Kylas Film Journal

      In order to compare differences between US made films and international films, we screened “World War Z”, a film from the US, and “Train to Busan”, a film from South Korea. Both films explore survival, fear, and crisis within the theme of a widespread infection that turns people into undead creatures after humans. There are very different cultural values and emotional tones in these two films.      In the film “World War Z”, it is very clear to us that it is in fact an American film. The plot consists of a main hero, who we know will not be killed, that is the only person who could save the day. The main character, Gerry, played by Brad Pitt, is responsible to be the hero across the world when an infection breaks out. Family is explored in this movie in the beginning, we are introduced to Gerry’s family but only for a little, making it difficult to build a connection and love for the characters. Gerry chooses to keep his family safe but going to help ...

 In the film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” many different elements that are the reality of many people’s lives. It explores cultural identity’s, gender roles, mental health, and more. All of the themes in this film were very important and held a lot of symbolism. There is a huge amount of deep meaning inside of a film full of other dimensions and ‘what if’s’.      The film dives into cultural identity, it shows the struggle of an immigrant family balancing traditional values of the modern American family, like two different worlds going on at once. It explores gender roles with stereotypes, especially by showing the expectations for woman, who they are told they should be with, and the complexity behind this. When it comes to mental health the film showed what it’s like to live with anxiety and a constant flow of many different thoughts that are all going on at once. The film doesn’t shy away from the chaos of the mind, it uses the multiverse concept as a metap...

 In the film “13th” the director brings awareness to the ugliness of the United States. The message of the 13th is communicated through a combination of powerful interviews with activists, scholars, and politicians all with different view points. There are data visuals and historical footage of the overlooked racism in our world. Watching 13th makes you think deeply about the roots of racial injustice and how the criminal justice system has been used as a tool of oppression. The combination of factual evidence and personal testimony makes the message of the film clear and makes viewers reflect on the roles within the economy.          Throughout the film many different figures are interviewed, there are interviews coming from individuals who have been personally been hurt by the cruel criminal justice system, to interviews coming from people who at some point were part of the problem. This really goes to show different point of views. The editing of th...