North Country

North Country is the name of Academy Award-nominated film directed by Niki Caro and released in 2005. This film is a dramatic story starring Charlize Theron, Josey Aimes, as a female worker at a mining company. The film is based on the case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. brought by Lois Jenson, although Theron’s name in the movie is Josey Aimes. Many of the other characters in the movie are consolidations of several real-life characters
What Josey Aimes wants is a decent job so she can put food on the table and take care of her kids after she leaves her abusive husband. Instead she gets threatened, insulted, belittled, attacked and called dirty names. Ultimately, Josey ends up getting sexually harassed. Josey’s boss tells her to “take it like a man” but instead she takes it like a human being. In the end this all leads to a class-action lawsuit against her employer for failing to protect her and other female employees. North Country is a story of a woman who broke the gender barrier laboring in hazardous Minnesota iron mines. She also breaks legal ground with the nation’s first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit.
This film is an emotionally charged look into the life of a woman who is just trying to provide the best life she can for her children but in turn receives harsh treatment. North Country leaves the viewer continually wanting to see more into Josey Aimes’ life. Caro does an excellent job of telling the real-life story of Lois Jenson. North Country tells an emotionally potent story told with great dignity. This film gets an A+ rating for its ability to tell such a gripping story while keeping the audience’s attention.

Crash

The film, Crash, is an Academy Award-winning drama directed by Paul Haggis and stars several well-known actors. The film attempts to explore racism and social tensions in Los Angeles. The film depicts several characters living in Los Angeles during a 36-hour period. Each of the characters lives are intertwined through events such as car accidents, shootings and carjacking. Most of the characters in the film are racially prejudiced in some way and are forced to examine their own prejudices through conflicts they encounter. It is a dramatic story of a DA and his wife, an African American film director and his wife, a Persian Storeowner, an African American detective, a Mexican locksmith, two African American carjackers, and a Korean couple. The film shows how each of their experiences impacts one another.
The movie begins with the scene of a car crash and flashes back to the characters’ lives on the previous day. Throughout the movie, the characters crash into each other through different situations. Many of the characters are misjudged because of their racial or ethnic background. Because of this, the characters are forced to examine the prejudices they face in everyday life.
One example in the movie of prejudice is when the Persian storeowner, Farhad, is robbed and vandalized because people assume that he is Arab. Earlier it is shown that Farhad purchases a gun to protect his store-the only thing his family has. The storeowner not only receives prejudice but also gives off prejudices to the Mexican locksmith. This is just one example of the several incidences that occurs in the film.
The main theme of this movie is clearly racism. The movie demonstrates that each of us are influenced by the stereotypes we hold. Haggis does an excellent job of creating many twists throughout the movie that keeps the viewer wanting more while maintaining a realistic feel to the film. Crash keeps the viewer’s attention. The viewer gets consumed with the heart-wrenching tales of the characters. Crash is very deserving of its three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005. This film is worthy of an A+ rating for it’s easy to follow yet complex story line of interesting characters that make you want to keep watching.

"Big Dreams-Small Screen"

The documentary “Big Dreams-Small Screen” is an educational look into the history of television. Most people are not aware of who actually invented the television. Philo T. Farnsworth was the man noted for the invention of the television, although most people did not give him credit for this. This documentary explores the life and the struggles Philo T. Farnsworth went through in his effort to create the first television. The documentary goes into how the invention of the television was stolen from Farnsworth from a big name corporation, RCA. RCA, at the time, was a huge corporation that was not willing to accept that a small town nobody had invented the television. RCA was willing to beg, borrow or steal (as the documentary explained) in order to assure their claim to notoriety, which was the invention of the television. In order to make this happen, RCA needed to build a television before Farnsworth did. An RCA official, David Sarnoff and Russian scientist, Vladimir Zworykin raced against time and Farnsworth to build a television. The battle between Farnsworth and RCA would go on for years. Throughout this time, the documentary takes a look into Farnsworth’s personal life with his wife. They go on to interview several people who were closely related to Farnsworth. Eventually, Farnsworth finished and debuted to viewers his creation. Farnsworth didn’t get the recognition and RCA wouldn’t stop in its efforts because they wanted to be acknowledged for producing the television.
Throughout the years and countless long court battles, Farnsworth finally won the rights to the television. During this time, his health had declined over the years. He became involved in alcoholism as an escape from his struggles. RCA never stopped fighting for the power. Farnsworth became the little man endlessly fighting against the big man, RCA. Farnsworth’s victory would be short lived due to a ban that was put on commercial television by the government. His patent would run out and the rights for television production would become public.
This documentary is a good look into a small town nobody who had a vision that could change the world but he was only fourteen years old. Philo T. Farnsworth is a forgotten piece of a history that most people are unaware of. “Big Dreams-Small Screen” is an exceptional look into this piece of history. Throughout the documentary, several people are interviewed and quoted on Farnsworth’s misfortune. Philo T. Farnsworth was robbed of his vision that he had that could change the world. He never was able to reap the benefits of his intelligence. The documentary does a good job in thoroughly explaining the details of the story of little man verse big man. “Big Dreams-Small Screen” opens up your eyes to the same little man verse big man situations that still occur even in today’s society. This documentary was able to give me an insight into a piece of history that I had never been conscious of. Currently, there is a memorial for Farnsworth in his home state of Utah.