Third world cinema

Third world cinema

Films have, for decades, been used to depict and showcase our human nature and emotions through specific themes and plot development. The most important thing that explains the different categories of movies is the complexity and technology used in making films. Countries such as the United States developed a stable film industry in early 1900. However, the influence of cinema was experienced all over the world with European countries following suit in the productions of films. Film industries became the popular way of telling people the challenges and victory of a particular nation in battles. The Third World Cinema is a guide political and aesthetic project tailored to challenge the power structures. According to Solanas and Getino, this kind of film was referred to as militant because it revolved around the idea of political and revolutionary organizations(Adenuobi 453). However, the economic recession was also a factor that Third world cinema is generally used in by filmmakers in the production of films in third world countries such as in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Third Cinema, a movement that had a sharp focus in Latin America that distinguished itself from the First Cinema (Hollywood) through features such as themes and locations. The Third cinema was used to criticize the people responsible for the poor people’s challenges such as poverty and lack of access to health care. The third world films were more of a reality and told the real stories of the issues that were affecting the community but were usually challenged by the commercialization of cinema in North America. This was because “local productions have a reputation of being technically inferior” (Dominique). According to the author, the low budget movies are a result of lack of finances to facilitate film productions of high-quality movies. The world films faced a lot of competition from Hollywood as importing movies proved to be cheaper than producing them locally. The third cinema, however, continued to gain a substantial number of an audience amid Hollywood dominance.

The impact and emergence of this Third world cinema was facilitated by the fact that the first world cinema had changed to just a commercialized industry with only the aim of making profits. It had diverged the initial meaning of telling people stories and challenges in life to just an entertainment industry. However, there was a need especially to tell the stories of the minorities in the U.S and other regions that were still struggling with political, economic, and social problems. The goal was “Third Cinema sought to shed light on the truth, elucidating causes rather than documenting effects” (Gonon). The need to tackle the increased militarization in the Latin America countries was so was the aim of a great director such as Solanas. In many developing countries, some challenges needed to be addressed, and the film industry took the opportunity of not explaining the effects but the causes to educate the masses the place. The filmmaker aimed to try and tell the people the source of their problems rather than explaining what they were going through. The context describes why it was majorly a political project to change the cultural narrative that had placed the idea of authoritative power. The world third world cinema encompasses historical and cultural aspects of countries that are still considered to be way behind in terms of economic development, and the filmmaker aimed to be able to tap into this narrative of lagging in explaining and portraying the factors that had facilitated this outcome. Moreover, According to Adenuobi, the third world cinema continued to grow in the 1990s, such in Haiti, which was a low-budget film but with appealing themes (107). The third Cinema was more concerned with questioning and challenging existing power structures that had separated people in terms of rich and poor by educating those who live in poor neighborhoods and those who faced domination from the illegal use of power. In telling the stories of the ordinary and oppressed citizens, the third cinema had gained a milestone in the making a worked a better place with the themes they used. The artistic prowess and expressions were not fundamental in the third film because the purpose was to convey the aim of the filmmaker rather than perfection, which was not the case in Hollywood.

The third world cinema came in light of the increasing economic hardships, which were mainly facilitated by the political class that was prone to corruption. However, it has also emerged that most was anti-Hollywood and offered the alternative for people who wanted to watch realities more than fiction. In the United States, a significant number of immigrates and minorities could not identify with the Hollywood film, which was flashy and used advanced technology equipment in making films. The third world cinema provided the minority groups an opportunity to reassessing the cultural identities (Mambrol). The third world cinema acted as the national projects that were telling the real life of the ordinary citizen and the struggles he was going through, such as poverty. In most third worked countries, there was a prevalence of violence which had rendered the states to more problems and militarized form of governments. In countries such as the U.S, these third world cinema carried the message most of the Latin and African Americans could identify within their everyday life. The need to bring people closer to the struggles and the actions they ought to take was one significant factor that continued to safeguard the culture people who were struggling to meet the necessary amenities. It will be impossible to talk about the history of cinema without incorporating the perfect cinema which was made with a low budget and showcased the realities of life. The imperfect cinema was receiving backlash from the third world countries, which was gain9injg an audience who saw Hollywood movies as just fiction out to make money only. Currently, the third cinema still has a significant impact in Africa, where the Nigerian industry has grown immensely, with its theme still focusing on the influences of politicians in corruption and how it has impacted the current economic hardships. In developing countries, the third cinemas continue to gain an audience because more people are identifying.

Section B

The Cemetery of Splendor Apichatpong Weerasethakul explains a group of soldiers who are suffering from mysterious sleeping sickness. These soldiers are put in a temporary clinic where they continue to suffer from hallucinations. Jenjira is more affected by what is going on as she is tasked with the responsibility of watching Itt who does not have any7 family. The soldiers continue to be haunted by spirits, and Jen finds connection through writings strokes blueprint sketches. There is a connection with the soldier’s syndrome with the ancient site that lies below the clinic. The Thailand society is prone to superstition where the provincial community and the tyrannical militant government have histories that go way back, which still hurts the country’s security forces. Adenuobi claims that “Film is incredibly powerful” (329). According to the author, the film industry in Thai was very influential, but it was facing competition from Hollywood. The director disguises the histories of war through hallucinations that are affecting the soldiers with the past tragedies. The director depicts how damaged histories still lingers in the mind of the local people and its supplemented by the existing superstition norm in the country. Superstition is widespread in the in third world cinema where, “The role of storytelling is critical to culture as it shapes our conceptions of self and society, and influences our aspirations, behavior, and knowledge” (Nisbet). According to the author, any theme that is used in third world cinema is the real reflection on how a particular society is shaped. Cemetery of Splendor brings to light the political dominance in the country where the soldiers are subjected to harsh conditions in protecting their interests. The allegorical use requires interpretation and understanding of what is going on in a particular country to apprehend the main ideas. The director uses myths and symbolism to depicts the situation in the state of dictatorship by using a sorrowful and allegorical style in developing the plot in the film. Cemetery of Splendor offers an insight into how the director in the third world used hidden meaning in showing realities that were affecting the progress of a country. The theme proved logic to the country’s history, which supports a bright future. The troubled soldiers have an account, and their suffering has been linked to the ancient site they inhabit now, which shows that they could not escape their past. According to Adenuobi, the Thai cinema used traditions, spirituality, nostalgia, and animists beliefs which were incorporated in the modern filmmaking (276). Jen, a volunteer in the clinic, goes beyond the normal in search of answers affecting the soldiers. The soldiers are part of the government, but when the dominant ruling class learns of their medical condition, they do not take them to hospital, but instead, the put them in a clinic where they are treated like prisoners. The government in Thailand has been known to imprison anyone who talks about the government. The director explores how the governments, through history in the country, have been used as a tool by the elites to use and discard people for their gain. Itt takes Jen on a tour of what can be seen as a palace that displays a sense of the religious traditions that exist in this particular country. The life of Jen evolved around Itt, which made them foster an emotional foundation throughout the film (Adenuobi 307). The need to come up with a hidden meaning in the third world countries was to be able to evoke the feeling of the viewers on what was going on in this country.

The Great Kilapy, directed by ZeZe Gamboa, is mostly a political film based in Angola with the central character portraying some activism traits. The production of the film was done during the civil unrest where the Portuguese colonizers were facing resistance from the local people. The director uses the theme of politics in an allegorical manner where the main character is portrayed as a con or (Kilapy) in the local language. A protagonist is a man who spends his time with a company of friends and his into many affairs with beautiful women. He gets an opportunity to defraud the country treasury, and now all he thinks are ways of spending his money. However, he is absorbed in the country’s liberation movement through his friend’s influence, and he decided to support activists. Solanas and Getino claim that “Cultural penetration, educational colonization, an mass communications all join forces today in a desperate attempt to absorb, neutralize, or eliminate any expression that responds to an attempt at decolonization” (3). According to the author, a new approach was required in telling the story in third world countries and the struggles they were going through. Joao Fraga is a simple man, and but after he was arrested based on supporting liberation, he comes out as a hero to the people of Angola. The turn of events explains how a conman had transformed to become a celebrated figure in society. The director tries to link the personal history of the protagonists and the history of the country and how the turn of events had changed in a moment. The director attempts to connect the idea of a country that is liberated by then it falls in the hand of the same person who had facilitated its fall. The Great Kilapy showcases how power is achieved in third world countries. However, he is concerned with the history of oppression from the dominant political class, and he decides to distribute money to activists to liberate Angola. The allegorical meaning in both movies offers an insight into how films, especially in the third world countries, explored the realities in society. The film can be considered a third cinema because of the natural features used and the selection of the themes. In describing the role of protagonists in these films, the directors try to educate people on the various measures that can be taken to end social injustices. The third world countries shed light on the social and political aspects that affect developing countries. The director was able to highlight how the political system in the developing countries was the main problem, which was hindering developments.