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Evaluation

The journey of creating my blog was not an easy one. In the beginning, I found it difficult to decide on a topic to write about. However, once I got started, the ideas began to flow, and I began to find it easy to write. The more I wrote, the more I found it easier and more interesting, especially the post that I did about paintings and films, it was my favourite one. The more blog posts I was writing, the more I realized the significance of the theme I was exploring, how films take inspiration from everyday life and how I can teach others about these connections, through my research. Throughout the semester, I think I managed to achieve the primary goal I set for myself when starting the blog. My main goal was to reveal and explain the link between films and real-life experiences. My main goal was also the meaning behind the blog title ‘Fiction Meets Reality’. I think I managed to achieve this goal because each blog post explored the connections between films and real-life events in...
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How Films Reflect and Shape Our World

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 Films are more than just entertainment, they are a window into our world. They show us what is happening in society, reflect our values, and sometimes even challenge us to think differently. The connection between cinema and society is a two-way road, films take inspiration from real life, and in return, they shape how we see and understand it, and that was the main objective of this blog. One way films connect with society is by showing us its struggles and challenges. Social issues like inequality, discrimination, and politics often take centre stage. For example,  The Pursuit of Happyness  (2006) (Swank, n.d.) tells a story about financial struggles and the power of resilience, while  Parasite  (2019) takes a look at differences in classes and how they affect people’s lives (Weinberger, 2020). These films feel so real because they are based on challenges many people face in their daily lives. Films also capture the aesthetics and memories of their time. In t...
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Are Films Moving Paintings?

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Cinema, often referred to as the "seventh art" by Ricciotto Canudo (Wiktionary, 2023), is a medium where visual images meet motion. However, in the history of films, there is a strong connection to static visual art forms. Many filmmakers take inspiration from classical and modern art, turning the screens into moving canvases that feel as deep and emotional as the paintings. By carefully using colour, composition, and lighting, the director turns his film into something truly artistic. Film as an Artistic Palette Filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson are renowned for crafting frames that resemble paintings. Kubrick and Wes Anderson often took inspiration from Renaissance and Baroque paintings. (“Renaissance art and architecture relied on mathematically precise compositions and designs which explored ideal harmony and the golden ratio. Artists and designers arranged elements of height, width, symmetry and proportion carefully against one another to create ca...
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Law Meets Cinema

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Freedom of expression is one of the most basic human rights in a democratic society. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) says that everyone has the right to share their opinions and ideas, as long as it follows the law and as long as it is for the greater good. This right also includes being able to receive and share information without any interference from the government (European Court of Human Rights, 1950). However, with great freedom comes great responsibility. This right must be practised responsibly to ensure it does not lead to violence (European Court of Human Rights, 1950). Freedom of expression is not something that is found only in law, it is also something explored in art and media. Creating films to express and share ideas, has been one of the best methods of freedom of speech media. Freedom of Expression in Films A great example of this is Sound of Freedom (2023), a film where the director used his freedom of expression to highlight t...
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How Films Create Meaning Beyond Words

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According to Kuhn and Westwell (2012), semiotics is “the systematic study of signs and symbols.” Semiotics is a sign, then the sign is split into the denotation and the connotation. We are surrounded by semiotics . For example, in the image above, the sign (signifier) is the Adidas logo because it creates meaning and is the first thing we see. From this sign, we can get two types of meaning:  denotation and  connotation (University of Vermont, 2019). The denotation is the literal meaning of the sign (University of Vermont, 2019), which in this case is the sports brand, Adidas. Then the connotation is the signified meaning of the sign (University of Vermont, 2019). For example, when you look at this logo you think about sports, comfort and many more interpretations depending on your experiences and culture. These steps are the basic steps of semiotic analysis in media. We find the signs, identify what is the meaning, and find out why the director chose to use them, a...
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Consumer Culture and its Influence on Media Advertising

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Consumer Culture and its Influence on Media Advertising In this blog post, we will go through what is consumer culture, the consumer culture theory and then dive into how it is shown in cinema. We’ll explore how media portrays consumer culture and how they can both reflect and shape our views on consumption in our everyday lives. Consumer Culture Theory We live in a world where what we buy often reflects who and what we are. The consumer culture theory (CCT) talks about how/why our shopping choices and lifestyles are influenced by culture, society, and the economy instead of just our wants and needs. Instead of seeing culture as one big set of beliefs, CCT looks at the different ways people create meaning and identity through what they buy and how they live (Arnould and Thompson, 2018). CCT talks about why people use brands and products to express who they are, how social class or ethnicity influence our purchases, and how people come together because of the same purchases. CCT a...
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Id, Ego and Superego and Their Resemblance in Film

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Id, Ego and Superego and Their Resemblance in Film The id, ego, and superego are three aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis, representing different personalities of the human psyche and behaviour (Fillit, 2017). This theory was established by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist. The theory not only left a mark on psychology but also on cinema. From thrillers to dramas, filmmakers use the id, ego, and superego to create unforgettable stories that dive deep into human nature. In this blog, we’ll explore how some classic films bring Freud’s theory to life. We will start with a quick look at what the id, ego, and superego are before getting into how they are shown on the big screen. According to Sigmund Freud, our mind can be divided into three levels of consciousness, these are the unconscious, preconscious and conscious mind.  Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) The Id The Id is the one that operates in the unconscious part of our mind. This is the part that is often described as the ...
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