish Film and Literature, we watched the beginning of the animated documentary film Waltz with Bazir. The film, released in 2008 and written and directed by Israeli Ari Folman, deals with the everyday struggle within soldiers, specifically himself, by post-tramatic stress. While the immidiate effect of war and violence is broadcasted day to day by our newspapers, televisions and computers, not enough light is shed upon the mental aspect of war and the toll it takes upon a soldier of war. Waltz with Bazir is an account by Ari Foldman, depicting his own tale of everyday struggle linked to his actions during the First Lebanon War of 1982.
In the film’s first moments, a fast-paced, intense scene depicts 26 skinny, angry dogs taking the streets of Israel by storm, frightening many Israeli bystanders, until the reach the balcony of a aparment building. As the dogs look up into the balcony, a bodiless man, only his sad face emerged from the shadows of his apartment, turns to face the dogs. The dogs call for the man, Boaz, as the film shifts to a new scene of the same man in a bar with another man. Boaz is revealed to be a former soldier of Israel during the First Lebanon War, who was ordered to kill the guard dogs of each village the Israeli army would enter looking for enemies of the state. Boaz reveals that he has had this same dream of being haunted by the 26 dogs he killed in the army to his friend, who shows discontent and confusion towards Boaz’s grief. After telling Boaz a memory so old could not haunt a man and leaving, this friend has flashback to his time in the army and its affect.
We discussed as a class the effects of memory. Should one block out a harmful, yet revealing memory to restrict pain? Or should one embrace the same memory in order to better know one self? I believe that suppressing such drastic memories is unhealthy to a man, and that he should discover the depths of such memories in order to have better peace within himself. Bottling up emotions and memories almost always does more harm than good, and as we dive deeper into the film and its themes, we will see the effects of revisiting the actions of man years after the fact.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sari Blog
Sari
In this last section of Waltz with Bashir, we had just finished watching the scene with the waltz, and discussed the irony of dancing such a calm, peaceful dance, during such crude, and ugly times. At this point, Ari still can’t remember anything. He is continuing to have the same halucination of himself, and the other young soldiers on the beach, and is even more frustrated after Carmi refuses to believe that he was ever on the beach, claiming Ari’s vision to be false. Ari now feels like he has reached a dead end, since nobody is giving him the answers that he wants. We are soon introduced to the Phalangists, a Christian militia, that stems from Lebanon, who have sided with the Israeli government.
Their leader Bashir Gemayel, was elected President of Lebanon, but while giving a speech at the Phalangist headquarters in East Beirut, chaos broke out, and Gemayel was killed by a massive explosive charge. The group or person behind the murder is still unknown, but without any evidence, Phalangist troops entered Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila, and simply shot everyone, for a number of days, until the Israeli army finally stepped in, and put a stop to the horrors that were going on. In the movie we see powerful images of bodies, of men, women, and even children, lying lifeless in the streets, some alone, while in some areas, bodies were piled high.
After the Israeli army stopped the shootings, Bashir finally remembers the massacre, and being surrounded by crying women in the streets. The video ends with real clips, of the camps after the massacre, to better illustrate the terror and make everything seem more legitimate, and real. It is still not known how many victims were killed, but there is a count of an estimated 3000 deaths.
When the final scene of the movie arrived, we were taken on an emotional ride through the camp, after the massacre had ended. The images of bodies in the streets, reminded me a lot images from the Holocaust. It amazed me that after we as Jews had been through such a terrible genocide that the Israeli army could have such allies, and not be putting a stop to everything that they were doing. Though they finally did put a stop to all that was going on in the camps, it left me confused about why they could not have done anything sooner.
In this last section of Waltz with Bashir, we had just finished watching the scene with the waltz, and discussed the irony of dancing such a calm, peaceful dance, during such crude, and ugly times. At this point, Ari still can’t remember anything. He is continuing to have the same halucination of himself, and the other young soldiers on the beach, and is even more frustrated after Carmi refuses to believe that he was ever on the beach, claiming Ari’s vision to be false. Ari now feels like he has reached a dead end, since nobody is giving him the answers that he wants. We are soon introduced to the Phalangists, a Christian militia, that stems from Lebanon, who have sided with the Israeli government.
Their leader Bashir Gemayel, was elected President of Lebanon, but while giving a speech at the Phalangist headquarters in East Beirut, chaos broke out, and Gemayel was killed by a massive explosive charge. The group or person behind the murder is still unknown, but without any evidence, Phalangist troops entered Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatila, and simply shot everyone, for a number of days, until the Israeli army finally stepped in, and put a stop to the horrors that were going on. In the movie we see powerful images of bodies, of men, women, and even children, lying lifeless in the streets, some alone, while in some areas, bodies were piled high.
After the Israeli army stopped the shootings, Bashir finally remembers the massacre, and being surrounded by crying women in the streets. The video ends with real clips, of the camps after the massacre, to better illustrate the terror and make everything seem more legitimate, and real. It is still not known how many victims were killed, but there is a count of an estimated 3000 deaths.
When the final scene of the movie arrived, we were taken on an emotional ride through the camp, after the massacre had ended. The images of bodies in the streets, reminded me a lot images from the Holocaust. It amazed me that after we as Jews had been through such a terrible genocide that the Israeli army could have such allies, and not be putting a stop to everything that they were doing. Though they finally did put a stop to all that was going on in the camps, it left me confused about why they could not have done anything sooner.
Amy Blog
After reading the first 50 pages of Not wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley we discussed the significance of each character. The members of Dr. Noyes’ family and the animals each bring a different aspect to the novel, which we get a strong sense of even though they are not fully developed.
The novel begins with Dr. Noyes receiving a message notifying him that Yaweh will be visiting with the next 48 hours. Mrs. Noyes is a typical obedient wife, whose husband puts G-ds commands in front of his families, and she prepares for the visit as Noah instructed. Her cat, Mottyl, accompanies her while she relaxes in her rocking chair and escapes with a bottle of alcohol.
We observe the story from Mottyl’s point of view many times, which gives the readers an understanding of the animals’ sufferings. Animals have a stronger instinct for sensing trouble and change; they are acting abnormal because they sense a presence around them. The wolves are acting abnormal; they will not drink and continue to howl boisterously since their master, Japeth, is now blue.
When Japeth came back from his walk down the road he returned blue, which was a shock to his wife, Emma. She is an 11-year old girl who refuses to have sex with her husband much to his dislike. She represents the innocence of children and does not desire to be corrupted. Hams innocence is also taken away when Dr. Noyes insists he performs the sacrifice, during which Ham injures himself. Shems emotional standpoint is unclear at this point, he is the strong brother and known as the Ox. Hannah is Shems wife and we do not get a good sense of her personality either. As the novel continues I am looking forward to seeing each of the characters develop.
The novel begins with Dr. Noyes receiving a message notifying him that Yaweh will be visiting with the next 48 hours. Mrs. Noyes is a typical obedient wife, whose husband puts G-ds commands in front of his families, and she prepares for the visit as Noah instructed. Her cat, Mottyl, accompanies her while she relaxes in her rocking chair and escapes with a bottle of alcohol.
We observe the story from Mottyl’s point of view many times, which gives the readers an understanding of the animals’ sufferings. Animals have a stronger instinct for sensing trouble and change; they are acting abnormal because they sense a presence around them. The wolves are acting abnormal; they will not drink and continue to howl boisterously since their master, Japeth, is now blue.
When Japeth came back from his walk down the road he returned blue, which was a shock to his wife, Emma. She is an 11-year old girl who refuses to have sex with her husband much to his dislike. She represents the innocence of children and does not desire to be corrupted. Hams innocence is also taken away when Dr. Noyes insists he performs the sacrifice, during which Ham injures himself. Shems emotional standpoint is unclear at this point, he is the strong brother and known as the Ox. Hannah is Shems wife and we do not get a good sense of her personality either. As the novel continues I am looking forward to seeing each of the characters develop.
Sharna Blog
Waltz With Bashir Blog EntrySharna Nelko
In our most recent class, we continued to watch the movie Waltz with Bashir. As the plot begins to unfold, we see Ari‘s memories surface. He talks to his army friends to see what they remember in hopes that they will trigger his memories. This in fact does happen, and he starts to recollect what he did during the war. Many of the stories include people removing themselves from the situations that they were in. There were parties and party boats to distract from the massacres, hallucinations, games, and dancing in the middle of a battlefield.
There had to be an explanation for all of the soldiers’ behavior. During class discussion, we came to the conclusion that the soldiers were involved in these odd activities because they were attempting to distance themselves from the situations that they were in. They partied and played games to distract from the fact that they were killing people and could themselves die at any moment. Had they thought about everything that they were doing, they would have been driven to insanity. If they detached themselves from what they were doing, it could not bother them. Perhaps the reason that Ari does not remember parts of the war is because he was psychologically removed from it. He also may not have wanted to remember what happened, until now.
A story that one of his friends relates to him includes the friend being on a “party boat”, falling asleep out of fear of being a soldier, and hallucinating. During the hallucination or dream, he sees a very large woman come out of the water who then draws him into the water with her. This woman is much larger than him, and she swims away from the boat while he is holding onto her. During discussion, we discussed that this was not a sexual reference at all, but evidence that this man was very scared, and longing for a motherly figure to rescue him from what was just about to happen. After he is far away from the ship, he sees it explode. This is another example of someone wanting to distance oneself from what is going on and not wanting to participate in it.
Another situation is where one of his friends is involved in a battle. This man gets up from where he is ‘safe’ and begins to shoot at all of the buildings above him. The interesting part of this scene is that while he is shooting, he is dancing at the same time. He is dancing a waltz, and there is classical music playing in the background of all of the shooting. This man seems crazy to be doing that, but he is simply escaping from the reality of his situation. We also discussed how it was particularly interesting to see such an elegant thing like the waltz present in such a crude and violent situation like war.
The plot is unfolding and the movie is beginning to get very interesting. It is remarkable that after hearing his friends share their stories Ari suddenly remembers what happened to him. It is also amazing that these soldiers were able to repress the disturbing memories. I speak on behalf of everyone in the class when I say that we cannot wait to see what Ari remembers next.
In our most recent class, we continued to watch the movie Waltz with Bashir. As the plot begins to unfold, we see Ari‘s memories surface. He talks to his army friends to see what they remember in hopes that they will trigger his memories. This in fact does happen, and he starts to recollect what he did during the war. Many of the stories include people removing themselves from the situations that they were in. There were parties and party boats to distract from the massacres, hallucinations, games, and dancing in the middle of a battlefield.
There had to be an explanation for all of the soldiers’ behavior. During class discussion, we came to the conclusion that the soldiers were involved in these odd activities because they were attempting to distance themselves from the situations that they were in. They partied and played games to distract from the fact that they were killing people and could themselves die at any moment. Had they thought about everything that they were doing, they would have been driven to insanity. If they detached themselves from what they were doing, it could not bother them. Perhaps the reason that Ari does not remember parts of the war is because he was psychologically removed from it. He also may not have wanted to remember what happened, until now.
A story that one of his friends relates to him includes the friend being on a “party boat”, falling asleep out of fear of being a soldier, and hallucinating. During the hallucination or dream, he sees a very large woman come out of the water who then draws him into the water with her. This woman is much larger than him, and she swims away from the boat while he is holding onto her. During discussion, we discussed that this was not a sexual reference at all, but evidence that this man was very scared, and longing for a motherly figure to rescue him from what was just about to happen. After he is far away from the ship, he sees it explode. This is another example of someone wanting to distance oneself from what is going on and not wanting to participate in it.
Another situation is where one of his friends is involved in a battle. This man gets up from where he is ‘safe’ and begins to shoot at all of the buildings above him. The interesting part of this scene is that while he is shooting, he is dancing at the same time. He is dancing a waltz, and there is classical music playing in the background of all of the shooting. This man seems crazy to be doing that, but he is simply escaping from the reality of his situation. We also discussed how it was particularly interesting to see such an elegant thing like the waltz present in such a crude and violent situation like war.
The plot is unfolding and the movie is beginning to get very interesting. It is remarkable that after hearing his friends share their stories Ari suddenly remembers what happened to him. It is also amazing that these soldiers were able to repress the disturbing memories. I speak on behalf of everyone in the class when I say that we cannot wait to see what Ari remembers next.
Zev Blog
Jewish Film and Literature
October 14th 2009
Sir Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger once sang:
“Pleased to meet youHope you guess my nameBut what’s puzzling youIs the nature of my game”
(Rolling Stones. Sympathy For the Devil)
These lyrics from the song Sympathy for the Devil concisely sum up the discussion held in class about pages fifty to one hundred in Timothy Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage. True the discussion was held in more depth and detail with multiple opinions being stated but the gist of the argument falls along the same lines as the songs message. That is to say, Lucifer (or Lucy in the novel) is not always the evil greedy menace and danger that western society has painted him (or her) to be. A point was made about how there is a need to question the preconceived notions that we hold about the devil and to analyze where these notions come from. Mr. Kaplan brought up the case of modern religion as we know it, being conceived and shaped during the downfall of the Roman Empire. As a result characters such as the devil began to take on characteristics that would keep people obedient, and willing to go to church, or pay the tithe. This devil has horns, prods people with his trident, and tortures sinning souls for eternality in the fiery depths of hell. It was mentioned that this view of hell as personified by Satan, is deeply removed from the original Jewish view of purgatory, which is in fact a place to remove ones sins so that their soul can rest in “heaven”. It is clear that this novel begs the question why the view changed to such a negative image, and if this image makes sense to those with logical, modern viewpoints.
Usually Lucifer is the antagonist in biblical stories; however Timothy Findley has cleverly chosen a biblical story in which Yahweh appears to be the antagonist and so Lucifer, in fulfilling his role as the antithesis to the holy of holies comes out as the hero of humanity. In these pages it hints that Lucy is there to try and prevent the destruction that she/he knows is imminent. When this was discussed in class it came up that in order for Lucy to be the opposite of Yahweh but still good, it has to mean that the Yahweh of the novel has very different qualities from the G-d portrayed in religion. Yahweh has a human appearance, and he appears to not be omnipotent, or omnipresent, or omniscient but rather a cranky old boss who is tired of constantly being merciful and decides to go on a meaner streak. This can mean two things, it could be that G-d of religion and Timothy Findley’s Yahweh are completely inequitable, or it could be that the image of Yahweh is meant to defy tradition and offer a radically different viewpoint on what so many take for granted. This is a bold question in an era of unquestioning faith.
Other topics that were brought into discussion included the use of dragons and faeries as an example of balance in nature, the mighty dragon brought down by seizures induced by the slightest of creature. Mr. Kaplan hinted that this may or may not be a recurring theme or motif within the novel. So far the dragon example and the balance between Lucifer and Michael Archangelis appear to be among the illustrations of this idea.
The final thing that was discussed was the story of Japheth turning blue and what that meant symbolically. Sharna kindly pointed out that it represented his emotional scarring, and that the stain being permanent signified his own loss of innocence being permanent. Other discussion sprang up about when stealing is immoral and when it is moral. It was said that stealing can be moral in situations where one is not harming others by doing so (i.e. Robin Hood). Thus even if it is said that the Ruffian King was only eating humans as a last resort, he is still extremely immoral and evil because his directions harm others in the most serious and literal meaning of the word. Finally discussion on the book and its controversial view has begun to pick up, and have made the book easier to digest and interpret.
October 14th 2009
Sir Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger once sang:
“Pleased to meet youHope you guess my nameBut what’s puzzling youIs the nature of my game”
(Rolling Stones. Sympathy For the Devil)
These lyrics from the song Sympathy for the Devil concisely sum up the discussion held in class about pages fifty to one hundred in Timothy Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage. True the discussion was held in more depth and detail with multiple opinions being stated but the gist of the argument falls along the same lines as the songs message. That is to say, Lucifer (or Lucy in the novel) is not always the evil greedy menace and danger that western society has painted him (or her) to be. A point was made about how there is a need to question the preconceived notions that we hold about the devil and to analyze where these notions come from. Mr. Kaplan brought up the case of modern religion as we know it, being conceived and shaped during the downfall of the Roman Empire. As a result characters such as the devil began to take on characteristics that would keep people obedient, and willing to go to church, or pay the tithe. This devil has horns, prods people with his trident, and tortures sinning souls for eternality in the fiery depths of hell. It was mentioned that this view of hell as personified by Satan, is deeply removed from the original Jewish view of purgatory, which is in fact a place to remove ones sins so that their soul can rest in “heaven”. It is clear that this novel begs the question why the view changed to such a negative image, and if this image makes sense to those with logical, modern viewpoints.
Usually Lucifer is the antagonist in biblical stories; however Timothy Findley has cleverly chosen a biblical story in which Yahweh appears to be the antagonist and so Lucifer, in fulfilling his role as the antithesis to the holy of holies comes out as the hero of humanity. In these pages it hints that Lucy is there to try and prevent the destruction that she/he knows is imminent. When this was discussed in class it came up that in order for Lucy to be the opposite of Yahweh but still good, it has to mean that the Yahweh of the novel has very different qualities from the G-d portrayed in religion. Yahweh has a human appearance, and he appears to not be omnipotent, or omnipresent, or omniscient but rather a cranky old boss who is tired of constantly being merciful and decides to go on a meaner streak. This can mean two things, it could be that G-d of religion and Timothy Findley’s Yahweh are completely inequitable, or it could be that the image of Yahweh is meant to defy tradition and offer a radically different viewpoint on what so many take for granted. This is a bold question in an era of unquestioning faith.
Other topics that were brought into discussion included the use of dragons and faeries as an example of balance in nature, the mighty dragon brought down by seizures induced by the slightest of creature. Mr. Kaplan hinted that this may or may not be a recurring theme or motif within the novel. So far the dragon example and the balance between Lucifer and Michael Archangelis appear to be among the illustrations of this idea.
The final thing that was discussed was the story of Japheth turning blue and what that meant symbolically. Sharna kindly pointed out that it represented his emotional scarring, and that the stain being permanent signified his own loss of innocence being permanent. Other discussion sprang up about when stealing is immoral and when it is moral. It was said that stealing can be moral in situations where one is not harming others by doing so (i.e. Robin Hood). Thus even if it is said that the Ruffian King was only eating humans as a last resort, he is still extremely immoral and evil because his directions harm others in the most serious and literal meaning of the word. Finally discussion on the book and its controversial view has begun to pick up, and have made the book easier to digest and interpret.
Jewish Film and Lit outline
a) Course Description:
This course is about:
· Film form – and the production of meaning
· Spectator response
· Digital Editing and composition
Film FormThis requires a study of two particular aspects:1. MACRO: narrative and genre2. MICRO: mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound.Spectator StudyThe emphasis is on:
a) Your awareness of your competences in working with the conventions of narrative film and genre in order to make meaning
b) The exploration of the spectator’s personal identity in responding to a film.
Be prepared to work hard and use time wisely in order to guarantee success in attaining a credit. Let’s work together to ensure this goal is met.
b) Content
Curricular Objectives:
This course will be divided into 4 major projects. Each project will be accompanied by a required skill set mini unit (eg: sound, lighting, axis, etc).
i) Axis Project
ii) Twin Movie
iii) Fight/Action Scene
iv) Final Creative film
v) Participation
c) Assessment and Evaluation
Each unit will reflect the evaluation worth in proportion to the unit size and difficulty.
Major assessment will be derived from 4 areas:
a) 4 major projects/films
b) Course Work and assignments
c) Quizzes
d) Participation
Participation: Class attendance will be taken and participation recorded. To receive full marks for this element requires 100% attendance (medical absence excluded), active participation in each class attended, active participation that consistently demonstrates prior preparation, and active participation in group assignments.
Late assignments will NOT be accepted. Instead, students will be provided with 3 late coupons. Each coupon will represent ONE late (school day) that the assignment is not submitted during the designated class period. Late assignments submitted without a coupon will be reviewed and commented upon, but will receive a mark of ZERO.
No one gets hurt:
1) Respect people, their views, opinions, choices, and property
2) Racism and racist comments/jokes, sexism and sexist comments/jokes will NOT be tolerated!
Plagiarism: Please be advised that any aspect of an assignment that is plagiarized will mean a zero on the entire assignment, and there are no exceptions to this. Should you be unfamiliar with the plagiarism rules, please see me as soon as possible. Repeated acts of plagiarism may result in suspension or expulsion.
Books and Film Equipment: Materials received in class are the property of the school. Please return all books and equipment to the teacher only. Lost or broken equipment will need to be replaced at the expense of the students. Failure to return a text without a replacement will result in a freeze on the student’s borrowing ability.
This course is about:
· Film form – and the production of meaning
· Spectator response
· Digital Editing and composition
Film FormThis requires a study of two particular aspects:1. MACRO: narrative and genre2. MICRO: mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound.Spectator StudyThe emphasis is on:
a) Your awareness of your competences in working with the conventions of narrative film and genre in order to make meaning
b) The exploration of the spectator’s personal identity in responding to a film.
Be prepared to work hard and use time wisely in order to guarantee success in attaining a credit. Let’s work together to ensure this goal is met.
b) Content
Curricular Objectives:
This course will be divided into 4 major projects. Each project will be accompanied by a required skill set mini unit (eg: sound, lighting, axis, etc).
i) Axis Project
ii) Twin Movie
iii) Fight/Action Scene
iv) Final Creative film
v) Participation
c) Assessment and Evaluation
Each unit will reflect the evaluation worth in proportion to the unit size and difficulty.
Major assessment will be derived from 4 areas:
a) 4 major projects/films
b) Course Work and assignments
c) Quizzes
d) Participation
Participation: Class attendance will be taken and participation recorded. To receive full marks for this element requires 100% attendance (medical absence excluded), active participation in each class attended, active participation that consistently demonstrates prior preparation, and active participation in group assignments.
Late assignments will NOT be accepted. Instead, students will be provided with 3 late coupons. Each coupon will represent ONE late (school day) that the assignment is not submitted during the designated class period. Late assignments submitted without a coupon will be reviewed and commented upon, but will receive a mark of ZERO.
No one gets hurt:
1) Respect people, their views, opinions, choices, and property
2) Racism and racist comments/jokes, sexism and sexist comments/jokes will NOT be tolerated!
Plagiarism: Please be advised that any aspect of an assignment that is plagiarized will mean a zero on the entire assignment, and there are no exceptions to this. Should you be unfamiliar with the plagiarism rules, please see me as soon as possible. Repeated acts of plagiarism may result in suspension or expulsion.
Books and Film Equipment: Materials received in class are the property of the school. Please return all books and equipment to the teacher only. Lost or broken equipment will need to be replaced at the expense of the students. Failure to return a text without a replacement will result in a freeze on the student’s borrowing ability.
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