Ideology and Film

Much of how we as humans perceive Complex art such as film can be objectively viewed in a social way. However without a similar foundation of ideology this view can be quickly viewed in its most naked form. Particles reacting to particles. Currently at this moment in time I am watching the Seventh Seal, a 1958 film dealing heavily in Christianity and Death during the crusades. Now seeing as I'm only forty minutes into the film I can't say with perfect certainty whether or not the film is heavily bias or not, however my particular ideology leads me to believe many of the people are uneducated fools (my apologies to any Christians who believe the plague was an act of god). So now, the question arises. To what extent does perception affect the meaning of art? At what point does our society transcend logic? And if so what even is objectivity of art?

Well obviously every movie based on a significant event will have bias towards the country of the creators, In simple terms it's called wanting to be the good guys, Or at least look like it. I wouldn't be surprised if they made hitler look like a hero in germany in more then one movie, It's called controlling the masses. You see and hear a lie or sugar coated truth enough and people will begin to believe it. About the Crusades in general. From my Knowledge of what happened from history, Was retaliation from the Islamic conquest, That and ergotism. Were they a good thing, No, Were they needed, Probably not but I wasn't alive back then so I wouldn't know. Was there a good reason for it? Well it depends on how much weight you put on 'holy lands' As I'm pretty sure that was another cause of it. Honestly, I'm not going to judge something a historian wrote hundreds of years ago, Because history changes, The victors get to write it, While the fallen's good reasoning are usually forgotten. I have no right to judge as I wasn't there to watch, participate or analyze.

While you have a well written answer, you did not answer the question. The question is more about the constructs of our perception on the effectiveness of visual language. I merely used the crusades as a reference point. Sorry about that.

I think it's incredibly hard to achieve pure objectivity in documentaries. It is extremely difficult for most film-makers to objectively capture reality on screen, as through the process of making the film and becoming more and more familiar with the characters involved in its story, it is a natural reaction to draw conclusions and consequentially become biased. There was a documentary I watched called "Seeking Asian Female" where the film maker followed this one guy who had yellow fever in the process of him getting married to his chinese mail order bride. The film maker ended up getting so drawn into the couple's conflicts, at first as a translator since there's no common language between the two and then as a confidant, that she became a third character in the narrative and admits on film that the film basically failed as a documentary. There's another one called "Born into Brothels" where the reality of living in Calcutta's red light district is told from the point of view from the children that really tried to be objective. The kids were given cameras and took photos of their environment that they later discussed so it wasn't provoked, but even then the director admitted that she was feeling an emotional connection with the kids and interfered with their lives trying to get them into school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrHeg77LF4Y Zeitgeist movie documentary your view on this world will change forever.

Im speaking thematic objectivity. To what extent do the rules of art the concepts of storytelling actually inherently prevail?

First thought on your OP: Do your own homework. But why the hell not. First let's look at what may have initiated your questions: "I am watching the Seventh Seal [cut] I can't say with perfect certainty whether or not the film is heavily bias or not" - To know if the film itself is biased or not you have to understand the director/writer. If you haven't already, look up Ingmar Bergman's views on film, religion and history, and if he produced The Seventh Seal from a historic or religious aspect, somewhere in between, or strictly about existentialism with man's attempt to avoid death despite knowing the inevitable. Why the use of the Middle Ages and religion in connection with death? An easy answer is found in the historical significance of the setting and how the audience can relate it. I'll leave that open. "my particular ideology leads me to believe many of the people are uneducated fools" - With this you answer your own question ("To what extent does perception affect the meaning of art?"), and display your own prejudice by ignoring the film's setting, and potential lack of self-awareness. Do you perceive the characters to be "uneducated fools" because they have religious views? Is it because during the time presented in the film the majority of the people were uneducated even by the standards of the time, where education and religion were usually considered the same with emphasis toward religion (events were considered "acts of God" as that was all people had to explain them, not science)? Or are the people "fools" because you view the events and actions through modern thinking (the plague was caused by bacteria spread by rodents and parasitic insects carried through trade routes, not divine punishment)? Did you realize how your own perceptions ("my particular ideology", understanding of science, history and biology) cause you to subjectively view the the film as a whole ("heavily biased or not"), based on a component of the film (the people)? "And if so what even is objectivity of art?" - I intentionally moved this question out of the order you placed it as I have a feeling this is how it was originally presented. Are you trying to define the border between objectivity and subjectivity with regards to art? How? by defining what is art, or what is good art? These theoretical questions have been and will always be asked. The answer will always be subjective based on the perceptions of the person answering. Consider to yourself if any of the following is art, why or why not, and what influenced your decision: The door to your room An amplifier tube Any religious icon (painting, statue or wearable item) Anime A poem about dying for your country Statue of a person (historical, political or celebrity) A romantic movie A jar containing bodily fluid (blood, bile or urine) and an object (figure of your favorite anime character, celebrity, politician, religious or other historical person) A painting of a nude figure Objective: Art exists. Death is (or, all living things die). Subjective: Is it good or evil to pet a cow? Bacon is delicious. NGE is horribly written and overrated. A sports car should be red. "To what extent do the rules of art the concepts of storytelling actually inherently prevail?" - I think you need to clarify, expand or correct that sentence. As read it looks incomplete. "At what point does our society transcend logic?" - This comes across as a completely unrelated question, even in context to the main theme of your post, which leads me to suspect you're looking for help with an assignment from a Philosophy class. At what point does society transcend itself? By what do you measure logic or how society transcends it? There was a time when logic dictated that man cannot fly, the earth was the center of the universe, and if you sailed the seas far enough you would fall off the planet.

Hello. First I'd like to start of by saying thank you for the answer, and that no. This was not a homework question. Indeed why would I come to an anime based dating site for my philosophy homework questions. I opened this purely out of desire. recently I saw the film, which was more or less a cinematic essay, titled the perverts guide to ideology. The film made me question my approach to visual storytelling. I tend to find myself being objective towards reviews and such. Its not about is it good for me. However due to the films radical disposition compared to mine I saw what might be a discrepancy in the communication of visual language. That is film form may be affected by culture. Now I've always known this but the gravity of it really hit home this time. I thought it would be benificial to hear people of different walks of life speak about this topic. Thank you.