Battleship Potemkin Essay

I do not think that it is the writer’s/filmmaker’s responsibility to address social, environmental, political, humanitarian issues in their work. However, I think that it is important for writers/filmmakers to inspire change through their work by addressing social and personal issues in their work. Writing and filmmaking is a creative process, no one should feel obligated to write or create a story that reflects a social issue. At the end of the day it is the writer’s decision if they want to write stories that address social issues in their work.
All throughout history books and films have been used to inspire change in the world. The film The Battleship Potemkin (1925) directed by Sergei Eisenstein deals with social and political issues in
Russia during the 1990’s. Eisenstein created his film The Battleship Potemkin to inspire the Russian people to stand up against the government. The film focuses on the strike that took place in St. Petersburg in October 1905. Eisenstein wanted to spark critical thinking in the audience so they can join the strike through his use of intellectual montage. An example of intellectual montage from The Battleship Potemkin is in the scene where the battleship bombs the Odessa steps, then cuts to a shot of a sleeping lion statue. The next shot is the same lion statue with its eyes open. And in the last shot the lion statue is fully awake and standing up. The significance of this scene is that the lion can represent the people from the country waking up and acknowledging their power. In regards to the intellectual montage it can symbolize the spectator becoming more conscious of what is going on.
Another way film can change the world is by educating people about social issues.
The film Burning Mississippi directed by Alan Parker is based on the FBI investigation about the three civil rights act workers who were murdered in 1964. The film was based on the historical events related to the murder investigation. The film educates generations after the 1960’s about the historical event. It is important to know about the murder investigation because it explains the terror that African Americans had to live in. The film also, illustrates the vast amount of racism, for example, in the first scene there are signs one says “coloured” and the other says “white”, which clearly represents segregation. All throughout the film there is a sense of a hierarchy between both races. I watched this film in high school twice, and of course I learned about the civil rights movement and segregation in history class. However, this film showed me this historical event in a different perspective. Furthermore, the film emphasizes the injustice of the American government from the 1960’s. Yet, still to this day people are discriminated due to their race or color of their skin. The film is important because it makes viewers react to the situation emotionally, which encourages people to keep pushing for change. Like stated before, I do not think writers/filmmakers should have the responsibility to create films that address social, environmental, political, humanitarian issues in their work. However, I do believe it is important for writers/filmmakers to use their creativity and voice to spark change in the
world.