Reviving 2020 through cinematography

By: Maya Prasad

2020 has been an unforgettable year. Although it has been chaotic and unpredictable, there were some positives that arose, one of them being the amazing movies released. Entertainment has the power to change your emotions and make you rethink the way you see life through the power of movies.

The Social Dilemma

The Social Dilemma is a documentary that explores the rise of social media and the damage it has caused to society. The film focusing on its exploitation of its users for financial gain through surveillance capitalism and data mining, how its design is meant to nurture an addiction, its use in politics, its effect on mental health(such as the mental health of children and rising teen suicide rates) and its role in spreading conspiracy theories. Even though this movie hits on very hard topics, such as addiction and mental health, it still has a way of drawing in the reader to the real problems of social media. The movie could not come out at a better time due to the rise of social media empires such as Tik Tok. Additionally, the upcoming election serves as an excellent way to see whether social media will impact the results. It is written and directed by Jeff Orlowski, who gave us the similarly terrifying "what are we doing to ourselves" documentaries "Chasing Coral'' and "Chasing Ice.” Using experts' opinions and narrative style re-enactments of the scenario, the movie highlights social media’s harm, particularly the rise of data mining and exploitation of users. The movie is authentic, with every moment drawing out some sort of emotion from the watcher, whether it be anger, sadness, or disgust. The stories of top people in the tech industry, such as from Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, leave the viewer flabbergasted at the methods these companies use to garner more attention and revenue. The most important lesson from "The Social Dilemma" is that we should question everything we read online, especially if it is presented to us in a way that reflects a detailed understanding of our inclinations and preferences. And we should resist the "attention extraction model" that makes social media seem friendly and reinforcing. All in all, the movie reflects the methods, unbeknownst to most technology users, social media companies use to gain profit and how the users fall into the trap leading to more and more mental health problems.

Mulan

Mulan is a widely recognized film, apart of Disney considered one of the quintessential Disney princess films. Fearful that her ailing father will be drafted into the Chinese military, Mulan takes his spot -- though, as a girl living under a patriarchal regime, she is technically unqualified to serve. She cleverly impersonates a man and goes off to train with fellow recruits. Accompanied by her dragon, Mushu (Eddie Murphy), she uses her smarts to help ward off a Hun invasion, falling in love with a dashing captain along the way. Mulan is a movie that goes against the stereotypes placed upon many Asain American girls. It is very empowering to females all around the world who face discrimination on account of their sex. While this live-action version brought about much criticism due to its inability to reflect the story from the 1998 film, it still holds important messages that a person's sex should not define what they can and cannot achieve. As evident in the movie, it was influenced by ideas from the #MeToo movement : women standing up for themselves and each other and demanding that men hear and believe them. The movie itself weighs heavily upon the values people place upon family and friendship, making it an incredibly family-friendly film for everyone to watch. Even though the movie's plot itself holds a strong message, it has received much backlash from viewers for various reasons. One of them being the removal of the beloved dragon, Mushu, who was a central figure in the animated film and provided a much needed comic relief. Additionally, the movie’s main actress, Liu Yifei supported Hong Kong police in their crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. This brought about much criticism because many people disapprove of the techniques used by Hong Kong police and them as violating basic human rights. Although the movie has received some backlash especially from media who hoped it would live up to the animated version, Mulan still became one of the best movies of 2020 emphasizing the important values of female empowerment.