Realism
by Lucila, Amelia & Arshar
We all have memories, some good and others
bad, but how reliable can they be? Our minds work in mysterious ways; they
can block things out, sharpen precise memories and even create new ones. In the
last week, we talked about realism and how not necessarily everything we
remember is true. This blog will not only present this topic, but will also
discuss the film Waltz with Bashir and
introduce a second film named Persepolis.
Waltz With Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008, Israel, 90min)
Last week in our Documenting Myths class we watched Waltz with Bashir, a movie by Ari Folman about his life as a soldier during the Lebanon War. Ari Folman, the main character, visits many of his past friends from the army to try and find out what happened to him during the war, because he cannot remember anything from that time. He interviews friends, other soldiers and a psychologist as well as the Israeli TV reporter RonBen-Yishai who covered Beirut at the time of the massacre. Every friend he interviews tells him something different about the war, most of which he still has no memory of. Throughout the film, Ari has the same recurring dream of him and his comrades getting out of the water by Beirut and walking to the shore while flares fill the night’s sky and people come towards him-women and children screaming but he could not hear their cries. Later in the film, he finds out that he was in the second or third ring and had been firing flares to light up the sky during the time of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. This makes him feel responsible, because although he did not do the killings himself, he helped and this affects him deeply because of his personal past.
Last week in our Documenting Myths class we watched Waltz with Bashir, a movie by Ari Folman about his life as a soldier during the Lebanon War. Ari Folman, the main character, visits many of his past friends from the army to try and find out what happened to him during the war, because he cannot remember anything from that time. He interviews friends, other soldiers and a psychologist as well as the Israeli TV reporter RonBen-Yishai who covered Beirut at the time of the massacre. Every friend he interviews tells him something different about the war, most of which he still has no memory of. Throughout the film, Ari has the same recurring dream of him and his comrades getting out of the water by Beirut and walking to the shore while flares fill the night’s sky and people come towards him-women and children screaming but he could not hear their cries. Later in the film, he finds out that he was in the second or third ring and had been firing flares to light up the sky during the time of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. This makes him feel responsible, because although he did not do the killings himself, he helped and this affects him deeply because of his personal past.
The documentary is all animated except for the last minute or two of the film at which point the director switched it to real, raw footage that is made to shock the public. This film is done mostly in animation to represent how reality is rarely as it seems, it all depends on the perception of reality we have. The director chose to make the film as he did to represent how during the war, the events that happened seems to be like a movie to the soldiers. Someone in the film mentions how a soldier sees the events as though they are on a screen and are apart from him, until he sees one scene-in his case the horse massacre seen- that awakes him to start to see reality as it truly is. A camera cannot adapt the way our eyes do to modify perspective, for example perception of depth. These are things that can easily be reproduced through animation, which explains why the director chose to tell his story in an animated creation. Reality in this film plays a big role because they are basing real facts on memory, even though memory isn’t always equal to reality. Just as Zahava Solomon, psychologist interviewed in the film, explains how memory can often be wrong because your memory can make things up to fill in missing information. Memory can also modify actual events to make up for what you cannot remember; an example of this is the soldier dancing in the street scene. All the soldier explain how they saw one of their fellow comrades dancing in the street as snipers shot at him and he killed their opponents on his own. We have no proof that it is what really happened, yet it is how everyone remembers it. The director wants us to remember that memory does not equal to reality. The director chooses to make the last thing we see a real footage to make sure we as spectators understand that it is not all made up facts, or modified facts. Ari wants to make sure we understand and remember our violent past-for example the Holocaust, the burning times, Sabra and Shatila, etc.
Pertinent links on related massacres:
The Holocaust
The Burning Times
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud, 2007, France, 95min)
Persepolis is a French animated film documenting an Iranian woman’s journey through self-discovery amidst a countrywide revolution. Originally an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, who, alongside Vincent Parronaud, directed the film, it explores both the struggles of growing up and the difficulties of deciding where you belong. We begin by following a young Marjane as she and her idealist family face the overthrowing of the hated shah by the people of Iran in the violent revolution of 1979. As Marji grows up, she begins to understand how the new Islamic fundamentalist ruled government has become a repressive tyranny of its own; she is forced to wear a veil and conform to the intolerant rules, and must even live every day with the fear of bombs dropping on her head as the Iran-Iraq war breaks out. Inspired by her uncle Anoosh who was imprisoned for his activism and communistic views, Marjane develops her own political and social opinions. Treacherously refusing to keep silent she is sent to Vienna by her parents, through fear of her arrest for being so outspoken, in order to remain safe and to study for a better, more civilized life. In her new home, she meets people of multiple cultures and with vast views, who are shocked to hear the horrors she’s witnessed in Iran. Though she makes friends, Marjane feels more alone and isolated than ever, as superficial, snobby people who take their freedom for granted surround her. Quickly, her behavior changes and she begins to lose herself through her terrible life choices and ultimately hits rock bottom, only to realize that she drastically needs to find who she is, what she wants, and where she needs to be. As an adult, she returns to Iran, where she settles into a severe depression and has lost any will to live; Marjane attempts to commit suicide, and on the brink of death encounters God and Karl Marx, who convince her to remain true to herself and her beliefs. She returns to university, has fun with friends, marries and eventually also divorces. She realizes the wonderful country she once knew in her childhood was not coming back anytime soon, and once again she leaves for France, only this time, never to return again.
A truly beautifully written and animated film, Persepolis opens your eyes to the hardship that the Iranian people had to endure and continue to this day, to carry on their shoulders. The revolution in Iran is a very heavy subject, yet is powerfully portrayed in the film. Similar to the concept of illusionism that we saw in class and the idea of our emotions being affected through sight, the directors carefully chose scenes that grasp your attention yet equally shock and disturb you, notably all the war scenes (e.g. a hand sticking out of the rubble of a bomb site (see below)). Nevertheless, what mostly makes this movie a “realistic” documentary is that we are being told a story through the memories of our narrator and central character, both as an adult and as a child, which is quite rare and also fully allows us to see her point of view and analyze our thoughts on it. There equally exists the dynamic pairing of spectacle and knowledge, as we are brought to learn about the reality of the Iranian revolution, all while having the chance to admire the remarkable black and white animations, which uniquely look like a shadow puppet show. Evidently, we are only presented one side of the story, or one opinion, which could bring us to question the directors’ desire to mold and shape our perspective on this reality, but that is beside the point and only further proves that Persepolis does in fact match the realism type of documentaries which we were shown in class. It is a brilliant movie, and a must see for documentary lovers.
Countries at War
“Waltz with Bashir” and “Persepolis” are great examples of films that use animation to depict horrific wars. In both films, we learn a great deal about war and the toll it takes on many soldiers and families.
“Waltz with Bashir” painfully demonstrates how today’s glorious victories can become nightmares that haunt individuals and nations for decades. For example, Ari Folman who doesn’t remember the Sabra and Shatila massacre tries to retrace his footsteps with a series of interviews. This process was very terrifying at times for Ari. For instance, the moment of discovery haunted him sometimes during his dreams. This leads us to memory which is the central theme that is focused in this documentary film.“Waltz with Bashir” reveals to our world why atrocities are committed in the first place. It teaches us how can “normal” human beings can be induced to commit terrible acts (or to allow them to happen, as in the case of the Israeli soldiers who stood by while their Christian allies in Lebanon did the "dirty work") despite being "nice people" in their otherwise-routine lives. Ari Folman presents a very personal story and the message of his story relates to how, as a society, we forget about devastating massacres and continue on with our daily lives. It questions us to think, how one can forget about a war that huge. All the dead bodies and screams usually would be engraved in a soldier for the rest of their lives.
Sabra and Shatila Survivors Remembering the Massacre (article)
On the other hand, Persepolis shows us the difficulties and how hard it can be for a teenager to live in Iran, a country with very strict laws and regulations. The animated film illustrates the history of Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the manner it affected the citizens of Iran. For instance, her parents had to send her out of Iran for her well-being being because she did not follow the rules and her parents were worried she would be executed. Once she returns, we learn that Marjane and Iran can never coexist because she has changed during her time in Europe.
Persepolis teach us that governments often abuse their power and oppress their own people. Therefore, the people must rise up against their corrupt leaders and governments to bring them down, in order to establish honest and good ones and attain equal rights and freedom. This film gives us a better understanding of how a “different” girl experiences fear, loss, prejudice and depression. The significance of adapting to different cultures is very important in this movie. It is very hard to adapt to certain cultures, especially, if you are raised in the Western/American society. There is more freedom. For instance, if you were to move to Dubai today, females are considered a property to their husband. There are certain clothes you are not allowed to wear. In order to get a driver’s license the husband would have to be present. Most of us have it easy and in other parts of the world there are young children fighting for freedom everyday of their lives.
Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis are two brilliant animation films. One is about a horrific Sabra and Shatila massacre that occurred in 1982, whereas the other is about how a young girl copes with the coming of age in a severe country. Both are remarkably portrayed and the usages of intricate animation techniques were breath taking. These films capture major events in our history through the eyes of a single individual, the filmmakers. Waltz with Bashir is Folman’s perspective of the massacre. Persepolis is not an educational film on life under the Shah. Rather, it is Marji’s, a normal girl in a different world. Remembering these life struggles with the filmakers truly allows for a deep, raw, and intimate viewing experience, which we can sincerely appreciate. It was a fantastic way to begin the semester, as the films will be difficult to forget.
Pertinent links on related massacres:
The Holocaust
The Burning Times
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud, 2007, France, 95min)
Persepolis is a French animated film documenting an Iranian woman’s journey through self-discovery amidst a countrywide revolution. Originally an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, who, alongside Vincent Parronaud, directed the film, it explores both the struggles of growing up and the difficulties of deciding where you belong. We begin by following a young Marjane as she and her idealist family face the overthrowing of the hated shah by the people of Iran in the violent revolution of 1979. As Marji grows up, she begins to understand how the new Islamic fundamentalist ruled government has become a repressive tyranny of its own; she is forced to wear a veil and conform to the intolerant rules, and must even live every day with the fear of bombs dropping on her head as the Iran-Iraq war breaks out. Inspired by her uncle Anoosh who was imprisoned for his activism and communistic views, Marjane develops her own political and social opinions. Treacherously refusing to keep silent she is sent to Vienna by her parents, through fear of her arrest for being so outspoken, in order to remain safe and to study for a better, more civilized life. In her new home, she meets people of multiple cultures and with vast views, who are shocked to hear the horrors she’s witnessed in Iran. Though she makes friends, Marjane feels more alone and isolated than ever, as superficial, snobby people who take their freedom for granted surround her. Quickly, her behavior changes and she begins to lose herself through her terrible life choices and ultimately hits rock bottom, only to realize that she drastically needs to find who she is, what she wants, and where she needs to be. As an adult, she returns to Iran, where she settles into a severe depression and has lost any will to live; Marjane attempts to commit suicide, and on the brink of death encounters God and Karl Marx, who convince her to remain true to herself and her beliefs. She returns to university, has fun with friends, marries and eventually also divorces. She realizes the wonderful country she once knew in her childhood was not coming back anytime soon, and once again she leaves for France, only this time, never to return again.
A truly beautifully written and animated film, Persepolis opens your eyes to the hardship that the Iranian people had to endure and continue to this day, to carry on their shoulders. The revolution in Iran is a very heavy subject, yet is powerfully portrayed in the film. Similar to the concept of illusionism that we saw in class and the idea of our emotions being affected through sight, the directors carefully chose scenes that grasp your attention yet equally shock and disturb you, notably all the war scenes (e.g. a hand sticking out of the rubble of a bomb site (see below)). Nevertheless, what mostly makes this movie a “realistic” documentary is that we are being told a story through the memories of our narrator and central character, both as an adult and as a child, which is quite rare and also fully allows us to see her point of view and analyze our thoughts on it. There equally exists the dynamic pairing of spectacle and knowledge, as we are brought to learn about the reality of the Iranian revolution, all while having the chance to admire the remarkable black and white animations, which uniquely look like a shadow puppet show. Evidently, we are only presented one side of the story, or one opinion, which could bring us to question the directors’ desire to mold and shape our perspective on this reality, but that is beside the point and only further proves that Persepolis does in fact match the realism type of documentaries which we were shown in class. It is a brilliant movie, and a must see for documentary lovers.
Countries at War
“Waltz with Bashir” and “Persepolis” are great examples of films that use animation to depict horrific wars. In both films, we learn a great deal about war and the toll it takes on many soldiers and families.
“Waltz with Bashir” painfully demonstrates how today’s glorious victories can become nightmares that haunt individuals and nations for decades. For example, Ari Folman who doesn’t remember the Sabra and Shatila massacre tries to retrace his footsteps with a series of interviews. This process was very terrifying at times for Ari. For instance, the moment of discovery haunted him sometimes during his dreams. This leads us to memory which is the central theme that is focused in this documentary film.“Waltz with Bashir” reveals to our world why atrocities are committed in the first place. It teaches us how can “normal” human beings can be induced to commit terrible acts (or to allow them to happen, as in the case of the Israeli soldiers who stood by while their Christian allies in Lebanon did the "dirty work") despite being "nice people" in their otherwise-routine lives. Ari Folman presents a very personal story and the message of his story relates to how, as a society, we forget about devastating massacres and continue on with our daily lives. It questions us to think, how one can forget about a war that huge. All the dead bodies and screams usually would be engraved in a soldier for the rest of their lives.
Sabra and Shatila Survivors Remembering the Massacre (article)
On the other hand, Persepolis shows us the difficulties and how hard it can be for a teenager to live in Iran, a country with very strict laws and regulations. The animated film illustrates the history of Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the manner it affected the citizens of Iran. For instance, her parents had to send her out of Iran for her well-being being because she did not follow the rules and her parents were worried she would be executed. Once she returns, we learn that Marjane and Iran can never coexist because she has changed during her time in Europe.
Persepolis teach us that governments often abuse their power and oppress their own people. Therefore, the people must rise up against their corrupt leaders and governments to bring them down, in order to establish honest and good ones and attain equal rights and freedom. This film gives us a better understanding of how a “different” girl experiences fear, loss, prejudice and depression. The significance of adapting to different cultures is very important in this movie. It is very hard to adapt to certain cultures, especially, if you are raised in the Western/American society. There is more freedom. For instance, if you were to move to Dubai today, females are considered a property to their husband. There are certain clothes you are not allowed to wear. In order to get a driver’s license the husband would have to be present. Most of us have it easy and in other parts of the world there are young children fighting for freedom everyday of their lives.
Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis are two brilliant animation films. One is about a horrific Sabra and Shatila massacre that occurred in 1982, whereas the other is about how a young girl copes with the coming of age in a severe country. Both are remarkably portrayed and the usages of intricate animation techniques were breath taking. These films capture major events in our history through the eyes of a single individual, the filmmakers. Waltz with Bashir is Folman’s perspective of the massacre. Persepolis is not an educational film on life under the Shah. Rather, it is Marji’s, a normal girl in a different world. Remembering these life struggles with the filmakers truly allows for a deep, raw, and intimate viewing experience, which we can sincerely appreciate. It was a fantastic way to begin the semester, as the films will be difficult to forget.
You guys did a really good job! I loved how you guys incorporated clips throughout the blog. I am a visual person, and therefore it helped me understand the film and Ari Folman a little more. The reason as to why he used animation made sense. I love this movie because i can relate to it a lot. I have been to Israel many times before, and i have had family members in the army. I know what is going on there and it was really interesting to see how this movie unfolded. One of my friends used to live here in Montreal, she left here to go to enlist in the army. That was a pretty brave move on her part because of all the dangers that are going on there. She would have loved to see this movie before going i believe. I recommended it to a bunch of my family members i think they would enjoy it. The concept of people blocking things from their memory because they do not want to remember it is not a foreign concept to me. This movie is great and you guys did a good job at covering the notes, and summarizing the film and everything else. It was really interesting to see your opinions about the documentary. I also loved the trailer of Persepolis because i didn't see the movie, but i already know so much about it. I really want to see the movie so that i can learn more about it. The pictures were making me really feel bad for these people, they went through so much, and we take so much for granted in the world today. It shows us to be thankful of what we have. Good job again guys!!
ReplyDeleteLital Sarraf
This was an amazing read. The connections between the topics we discussed in class and “Waltz with Bashir” was very interesting, especially about how reality can be shifted and not always completely accurate. The pictures of the real footage from the war are so powerful, impacting and I’m happy that was added to this blog. Besides the documentary “Ryan”, this documentary is the only one I have seen that is an animation. I love that with animation the options are unlimited which made this documentary so powerful. The documentary “Persepolis” seems to be a very interesting movie about an adolescent girl that tries to cope in a severe country. I would definitely be interesting in watching it especially because it is easy to relate to the story of a woman for a change of movie. This was an amazing documentary and a well written blog.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Vavaroutsos
An excellent entry. You present the films very convincingly and you apply the concepts we saw in class very well. Your personal response shows a strong involvement with the message of the films and you make draw good parallels between the two.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
I think you did a very nice work for this blog entry. Your summary about the documentary "Persepolis" is well detailed because we have a big idea of what the film is about and we have not seen it yet. I find the subject of memories really interesting because they are unique for everybody, nobody remembered an event in the same way of another person. Also, memories is the last thing we remebered of something and sometimes, like you said before in your entry, they do not show the reality as it was. A good exemple for this is, in the Ari Folman's documentary "Waltz with Bashir", when the man was shoothing to the ennemies in the middle of the street. The way that the persons remembered this moment is that the man was dancing while he was shooting. But in reality, this moment is certainly not occured in this way. Finally, I found that the real images at the end of "Waltz with Bashir" play the role of sensibilisation because they show that it was not just a story, it happened for real and real people suffered in these massacre. They make us realise about ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJean-Dominique Gagné
I felt this group successfully tackled the issues presented in both films Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir. I felt that the article did a thorough job gathering the ideas of violence, war and social corruption. I really enjoyed reading the section "Countries at War" because I felt that it depicted exactly what emotions and thoughts I shared when I watched the documentary. From this, I understood the struggles of a society under oppressive powers is always the root of violence and suffering. Another thing I liked was the extra "did you know" fact about the Academy Awards. Anyways, I really liked this article so keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteTo start off, I think you guys did an amazing job! It was especially interesting for me to read about the section on Persepolis because not only have I seen the movie myself, but I am also originally Iranian. Although I moved away from Iran when I was very young, all of the difficulties Marjane faced (which you guys expertly summarized) are very real and very common for many immigrants. I think this is where the realism aspect of the movie is right on, because it does truly reflect the current reality of many people. A part from that, the historical information the movie provides is also accurate, even though we are only presented one point of view. I also liked how you guys mentioned that when Marjane returned to Iran, she couldn't quite cope with their culture either, which made her unable to live there. This is understandable because once you leave a country, even though that is where you originate from, you don't exactly belong there anymore and wherever else you go, you will always be considered a foreigner. Finally, the section on Waltz with Bashir was also very complete and clearly demonstrated how realism was portrayed throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteParinaz Shafiei :)
Really good job on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it. Waltz with Bashir brought back many memories from when I was younger of the stories my grandfrather told me of how him and my grandmother arrived in Canada. When they escaped from Hungary during the war, they were thrown into a concentration camp and when they tried to escape, they stripped my grandfather down to his underwear and tied him to a pole in late fall during a storm. My grandmother managed to escape again and helped him get free. My grandfather ended up with pneumonia but they still made it to Canada penniless with the clothes on their back.
ReplyDeleteWar is fought when two opposing sides are ready to battle in order to obtain what they desire. At the end there is always a victor, and a side left with no hope. This entry, detailing two horrific wars, shares a different reality. In Waltz With Bashir, the soldier telling his story belonged to the winning side, but as his country rejoiced in their victory, he could not block the guilt from his mind. He was tormented with misshapen memories and the evil he himself committed. In war there are no winners because everybody losses something. Some lose their homes and their land, others their families and friends, the most unlucky will lose themselves. The blog team that submitted this entry did a great job of displaying the struggles that ensue once the dust has settled on a terrible battleground. The people affected by war will always have scars to remind them of what happened, no matter which side they belonged to. This entry allowed us to see both sides.
ReplyDelete- Victoria Baylis
I found that the use of animation in Waltz With Bashir was a good way to help keep my attention during the movie. I have a hard time watching movies where there are just interviews with people because I get bored of them very quickly. Also, I don’t think that depicting the scenes from the war as real people re-enacting them would have been any more effective than the animation that was used for these scenes because we are all so desensitised to that kind of violence. We see that all the time in fiction movies, it loses meaning and it still wouldn’t have seemed real. I thought that switching from animation to real images right at the end was a brilliant way to enforce the fact that this actually happened to actual people because it was much more shocking. In a movie about a massacre we expect to see violence, so when all that violence has been in animation for almost an entire movie and then we see real people in pain it’s unexpected, so we’re unprepared and it has a greater impact.
ReplyDelete- Katie Polley
Firstly, I like the analogy of the soldier that used to see the war only as a movie until he sees the horses' massacre and the end of the movie "Waltz with Bashir". Few people noticed that at the begining and I think that it was a suptile yet very smart technic used by the producer. Also, both movies are often representing violent parts in a funny way. In my point of view, it proves the idea that reality is bendable, that when a person is confronted with traumatizing events, he can change his perception of reality to protect himself.
ReplyDeleteEtienne Vallière
Enjoyed reading your blog.The fact that the whole story is true gives to the documentary a completely different aspect. I wasnt expecting to see real footage of the massacre at the end and was a little shocked because I realized that everything that was being told wasn't just a movie but that it was completely true and happened few years ago. I think that we each have a different perception of reality and it can change depending the situation we are facing at that moment. Iliked that every character had their own story and their own perception of reality.
ReplyDeleteGustavo Alvites