Watch A Historical Film!

4/27/2020

Target Timeline: Tuesday 5.5
Well, since we never really got to watch movie in class, you know, because Mr. Sherer is a jerk and always, like, wants to teach us with dumb primary sources and whatever. Watch any and/or all of the recommended following films and post your questions, comments or reviews!

Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb by Stanley Kubrick
2017’s The Death of Stalin
HBO’s Chernobyl

6 Comments

Dario

5/7/2020 06:57:46 pm

The movie Death of Stalin is about who will become Stalin’s successor after his death. During the time the successor goes to First Secretary of the central committee of the Soviet Union. There were a total of 3 possible successors: Nikita Khrushchev, Lavrentiy Beriya, and Georgy Malenkov. They all try their best to make allies with other ministers, secretaries, and other members to get their vote.
For the time being Georgy Malenkov takes over as general secretary. Lavrentiy Beriya tries to manipulate Georgy Malenkov to pass new laws and actions that go against what Stalin has worked for. So, Nikita Khrushchev teams up with all the other members of the minister including Georgy Malenkov and the head of the military Georgy Zhukov to take down Lavrentiy Beriya. The plan was during a meeting that was being held around the afternoon during Stalin’s funeral, they were going to secretly escort Lavrentiy Beriya to a discreet location to shoot him for his crimes involving rape, murder, and kidnap etc. Then after burn him to ashes.
This movie was a historical comedy that teaches us about how power corrupts everyone. In the first segment of the movie, the viewers can feel the terror of the population when they notice they didn’t record the concert performance for Stalin. So, they redid the whole concert for him even if there were some small obstacles. On the moment of his death you can see the joy in everyone’s actions. During a scene early in the movie, everyone knows they have to call a doctor, but they try to delay it arguing on if the committee would allow calling a doctor and from where, while he is unconscious on the floor. Everybody is loyal until they have the opportunity to have access to the power.

Sherer

5/7/2020 07:02:28 pm

That is a killer synopsis Dario, you could do that for a living. If I had not recommended it, I would want to see it. But, did you like it?

Brenley Nelson

5/8/2020 10:18:26 am

HBO’s Chernobyl is about the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The Soviet Union dealt with a massive explosion that put out a radioactive material throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. It spread as far as Scandinavia and Western Europe. The Chernobyl incident occurred April 26, 1986. Chernobyl was one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history. The show Chernobyl also tells stories of the people who caused the disaster to happen and the people who responded to it. This show really had an impact on me because of the time period that we are going through right now. My biggest question is that if it is one of the “worst” man-made catastrophes, why did it only kill 4000 people. I know that might seem extremely shallow, but how is it one of the worst if it only killed a “small” portion of people?

Isabella Berentsen

5/8/2020 12:59:35 pm

Personally, I think the reason Chernobyl is one of the worst man-made disasters has to do with more than the death count. One of the reasons is because nuclear disasters are (thankfully) uncommon. I mean, how many have you heard of than Chernobyl? It's very famous, and the fact that we are still talking about it today says a lot. Another reason is because things could have easily been a lot worse. If things went differently, if the sand bags didn't work, whatever, Ukraine and the surrounding countries could have been turned into a giant radioactive crater. And, worse still, there are still a lot of terrible things happened because of the radiation. Genetic mutations caused by radioactive material are no joke. And as you said, The explosion put out radioactive material all the way to Scandinavia. On top of all of that, 4000 people died. Ultimately, when trying to figure out how bad a disaster is, it comes down to how many people were affected, how the disaster was managed, if there were any long lasting effects because of it, the death count, and more.

Veronica Rodriguez

5/8/2020 03:56:27 pm

The death of Stalin was a movie I actually liked. It really opens my eyes to things I never really thought about, such as how dictatorships work, and the history of Russia. The film is informative , giving a message on how corrupt governments can get, in a humorous way. Theres actually a part where I laughed out loud while watching, when the brother, Vasily was trying so hard to grab one of the guards gun, and there was just silence as they struggled. It was funny because they just watched and the scene was so unnecessarily long. There was also another scene where he’s pinned on the floor and tried spitting on the person but the spit just drops back on his face. It’s also kinda bizarre how death and violence is so normalized, they get new lists and kill easily without hesitation, even without a real reason. Stalins comrades were waiting on his death, even when he was alive. They try so hard to please him, going so far to note taking on conversations. Even in the beginning, when people find out he wants a recording of a music show, they make their audience and players do it once more again just for him. When they found out he died, they all acted as if they really cared, faking it for show. There is lots of time in between until they call any doctors, and don’t even get good ones. In this time, they talk casually with no rush, joking around, and some don’t want to carry him out as it’ll ruin their suits. It was an interesting film that I think captures low parts of humanity and this time well.

Sherer

5/12/2020 10:01:44 am

I am so glad you "actually liked it," who knew historical movies could be enjoyable!? Great answer and commentary on Chernobyl as well.

Watch A Historical Film!

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