Journal Article Summary

Journeys in Film has the potential for revolutionizing the way middle school children see the world. By introducing them to different cultures, religions and civilizations through easily accessible media, this project will make it natural for these students to be more accepting of differences throughout their lives. It promises to have a positive effect on students who are likely to confront an increasingly diverse America and an increasingly global world economy. Attitudes toward tolerance once formed at an early age tend to remain fixed. College, even for those who attend it, is often too late to influence deeply seeded attitudes. This program is not propagandistic. It has no specific political agenda in mind. Its goal is simply to open minds at an early age so that students can decide important life issues for themselves based on a fuller perspective and more global information. This is one of the most important educational initiatives I have ever encountered.

Ratings and why most foreign films are NR

Ratings: for those of you who have been reading our blogs you may or may not have picked up on the common theme throughout some of the summaries. This would be that most of the foreign films we have viewed were not rated. First, I will give you a little insight on when, who, and why American films are rated then I will begin to explain the foreign rating policy. It began around 1968 under the direction of the Motion Picture Association of America. A board of parents is part of this committee and they must have parental experience to be a part of this committee. Movies are not required to be rated; however, if the rating is higher the response to the movie will be lower. The ratings are only to help parents decide the appropriate movies for their child to view.

Here are some different kinds of rating systems that have been set up from other countries.

France has a rating system that goes through the minister, prior to playing a film in the theater a license must be obtained through the Ministry of Culture. The different ratings are U which is all audiences, 12, 16, 18 and E for exempt.

India has a policy where central board of film certification must review film before public exhibition. The different ratings are U for everyone, A for over 18 years of age, U/A for children under 12 should be cautioned by parents before watching and S for restricted except for people such as doctors.

Italy rates their movies as well as television. T for all ages, VM14 no one under 14 and VM18 no one under 18.

Spain has ratings; however, because of attitudes toward censorship and they prefer personal preferences, identification is not checked when entering a cinema.

So as I was going through and finding out all of this information about the different rating systems of foreign films, I stumbled upon the United States and a few of their other kinds of ratings.

Not Rated or NR- This is not an official rating. This rating is used for independent films as well as foreign films that are in limited release. Is given label to movies in which have not been submitted to the MPAA for classification.

This is why most of the foreign films that are placed under categories of children's films on Netflix or other sources and still have not been rated, it is simply because they have not surpassed the MPAA for its correct rating. So before showing your child a NR movie you may want to view it first even if the cover looks like a children's film suitable for your child to view, it might not be.

My Father’s Glory (La Gloire de Mon Pere)

Based on the best-selling memoirs of French novelist and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, this humorous and captivating recollection of a young boy's life in turn-of-the-century southern France focuses on his memorable summer holidays. Mystified by nature, Marcel turns to his father for an education on the ways of the wild. But his father comes up short in Marcel's eyes when Uncle Jules, an experienced woodsman, proves to be far more knowledgeable.

I thought that this movie was a great film for kids of about 6 and up years of age. It is a great film for fathers and sons to watch together because it shows the love the father and the son have for each other. It is not like your typical children’s movie. It has some nudity. It shows the children completely naked taking a shower which could be a bit uncomfortable for the American audience who is not used to watching nudity in other typical children’s film. The French language might be a difficult barrier to surpass, but the film comes with English subtitles, and it is not hard to follow even if you do not read the subtitles. This film has many beautiful scenery shots and it shows you a little bit of the French culture back in the beginning of the 20^th century. I believe this movie will teach your children to enjoy the simpler things that life has to offer and it will teach them to appreciate family and the wonderful times you could have with each other. It is a very bright and colorful film that will capture your hearts and it will take you for a ride through the beautiful scenery and simple-lived family.

Kinderculture: Are Disney Movies Good for Kids?

Kinderculture is a book that addresses the many aspects of culture that children are affected by and ultimately end up contributing to in many ways. Chapter 6 discusses the affect of movies, specifically Disney movies on children. The author highlights the fact that Disney had a sort of monopoly on children's movies. They create films and educational videos that attract child and adult audiences alike. Those films generate great amounts of income through products found in stores. Disney is incappable of realeasing just a movie, stuffed animals, soundtracks, action figures, and clothing always follow. The demand for these items are brought on by the children's desires. Even the theme parks will introduce the new characters and rides to satisfy the wide spread population of the newest movies. This population does not just include American youth. Disney relases their movies and products in numerous languages and countries. Besides the impact that the materials have on the youth of the world, the messages within the movies also play a big role. Most of the characters in Disney movies are living in single parent families. Most of these characters are without mothers and are mainly raised by fathers. Characters generally must overcome a giant obstacle giving the story a "rages to ritches" theme in most cases. There are also political messages surrounding the movies that children might not pick up on, but parents can be quick to recognize. With all these messages flooding the imaginations of children, what are children picking up on? What are they learning to value and understand based on these movies? The questions are not completely answered in this book, but ideas are addressed. The ideas put forth by the author include ideas that children may learn false expectations for love and friendship. They might not be able to escape this imaginative world and are forced to grow up not understanding reality. This is in extreme cases, and the author mainly believes that the learning opportunities, and the opportunity for children to stretch their imaginative boundries outweigh the harm the movies might cause. As always parents should monitor their child's viewing and consumer intake in order to protect them.

Kinderculture

By Shirley R. Steinberg, Joe L. Kincheloe

can be found and previewed on Amazon.com

A moms view on forein films

Mothers who think....Foreign films for children
Research By: Ashley Shevel

"Dispelling the notion that foreign films are strange, arty and incomprehensible is the best reason to introduce them to your children."


This is the purpose of this link. This father reviewed and summed up many foreign films in hope of getting more parents to introduce them to their children. She makes some good points both the pros and cons. Even though this information is from 1998 the idea of children and foreign films is about the same. The author Charles Taylor shares his views of foreign film for children.


Foreign films ... for kids?

Dispelling the notion that foreign films are strange, arty and incomprehensible is the best reason to introduce them to your children.

One of her main points is that introducing kids to foreign films does come with some conflicts. In most cases, you not only need kids old enough to read subtitles, but kids convinced that reading subtitles is worth the trouble. We can all agree that part of the film watching experience that has been created by us westerners is the face that we plop on the couch and don't want to think or interact with our TV. In reality there is much interaction needed when watching a film. I personally agree with this article that it is important to introduce children to foreign films because at a young age they can learn to be an active audience while viewing films. Taylor has included some films on his list that are in English in hopes of attracting the younger children who would struggle keeping up with the subtitles. Keep in mind this information is from 1998 so non of the newer films will be on his list, however he has included some classics and as we know those classics are never outdated. for example "The Red Balloon" he says is often time American children's first foreign film. Check the list out for your self and read his views on them and see if you agree.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/11/02feature.html

Vitus
The film I viewed was titled Vitus. The setting of the film is Germany. This is the original language of the film. It is a story of ordinary parents Helen and Leo Von Holzen who have an extraordinary son name Vitus. The film begins with an a scene establishing the intimacy of the relationship between Vitus and his grandfather. His grandfather discusses his top ten dreams with number one, the dream of becoming a pilot. Then shortly the next scene begins and we are at the home of Vitus watching his fourth birthday party. It is the viewers first introduction into what a wunderkind Vitus is. At the party everyone is singing happy birthday to Vitus. After making a wish, he precedes to open his presents. He receives a keyboard. As soon as he opens it he immediately he plays happy birthday on it establishing his keen skill on playing music from what he hears. Other common visual tropes used to establish his superior intelligence in this film are his reading and understanding of words by his reviewing of the dictionary, his skipping of several grades, later followed by his acceptance into an adult conservatory. Yeah. I'm sure you've seen it the whole Dougie Howser/Neil Patrick Harris thing.This films moves very slowly in the beginning. The film uses some other commonly employed Hollywood tactics to show how superior intellect ostracizes. There are the moments in the film where Vitus is in isolation from other children, awkward in social situations, his blazon disrespect for those in superior positions whom he has more intelligence, and only has the companionship of adults-mostly his mother, father, and grandfather. , As a parent, this film raises many questions: One, What does one do to foster the talents of his or her children? If you guessed quit your job to make sure your child is a master pianist,You're America's next top millionaire. So far I think that you can say this movie for me works as well as any sleeping pill could in getting me to sleep. Stay tuned later in the week for more on Vitus. Will I A: Go on Continuing to loathe this that I chose to view ? B. Will Vitus do something really extraordinary that will have me glued to this seat? or C Will the Pussy Cat Dolls be finally known as Spice Girls 2? Sike, just kidding. I'm not going to leave you in suspense. This film does take a turn for the better. As Vitus gets older particularly the age of twelve his heart and love prove to be the most extraordinary qualities about him. The love, heart, and mind that Vitus has extends to all those around him and enriches their lives for the better. In this film Vitus not only helps his grandfather live out his boyhood dream of becoming a pilot, helps to take his father from unemployment to CEO, and shows a beautiful young girl that true love had no numerical boundary.

El Bola

By: Samantha Brown

El Bola, a Spanish film, depicts a twelve year old boy named Pablo who carries a ball bearing as a good luck charm. Pablo keeps to himself at school until Alfredo who is a confident and more sophisticated schoolmate befriends him. Pablo looks up to Alfredo as a role model and begins to spend time with Alfredo's family since Pablo's family is not a loving and caring family. Pablo's home life is filled with abuse and constant disapproval from his father. The loss of Pablo's older brother a few year earlier leads the father, Mariano, to always believe his youngest son will never measure up. Mariana is a hardware store owner who is bored with life and takes his anger out on his son and wife. When Pablo is not in school for several days Alfredo begins to worry and figures out that Pablo is not attending school because his father forbids him to see Alfredo's family again and gives Pablo a beating that leaves him with a black eye. Pablo can take the beating no longer and runs away begging to stay with Alfredo's family. Alfredo's family tries to help Pablo, but they must choose between facing kidnapping charges and sending Pablo back home for possible death by his father's hand. This movie is enjoyable, but is not recommended by this writer as a children's film. There are a few scenes with moderate violence and a few words that would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 18 to view. This movie is not rated and listed as a child's foreign film on Netflix, but is not recommend as a family appropriate film.

Help for Parents

While we have been exploring these films from around the world we have noticed that some of them have things in it that some children may find upsetting because they aren't use to seeing it in most western films. such as the spirits in Spirited Away. As a parent it can be a struggle to find just the right film for your children this site "Common Sense" does more then rate a film they suggest ages for the views and explain why they chose that age. Parents have the chance to also rate the film and share there thoughts on it. The mission of Common Sense is to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families. They exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, they provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume. What’s so great about this site is that it rates on the film in many categories such as Violence, language, consumerism, (that's a cool one!) Drinking, drugs and smoking, Message and role model. What I love about this is that for example Spirited Away was a wonderful film but there are a few things that some parents may want to discuss with their children before they views this. This site flagged violence and it stored 3 out of 5 (low scores means there isn't any violence) Here is what this site said about the violence "Birds attack the a main character who has taken the shape of a dragon. Some scary supernatural scenes including parents turned into pigs." Over all Spirited Away received positive reviews from "Common Sense" and got 5 stars. They said that the main character is a strong girl character who sees the good in all and saves the day and is a positive role model. One parent gave this film a "go" and said "This is such a great movie! I have watched it many times and each time love it even more. It teaches some good lessons and it's heart-warming too. I would suggest to get some other movies like this. Maybe "Totoro". Anyways Thumbs up for me!"Another parent gave it an "iffy" but still that parent gave it 5 stars. This site can even review films that are in the theaters as well. this site is made for mostly western films but has its own search engine so feel free to look for other films I found the one that I watched for this project on it. I would suggest before seeing a film with children that you do not know much about read about to find some more guidance on choosing the film. This site is a great resource!

Here is the link to the home page of Common Sense
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Bug Me Not!

Bug me not was a Chinese movie that would be appropriate for the ages 12 and up. This film had real people as well as animated bugs of all kinds which spoke to the humans. These children who were in the movie were probably eight grade or high school students. This movie had some suggestive language. This movie was not rated and the rating was N/R on the cover. This movie starts with a little girls in a field of grass talking to some bugs. Her mom tells her she may not talk to these bugs any more (gibberish) and start speaking correctly. Some of the children in this movie had special powers and the teenager in this movie (moon) understood these bugs since she was young. Some of the special powers in this movie were: calling all bugs, magic tree's, talking bugs, not being able to touch other people, etc. Moon had this ladybug help her win this young boys heart (Hyland). Other adults always tried to kill the bugs if they seen them, so she had to keep them hidden. When the bugs watched a man capture, what they thought was the "leader" of the bugs, and then kill the bug, they all freaked out and wanted to attack the teenagers. Meanwhile, the teenagers are singing and dancing with flashlights at night looking for these bugs. They finally succeed and find the bugs and the leader of the bugs is not dead! All the bugs and teenagers are excited. Finally, the movie ends where the story begins,at that is in a field of tall grass. Moon tells Hyland she loves him while they are hanging out in the grass. They run of and play with each other. This movie has great quality in filming with animation and bright colors. This movie was one hour and twenty seven minutes long.

This is a Wiki reference to Chinese Cinema, it shares the history of film throughout hundreds of years. CHECK IT OUT! :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_China

This is an article about Chinese media: It basically summarizes a book about children in china who watch films from their country. We see that their interactions are different between being able to see media and movies at home vs. at school. Here in America things like media is readily available to many children. One of the points of this book was that Chinese film has the main focus on education where as American children's films focus solely on entertainment. Which after I watched this movie I did not understand the educational value of this movie. I viewed this movie as pure entertainment and did not receive any educational value from this movie. I found this topic mentioned in the article very interesting based on the movie I viewed from china; however, movies in china may have that goal in mind.

http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=618&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupp

This is a clip from Bug Me Not!: (this link will allow you to pick and choose the clips you would like to see)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9WF1P-PUGo&feature=player_embedded

Meet Ashley Shevel

My name is Ashley Shevel and I am a Jr. Early childhood Education major here at Malone University. I work at the Weaver Child Development Center and I am a nanny to 3 children. I love to be creative. I spend my spare time with my family and friends.
I have always loved and appreciated children's films and I feel that a lot can be learned from them. One of my favorite films is the Wizard of Oz. I just love the magic this films brings, as a child I liked it but as an adult I have grown to love this film.
Before this class I had little to no experience with films from other countries but I am enjoying all I am learning through the films I have watched so far this semester.
I hope everyone enjoys exploring childrens films from around the world with us.

To our Followers

All of us Bloggers have a passion for children in some way. We also all have a great love of movies. This semester we have decided to broaden our horizons by taking a World Cinema class. We are learning to appreciate foreign films, and we are learning about other cultures as well. Since we college kids can learn to enjoy other cultures through films, we all agreed that children should be able to have the same experience! We have created this blog so that children and families can explore the movies that we have pre-viewed. With this blog, we offer comments, ratings, and our own personal opinions on how these movies will benefit (or should be avoided) by families and children. We remind you to keep an open mind when exploring film from other cultures, and parents are cautioned to view these films before they watch some of them with their children. Clips and trailors are at the ends of all of our entries, and this site includes websites and book recommendations to consider when exploring movies for young children. We remind you that some movies are in fact in the language of the culture, and are subtitled. Children that are unable to read yet may need assistance in watching these particular films. Please feel free to comment on any of the blogs. We hope you and your families will enjoy watching these movies that we have chosen as much as we have. Enjoy the show!

Spirited Away

By: Ashley Shevel

This film is rated PG for some scary moments. and I agree that this film would probably best fit children ages 8 and up. Especially because spirits aren't something that most of our children are use to knowing about and the idea of spirits coming alive and capturing you could be very frightful for a child.

The film Spirited away is a child's film originated from Japan.Ghibli studios, the company that produced this film signed a deal with Disney to release their films worldwide. This animated film once purchased by Disney had new voices added to the characters making the language in English. Chihiro is a 10-year-old girl who is moving to a new house. Her and her parents get lost in th car on the way to the new house, in a forest, outside of a tunnel. They decide to investigate, and end up at an abandend theme park, or so they thought. Chihiro is reluctant to go look around with her parents but goes along for fear of being left alone. Her parents find a single food counter, filled with fresh food. They start to wolf it down with the idea that they will just pay after they have eaten and the server comes back, much to the dismay of Chihiro. She runs off, and she meets a boy, who tells her to leave before its "too late." She runs back to her parents, but they have been turned into pigs. To free her parents of the spell she must work at the 'theme park', which is actually a bathhouse for the Gods and Spirits, of japan. The Japanese culture is evident through out this entire film. It did not explain much about the culture because this film was originally released in Japan. The writers assumed the audience would understand the idea of the spirits and what role they play in their culture. I figured out that in this culture everything seemed to have a spirit. The character Haku was a spirit of the river, who some how became a worker like slave to the bathhouse owner. Because he couldn’t remember his real name he was destined to work at the bathhouse forever.
She goes through newmous "tests" and ends up putting others needs before her own and in the end she ends up being able to free her new found friend who is a spirit of a river and her famiy all because of the corage and selflessness. Through out this film the viewers can watch the main character Chihiro grow, and gain the strenth she needs to over come the frightfull opsticals of this unhuman world.

Here is the trailer check it out for your self and see if its a movie you would like to share with your children.

Pinocchio

By: Ashley Dennerlein


Pinocchio is an amazing tall of a mischievous wooden puppet, and his journey to becoming a real boy. Many have seen Disney's interpretation of the movie. This was quiet similar following the same story line. However, the real life version is so much better than the cartoon. I watched in the the English-Dubbed version of the Italian movie. The movies stars Roberto Benigni. Roberto also wrote and directed the film. The movie was incredibly vivid and full of fantasy. It is suitable for children of all ages. The bright colors and whimsical characters are fun to watch and laugh at. The story itself is very imaginative. All of the costumes seem as though they are directly out of a child's imagination. I do suggest that the movie be watched in its original Italian language, or with English subtitles. The dubbed version makes the characters seem more annoying than fun. Though a child might not know the difference, i do believe something is lost from the film when it is not heard in Italian since the story takes place in Italy. Children that are unable to read might have a difficult time with the subtitled version, so parents might want to watch it with their children. The movie however viewed is very entertaining and something that the whole family can enjoy.

Here is the trailer to the movie Check it out!

Meet the Bloggers! Victoria Lorenzo

I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela, a country in South America and I have been living in the United States for 11 years now. I moved to Ontario, Canada at the age of eight and my family and I lived there for five years. From Canada we moved to Florida and then to Ohio. I am a senior at Malone University majoring in sports management with a minor in coaching. I played soccer for Malone last year and coached Shakers Heights JV women’s soccer team this past fall. Collegiate women’s soccer coaching is ultimately what I would like to pursue as a professional career.
I love watching movies and I am interested in watching different and foreign film. I think children’s movies are a great way to learn about a certain cultures and its traditions.

Meet the Bloggers! Ashley Dennerlein

My Name is Ashley Dennerlein. I am a Senior at Malone University. I have a double major in Physical Education and Health Education, and I plan to be a teacher someday! I played soccer at Malone for 4 years and next year I will be helping coach the team. Soccer and sports are my passion, which is why I wanted to be a physical educator. I currently live at Malone, but I am originally from a small town outside of Pittsburgh. I live with my parents, two younger brothers, and my border collie Piper. Watching movies is a favorite pasttime of my family, and it continues to be a huge part of my life today. I also have a strong passion for children and teaching. Any way in which they learn is exciting to me. I have found that children learn a lot from the media that they take in, especially and specifically from movies. I am excited about this Blog because it can help parents and children discover movies that are unlike many they have seen before.

Meet the Bloggers! Melissa Thorne

Hello,
I'm Melissa Thorne.I will graduate this spring with a Bachelors of Arts in  Community Health Education. When I not overloaded with college curriculum I enjoy traveling on the weekends and "chillaxin" with family and friends. My hobbies include scrapbooking,baking, and roller skating. Upon graduation I hope to work with a public health organization in a community or hospital setting. That's all folks!!!

Meet the Bloggers! Samantha Brown

Hello, my name is Sam Brown and I am a student attending Malone University. I am a fourth year double major in Health education and Physical education. I am also a goalkeeper and play for the Malone University Women’s Soccer team. My background with foreign films is not extensive. My history with foreign films is only about two or three movies deep before the World Cinema class. Now being a student currently enrolled in the class I have viewed a few more foreign films and have also learned to appreciate foreign films. We chose to do our project on children’s foreign film because we have very little experience with films that are made in other countries. Children’s foreign films sparked my interest because of my passion for teaching children. Knowing what children from other countries are interested in will not only slightly educate me in foreign culture, but I will be improving as a professional because of my future working in a setting where children from other countries could become one of my students.

Meet the Bloggers! Jen Vickers

Hello, my name is Jen and I am a fifth year student at Malone University. I am majoring in Physical Education as well as Health Education. Next semester will be my last year here at Malone, so yes I have enjoyed my classes here. My history of foreign films before this class was probably one or two movies, but for the most part these six films we have watched for class is the extent of what I have seen in the foreign genre. I have taken time to watch these movies and examine their narrative patterns, visual tropes as well as filmic devices. I had not learned of these terms before this class being, World Cinema, so that was all new to me. We chose to do our project on foreign children films since we really have not seen any of those for class and researching movies of this topic was not difficult at all. I know I want to see what kinds of movies are used for entertainment for children of other countries in comparison to the United States. Also with the possibility of being a parent one day, I may want to have my child see these types of films if I know that it will be suitable for my child to view. This may open my eyes to what children view in other countries in addition to their culture about their lifestyles.