Shall we dance

Shall We Dance is a 1996 movie made in Japan, about a middle aged man who lives a boring life filled with insignificance, finally meeting something that interests him, which is ballroom dancing. On his way home from work, the main character Shohei Sugiyama spots a beautiful woman, Tamako Tamura who he is instantly attracted to. He then decides a couple days later to go and enter the building where the dancing lessons were taking place. This action he had to do in secret because being noticed by others entering into a dance hall was seen as something embarassing for a man. Anyways he keeps going and taking dance lessons, and he recovers from his depression and finds a life of fulfillment. He was also attracted to his younger dancing instructor, who he later becomes dance partners with. Through dancing we see that the main character Shohei becomes a happier person, with less stress in his life, and more enjoyment. Culturally we see that the Japanese are less emotional the Americans, and tend to feel more embarrassed when it comes to close body dancing. Another difference is the language barrier, but besides that there really isn't much of a difference.
The movie was kinda slow, but i really liked the character of Mr. Aoiki who was pretty funny

Please Vote For Me

The movie Please Vote For Me is a documentary by Chinese director Weijun Chen in the year 2007. The film documents the experiment of democracy in a Chinese classroom. Being that China is a communist country, the kids involved along with their parents, haven't actually had the experience of being democratic, so they each go about gaining support in their own different manners. The film follows the election of a classroom monitor in the third grade class at Evergreen Primary school in China. The movie itself is thought provoking, and very funny. Being able to see the reactions of the kids during the electoral process, and following the electoral process was pretty funny. There were three candidates, two boys and one female. The candidates were Cheng Cheng, a boy who wanted to be classroom monitor for the sake of just having the experience, Xu Xaiofei, the lone female of the group, who fought hard and seemed to me like the best cadidate of the three, and lastly Luo Lei, the former classroom monitor known many times for beating other students and having strict rules. In the end Luo wins the election, not really because he had a nice agenda, but mostly because he bribed the students at the end of the elections. Overall we see the benefits of democracy through the film, being that everyone's voice was heard, but we also we the failures of democracy, being that people could still be influenced by bribes. Cultural differences between this movie and my life are immense. I We don't have elections for classroom monitors, and I don't speak Chinese. However we do have elections for class counsil, and other different school organizations.

The Betrayal

The documentary The Betrayal is a documentary about the life of a boy named Thavisouk Phrasavath and his family struggle. The movie takes place over a span of twenty years, and we see the drastic changes the family goes through, and the heartache moving from Laos to New York takes has on the family. The film documents their trip from Laos to New York. Thavi's father fought along side U.S. forces when the U.S. had bases in Laos when they were fighting in eastern Europe. However when the U.S. forces left Laos, Thavi's dad and his whole family were seen as threats and traitors, and thus they had to find a way to leave their homeland, and in so doing came to the U.S. because they felt they'll be well received. But when they came to the U.S. they had to leave two of their children still in Laos, and when coming to the U.S Thavi started getting into trouble and became affiliate with Asian gangs. Then their father calls them and visits them for a week, and then reveals that he can't stay because he had married another woman, and had other children. This revelation then tears Thavi apart. In the end, I see alot of different cultural differences between me and Thavi, being that he is Hmong, he does many things connected to the Hmong culture that I don't know of. However we both grew up in a urban setting, and were both immigrants to the United States, with traditional families.

Gran Turino

The movie Gran Turino was a fantastic movie. The movie was about a former war veteran who gets to know more about his neighbors and their culture. Clint Eastwood plays the role of Walt, the next door neighbor to a hmong family. Walt as a strained relationship with his family and two sons, and is alone after the death of his wife. He then becomes friends, with his neighbors, after Thoa, his neighbor tries and steals his Gran Turino. After the unsuccessful attempt by Thao, along with Walt helping save Thoa's sister from the hands of a couple punks, the Asian family and Walt become friends, even through their cultural differences, and all that comes with that. Walt helps Thoa get a job, and gives him his tools, along with his Gran Turino. So because Thoa didn't finish his initiation which was to steal the Gran Turino, the Hmong gang then decided to rape his sister, and to all around mess with him. This then causes havoc throughout the whole neighborhood, because they shoot up Thao's house, and as a result Walt goes to the gangsters house and gets shot while pulling out a lighter.

Overall we see the cultural aspects of the Hmong. They believe the soul resides on the head, and they eat different things from someone like me, who is African. The Hmong also have a family shamen.

Like Stars on Earth

Like Stars on Earth is an inspirational movie about a dyslexic 9 year old boy, and the trouble he has in school and in general. We are shown his journey from insignificance into significance. The movie essentially tells us that everyone is special in their own kind of way, and that we should respect everyone we meant and see, even if they have disabilities or are different. Ishaan, the main character of the movie, causes alot of trouble at school, and even at home, because he can't read, and thus can't really participate in the day to day things other kids his age participate in. So because of his dyslexia and the troubles that cause him, he sent to a boarding school. His parents essentially had no choice. They tried and did everything they could do in their power to try and educate him to be as normal as other children. Ishaan's older brother was more successful in school, and it astonished them that Ishaan wasn't. They thought that Ishaan was lazy and stupid, but when a substitute art teacher came to the bording school Ishaan was in, his fortunes changed. The new teacher Ram, had experienced in helping and taking care of kids who had disabilities, so Ishaans case wasn't new to him. Ram then helped Ishaan improve in school, and gained the attention of his parents by telling them about Ishaan's disabilities.
I can't say that I can really relate to the movie, but I must say that just like Ishaan, I've faced difficulties in school, and with the help of different teachers, i was able to success. Overall I must say that I have been fortunate in terms of my education, and I'm not as artistic as Ishaan. I really like the movie, and I thought it was very inspirational.

Chak De India

The movie Chak De India was a magnificent movie. I loved it! The word Chak De India itself means Go! And when they say Chak De India, they mean Go India. The movie was like many sports movies, with a coach coming in to revive a team that is seen as weak or down trodden. The movie itself brings us into the lives of numerous Indian women hockey players, along with their problems. The girls themselves are the best field hockey players in the whole of India, and they are brought to play for Kabir Khan, the ousted and shameful captain of the former mens India hockey team. Khan was the former captain of the mens Indian hockey team and was one of the greatest players in the history of India, but because he missed the penalty, and shook hands with a Pakistan player in an act of good sportmanship, he was seen as a traitor. Khan went into hiding for seven years, but came back to redeem is image and restore his name to the Indian people. He came back with the attitude of changing the Indian players minds. He wanted to instill in them the attitude of sportmanship and team work. Stating that talent was everything but that teamwork was the most important. He had a difficult challenge, being that the women weren't very good, and they're were from all over the country. The movie shows us that India is a very diverse country. One in which people are of different skin colors and backgrounds. Cultural differences include that they played field hockey, a sort of sport that I've never before seen. The movie was very inspirational, the girls started off the world championship with a lost to Australia, and they were seen as underdogs, but the rose up and in the end defeated Australia, the former world champions. Overall I really liked the movie.