Ch'in Dynasty

This link is to an article about the Ch'in (Qin) Dynasty. The Ch'in dynasty was the emperor's dynasty in the movie. The Ch'in established the land mass of what is present day China, and following dynasties used its administrative system to develop their own. Between the third and second century BC, the Ch'in began to centralize power under a central government and slowly began to expand by conquering neighboring territories. "To rule this vast territory, the Ch'in instituted a rigid, authoritarian government; they standardized the writing system, standardized the measurements of length and weight and the width of highways, abolished all feudal privileges, built the Great Wall, and in 213, to halt subversive thought, ordered all books burned, except those on such utilitarian subjects as medicine." The harsh methods and staggering taxes for expansive and drawn out wars lead to rebellion and in 206 BC the dynasty was overthrown by the Han dynasty.




One of the Ch'in Dynasty's lasting legacies to China and the world.

Three Kings: An anti-war movie

This is a link to a critical article describing the intention of the David O. Russell in his production Three Kings. The author of the article, David Edelstein, a film critic for Slate.com, states that Russell had interviewed veterans from the first Gulf War. The veterans states that they were sickened as they encouraged Iraqi insurgents to rise-up against Sadaam Hussein and could not intervene when getting slaughtered by him. Edelstein points out that the torture's purpose is to demonstrate, "for the naive American what the Iraqi says is the war's real aim -- protecting oil reserves -- by pouring a ladle of crude down Barlow's throat." The author moves on to say that Russell is doesn't see much of a difference between the Iraqi soldiers and the American soldiers by showing the Iraqis with American products. The article gives more examples to show that Three Kings is an anti-war film.



This picture is a shot after George Clooney's character saved Troy (Mark Wahlberg) from torture.

Persian Gulf War

The link is to an article from Encyclopedia Britannica. It is an overview of the first Gulf War. Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 with a goal to secure Kuwaiti oil reserves at the same time expanding Iraq. "Iraq's invasion and the potential threat it then posed to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and exporter, prompted the United States and its western European NATO allies to rush troops to Saudi Arabia to deter a possible attack." Before the war started there was a massive buildup of military forces known as Operation Desert Shield. The actual war started on January 16/17 1991 with a massive air attack with the United States leading the way. The air attack became known as Operation Desert Storm destroying most or all of Iraqi defenses followed by an allied ground attack Operation Desert Sabre. The whole war claimed 8000-100000 Iraqi lives, while the allied forces lost only about 300.

Gladiator's Commodus vs. the actual Commodus

The movie Gladiator, for those who have never seen it, is about a very respected general of the Roman Empire who is exiled by the new ruler Commodus. The general is captured and sold as a slave. He finds himself soon fighting in arenas as a gladiator against other men and animals. Eventually he fights Commodus in the arena and kills him.




Commodus was a real emperor of Rome. His full name and title is Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus. He was a very brutal ruler who had many senators killed after an attempt on his life and ordered the execution of his chief advisor to please the army, and the successor was killed in a riot. He started to lose his mind and pretended that he was Hercules entering the Colosseum to fight gladiators and animals. On December 31, 192 AD, his advisors had him strangled by a champion wrestler.

Formalism in Walk the Line

This link to an article in Film Comment is a review on Walk the Line by Chris Norris. The beginning describes the first scene and the theme of a "Great American Bada**".

The movie opens to the faint stomping and cheering a crowd, as the camera slowly moves down a long hallway of empty prison cells. In the next shot a rowdy group of inmates clap their hands awaiting Johnny Cash. The following scene is the back room where Johnny Cash is waiting to go on stage. The warden asks him if he could try not to remind the inmates that they are in prison, and Cash responds, "You think they forgot."

The prison represent the themes of sin, criminals, and possibly fear and Cash's attitude toward the warden represents rebellion because when Cash goes on stage he praises the inmates for having to drink with the nasty looking water of Folsom Prison.

GLADIATOR AND THE MYTHS OF ROME.

This article covers the relation between the fall of the Roman Empire as portrayed in the film Gladiator. Wiseman (the author) claims that although the movie is not historically accurate, it is true to the Roman myths. Maximus is like the Roman heroes of the ancient world that inspired citizens of the empire to be honorable and lead good lives.

Theme in Fight Club

I found an article on one of my favorite movies, Fight Club. The article describes the themes in the film mainly revolving around the idea of freedom that the main character, Edward Norton, is searching for. He is searching for freedom from materialism and that the things he purchases defines him. The main character goes to help groups that he does not really need. For example, he attends a group from men battling testicular cancer. He finds that once he cries and releases his pain he can finally fall asleep. He 'meets' Tyler Durden, who is everything the main character wants to be. The Fight Club starts and this is a symbol that once the character feels physical pain he feels alive. He starts going to work with bruises and bloody clothes. His confidence rises and is arrogant about his appearance. The article is very descriptive and I really want to watch the movie again to pick out all the symbolism.

Kingdom of Heaven

I am seriously considering on writing the final project on Kingdom of Heaven. The film is set during the Crusades in Jerusalem. The main character is a blacksmith named Bailin, played by Orlando Bloom, travels to the Holy Land, and ends up leading the citizens of Jerusalem to defend themselves against Saladdin and his army. Throughout the movie, Bailin finds his father Godfrey a knight who has fought in previous Holy Wars. His father teaches his son what it means to be a knight and a leader. The final battle is very similar to that of the battle for Minis Tirith in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I think this is a great movie, for its genre, history, formalism, and idealogy of the Middle Ages.