Galatea of the Spheres (1952)

Salvador Dali

This painting is the perfect example of how Salvador Dali mimicked the aesthetical structure of DNA. In this painting, he parodied the molecular structure of human beings.

The Burning Giraffe (1937)

Salvador Dali warned the effects and possibilities of war. He believed the only way humanity could be saved through psychoanalysis.

I found the video fairly odd and comedic. The use of separate shots That have no real relevance are oddly intriguing and make the viewer make links between the shots. Each shot seemed to get weirder and stranger and there was a sense of really not knowing what to expect. The scene that i will remember would be the man in the cereal bath as this caught me completely of guard. I would have to give the video a */10 for the element of surprise.

The documentary looks and feels raw and natural and uses a visual style to capture a sense of realis and verisimilitude. This is done by the use of cinematography like the shaky shots from the handheld camera used. the use of mise en scene is also used to show a realistic environment. Eg. the state prosecutors office is Messy and under developed. for example there are a big stack of papers by the wall and her office does not have air conditioning which would explain the fan on the side of the table.

Social context: Sisters in law is set in Kumba Cameroon. At the time the documentary was filmed Kumba was a town in poverty and had some controversial views on how women and children were treated. For example when married women were seen as the husbands property and not a separate human. also women and children were beaten after doing something wrong and this was seen as ok at the time. The fact that both the judge and the prosecutor are women would give hope to the population of Cameroon and the rest of the world as the views of how women and children are treated are starting to change

Sisters in law was produced by Florence Ayisi and Kim Longinotto and was funded by the organization Women made movies which is a charity that promotes film made by or featuring women The inspiration for the film came from Kumba Town in West Cameroon, where Ayisi grew up. Initially, the directors planned to focus on the local police force but shifted their attention to the judicial system, highlighting the work of two women, Vera Ngassa and Beatrice Ntuba

1. Sisters in law would be classified as an observational documentary. this would be due to the lack of personal interviews and input from the directors of the documentary. instead giving the interview first hand original footage from cases such as the court trials we see.

I think the directors chose this documentary style as it give the audience the first hand footage from the trials. the fact that the footage is authentic having not been messed with in post production give the audience a real sense of verisimilitude and truthfulness

2. Cinema verite would be defined as shooting footage with fairly simple equipment and using hardly any effects in post other then simple cuts of footage. This is mostly used in observational documentaries to increase the verisimilitude of the story being shown. An example of cinema verite in the film would be found in the court case with Manka. due to the fact there is no script people are shouting over each other and the camera does a lot of whip pans increasing the versimilitude.

3. would sisters in law have a different narrative if the directors were men?

In my opinion the narrative of the film would not change if the directors were men. This is because they still highlight the problems of Cameroonian beliefs and how women and children are treated there. The gender of the director does not change the narrative that He or she is trying to present and the awareness they are trying to show other people worldwide.

If truths are important to documentary filmmaking which truths are revealed in sisters in law?

sisters in law reveals the truth behind Cameroonian culture in which men believe that when they are married to a woman the woman then become the mans property. the documentary also reveals how children are treated by there parents and others in which they are beaten and abused if they misbehave.

I would give the film a 6/10.

i liked the verisimilitude in the documentary and it was very insightful into how the justice system works in Cameroon. it shows how shocking some people are and how the fact that even though the judges are women they are strong and powerful.

however i would not rate this film higher as i felt like due to the severity of the film it would be one that it would be one that i watch once and once only. i would have rated higher had thee been maybe a narrator or a scene that gives us some insight into what is happening at first. the documentary also feels fairly clunky and it feels like it is split into parts

My most memorable moment was when the child was explaining what had happened to her as it shows the severity of some of the situation the sisters were dealing with.

Stylistic approaches

infotainment : Entertaining the audience with the use of facts

mode of address: Direct address is when the subject is looking straight down the camera lens whereas indirect is when the subject is not looking down the lens

Mood : Informal address is when the use of language is used in an informal way whereas formal address is when formal langue is used

investigative journalism:

mockumentary : A made up plot in documentary style

polemic approach: carefully selected shots to give a very specific point of view

exposition: Background information the audience need to know for the plot to make sense

film making techniques

The mockumentary Borat creates a twisted and distorted view of Kazakhstan. due to the fact the sense of verisimilitude is present it can create mixed emotion in the audience.

Representing facts

Mediation: The process by which an agent, structure, or other formal element transfers something from one place to another.

Distortion: Any alteration in the shape or proportions of the normal image at any stage of the photographic process

Hyperreality: the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality

verisimilitude: the believability of a plot.

Bias: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly.

Objectivity:

Selection Editing