Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth is a 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short subject directed by Hugh Harman, about a post-apocalyptic world populated by animals. (description by youtube user 9MDV9 on 16 January 2007)

My comment:

This is what will happen if people continue to fight each other... Use of fear for the future to prevent current conflicts

Конфликт Conflict Soviet Animation

(by Garri Bardin, 1983)

My comments:

See how Bardin uses abstraction and metaphors to emphasize the act of conflict and not the specific histories.

shark tale

Shark Tale is a 2004 CGI comedy produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish (voiced by Will Smith) falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favor with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing. The movie additionally features the voices of Jack Black, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, and Robert De Niro. Its original title was Sharkslayer, but the producers thought that this might provoke a degree of misunderstanding among the target audience of the film, children and families. Shark Tale is also one of the first three feature-length films to be made into a Game Boy Advance Video. It was released into theaters on October 1, 2004. Although the film was a commercial success it was a critical flop, especially when compared to the critically acclaimed Finding Nemo, a film with a similar theme, which also completely outshone Shark Tale commercially.(from wikipedia)



My comments: A conflict transformation story between sharks and smaller fishes. The link between the two is Lennie, a shark that does not fulfill the shark stereotype, since he is vegetarian. Even though I personally enjoyed the animation, it is said to be a disaster, since it was released soon after Nemo, and was compared with it. Strong racial stereotypes. (italian mafia, typical african american representation. Nevertheless, I don't get the impression that it is meant in a negative way. So, when are stereotypes negative and when are they positive? Can stereotypes be positive at all? Can they be regarded as part of a culture? I suppose this is something the people affected by them (=stereotypes) can answer. Immediate answer: Stereotypes that create hierarchical structures of high and low cultures and better / worse people are always negative. So? Then why is there grating in universities? Why should there be hierarchies at all in any part of life? - Preferably there shouldn't be. Then how about hierarchies of values? Maybe the world should function within ethical prescription. But ethical prescriptions created by whom?

Welcome to Sarajevo

Welcome to Sarajevo is a British war film from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.

Synopsis

In 1992, ITN reporter Michael Henderson (Stephen Dillane) travels to Sarajevo, the besieged capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina or, in the words of a UN soldier, "the 14th worst place on earth". He meets American star journalist Jimmy Flynn (Woody Harrelson) on the chase for the most exciting stories and pictures. Their work permits them blunt and unobstructed views of the suffering of the people of Sarajevo. The situation changes when Henderson makes a report from an orphanage in which two hundred children live in desperate conditions.
With the help of American aid worker Nina (Marisa Tomei), Henderson tries to get the children into a shelter. At first, the getaway is threatened with failure when the bus with the children is stopped by Serbian militiamen and all the Muslim children are taken away. However, in the end, Henderson manages to smuggle the Bosniak girl, Emira (Emira Nušević), out of the country and adopts her.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven is a British/Irish television film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a script by Guy Hibbert. The first part reconstructs the killing of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little in 1975, and the second part depicts a fictional meeting between Little and Jim's brother Joe 33 years later.
The film won two awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 5 April 2009, and will have an international theatrical release.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )



watch it here:
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/travel_and_culture/watch/v182430303XKHCXys

or

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XODM0MDY0MjQ=.html

The boxer

The Boxer is a 1997 film by Irish director Jim Sheridan. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson, the film centers on the life of a boxer and former Provisional IRA Volunteer, Danny Flynn, played by Day-Lewis, who has just been released from prison. He attempts to "go straight", starting a boxing club for young people in his neighborhood and trying to reconnect with an old flame, played by Watson, but his past always seems to be catching up with him.