photoshop

The Celluloid Closet

Watching the Celluloid Closet was very interesting to me, from the examples of films, to the standards in old movies about homosexuals. I have seen Ben Hur, Maltese Falcon, and Rebel WIthout a Cause and not once did I notice the "so-called" gay characters. This might be because the film makers had to desguise the characters to only make them seem gay not make them actually gay in the film, I found it unbelievable that the film commission actually screened film to make sure there was no homosexuality in it. I had no idea that this was done and it was sad to watch these actors and actresses explain how they used to watch films looking for a hint of homosexuality to help comfort them and make them feel "normal". Thinking about this subject made me realize how little films actually show homosexual relationships, even in this day and age the majority of people don't accept gays, and this shows through in the movies. I remember when Brokeback Mountain came out people where very uncomfortable with this film, including myself, and I have no idea why? I saw the film and thought it was really good, and it was a great story, maybe this film was a turning point for gays in films actually being huge Hollywood hits, because that movie was very big. Hollywood is a place where ideas thrive on what the majority wants, and the majority of people find it awkward having homosexuals in films, even I did until I saw Brokeback Mountain. But why? Why are people so turned away by homosexuals in films? I think because its rare, and its not done enough to help people realize its just another way of life and not some horrible sin. Many people need to open there eyes and accept these people for who they are and not what there sexuality is.

Courting Condi

I went to see Courting Condi on opening night of the Durango film festival , with classmates Andrew and Ansley. We all had mixed feelings about how the film was presented but overall it was a decent film. Courting Condi ended up to be a film that was very different than what I had initially expected, it turned into more of a documentary on Condileeza Rice rather than the comedy/love story I thought it to be. Using the side love story along with the funny songs written by the lover of Condi, was a great way to spice up the story and add a little interest to this topic. This interested me because this approach to a film was one that I have never seen before and I think it worked very well with this story. Although, it was not a film that interested me with its content very well, but its prestentation did. I thought that Courting Condi was too lengthy and to easy to lose track of because of how long it was strung out. The musical parts could have been shortened and cut down, so they were still funny, and the love story could have been either portrayed to be real or not portrayed at all. The love story was a littler cheesy, and I couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be cheesy or not? Basically, it was very funny to start and as it got into the more documentary part I felt as if it should have cut down on the love story cause it made me lose interest, and it was almost distracting to the real documentary. In the end I didn't enjoy Courting Condi as much as I enjoyed the intro short film named Making the Man. This short film was hilarious! It was very creative and kept me very interested and entertained. This film consisted of an interview with a man, that was very awkward and funny. Then in the end they edited it to make him seem very confident and perfect. Then showed the film as like a dating service thing, it was really funny and probably the best short film I have ever seen. Making the Man was an awesome short and it even made my night, and i'm glad I was able to see it because I was a little disappointed by Courting Condi.