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The film, Black Orpheus, commences with the notion that he film influenced by European insights on the South American culture, by looking at the symbolic representation of the white sculptures (signs) ; “pale shadow of predominantly European influence” can be … Continue reading → read full post >>

The film, Black Orpheus, commences with the notion that he film influenced by European insights on the South American culture, by looking at the symbolic representation of the white sculptures (signs) ; “pale shadow of predominantly European influence” can be … Continue reading → read full post >>

The first 11 minutes of the movie “Black Orpheus” was an intense plunge into some representation of what is Brazilian culture. A young woman arrives to Rio where drum beats and music is playing everywhere and people are dancing, playing and smiling. She wanders through the city confused in the loud crowd while being harassed […] read full post >>

Reading Raymond Williams’ “culture is ordinary”  made me think a lot about what culture is/can be and he described culture in ways that I never would have thought of, although it all made perfect sense when reading. The phrase “culture is ordinary” was something that really intrigued me throughout this reading. Because, culture is ordinary; […] read full post >>

Reading Raymond Williams’ “culture is ordinary”  made me think a lot about what culture is/can be and he described culture in ways that I never would have thought of, although it all made perfect sense when reading. The phrase “culture is ordinary” was something that really intrigued me throughout this reading. Because, culture is ordinary; […] read full post >>

At the beginning of Black Orpheus, a sense of unity and community is established as everyone recognizes and acknowledges each other while walking down the streets. Following this, there is a clip of a little boy flying a kite. The kite begins to fly beyond his control and there is a minor struggle. Introductions are […] read full post >>

Hello! My name is Jada and I am a first year student. I was born in the US, but live in Canada. I studied Spanish for many years and even studied in Spain for a bit. I have Chilean family and am very interested in the culture. I am very excited for this class! I […] read full post >>

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! read full post >>

     The beginning of the Marcel Camus's Black Orpheus struck me as a glimpse into the culture of Brazil. From the children gliding kites on a sunny day to the dancers on the street, each shot is meant to introduce aspects of culture to the audience. The audience is meant to be experiencing this influx of sensory overload in the same way that the main character is. The age range of the population in these scenes stood out to me that some groups of younger children appeared more independent and may be given more freedom to go around the city at such a festive time. The bright culture of Brazil makes appearances in the food that the main character encounters at the market, the dancers in the market square, and even is placed upon her neck in the opening scene from an exchange which demonstrates the importance of respect for elders and kindness towards strangers. Many remarks were made about the main characters appearances highlighting the gender inequality and objectification made towards vulnerable women in cities. Although at some points I was afraid for Eurydice but the kind way in which characters interacted with each other on a personal basis assured me that the directors intended the city to feel exciting, a bit overwhelming, but not dangerous to the main character. I appreciated how strangers showed kindness to each other demonstrated in ways such as when the woman selling onions at the market helped Eurydice out of the dancers closing her in or when Hermes showed Eurydice which way her cousin's house is. Music score is always a great way to convey tone in video format and the cheery, vivacious music encapsulates perfectly the bright factors of culture that is demonstrated in the first few minutes of this movie. 

read full post >>

     The beginning of the Marcel Camus's Black Orpheus struck me as a glimpse into the culture of Brazil. From the children gliding kites on a sunny day to the dancers on the street, each shot is meant to introduce aspects of culture to the audience. The audience is meant to be experiencing this influx of sensory overload in the same way that the main character is. The age range of the population in these scenes stood out to me that some groups of younger children appeared more independent and may be given more freedom to go around the city at such a festive time. The bright culture of Brazil makes appearances in the food that the main character encounters at the market, the dancers in the market square, and even is placed upon her neck in the opening scene from an exchange which demonstrates the importance of respect for elders and kindness towards strangers. Many remarks were made about the main characters appearances highlighting the gender inequality and objectification made towards vulnerable women in cities. Although at some points I was afraid for Eurydice but the kind way in which characters interacted with each other on a personal basis assured me that the directors intended the city to feel exciting, a bit overwhelming, but not dangerous to the main character. I appreciated how strangers showed kindness to each other demonstrated in ways such as when the woman selling onions at the market helped Eurydice out of the dancers closing her in or when Hermes showed Eurydice which way her cousin's house is. Music score is always a great way to convey tone in video format and the cheery, vivacious music encapsulates perfectly the bright factors of culture that is demonstrated in the first few minutes of this movie. 

read full post >>