Author Topic: DOCember Group Marathon 2016  (Read 24019 times)

Corndog

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #230 on: January 06, 2017, 12:53:23 PM »
I just don't see the point in doing a documentary about the character then ; especially a 7.5 hour doc. He is only interesting in that his trial was a key moment in the black/white divide at a state and national level.

The film uses the character as a microcosm of the culture of race in the US during that character's time within it. Thus we get to see him before during and after the trial, all of which show different sides of who OJ was and how his experience related to the greater question of race during each time. He wasn't black, then was black when he needed to be, and then afterwards was kind of set into this stereotype he worked so hard to avoid before the trial. The epilogue section of this film is just as important as all the other aspects of it in telling his rather tragic tale. IMO
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

DarkeningHumour

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #231 on: January 06, 2017, 01:03:11 PM »
I don't see ow OJ using his blackness or not can be telling of larger social trends. Who else is in a position that they can pick and choose when they are black or not? You can argue that it shows you when it hurts to be black and when it stops mattering, but then the epilogue is not really bringing anything new to the table.
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Corndog

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #232 on: January 06, 2017, 01:30:21 PM »
I don't see ow OJ using his blackness or not can be telling of larger social trends.

Because he transcended race at the time, and being able to choose sheds light on the difference between being white and being black at that point in time (and in many ways still today). His story is unique in that way, which is what makes it so compelling.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Bondo

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #233 on: January 08, 2017, 12:40:58 PM »
Growing Up Coy (2016)

This was apparently a big news story, and right out of my backyard when I was in Colorado. Admittedly it happened after I left Colorado, but somehow I hadn't heard about it. Basically it follows a family as they try to force enforcement of trans civil liberties with regard to their 6-year-old daughter. We get to watch from the beginning of consideration of legal action through the conclusion.

It is one of those documentaries that makes me feel very uncomfortable because I don't feel like I should be watching. Admittedly putting trans life out in public, getting people to see beyond the image of it in their heads, is important to making lasting progress, but on the other hand here it often feels counterproductive as we see the toll of the publicity on Coy and on her parents' relationship. From a legal standpoint, I tend to agree with the head of the state's civil rights department that actively seeking to make it a media issue isn't helpful to the process. Did that publicity force the ultimate decision or was it in spite of the publicity is a question I suppose we'll never know.

The film ends mostly on a positive note, but for all the good the Obama Administration did on the issue, and for all the blowback North Carolina suffered for going the other direction, I fear the next couple years will not be great for trans rights. There will likely be large swathes of the country that might best be considered no-go zones.

And with that I think I'm calling it curtains for DOCember 2016.

oldkid

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #234 on: January 09, 2017, 02:51:21 AM »
I think the post-trial stuff is fascinating (and also is a fairly brief portion of the doc)...because it shows the continuation of his character defects...the narcissism.


I find the end fasinating because it shows how the justice system is really working.  Each trial is about a larger issue (police targeting the black population, OJ getting off on a murder he was declared guilty of in public) than the matter on trial, and each verdict and sentence is trying to redress that larger issue instead of narrowly focusing on the evidence.
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Bondo

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #235 on: January 09, 2017, 09:33:13 AM »
TFW you find out there is a doc on Netflix about a blind young adult woman with Asperger's exploring her sexuality:


DarkeningHumour

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #236 on: January 09, 2017, 10:04:13 AM »
Is the blind part important?
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Bondo

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #237 on: January 09, 2017, 10:08:16 AM »
I mean, that isn't in the top 3 buzzwords in the description as it relates to my areas of interest.

Bondo

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #238 on: January 09, 2017, 12:24:05 PM »
Best and Most Beautiful Things (2016)

The first half of this film was a very good film, following Michelle Smith as she graduates high school and tries to find some level of independence in her life, dealing with having Asperger's and being legally blind (she can read very large print very close to her face). It made me ponder a question like whether I was fortunate to not be diagnosed with Asperger's until later in life. Would an early diagnosis have provided me with an intervention that would have cut out a decade of learning curve, kept me from feeling a decade behind in accomplishing things in life. Or would it have made others set an expectation for me, and thus provide me with an excuse, to not be able to become independent? As she describes in the film, sometimes the world is very black and white...either you are entirely self-sufficient, or else you are seen as unable to do anything. And the unwillingness to provide a little help can make it a self-fulfilling prophecy...if employers are unwilling to make accommodations (they are legally required to, but there are gaps) it becomes impossible to for someone to provide for themselves. I'd say this applies a lot to how we craft or view our welfare state as well.

The second half of the film sealed its greatness as it gets into the sexuality. People with disabilities are frequently desexualized, seen as either being asexual beings or else as being somehow perpetual children, unable to consent. Michelle is very forthright with how she enters into not just sexuality, but the world of kink, and rather successfully. It makes me rather jealous that at her age she is already so aware of the depths of her sexuality, advanced even by the standards of a neurotypical person with 20/20 vision I reckon. And I can't help but think that he success is in part structured by her gender. Male sex drive, unimpeded by the consequences that can face women, is such that it can make it rather easier for women. The impression I get from Dan Savage's podcast is kink communities are often male-heavy, making women powerful in their relative rarity.

Of course, one of the most annoying moments was a great example of the stigma where disability and sexuality meet. Talking with her high school teacher about finding the BDSM community, he ponders if maybe her diagnosis of Asperger's at a young age is inaccurate because this doesn't match up with his idea of autism. At this I basically shouted "CINECAST! YOU!" at my screen. Ultimately, one thing that comes out of this multi-year process is Michelle finds a calling in speaking to these issues of visibility of kink and the sexual autonomy of those with disabilities. And based on the power of this doc, I'd say she's going to do extremely well at it. Unlike my previous doc, this is one where she feels in control of the narrative and thus it doesn't feel exploitative, even as it captures personal moments.

A-

DarkeningHumour

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Re: DOCember Group Marathon 2016
« Reply #239 on: January 10, 2017, 03:57:52 AM »
I assume that discussion with the teacher was some years after graduating?
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