Mongolian Ping Pong Reflection

Mongolian Ping Pong, it is about a boy Bilike, who finds a ping pong ball in the river, however he and his friends are unsure of what it is. They use various simple experiments to determine what the white ball is. When Bilike arrives home, he asks advice from his grandmother who declares is to be a glowing pearl. The boys believe that to be the true identity and guard the ball with their lives. Later on in the film when they discover that it is the national ball of Mongolia, the boys set out to determine where it came from. At the end of the film, while Bilike is at school he discovers the sport of ping pong.

In comparison to the previous Mongolian film, Bilike and his family do not live in the Gobi desert and have more money than the other family. Their son the privilege to attend school along with the older sister. In addition, since they live in a different part of Mongolia, they use horses to get around along with motor bikes in replace of camels.

Family is highly important in their culture, family is one's primary concern. The entire extended family lives together in the small house and raise the sheep and horses together. They do not have a lot of technology like people in the United States and it is interesting to see how their family interacts. Respecting one's elders and helping the family is more valued and encouraged in their culture than in the American culture. While they value their elders, in the US we value youth in our culture and expect more from the youth in our society. Being successful and studying in school is more important in their society. In America we got to school for a far less number of days compared to the Asian cultures, who encourage more study and success. In America, we go to school to find our passion and have more free time.

In Mongolia, they live far simpler lives than we do. Technology does not have a constant presence in their lives in comparison to ours. There are many differences between their culture and ours. Family, school and respect your elders are highly emphasized. I would highly recommend this film, it demonstrates a different culture and way of living that I am not used to. It was interesting to see their different values and compare them to society in the US. We put more value on money and success, where as success in their country is defined in numerous ways.

Mongolian Ping Pong

This film is about a little boy that lives in Mongolia and finds a ping pong ball and he goes on an adventure to find its purpose. He and his friends together search for the answer to the conundrum and experience issues, but eventually discover what the 'national ball' is. Through and adventure with his friends and being sent off to school, we see how this will help the main character find the answer to his question. In addition, we will see their culture and how that affects their lifestyle.

Flirting

Flirting is an Australian coming of age film produced in 1991 which is about the romance between two teenagers and the movie is set in 1965. Danny has been sent to a boarding school where he pursues a relationship with an African American girl, Thandiwe, studying at the all girls school. Their affair progresses, meanwhile everyone tries to prevent the relationship from continuing.

Rabbit Proof Fence Reflection

In the Rabbit Proof fence, three "half caste" girls are removed from their homes by the rabbit proof fence in Australia by the govenrment, who are developing a new policy towards aborogines. They are going to re-educate them in order for them to become slaves to the white people in society. They felt that they were helping the aborgine's culture by keeping them together, but this only harmed them. The girls escaped from the Moore River facility and traveled 1200 miles back to their home, while outsmarting the tracker. Once they returned 9 weeks later they were immediately in hiding in the desert and were taken back when discovered, but escaped again and returned home. This movie showed the determination of three young girls who wanted to be with their families.

This movie showed how the government controlled the aboriginal peoples and affected a generation of children, because of their skin color. While some countries faced segregation in the society, Australia isolated children and removed them from their homes. Children were removed from their homes until the 1970's and it is not until recently has the governement apologized for their actions. Their isolation of aborginal people has affected the way society co habitates, because it created in some way a caste system where some skin colors were better than others. The US and Australia had segregated communities and it took a civil war for America to dissolved it segregation in the south and the north. Many countries have faced issues with race and culture and today are still recovering from this issue. In the US we still face racism issuesand other races struggle to overcome their obstacles with race. In both countries, race has had a significant impact on society and in both cases society struggles to move forward and diregard race. When other races or cultures are misunderstood, people do not take them seriously and think of themselves as better people. Many people do not take the time to understand and learn about other cultures and label their culture as "weird" when in relaity they know nothing about it. Learning about other cultures will give one a better understanding of the world and this movie was an excellent representation of how people need to make the extra effort to learn about other cultures so we can work together to solve other problems. Segregation in society and around the world holds generations back.

The Weeping Camel Reflection

The Weeping Camel takes place in a remote desert in Mongolia known as the Gobi desert. In this isolated area camels are a necessiety as means of food and transportation for the Mongolians. In the beginning of the film the viewer gains direct insight into the simple lifestyle and culture of a family of Mongolians who raise both sheep and camels. Throughout the film one camel becomes pregnant and has a small colt, but after the birth rejects her young camel. Her labor was an extensive two days long and extremely painful. In the film we see how the Mongolian culture reacts to the problematic relationship between the colt and his mother. The family calls upon a professional violinist and they perform a ritual to bring the mother and colt back together.

In this documentary the viewer sees the contrast between the lifestyle of the Monglians and their own life. In the Gobi desert, there are no televisions or cars or bicycles, camels are the primary form of transportation. In relation to one another, they use sheep to bargain with in place of money unless they are in the main city. The poeple in Mongolia value family and their entire family lives together in their small huts. They spend quality time together and help each other out in order to have a successful crop of livestock. In addition to their familial support, they live simply. The family lives in a series of small huts, and wear more traditional outfits than the city people in MOngolia. They value quality family time and being respectful to their elders. The Weeping Camel shows how through their culture they can solve problems that we may not have thought of. Throug simple vocal and violin mehtods they were able to reconnect the mother and her colt. The film shows how a direct contrast between our culture and their culture where technology is limited and simple. In Mongolia they have different values that poeple in the United States, there is more of a focus on family than on anything else.

The Rabbit Proof Fence

This film takes place in Jigalong, Australia where three young sisters are removed from the family and placed in a re-education camp in 1931. Due to their aboroginal backgrounds, they are forced into the camps where they will learn to become servents for the white people in Australia. The government believed that the "half breeds" should be removed from society and this is the governement's solution to the problem. The movie is a reflection of the government's laws and policies that were put in place against the aborigines.

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

During this time in Australia, children were being removed from their homes due to their skin color and were being re-educated under the order of the government, who strongly wanted to all "half breeds" isolated from society and become servents. This lasted from the late 19th century to the late 1960's. This cruel act by the Australian government cause a segregation from the aborginial peoples and the whites within the country. While these events have been critically debated throughout the world, on February 13, 2008, the Prime Minister of Autralia, Kevin Rudd, apologized in parliament for all acts and laws the were placed against the aborigines. In his apology he included a sincere regret for the past actions of the government that "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss". While the aboriginal people were pleased to hear the governement's apology they had expected a compensation to be included for the problems caused.

Full Text of Australi's Apology:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/12/australia.text/index.html

"The secret to film is that it's an illusion "

-Georger Lucas

During this semester I will be exploring foreign films and developing a cultural bridge.