You Tube Clip on the Film Water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RewNn2r2P3g

(2min long)

A Trip to the Library

          I am having difficulties logging into EBSCO, primarily because it won’t validate my library card’s ID number. The library trip was very useful because I was able to have a better understanding of the data base. I can take advantage of my library card and use it to log into the library’s website or get into EBSCO. The library for me will be a huge back up plan when I’m in need of a book and etc.

I was able to obtain a link at the library that allows me to view the form and content of the film. This website was http://catalog.nypl.org/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb17100859%7CSthe+film+water+by+deepa%7CP0%2C3%7COrightresult%7CX1?lang=eng&suite=pearl. It allowed me to have a general perspective of the film. I learned that in Wikipedia there are lists of resources that can be used to your advantage. It might be an irrelevant site that isn’t useful but there can also be an important article or an interview. I also learned how to centralize the topic in my essay. 

Summary Review of the Film Water

                                                                                                                                             Ysamar Pena

                                                                                                                                       August 7^th , 2011

                                   

Summary Review on the Movie “Water”

            The film Water by Deepa Mehta is based on the lifestyle of widows and there are multiple protagonists. Many are shunned by society and their family after becoming a widow. They are also viewed with pity. It portrays the role of females and their commitment to culture.  

            It is a Bollywood production, I chose Bollywood links. The reviews agreed that the film was full of hope and tragedies. The review doesn’t emphasize the role f women, but the film does. The film also captivates the essence of culture.

            An eight year old, Chuyia was obligated to marry an older man by her father. Her father then relinquished her into a house of widows after her husband’s death. The antagonist is the widow in charge Madhumati, had a prostitution market with a pimp. Only one widow, Shakuntala was allowed to maintain her long hair because of her beauty she was obligated to become a prostitute by the widow in charge of the temple. She prostituted her because she needed the money to pay off the temple’s expenses and for her own benefits’. The beautiful widow Shankuntala fell in love but she committed suicide after finding out her lover was the son of the pimp who has an organization with Madhumati.  After the tragic death of the beautiful widow there was no one left to help Mudhumati obtain money. She then decides to use the eight year old for prostitution. One of the widows found out Mudhumati prostituted Chuyia and released her to the beautiful widow’s lover. He took Chuyia to a voyage on a railroad with Gandhi. This actually built hope for a better life for Chuyia. He was a well educated young man who admired and followed Gandhi’s influences.

            The commitment of these Hindu widows is shocking. They are basically thrown in an abandoned temple and are restricted from doing a lot of things. For example they weren’t able to consume any luxuries, like candy. They were put on the streets of India to ask for money because they didn’t have someone to financially support them and they didn’t have any stability. This film was produced with the scenery and culture of the 1930s.

            Throughout the film there was question that revealed Chuyia’s innocence. Her question also captivated one of the reviewers. She asked “what happens to men after their wife dies?” Men are able to remarry but for a female that is forbidden. At the temple the widows are told that they will go to hell if they remarry.  This also reveals the role of women and their inequalities.

            This film was an explicit production according to the reviewers. It does captivate a lot of the essence of a women’s lifestyle. Women are being limited to things unlike men. A lot of the traditions influence women. The life of Chuyia portrayed young marriage which had not only been a Hindu tradition but has also been in many other cultures. This also has occurred in America and the Dominican Republic. Females weren’t able to govern their own life; their parents did that for them. The male parent used to have the “louder” voice in a relationship; they were allowed to choose their children’s destiny. Through the years progressions females are now able to be identified as equal to men. Now we can have a profession rather than being a house wives and now we can decide what we want our futures to be like. A variety of cultures has made a remarkable impact in everyone’s life.

Response of " The Kitchen of Meaning"

While reading "The kitchen of Meaning" my first understanding was that not everything that is around us are just simply there, it can also be a sign. I agreed with Roland Barthes’s statement "…this car tells me the social status of its owner...this aperitif reveals my host's lifestyle." An object can be a sign of someone's status, personality and lifestyle. These signs evolve around us, it can be very difficult to understand or notice. I believe that not only objects can be signs but also words and everything that is in our capacity. We would have to “think outside the box” and stop being close minded. Instead of viewing things superficially we need to view its meaning or its symbolic motto.

2 Reviews of my Research Paper Topic

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240200/

http://www.bollywoodmantra.com/movie-review/water/

My Response to "The Machine is Using Us" - Professor Michael Wesch

Over the years the web has been upgrading and we have become reliant and attached to its advantages. In a digital text you can have an auto corrector, copy, paste, move, and so on. It has been facilitating our virtual world and now we are evolving around the media and technology. We mainly use the web for entertainment, and to view information. Professor Michael Wesch is trying to show us that instead of the media being used for entertainment it should be used for creating. I perceived that concept when he was introducing us to Html and Xml.

A Research Topic

The topic I plan to choose is  the movie Water directed by Deepa Menta. I chose this movie because it revealed the role of females and their culture in India. I was interested in the way widows were affected after their husbands’ death. 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240200/