User:Samsteen11/sandbox

Background
The Nuer which was written by Robert H Gardner who decides to follow the lives of the Nuer people who live in Ethiopia and show their daily rituals. Gardner specializes in observational cinema movement which is prevalent within The Nuer which helps to create a deeper and more personal relationship between the filmmaker, the villagers, and the audience. The film focuses on the ritualistic practices of the group and their primitive nature as their culture resembles the prehistoric hunters and gatherers.

About the Producer and Director
Robert H. Gardner was born on June 3,1947 in Berkeley California. He is an important documentary filmmaker, producer, and director of many films. He was involved in several films such as Sisters (2013), Rome: Rise and Fall of An Empire (2008), and The Courage to Care (1985) in which he was nominated for an Academy Award for.

Gardner was the producer of The Nuer while Hilary Harris is the one who actually filmed the movie. Harris was born on December 9, 1929 and was an essential anthropologic filmmaker. Other then the Nuer, Harris was involved in several films such as Longhorn (1951), Generation (1956), and Seawards the Great Ships (1961) in which he wonan Academy Award for.

Introduction and Rising Action
The establishing shot constantly changed and focused on different body parts moving as the villagers completed their daily chores. The film starts with a close up shot of cows and a real man whose body takes up the whole screen. For example, cattle is used as dowry in weddings and is expected back upon divorce. Cattle is also given to the family of the murder victim from the perpetrator as some form of petinence. The male gaze is also prevalent within this culture as even in this non-western society, women are seen as weaker and less than men. For example, the women and children roles are hunters and gatherers while men are meant to be strong and fight in wars.

Climax, Falling Action and Resolution
The film highlights the daily lives and customs of the Nuer people who live an interesting life. This film is an example of an objective film as there are very few incidences where the video is edited and narration is used very sparingly compared to the other films that we viewed for the class. This style of editing also exposes the viewer to as much information as possible that may help to deeper their relationship with the film subjects.

Ritual Practices
The main point of emphasis in the Nuer is how cattle is their main form of currency and food.The Nuer must not kill cattle for no reason, they have to sacrifice it to god. A big part of their culture revolves around sacrifice and the filmmakers cleverly uses the “voice of god” type of narration to cause the audience to “suspend disbelief” about what is actually occurring in that particular scene.The film also follows the linear narrative structure as it is meant to inform the audience about the daily lives of these sacrificial people.. The Nuer people also have age-sets where a person of a certain age is apart of a certain category and kinship is heavily emphasized.

Film Tactics
Most of the film was in medium shots and the narration in the film was scarce as the filmmakers opted to let the scene speak for itself in most cases. The long shots were the most effective as they helped to highlight how tall these people are as the young villager's long body takes up the whole shot.The film is also an example of an objective film as there were very few incidences that we edited and narration was scarce.