Man on Wire

"We also gain our ability to have ecstatic experiences of truth through the Sublime, through which we are able to elevate ourselves over nature." (Herzog). The documentary Man on Wire primarily focuses on a man, Phillipe Petit, fabricating a reality that was once merely a dream. Herzog speaks on how fiction is so captivating based on impossibilities being implicated into a sense of reality. Upon watching this documentary, Petit's and his team's actions are so outrageous that they almost seem false. But Petit is so determined to follow his passion that he turns an impossible dream into his reality. Petit's reality was difficult for others to grasp at different times throughout his journey. His teammates had concerns for his safety and had doubts of his ability to fulfill his dream without the cost of death. Then, when he was on the wire, spectators were unable to understand what they were looking at when Petit's then girlfriend starts pointing him out in the sky. Like in Allegory of the Cave, these spectators are blind to certain truths or to things they have never experienced and have difficulty figuring out what is happening when a Petit starts his walk. Much to Petit's disappointment, many Americans would ask him why he chose to walk between the Twin Towers. He could think of no fathomable reason because, simply put, performing the walk was Petit's reality. He had internal yearnings to follow through with the walk, knowing that his truth was to fulfill his daring feat. With his determination, he practiced and planned out his walk meticulously until the day came to follow through. His passion led him to overcome nature and overcome his fears to create his reality. He overcame seeming impossibilities and showed an exciting and beautiful new reality to the world by overcoming natural and legal forces to accomplish his walk. And by doing so, Petit opened new possibilities for his future, for his new reality. Like those in Plato's cave, most could only imagine the reality of doom that would overcome Petit if he attempted his walk, but Petit was able to see past that and drive his dream forward through passion. So, when others saw him walking across the wire, they would have looked on with disbelief because they could not envision such a reality where a person could overcome something so implausible. And because of this, everyone looked in awe; they were in the midst of an extreme reality in the making. 

Everything is bigger in America

Super Size Me attempts to give an insight to the dangers of fast food industry, with an special focus on McDonalds, being the largest fast food company in the world. Oddly enough, the health risks associated with fast food are not breaking news. The dangers of fast food are widespread and commonly known, they are choose to be ignored or overlooked. The underlying truth I see is: consumerism. While we see the transformation of Spurlock in his journey of 30 days of McDonalds diet, we cannot overlook his main outtake, which is the nature of fast food companies, and the basis of the United States culture which is consumerism. Spurlock understand this, and in a very clever way portraits this message grabbing the audience's attention by impressing them with the tremendous effects consumerism of fast food has on the person's physically, emotionally, and psychologically health, while giving insight of the deep of the rabbit hole. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a1 a

In Plato's The Allegory of the cave,  Plato reasons that we our blind of truth, we see and believe through shadows the reality of the world. We do not understand that it is merely the product of our imagination what he speak to be real or truth, for we do not have the ability to turn our heads and see that that of what we had spoken is not it, but its shadow. In the same way, we are bombed with advertisement, at every moment, we are told how things are, we do not seem them, we only see it's shadow. We have been conditioned to consume. Every time more and more, and bigger and bigger, one of the many examples in Super Size Me was the change in size of the fries or sodas or meals, going from a unique size (that is now consider small or kids) to large, even super size. This change is motivated by monetary revenue, to increase consumerism. But consumerism conveys a higher price than just monetary. What I found scary is that fast food industries in order to increase consumerism, can go to make their food addictive. Spurlock became addicted to McDonalds, Spurlock said "i eat some, and the after a little while latter I will be hungry again and wanting to eat more" he feel depressed and tired unless he was eating McDonalds, but the effect was only temporary.

We can choose to keep believing the shadows, or we can try to set us free, so that we can turn and see the light that creates the shadows, so that we can understand reality, or we can always go super size.

Man off Why

Man on Wire is a documentary that reveals the story behind a tightrope walker named Phillippe Petit who managed to pull off the illegal tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. His story is both compelling and inspiring as it leads the audience through the ups and downs of his journey. The documentary does a good job of revealing the truth of the absolute impossible nature of Phillippe's dream. After several years of practice, and multiple flights to the United States to research the coming and goings of the World Trade centers, Phillippe and his crew finally developed a plan that was just barely thorough enough to give them as single shot at setting up a tight rope at the top of the Twin towers and walking between them. 

The truth is Phillippe Petit's journey was found in the details of his story. The way they had to hide from security guard for hours, shoot an arrow with a wire on it from one tower to the next, pull the slack of the heavy wire for hours, all to barely get one shot at Phillippe's dreams. It should also be noted that all his preparation and work hinged the commitment and motivation of Phillippe's team, which was made up of friends, strangers, and an unanticipated contact at the top of the towers. Other than revealing the truth of the story and the impossible nature of their tasks, Man on Wire holds the elements of an "ecstatic truth." Herzog's ecstatic truth is a term that refers to a truth that is “mysterious and can only be grasped with effort; one attains it through vision, style, and craft.” This type of truth was scene in the success of the goal as it pertained to Phillipe's enthusiasm and fearless ambition to chase his dreams. The documentary went further as to reveal the truth about the effect that completing Phillippe's dreams had on his friendships and relationships.

In Man on Wire, relationship nuances that did not entirely pertain to the completion of Phillipe's goal were revealed. Some of which included his relationship with a long-term lover and the way their relationship ended shortly after the completion of such a large and beautiful goal. Phillips also grew apart from his other good friends who fulfilled essential roles in the planning and completion of his dream. The truth to be determined from these aspects is dependent on the interpretation of the audience. The termination of Phillipe's relationships could have been due to the fact that their friendships were around the premise of effectively doing something as beautiful as it was impossible. It could have also been a result of the lustful nature of ambitious desire and success. Man on Wire creatively made the connection between lust and ambition by including the part of the story where Phillippe went home with and had sex with an admirer upon being released from prison. The rewards of lust and ambition are very similar and play a large role in motivating people to attempt the assumedly impossible. 

However, as Phillippe explained at the end of the documentary, although it is interesting to speculate "why" people do what they are passionate about, the "why" doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is the truth in knowing something that beautiful "did" happen. 

Grizzly Con Man

Timothy Treadwell's passion for grizzly bears was unlike that of anyone else. He attempted to live among these massive creatures as one of them. Although he portrayed his mission as a selfless mission to protect and serve the bears, further inspection revealed otherwise. In his documentary, Grizzly Man, Herzog subtly reveals the truth hidden in the margins of the story as it was originally depicted. He uses methods such as allowing the camera to just a few moments longer than the last question of the interview. In theses moments, the audience gets a peek back stage where the facades of the people being interviewed are framed by reality rather than the drama of the documentary. This comparison gave the audience grounds to base the claims made by Treadwell's friends and colleagues. 

Where Timothy Treadwell suggested magic and wonder in the light of a selfless act, Herzog revealed mild disinterest of a large predatory animal and the self motivated pursuit of a misdirected disgruntled man. Treadwell's relationship with the grizzlies was equally as manipulative and dangerous as his relationships with women. In a poetic form of truth, Treadwell's selfish drive to get as close to grizzly bears as possible terminated with his own death, the death of his girlfriend and of a grizzly bear. This ending illustrates the way manipulative relationships ultimately damage the object of love or lust as much as the manipulator, if not more. 

Not only did he reveal the truth behind Timothy Treadwell's motives and the nature of his relationships, Herzog managed to reveal truths regards Jewel Palovak through the use of his clever filming techniques. At one point in his interview with Palovak, Herzog listens to the audio footage of Treadwell and his girlfriend's death. In response his response to hearing the audio footage, Herzog says, "Jewel, you must never listen to this." He even goes further and suggests her to destroy it. As written by David T. Johnson in his analysis of the documentary, "Herzog need not prompt us any further in sensing the scene's importance, which accounts for minimalist aesthetics (the long pauses, the relatively static camera)," (Johnson, 509). These aspects of Herzog's style of filming exposed truth in Jewel Palovak's otherwise fabricated responses. She seemed to be lying when she suggested that she agreed with Herzog's advice. In a great form of dramatic irony, the present day audience would be well aware that Palovak was putting on a front in this scene, as it is currently known that this audio footage has been leaked onto the internet. Considering Palovak had the only copy of this tape (the original tape that Herzog advised her to destroy), it is fairly easy to assume that she did not destroy the tape and likely had a hand in the internet leak. All of this current knowledge, further supports the truth Herzog revealed or even predicted at the time he created Grizzly Man. 

Thin Grizzle Blue Man

Timothy Treadwell, the "kind warrior", the "lone guardian of the grizzlies", a man who has an addictive personality living his last 13 summers out in the Alaskan Peninsula among the Grizzly bears.  Grizzly bears are ranked as one of the most dangerous animals in the world, yet Treadwell believed he needed to be out there and protect them and love them.  Many people loved Timothy and his cause, mainly children, but with lovers also comes haters.  People also thought he was insane, or one man said he thought he had a mental disability. I don't think that was the case, Timothy was a loving man, almost like the Dr. Phil of Grizzlies.  He would talk to them like he was their father or he would help give them relationship advice. But he became so lost in living with grizzlies that he mentally almost became one.  His soul/spirit animal was a grizzly bear trapped in human form. The way his tone and speech when communicating to bears, was almost like talking to children.

The Thin Blue Line, providing a glance into the negatives of the justice system, opened my eyes and heart into the understanding that not everyone is a honest person, per not everyone is a liar as well.  "If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit".  Randall was pinned on the murder of the police officer because of circumstance and they took the word of a 16 year old kid over a 30+ year old man with no prior problems with the police.

The part that unites these two film is the use of technology.  Without Tim's hours of video footage and   Randall Adam's story on The Thin Blue Line, the world would have never seen these people and heard their stories.  Although "human imagination [can] accomplish great things" for imagining into the lives of other, the creation of these films educate and (in Randall's case) allow others to reconsider prior judgements made about a person.  Hence, the case reopening after the film was made and they proved he was innocent of the Murder of the police officer, proving that David Harris was the killer after all.  Without Timothy Treadwell's hours of devotion to the conservation of wild animals, we would have just thought he was a crazy man who was more insane the Bear Grylls.  These two examples of Documentary's provide a real truth to the lives of people whom most people would never want to be, prisoner of the state, and prisoner of the body (wanting to be a grizzly bear).  Documentaries today are so much more entertaining to most because of the fact of editing, or in the sense, we cannot trust Reality TV Shows like Survivor.  Timothy Treadwell and Randall Adams were/are the real survivors, and thanks to technology, we can see that truth for ourselves.

Thin Blue Lie

The falsely accused in Thin Blue Line, Randall Adams, shares his experience with the judicial system as a disservice to justice: “He don’t give a damn if you’re innocent, he don’t give a damn if you’re guilty…they don’t care.”  “He” in this case refers to the judge, but frequently throughout the film, Adams uses the term “they” to include prosecutors, the jury, and the judge.  I also interpret “they” to mean “the man” or the government/law enforcement in general.  Some form of justice is sought after someone is murdered, but vengeance is an important factor when a police officer is killed in the line of duty: the courts will take severe measures to avenge an officer's death. Pertaining to the jury, one attorney rightfully claimed that it was “their verdict that counted.” This shows the fault in our judicial system and acceptance of the convenient truth versus the inconvenient truth. 

Though Thin Blue Line was created to show the fault in Adams’ case, this story is not new in United States' history.  The convenient truth, in other words, not the truth at all, is used to close cases.  Men, often deemed inferior because of minority and/or lower socioeconomic status, have been prosecuted as scapegoats to ease the minds of victims, victims’ families, and society.  Many desire the situation to be “handled” rather than justice be served. It is important to decipher between partial truth and whole truth: a man may be guilty of drunk driving and using illegal drugs, but that does not indicate guilt of further crimes.  

Herzog grapples with the importance of reality, the Factual, and Truth: “Of course, we can’t disregard the factual; it has normative power. But it can never give us the kind of illumination, the ecstatic flash, from which Truth emerges.” Herzog deciphers between the Factual and Truth; some things may be factually correct, such as hundreds sharing the same last name, yet not necessarily displaying the Truth – because they all identify as Schmidt, that does not mean they are THE Schmidt you are looking for.

Different realities are constructed depending on what evidence is presented; the only people who know the absolute truth are those who were present during the situation.  Even that is difficult to claim as some can convince themselves of a different past or find images and memories blurred in a haze of substances and adrenaline. Thin Blue Line encourages viewers to investigate and challenge assumptions: it shows that the determination to reveal truth can undermine a corrupt system.

Can I make that a large?

Imagine people sitting at a table in your local Chick-fil-a or Burger King truly enjoying the their food. Ideally, it’s healthy right? Doesn’t the menu show how many calories are in each item on the menu and offer “healthier” options such as diet coke or salad? Do people honestly take that into consideration? People believe the ideals and images these companies give their food or they choose to ignore them altogether.

These images and ideals are similar to those shown to the slaves in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato attempts to describe the mindset of the masses and how it would be if they were to uncover the truth. The slaves(the masses) believe that the images are true to life. They did not challenge or think anything different from what they were shown or told, and that applies to the fast food customers of today.

In the film, Super Size Me, director Morgan Spurlock embarks on a 30-day journey of eating only McDonald’s menu items as his sole source of nourishment. Over this time period, he gains more baggage than weight. He becomes challenged with occasional vomiting, psychological health problems, and physical health problems ranging from headaches to heart palpitations. But why even do this? While Morgan did shed light on the controversial tactics used in the creation and disbursement of fast foods, he is only one of the trillions of slaves that should challenge or release themselves from the bonadge of fast food. But to me, the challenge not only lies in the consumer, but the employee too.

I work at Chick-Fil-a, and its seems absurd for me to agree with anything that goes completely left of the status quo of my workplace, but how can I not? I go to work with intention. The intention of selling food that is unhealthy, making the drive-thru move as fast as possible to get food to the people faster, but also recommend more than what was asked for. I mean I literally sell the food that can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, even massive weight gain.

The text and the film challenged me more significantly because I embark on both paths. How can I choose a healthy lifestyle for myself when I sell unhealthy food? How can I choose to say no to unhealthy food when I eat it myself? While I can not change my lifestyle in the flip of a burger, I can acknowledge it.

The Biggest Dreams are Defined by the Thinnest Lines

Man on wire, an incredible documentary, one that portrays the tension and the voyage that the event itself produced at the time. The moment I realized what exactly he planned on doing and the process it took to prepare for it, I too was able to appreciate it, to admire this peculiar art form that I never imagined could be so majestic! This was, as Herzog mentions in On the Absolute, the sublime and Ecstatic truth, "a poetic, ecstatic truth, which is mysterious and can only be grasped with effort; one attains it through vision, style, and craft," and surely it took years of preparation and effort. It defined who Philippe was, this creative crafty guy, the "bad boy" who always looked for adventure, yet maintained a strict plan for transcending the thoughts of those who labeled it as impossible.
But, why? why have that drive and desire to wall-walk the twin towers? Philippe states that this was a challenge that he understood was his for the taking, the moment he saw that page in the magazine. It was as if he had finally understood his purpose, the moment he read about the world trade center, he knew what his destiny was. That's when the preparation began, he would prove that he could, and he would convey his dream in a sublime and noble manner.
The simple mental strength it took to prepare for it, not to mention physically, depicts a man who would stop at nothing to accomplish this vision. Fear roamed around many times and insecurity crept up on multiple occasions, and he was well aware of it, yet his passion outweighed those and thus gave him strength to continue. This wasn't JUST a dream, it was his destiny, this was the main purpose in his life, the climax even. A story specifically articulated for his life, a stunt tailor-made for him, which he performed in the most beautiful manner possible.
Thus, he exercised something so beautiful and so dangerous, that it left the world in awe, and proved that no dream was impossible if you're willing to do what it takes to get there. As I was once told "luck is when preparation meets opportunity" and in that form, he was definitely a lucky person. His dreamed was fulfilled not because he was randomly selected by some supernatural power to be the "chosen" one for this, but because the moment the opportunity rose he prepared for it and it payed off.

Man on Wire: A Beautiful Outlook

Man on Wire romantically retells the story of wire walker Philippe Petit as he waltzed between the twin towers in 1974.  The cinematic qualities of Man on Wire such as the violins and constant soft music that played as people spoke, and their genuine tear filled testimonies, were unique compared to other documentaries.  The producers created a film that not only recalled  a story, but led people forty years later to share in the experience; this kind of truth is hard to recreate.  Like Hands on a Hard Body, the best elements of human nature are shown because of the uniqueness of each task.  

Man on Wire displays an “ecstatic truth” which Herzog describes as “mysterious and can only be grasped with effort; one attains it through vision, style, and craft.”  Philippe’s feat and preparation were illegal, but the task was viewed as extraordinary rather than psychotic or dangerous.  Philippe is comparable to Walter Steiner at the end of Herzog’s “On the Absolute, the Sublime, and Ecstatic Truth” in their pursuit of fulfillment and independence in their acts.  Philippe acts with the help of his acquaintances, but acknowledges that the journey is his.  He intentionally distances himself from his long time lover so not to break her heart if he falls to his death and to truly experience the beauty of his craft as an individual. 

Wire walking also draws feelings similar to the opera: as Herzog describes, “The feelings are so abstracted; they cannot really be subordinated to everyday human nature any longer, because they have been concentrated and elevated to the most extreme degree and appear in their purest form.”  Even through a documentary, the retelling of Philippe’s wire walking creates natural, unexplainable feelings.  Witnessing a human achieve something he dreamt of throughout his life and with aspects seemingly impossible to overcome, is an “out of this world” experience.  I can only imagine what it would be like for people who saw firsthand.

As his friends and those who helped recalled years of knowing Philippe and preparation for the event, there was minimal regret (fortunately, he completely the event safely – it would have been a different documentary had he fallen).  Even those who broke the law in their workplace to assist him, had no remorse; the beauty of the act was more important to them than the risk.  Philippe himself claimed that dying doing what he loved would be a beautiful death.  Even at the height of the Twin Towers, he danced, knelt, and laid on the wire: his wire walking was not a show, it was a journey, and an art. 

Why do We do What We do?

Philippe Petit, a name that not many people from our generation of millennials may know. This is a French tight rope walker who's dreams and ambitions took him to the top of the world literally. In 1974 Philippe walked across a wire connecting the twin towers in New York for 45 minutes. Philippe said in the movie Man on Wire, he had "a dream not of conquering the universe, but as a poet conquering beautiful stages."

For both the Man on Wire and Hand on the Hard body, the question of why comes up. Why did Philippe walk on that wire 450 meters above the streets of New York? Why did the individuals stay there for 78 hours with their hands on that truck? Sometimes there is no reason. It is about being in the moment and taking in what is truly around you. In Hand on the Hard Body, there is a comment about being aware of the people around you that otherwise you would never have been aware or understand a person so well without being around them in that close of an environment.

The movie was great about showing the progress of following your dreams even if they are not available to be attained at the time. Even through all of the things that went wrong, it still managed to happen. The people who saw were in awe and it gave them a great show that none of them would forget. Herzog talks about the act of creating a prefix and back story. They did a good job of this interviewing the people who helped Philippe attain his dream. When they all spoke of him they broke down with happiness and amazement remember this great memory. It inspired me to go out and accomplish something amazing for no reason at all, but just for the sake of doing it.