#2 (permalink) Wed Feb 21, 2007 18:47 pm ESSAY |
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HI,
To date it would not be AN exaggeration to say that our television channels are actually inundated by a lot of films from different countries and diverse genres. The quality of these movies varieS from hand-made to professional and mainly depends on the budget size and THE SKILL of actors. At the same time each single film consists of many details in any event reflecting the country where it has been made.
For instance, all the Indian films I have ever seen include one essential property. All of them are very musical and THE heroes ARE constantly dancing and singing. The rhythm is here, there and everywhere. That is why it is possible to consider this country as a country of emotional people. The most popular movie genre in French is certainly comedy. French comedies with Pier Rishar or GerarD DepardieU on key roles are very popular over the world not just for its oddball humour but for its benevolence as well. Thus, France is associated for me with CHEERY and frank people. If try to compare the old-fashioned English detective movies based on Agatha CristIE or ArtHur Conan DoYle works with contemporary movies about current England, it would be difficult to find any differences both in people'S manners and THEIR SURROUNDINGS. It gives me the ability to conclude that England is the country of traditions. Finally, it is impossible not to mention famous American Hollywood movies. One of my favoriteS, The X-Files, is the movie about the possibility of THE EXISTENCE OF EXTRATERRESTIAL LIFE. Here two agents with the FBI are investigating uncommon crimes all around the country. After watching this film I have understood different speech distinctionS among people FROM DIFFERENT countrIES parts and DIFFERENT levels of population.
Undoubtedly WATCHING foreign movies cannot BE A substitute FOR EITHER TAKING JOURNEYS ABROAD OR TALKING WITH with foreigners, but it is also A really valuable experience.
Alan _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Book Expressions |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 9186 Location: UK
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#3 (permalink) Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:22 am TOEFL Essay: Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made... |
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Hi, I should confess that i am writing essays to the topics provided by others because i do not have any topic for myself and i don't want 2 create a new post, just to avoid redundancy. Any body please review my responses and help me improve. Thanks in advance, Shruthi
Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made. What have you learned about a country from watching its movies? Use specific examples and details to support your response.
While there may be a few movies produced which are inspired by foreign countries, substantial number of movies made in a country are made by the people who are actually living in the particular country, and so the movie is most often influenced by social, cultural and political aspects of the country. These aspects encourages the viewer to get as much knowledge as to get acquainted with the people's way of living.
First of all, most of the movies are in contemporary with the countries society. For example, films made in India in 1980's always portended that the women always behaved themselves, they decently dressed, did not go to any kind of pubs, always agreed with their husband etc.., and women who actually did not were shown as 'bad' or having 'negative role' in the movie. In 1990's and 2000's when these social restrictions easened in the country, it was reflected in the movie as well. Therefore, i have learnt about the countries society and its reformation by watching few of its movie.
Secondly, the films also exhibit a little bit of culture the nation in the movies. They show the festivals celebrated, the type of music, drama, dance etc which uniquely indicates the country's culture. They also reflect the varying languages and their accent, slangs in particular region. For example, when i watched 2 movies in Kannada language, though it was in the same language, there was big difference in their accent and i couldnt follow on of them at all.
Thirdly, when we watch few of the movies of a country, we can also understand the people's occupation, their economical condition and its changes during the years. For example, movies in India in 1970s often showed men as farmers who ploughed and reaped the land and lived with the money got from it and that they did not have any modern equipments, they relied mainly on manual labor. After industrial revolution and technical advancements we see that in a movie that a hero introducing himself as "software engineer" and "company manager" etc..,
Finally, i totally agree that films are always influenced by the countries culture and often contemplates on the countries history and its development and allow the viewers to discover and learn a lot about the country. |
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Shri New Member
Joined: 22 Feb 2007 Posts: 3
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