I liked watching “Through the Olive Trees” because it is one of the first films that we have watched that gave women a sort of empowering role. Tahereh was not interested in a boy, Hossein, who was pursuing her throughout the film. She made her lack of interest very apparent and had all of the control in the relationship. Which I found refreshing after watching films like Peeping Tom where women are obviously objectified, Singin’ in the Rain where women characters are under appreciated and given little choice in their own outcomes, and even Sherlock Jr. where the only woman is a prize to be won by either one of two men. But in this film, Tahereh takes control of her own destiny.

Tahereh does not speak to Hossein through the entire film and rejects all of his advances. She will not even look at him. It is implied that this is in part due to the fact that Tahereh is more highly educated than her male pursuer, another form of female empowerment portrayed. But it is also arguable that she is simply uninterested, an emotion that women are rarely given the power to feel in media and film. There is also Ms. Shiva, another strong female character. She was obviously a no-nonsense kind of women who was the real driving force behind the production of the film being made. Without her it seems that very little would have been accomplished and that she was actually basically controlling just about everything even though she was not the director.

I found it interesting that the female characters were so strong in this film, and particularly in contrast with the male characters. It seems that the male and female roles were reversed. Hossein was the character chasing after love and throwing himself at his love interest, a role that is usually portrayed by the ‘obsessive woman’.In contrast to Tahereh who held all the power in the relationship and scorned his advances. Also, the director seemed to be the more nurturing character shoe was helping Hossein try to get his girl. The director was very supportive and seemed to be a motherly/fatherly figure to Hossein. Again, a role that is usually portrayed by a women. This is in contrast to Ms. Shiva, the real power house behind the film and authority figure on and off set.

The fact that this role reversal exists in a film depicting Iranian culture makes it especially empowering and interesting. Iran is a county well known for its cultural oppression of women. That a film would dare to portray the female characters as the more powerful over the men in this culture is controversial. It speaks to the immense progress and change being felt though out society in terms of Universal Women’s rights.

8 1/2 was probably my favorite films that we have watched in this class. At first I was not sure how I felt about it and was leaning toward not really liking it. It was very dense and difficult to follow. The characters were difficult to identify with and it was pretty, just, weird. But after further reflection and discussion of the film I began to really appreciate it. Particularly Guido’s character.

I love the use of light and shadows to create beautiful scenes and shots. And the dream sequences, no matter how weird, are creative and extraordinary. I also really enjoyed that two people could have completely different interpretations of the film. But I think what I most enjoyed after thinking about 8 1/2 further was the main character Guido. Guido is a director that is trying to create a film that is truthful and that means something. He is having problems with its completion though and can not seem to figure out exactly what he wants. The pressure is mounting for Guido on all sides and he is cracking beneath it.

I think I really began to appreciate Guido because of his psychological breakdown. It made him relatable and interesting. It made him more than an entitled, cheating, big shot director. Guidos breakdown made him a human going through real turmoil and feeling real stress from which he could not escape no matter how hard he tried. I really connected to this since it is somewhat how I have been feeling this term, my last term before graduating. I sympathize with Guido and understand how difficult making final decisions can be under immense pressure.

It seemed that the class consensus was that Guido was whiny, that he had all of the resources he could ever need and still was doing nothing and complaining about it. This is true, Guido was very privileged and could have done just about anything he wanted with his film. But that is just the problem, he didn’t know what he wanted. A person can have all the resources in the world but if they don’t know what they want and are falling apart internally there is very little chance to make any sort of progress.

8 1/2 gave us the story of a man trying to keep it together in a time when he was obviously crumbling and took us on the journey with him. And I really enjoyed going through Guido’s journey. I was able to feel what he was feeling and in the end, the relief of it all being over. This film restored my faith that no matter how stressful life can get, it will all be ok, everything must come to an end, and it is very possible to come out on top no matter how bleak the situation may seem. For this, I love Guido’s character. In my own time of internal stress and turmoil he delivered the message that I needed to hear. Guido is not a whiny dramatic character, he is a man working through his own problems with self-doubt, confusion, and stress and I think that is a beautiful thing to watch.