Collete’s documentary was about the young boys and men in Sudan whom were sentence to death because they were Christians…to escape death the boys fled on foot to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. The story talks about how the army of men went from 21000 to 11000 after being shot at often, starvation and disease. Once the boys fled from Ethiopia they went to a new camp in Kenya because the United States was in support many of them were able to go to Syracuse New York. Her documentary followed three boys… Daniel, Panther and John who were granted refugee status in America and moved to Syracuse. In the documentary they talk about how although it was hard in the refugee camps and back in Africa they still had a sense of family and now in America they felt lonely and appreciated what they had even though life in America was better in most aspects. While in America the three young men were exposed to many different traditions. Forcing them to leave the ones they were used to at home (melting pot). It seems that Collete even took a moment to think about and analysis some of our American customs (As did I). She stated the story as well as the main theme of the film clearly! The film somewhat gives us (Americans) a new look at what we may look like to others. Although the story seems depressing in one aspect the movie seems uplifting in another. The pace was perfect as well as your volume and tone..you provided inflection in every respectable place. You also seemed very informed and prepared to be prepared for your review. You seemed confident and aware of what you were going to say and do in the review of the documentary. You presented the documentary with background information about the situation as well as information that happened in the movie. This made it easier to understand as well as more appealing to listen to! Confidence was clearly evident during the video…you knew what you were talking about and there was no question. Two important facts that were argued included America and the fact that some of the things we do are ridiculous and unnecessary with no reasoning behind it..for example Christmas and santa clause; if Santa is not in the bible and really does not have anything to do with Jesus and his birthday why do we include him in our holiday traditions? She also brings up the issue of race. It is noted that even at one point the men are asked not to travel in groups because it makes the shop keepers in Syracuse nervous. The film makes you think about how blessed you are. These three men are hundreds, of thousands of miles away from their families and are forced to work two to three minimum wage jobs. Yet they are fortunate to accept the givings of America like education. The flim seems like a great watch. I feel as though a lot of people would benefit from watching it (myself included). It may give us something to look at in regards to our own lives like how blessed we are and even how odd we are to other countries and nations; somewhat how we look at them when they have different customs. The political point about America bringing in more refugees is a good and valid one. The presentation was very good and put together… you brought in information from the film as well as outside info for a very nice flow! The music in the beginning and the end was also a positive add!
Colette explained the main theme of the documentary very clearly, beginning her review with a brief explanation of the plot, before providing background information about the Sudan refugees and explaining the documentary’s theme more thoroughly. The background information really helped me to understand the circumstances the people in the documentary faced before Colette discussed their individual stories. Twenty thousand Sudan boys fled to a refugee camp in Ethiopia when faced with death in their home country. Three years later, they were forced to flee again to a refugee camp in Kenya with numbers at only eleven thousand due to disease, starvation and shootings. The United States allowed 3,800 to come to America; God Grew Tired of Us followed three of these boys: John, Panther and Daniel as they immigrated to New York and assimilated into American culture. In America, they had to adjust to different customs while dealing with other trials, such as PTSD, depression and racism. Their quality of life was much better, but they often found themselves lonely and missing the companionship they had in Kenya’s refugee camp. Each had to work two to three minimum wage jobs to repay their airfare and provide for themselves. At the end of the film, all three had either enrolled in, or had completed college and Panther and John had located and sent money to their families.
Colette speaks clearly, annunciating all her words at a moderate pace; it is slow enough to understand, but not too slow as to make a viewer lose interest. I could hear the audio very well; it was neither too soft nor too loud. Colette was very well prepared; she had obviously written out a script and familiarized herself with it before taping her video. She looks as though she is giving a speech, making eye contact with the camera and glancing down at her a script a few times.
Colette seemed very informed and confident. She gave background information prior to her in-depth explanation of the documentary, establishing a foundation of knowledge to build on. The facts and figures provided gave her a very educated air. There was no hesitation in her words, showing that she was confident in her knowledge. She had good posture, sitting straight and not fidgeting, making her seem self-assured. Colette maintained eye contact with the camera throughout the review, further fueling her confident ad well-informed persona.
One important fact that Colette mentioned was that as the refugees traveled from Sudan to Ethiopia, and finally to Kenya, their numbers dropped from twenty thousand to eleven thousand. These numbers shocked me; they really helped to portray just how dire the refugees’ situation was. Later in her review, Colette mentioned that the New York Times called God Grew Tired of Us “a softer, Hollywood version of an earlier documentary [about the Sudan refugees].” She argued that a lighter, “more digestible” version of events was not necessarily a bad thing and that it would reach a wider audience since it was portrayed in this fashion.
God Grew Tired of Us sounds very interesting; its focus on the stories of three individuals makes it seem more interesting than other documentaries that just compile historical facts and pictures. Colette makes it seem educational, but not dull. One of its strengths was its balance of hardships and successes in America. Colette seemed to think that the film showed America as a place where success could be made, but not an idealistic golden land of opportunity. One weakness Colette pointed out was that the film was seen as too light and soft by the New York Times. Nonetheless, she argues that its lightness broadened its audience.
Music and title slides were added to the beginning and end of the review, showing an obvious effort on Colette’s part. Colette filmed the review in front of a book case, with good lighting and steady camera work. She also made an effort to look nice with a stylish top and headband. All in all, Colette prepared a very nice review.
Collette’s review of God Grew Tired of Us was a very good one. I believe she stated that the theme of the film was to show the hardships for the lost boys of Sudan, see the life of a refugee, and how hard it is to assimilate into American culture, but Im not quite sure if I got it all because she didn’t clearly state the theme, it was more so applied. I thought she did a very good job at pacing herself and I could understand her very well. I could hear her just fine but some of the things she talked about I missed the first time I watched it because of the big vocabulary and terms she used right off the back so I had to go back a few times. She seemed very prepared since she knew what she was talking about and looked like she had a script of some kind. Collette seemed very informed on this topic, giving a nice overview of what was going on in Sudan in the beginning and giving us very detailed facts. She seemed very confident in her delivery, barely looking down at what appeared to be a script and almost never looking around or loosing her focus with her eyes, though it seemed that she wouldn’t always look at the camera but other places around the camera. One fact that she talked about that I also found was interesting, was that when the Refugees came to America, they found it harsh and lonely compared to the refugee camp in Kenya. It seemed weird to me that they would think this but really it makes sense since they had no one here but themselves and, just from knowing how Americans act, that Americans can be very harsh to people that are different than them and that it must be very hard to jump right into a world that is completely different that where you are from. An argument that Collette brought up that even though people think that this movie is apparently the lighter version of another movie that shows a harsher side to what the Lost boys went through in Sudan and their journey, that this movie is still good because people don’t always want to go see that sad depressing movie and that even if this movie is very light and has happy parts even when they are in Kenya in a refugee camp that seeing the boys play together and work together is good for a viewer. This film sounds very interesting since I really want to end up going to Africa and I would love to learn more about this topic and even watch this movie. It sounds right up my alley of something I would love. It sounded that its strength was that it balanced showing hardships for the refugees in Africa and in the United States and that its weakness was that for some people, depending on how you view it, that the United States comes too much off as the good guy and that its toned down for the 1st world viewer. I would just like to mention that only Collette would film her review in front of a library book shelf making herself look very distinguished. I also liked the African drum music in the beginning, I basically had an idea that this must have something to do with Africa before it even started and set the mood. Job well done Collette!
Collete’s documentary was about the young boys and men in Sudan whom were sentence to death because they were Christians…to escape death the boys fled on foot to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. The story talks about how the army of men went from 21000 to 11000 after being shot at often, starvation and disease. Once the boys fled from Ethiopia they went to a new camp in Kenya because the United States was in support many of them were able to go to Syracuse New York. Her documentary followed three boys… Daniel, Panther and John who were granted refugee status in America and moved to Syracuse. In the documentary they talk about how although it was hard in the refugee camps and back in Africa they still had a sense of family and now in America they felt lonely and appreciated what they had even though life in America was better in most aspects. While in America the three young men were exposed to many different traditions. Forcing them to leave the ones they were used to at home (melting pot). It seems that Collete even took a moment to think about and analysis some of our American customs (As did I). She stated the story as well as the main theme of the film clearly! The film somewhat gives us (Americans) a new look at what we may look like to others. Although the story seems depressing in one aspect the movie seems uplifting in another. The pace was perfect as well as your volume and tone..you provided inflection in every respectable place. You also seemed very informed and prepared to be prepared for your review. You seemed confident and aware of what you were going to say and do in the review of the documentary. You presented the documentary with background information about the situation as well as information that happened in the movie. This made it easier to understand as well as more appealing to listen to! Confidence was clearly evident during the video…you knew what you were talking about and there was no question. Two important facts that were argued included America and the fact that some of the things we do are ridiculous and unnecessary with no reasoning behind it..for example Christmas and santa clause; if Santa is not in the bible and really does not have anything to do with Jesus and his birthday why do we include him in our holiday traditions? She also brings up the issue of race. It is noted that even at one point the men are asked not to travel in groups because it makes the shop keepers in Syracuse nervous. The film makes you think about how blessed you are. These three men are hundreds, of thousands of miles away from their families and are forced to work two to three minimum wage jobs. Yet they are fortunate to accept the givings of America like education. The flim seems like a great watch. I feel as though a lot of people would benefit from watching it (myself included). It may give us something to look at in regards to our own lives like how blessed we are and even how odd we are to other countries and nations; somewhat how we look at them when they have different customs. The political point about America bringing in more refugees is a good and valid one. The presentation was very good and put together… you brought in information from the film as well as outside info for a very nice flow! The music in the beginning and the end was also a positive add!
ReplyDeleteColette explained the main theme of the documentary very clearly, beginning her review with a brief explanation of the plot, before providing background information about the Sudan refugees and explaining the documentary’s theme more thoroughly. The background information really helped me to understand the circumstances the people in the documentary faced before Colette discussed their individual stories. Twenty thousand Sudan boys fled to a refugee camp in Ethiopia when faced with death in their home country. Three years later, they were forced to flee again to a refugee camp in Kenya with numbers at only eleven thousand due to disease, starvation and shootings. The United States allowed 3,800 to come to America; God Grew Tired of Us followed three of these boys: John, Panther and Daniel as they immigrated to New York and assimilated into American culture. In America, they had to adjust to different customs while dealing with other trials, such as PTSD, depression and racism. Their quality of life was much better, but they often found themselves lonely and missing the companionship they had in Kenya’s refugee camp. Each had to work two to three minimum wage jobs to repay their airfare and provide for themselves. At the end of the film, all three had either enrolled in, or had completed college and Panther and John had located and sent money to their families.
ReplyDeleteColette speaks clearly, annunciating all her words at a moderate pace; it is slow enough to understand, but not too slow as to make a viewer lose interest. I could hear the audio very well; it was neither too soft nor too loud. Colette was very well prepared; she had obviously written out a script and familiarized herself with it before taping her video. She looks as though she is giving a speech, making eye contact with the camera and glancing down at her a script a few times.
Colette seemed very informed and confident. She gave background information prior to her in-depth explanation of the documentary, establishing a foundation of knowledge to build on. The facts and figures provided gave her a very educated air. There was no hesitation in her words, showing that she was confident in her knowledge. She had good posture, sitting straight and not fidgeting, making her seem self-assured. Colette maintained eye contact with the camera throughout the review, further fueling her confident ad well-informed persona.
One important fact that Colette mentioned was that as the refugees traveled from Sudan to Ethiopia, and finally to Kenya, their numbers dropped from twenty thousand to eleven thousand. These numbers shocked me; they really helped to portray just how dire the refugees’ situation was. Later in her review, Colette mentioned that the New York Times called God Grew Tired of Us “a softer, Hollywood version of an earlier documentary [about the Sudan refugees].” She argued that a lighter, “more digestible” version of events was not necessarily a bad thing and that it would reach a wider audience since it was portrayed in this fashion.
God Grew Tired of Us sounds very interesting; its focus on the stories of three individuals makes it seem more interesting than other documentaries that just compile historical facts and pictures. Colette makes it seem educational, but not dull. One of its strengths was its balance of hardships and successes in America. Colette seemed to think that the film showed America as a place where success could be made, but not an idealistic golden land of opportunity. One weakness Colette pointed out was that the film was seen as too light and soft by the New York Times. Nonetheless, she argues that its lightness broadened its audience.
Music and title slides were added to the beginning and end of the review, showing an obvious effort on Colette’s part. Colette filmed the review in front of a book case, with good lighting and steady camera work. She also made an effort to look nice with a stylish top and headband. All in all, Colette prepared a very nice review.
Collette’s review of God Grew Tired of Us was a very good one. I believe she stated that the theme of the film was to show the hardships for the lost boys of Sudan, see the life of a refugee, and how hard it is to assimilate into American culture, but Im not quite sure if I got it all because she didn’t clearly state the theme, it was more so applied. I thought she did a very good job at pacing herself and I could understand her very well. I could hear her just fine but some of the things she talked about I missed the first time I watched it because of the big vocabulary and terms she used right off the back so I had to go back a few times. She seemed very prepared since she knew what she was talking about and looked like she had a script of some kind. Collette seemed very informed on this topic, giving a nice overview of what was going on in Sudan in the beginning and giving us very detailed facts. She seemed very confident in her delivery, barely looking down at what appeared to be a script and almost never looking around or loosing her focus with her eyes, though it seemed that she wouldn’t always look at the camera but other places around the camera. One fact that she talked about that I also found was interesting, was that when the Refugees came to America, they found it harsh and lonely compared to the refugee camp in Kenya. It seemed weird to me that they would think this but really it makes sense since they had no one here but themselves and, just from knowing how Americans act, that Americans can be very harsh to people that are different than them and that it must be very hard to jump right into a world that is completely different that where you are from. An argument that Collette brought up that even though people think that this movie is apparently the lighter version of another movie that shows a harsher side to what the Lost boys went through in Sudan and their journey, that this movie is still good because people don’t always want to go see that sad depressing movie and that even if this movie is very light and has happy parts even when they are in Kenya in a refugee camp that seeing the boys play together and work together is good for a viewer. This film sounds very interesting since I really want to end up going to Africa and I would love to learn more about this topic and even watch this movie. It sounds right up my alley of something I would love. It sounded that its strength was that it balanced showing hardships for the refugees in Africa and in the United States and that its weakness was that for some people, depending on how you view it, that the United States comes too much off as the good guy and that its toned down for the 1st world viewer. I would just like to mention that only Collette would film her review in front of a library book shelf making herself look very distinguished. I also liked the African drum music in the beginning, I basically had an idea that this must have something to do with Africa before it even started and set the mood. Job well done Collette!
ReplyDelete