United 93

I really liked the movie. It was very moving and made me tear up a little bit. It was a different point of view for me of the same event that I've heard so much about. What had a lasting impression on me was the way the passengers on the airplane came together and did all they could to save themselves and others that would be inside the planes intended target. I'm not sure what the characters name is but the most interesting character for me was the man who came up with the plan to find weapons and initiate an attack on the hijackers. If he would not have started the plan the plane might've hit the Capitol. This movie still relates to today because there are still terrorists living in the USA. And our country's safety procedures and lifestyle have drastically changed since this event.

The movie United 93 fills me with despair because it shows how evil and cold-hearted people can really be. The fact that the hijackers had no concern for their lives or the lives of all the people they killed and injured amazes me.

As a country we should never forget the people that lost their lives on that day and also the brave firefighters and other first responders that sacrificed their lives to save others.

Lone Survivor

The Lone Survivor is a movie about an unsuccessful operation called Operation Red Wings that resulted in many deaths and one survivor. This was my second time watching this film I loved it just as much as the first time. I loved this movie because it documents the experiences of the elite group, the Navy Seals. What had a lasting impression on me was the ability of the Seals to power through their injuries and still fight back. It made me think of the intensity of the training that they had to endure to even be able to be called a Navy Seal. I thought the characters from this movie were interesting because they all had their own story. The way the directors emphasized character development in this movie added a level of emotions for the viewers. It was interesting to see that each one of them went into the mission with plans, and goals for when they came back in a few days. One of the most memorable scenes for me was when Matt Axelson was shot but even on his last few breaths managed to shoot and kill some of his attackers. This movie has content applications to today because there are still wars happening. Although there are still wars happening, this events from this movie were from a few years ago and technology has improved since then to hopefully make it easier to prevent situations like this from happening again.

PART TWO:
The greatest pitfall with not portraying historical movies with accuracy is that whatever is shown in that movie becomes the truth. People will watch the film and believe that the film is 100% accurate and some will not even do further research to verify how the actual events took place.

The Hurt Locker

PART ONE:

The Hurt Locker is a film about a soldier named Sergeant James, a.k.a. the man in the bomb suit. It documents his experiences diffusing bombs while on rotation in Iraq. I liked this movie because it was suspenseful, captivating, and intense. There were many scenes that had lasting impressions on me such as the scene where a man had a bomb strapped to him and was forced to accept his fate and lifted up his hands in prayer after he realized Sergeant James could not do anything to save him. Another memorable scene was when Sergeant James went through the trouble of rescuing the boy's body from the abandoned warehouse because he didn't realize it was not his friend from the army base. I could not pick one interesting character, for me it was interesting to see all of the soldiers and how they acted under pressure. James was interesting because his ability to be fueled purely by passion and adrenaline and still performed his job very well. Owen was an interesting character because he portrayed the effects that war can have on a person even after months of training. This movie applies to today because there are many soldiers around us that still have not recovered and may never fully recover from the effects of the war. 

PART TWO:

The most memorable scene in the movie was when James came back home and was talking with his son and realized that he had no love for anything in the world except diffusing bombs in Iraq.

PART THREE:

I think the phrase, "the hurt locker" means that anyone within a certain range of the bomb (the locker) will most likely be injured in some way when it detonates. 

Apollo 13

PART ONE:
Apollo 13 is a movie documenting the journey of 3 astronauts to the moon and back home on the Apollo 13 space mission. I liked the movie because it was action-packed and entertaining but also documented the mission. The movie made me feel very anxious and had me engaged for a long time. The directors and actors of the movie did a great job in documenting the true events aboard the Apollo 13 aircraft while still managing to keep viewers entertained. The most interesting character to me was Ken who at the last minute was told he was no longer allowed to go to space but when he was called on to help save Apollo 13 he did so willingly and put forth his best effort. This movie still applies today because it's nice to learn about the former missions of NASA even though the program has been terminated.

PART TWO:
The main theme of this movie is Perseverance. Even though the crew on the Apollo 13 flight faced many challenges and had to endure many hardships and tumultuous conditions, they still never gave up hope of making it home safely and did all that they could to save themselves.

Parkland

PART ONE:
Parkland is the story of JFK's assassination in 1963. I liked the movie because it went into detail of the assassination from an insider's point of view. I learned so much more about what happened the day of the assassination. The film made me feel sorta sad because it was such an important event in our nation's history.  This entire movie will have a lasting impression on me because I now know a perspective that I didn't know before. The most interesting character to me was Jackie Kennedy because even though her husband was murdered, her character was still fairly quiet and had very few lines. I learned another aspect of history. I do recommend this movie to others especially for people my age who were not alive during that time period.

Kill The Irishman

PART ONE:
Kill The Irishman is another mob movie about crime in Cleveland. I especially enjoyed this movie because it happened so close and I was able to recognize places where some significant events occurred. I liked that I was able to learn something new about Cleveland's history. I didn't know about the crime mob in Cleveland before this movie and I didn't know that the murder of Danny Greene happened so close to my house. This movie will have a lasting impression on me because it happened so close to home and apparently it's a popular story around here and also because of the abundance of car bombs used during that time period. I thought Danny Greene was an interesting character because he was so strong, brave and determined. I'm not sure if the movie applies today. Also not sure if there are any more organized crime rings going on in Cleveland anymore.

PART TWO: I would describe Danny Greene as a man who fights for what he believes in but is also pretty ruthless. A tough love type of guy. He is brave and caring for his family and close friends. He is also determined because of the types of things he went through everyday just so he wouldn't be murdered.

The Godfather

PART ONE:
The Godfather is about one of the Italian families living in New York City that are involved in the organized crime ring. This was my first time viewing the film and I really enjoyed it. I now understand fully why this film is considered a classic and now I'll be able to understand Godfather references when people use them. I live action movies and this movie had a lot of surprises and plot twists that kept me engaged and entertained. I liked that the family was straight savage and pretty much ran New York City. I also liked that in the beginning Michael Corleone was portrayed as not having any involvement in the "family business" but in the end turned into a Don and a straight savage. This movie made me feel that I can probably accomplish a lot more than I do and that anything is possible. This movie has applications to today because of it's general underlying theme that family is important. Basically this movie taught people how to be a ride or die for your family. The Corleone's were loyal to each other and loved each other and were definitely willing to do anything to protect someone or avenge their death. My favorite character was Michael because he was the person I least expected to become head of the family business. I really expected him to be the rat of the family.

PART TWO:
Vito Corleone was the moral center of the film because he stood firm in what he believed in. Many people would come to him and ask for various types of favors and he stood his ground in what he believed what was right and wrong. This was apparent mainly when he refused Sollozzo and would not sell drugs in his territory. I felt like the way Vito passed was a very surprising one due to the fact that everyone around him was being murdered. I don't think the world became a better place because of his death. Vito did not do anything to hurt anyone and was a pretty just person with his actions.

PART THREE:
If this story was told from the outside the family you would not be able to see the reasoning behind all of the violence and other illegal activity. Seeing the story from the point of view of an insider, oddly enough makes the crimes committed by the Corleone family seem less extreme and actually justified. I do think the film deserves being called a classic. It's a great film that I believe everyone should see.

42

PART ONE:
The movie 42 is about the legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson and his journey as he followed his dream. All Jackie wanted to do was play baseball and by doing so he became a catalyst for racial integration of the major leagues. I liked that the movie showed us the racism in baseball from Jackie Robinson's side. The movie made me feel bad for Jackie and his family and what he had to go through. The way Jackie was treated on and off the field was extremely despicable. Even some of his teammates, who are supposed to stand together, abused him in the beginning. It was crazy to me that they even tried to get a petition signed to get him off of the team before he even arrived. What had a lasting impression on me was the way that Branch Rickey decided to go against what everyone said to him and fight for Jackie's rights to play baseball. Even if his intentions were not the most moral at first, he ended up understanding what Jackie had to endure on a daily basis and was able to support him. This movie applies to today because unfortunately, there are still people who believe that darker-skinned people are a inferior to those who are lighter-skinned. There are still people who are discriminatory towards people who don't look like them.

PART TWO:
I do believe that Jackie Robinson helped this country. People like him in all aspects of american life who decided to stand up against patriarchal and institutional racism in efforts to improve life for them, their family, and their friends. Not only did Jackie Robinson pave the way for other black athletes, he was a positive example for others who wanted to live freely and without prejudice. An important lesson to learn from Jackie's life is to fight for what you believe in and follow your dreams despite other people's attempts to bring you down. I do agree with Jackie's quote because it says that people should work hard not only for themselves but to improve the life of others.

PART THREE:
I can utilize Jackie's 9 values in my school life. Courage to keep doing work even though I'm already in college,  determination to stay focused and not fail any classes, teamwork in track because you have to work as a team and not be selfish in order to succeed. Persistence to keep working hard even though there are barriers and obstacles such as the urge not to come to school. Integrity to not cheat and copy homework in calculus even though I'm failing. Citizenship when I try and assist other people with their work. I'm not sure about justice. Commitment because I promised my parents I wouldn't embarrass them and fail so I'm not going to. Excellence because I'm trying my hardest to make this the best blog I possibly can.

Cinderella Man

PART ONE:
The move Cinderella Man was one of my favorites. It was about a retired boxer who fell on hard times and was forced to return back to the boxing ring to make money for his family. I enjoyed the film because it portrayed a man who was willing to sacrifice for his family and put them first in his life. This story made me feel sorrowful for the families and what they had to endure during that time period. but I also felt proud because of people like Braddock who still tried and worked hard to push the country forward. It was great that Braddock still worked hard for his family despite his situation.
Overall, I loved the movie and thought it was a great representation of a different perspective of the great depression.

PART TWO:
I think Braddock's story encouraged people to keep going because they saw that they were in the same situation as him. They too could relate to him because he was on his last dollar struggling to survive and keep his family alive also. But instead of being content in that situation, he worked hard and showed everyone around him that it was possible to get out to a better life. His belief that if you worked hard you could accomplish anything definitely payed off and was reflected back on everyone else. Braddock was characterized as a symbol of hope because he showed people that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and everyone else was hopeful that they could be just like him and find relief from their economic despair.

War Horse

PART ONE:
War Horse was a great movie. I liked war horse because it was different from what we usually see in history classrooms. It was a totally new and different perspective of the war and it was a perspective that I never knew was possible. Before I watched the movie I didn't know the extent that horses were used in the war. This movie will have a lasting impression on me because of the way the horses were mistreated and abused. Its amazing to me how strong and brave the horses were through all the abuse they received. It also amazes me that most of the soldiers and commanding officers in the war were so cold-hearted regarding the treatment of the horses. I liked the main character the best, the original owner of the horse because his character was portrayed as having a large heart and was willing to put his life on the line to fight for his country and his horse. One of the most impressionable scenes in the movie was when the two young brothers were shot in cold blood for attempting to run away from the war. I thought that scene was important also because it showed the intensity of people in the war back then. I don't really think there are any content applications to today because animals aren't used in the war anymore.

Glory

PART ONE:
I liked the fact that someone chose to make a movie about the first African-american regimen. The 54th was a brave group of men and I enjoyed watching their journey and struggle to learn to fight for their country which they eventually died for. The movie made me feel proud of my country and the 54th regimen who also defended their country knowing that things would not be very different for them. The scene where Shaw announced to his men that they could be killed or sent back to slavery had a lasting impression on me because they did not leave. The next day they were still there and ready to fight. I thought Denzel Washington's character was particularly interesting because of his pessimistic attitude towards everything yet he still fought and trained to be a solider. This story applies to today because of all the recent racial turmoil going on in our country today.


PART TWO:
I think people are willing to die for their country because of the way they were raised. Some people are raised to have complete pride for their country and therefore are willing to sacrifice for the well-being of it. The men of the 54th and Robert Shaw are definitely heroes. They sacrificed their lives and risked their freedom for the betterment of a country. They died willingly in order to leave a legacy and better life for their children.

PART THREE:
This story is significant because it documents the first black regiment in our nation's history and it marks the beginning of an important turning point in our nation's history on the journey towards freedom. If people like Shaw and the 54th regiment had not fought so bravely we would not be in the position we are today.

Braveheart

PART ONE:
The movie Bravehart was a story about a fearless leader and soldier who fought for freedom. I liked certain scenes of the movie like when William Wallace is tortured and killed. This scene was important to me because Wallace died firmly standing for what he believed in. Even though he was humiliated and put through pain he did not give up. I did not like the movie overall because the plot was drawn out and uninteresting at times. This movie made me feel empowered. It was inspiring to see how one person changed the course of history for an entire country. It made me feel like I could make a difference in my community today. I thought some of the characters / scenes were unnecessary. Like when Wallace is continually punched by his friend or almost killed by a spy. If these scenes were omitted they wouldn't affect the story.

PART TWO:
With this quote Wallace was implying that everyone physically dies eventually but not every person truly lives their lives to it's full potential. This quote can be applied to the Scottish quest for freedom because many people died during that rebellion but not everyone lived life to the fullest by fighting for their freedom.

Gladiator

Part one:

The first film we watched this year was The Gladiator. I have never watched the movie before this class but I now understand why this movie is considered a classic. What I found most intriguing about this movie is how the producers and actors portrayed Maxiums Decimus Merididius' passion and his commitment to avenging his family's death. This movie evoked many strong emotions in me. There was such a wide array of various acting techniques utilized in the movie which stimulated emotions such as happiness, pride, solemnity and sorrow when Maximus died.

Part two:

The overall underlying theme of the movie was to fight for what you believe in. This theme was brought to life when Maximus decided to go against Commodus and fight for his family and the betterment of Rome. By doing this he fulfilled Marcus Aurelius' dying wish to return Rome to the people. He fulfilled his own wish of being with his family again in the afterlife. 

Overall, I thought this movie was entertaining and informative and should be continually shown in this class.

Initial Thoughts

I took Mr. Burkhart's History Through Film class because I am interested in expanding my knowledge on various films and and their viewpoints on important historic events. My expectations for this semester include getting an A and obtaining a greater understanding of history.