Today in class we watched the film: The Second Line. Students watched the film with an eye for: the cinematography, colors, scene selection, characters (main characters: MacArthur and Katt), music, motif or reoccurring theme, underlying message; plot or storyline.
We also looked at the efficacy or using Hurricane Katrina as the frame story to tell this human story that unfortunately transcends time, race and culture.
What is the point of the film?
How does the director get there?
Film Notes: http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/Second_Line.html
Interview with directors:
http://www.filmcatcher.com/festivals/Sundance_Film_Festival/day_2/67/
Short Student Competition
This is a test
[SSPLI] | 2007 | 20 min | Short Narrative
Directed by: John Magary
USA
New York Premiere
Interests: Drama
http://www.cufilmfest.com/films/second_line.html
Cast & Credits
Director: John Magary
Principal Cast: Al Thompson, J.D. Williams, Dane Rhodes, Karen Pritchett, Saida Arrika Ekulona, Brittany Parker
Screenwriter: John Magary
Producers: Geoffrey Quan, Myna Joseph, Nelson Kim
Director of Photography: Chris Teague
Production Designer: Mara LePere-Schloop
Music: Kai Gross
Program Notes
After MacArthur's savings are stolen from his FEMA trailer, he and his cousin Natt take work gutting a house. The Second Line was a national finalist for the Student Academy Awards® and has played at Sundance, SXSW, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
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17 comments:
The point of the film was to show that respect has an even higher value than money. The director, John Magary gets there by expressing the differences between the charcters, like when the workers weren't getting paid enough for their hard work and they showed their frustration and anger very well, I could almost feel what they feel.
Aerin O'Leary English 1B
Tuesday,Thursday
In John Magary's film, "Second Line" he makes a point through various visuals and scences cast in a particular setting. A setting that is dark, gloomy and desperate. Through the characters of MacArthur and his cousin it is shown how in a time of loss people act differently in differing circumstances. MacArthur and his cousin are offered work by a white man. The man has them do a long days work and pays them a great deal less than they deserve for their hard work. They work on ripping the man's house down that was ruined by hurricane Katrina. The man seems to great them as scum as if they are below him. When it comes time to drive them home he is too drunk and jokes about having a "sleepover". It seems because the two black American characters are less fortuante and live in a trailer park he feels it is ok to underpay them or keep his part of the deal. Even after the main character MacAruthur finds $300 in a peanut jar and returns it to the man he completely dussmisses MacArthurs act of honesty and kindness. The short film deals with bertyal and life.
I think the point of the film was based around respect, because the man who owned the house didn't care to pay the two men a decent amount of money. He also wasn't very polite in finding a mask so MacArthur wouldn't get sick, or spearing him some water. I think it had something to do with the fact that MacArthur and his cousin didnt have as much money as the owner, but it also could have been the fact that they were black. I also think that during this time, money probably meant alot seeing as how people were losing their houses, so I can see why the owner might have been trying to save his money, not that he was trying to rip MacArthur off. At the end of the movie, the owner didn't want to give MacArthur and his cousin a ride home, so MacArthur stopped being respectful, and decided to beat or even kill the owner. I thought it was interesting how MacArthur gave the $300 back to the owner, but then he didnt have enough self control at the end to walk away from the situation, instead of beating the owner.
posted by Haseeb Naweed
Jennifer
The film helps the viewer visualize two different lives in the same situation. While both the African American and the caucasian family went through Hurricane Katrina and had both lost a lot; the African American family was split with the boy desperately trying to find a job and the caucasian family had enough money to hire people to demolish a house but was stingy to pay fairly. What made the African American character so mad was because even though the caucasian man had money, he tried to rip off the workers because he was stingy. The main character had the decency to give back the $300 that was found in the can, and yet the owner would only pay the workers $45 each for demolishing a hazardous house. The African American didn't say anything about it at first but he noticed all the possible clues in the house that could show that the white family was well off. Enough to buy toys, go on trips and get souvenirs...etc. ht epoint of the film was possibly to show why people do some things for a rason. John Magary got to show this point by mixing two different lives together. With the results of the movie, it's basically saying how at a point of people's lives, during a harash period of time, people may tend to lose control and do things they may end up regretting later. What I think was really cool was when the cousin of the main character didn't know what what was happening yet he still helped out his cousin by not allowing the wife of the owner to get away and therefore, keeping his cousin from getting caught by his the cops...What impresses me is how valuable some considers their family, while others don't know how to appreciate what they have when it's right in front of them.
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1st comment posted by Haseeb
Benjamin H.
English 1B: (Tues/Thurs)
In my opinion the point of the film is that you should treat others with respect. The two main characters were treated with so much disrespect by the guy who hired them to clean his house. The guy paid the consequences of treating the two guys badly because at the end the main character Mac finally snap and took his frustration out on the guy. The way that the director gets to the point is by every time the character Mac goes and talks to his boss he treats him so much disrespect and even when he returns his money to the guy he treats Mac badly.
Deon Johnson
English 1B: (Tuesday/Thursday)
August 28, 2008
~Free write~
Second Line, the 20 minute film we watched today in class, had no point to me. The film was very “whatever”, and pointless. John Magary, the director, did properly portray a clear plot, but not a good Motif (), or vis versa.
As I stated perviously, the film was O.K; good message and I guess it did what it could in 20 minutes. One of my classmate, I don’t know who, express that the point was “very clear.” The person said the point was RESPECT, I don’t agree! They also praised MacArthur’s character, one of the main characters in the film; something I’m not too certain about either. If MacArthur was such a positive, “good guy,” whom many of my classmates including the teacher agreed upon, I guess it was the good guy way, to abusive the husband and wife, then try to make a getaway in their car at the end of the film.
If I had to decided what the point ,motif or plot was, I would say, the message was that good guys don’t finish last, and/or just because you do right things, good outcomes don’t necessary come from it; it always almost never a great playoff. Yes Mac did do the right thing by giving the husband back HIS money, which was found in HIS house, regardless if the husband knew it, was there or not. And yes, I agree, it shouldn’t go without mention the fact that Mac worked for free; but is that consider doing the right thing or being the good guy, or just the right thing period. This isn’t middle school, we don’t live by “finders keepers, losers wipers,” so yes he was obligated to give the money back, and we also have choices now, and Mac had every right to quit working after he found out he wasn’t going the wage he thought he was getting, which I also blame for miscommunication, if at all, but he chose to stay.
The movie does, as I write this free write, gets people thinking, and discussing right for wrong, choices , and plenty more. So maybe there the point to this film?!
Megan Cieri
John Rawson
Rashad Aiyewunmi
The film could have been much longer, there is a whole other story to the situation. however the director of "Second Line" John Magary wanted the audience to focus on this one particular part of one giant journey. Magary wanted to highlight the desperation, anguish, and adversity that was and still is the social climate in New Orleans.
Cousins MacAurthur and Katt need work, Mac has just been robbed. Some one has stolen a peanut can containing $600. When approched by a white man for work, neither of the men hesitate. Durring the gutting of the house they find $300 in a peanut jar. Mac being and honest man returns it to the man, who later pays the cousins only half of what he had promised. Even after just having recieved $300.
100% effort for only 50% the reward. The whole short film is about the push pull in society even in the most deperate of times.
the title "Second Line" refers to a funeral march in New Orleans, it's a tradition. The couple that hires the cousins seem to us to have lost one or two children. Half of the 4 of them.
In the end after the cousins have made it clear that they are unhappy with the way they had been treated, they walk home looking like the walking dead. They seem to be representing the pain of the whole Katrina situation.
I thought the film was very interesting. It starts off with these 2 guys who are looking for the person who stole 600 dollars from him. Even though they or he was faced with this hardship, they decided to take a job with the caucasian guy. I think that the 2 African American guys felt a sense of respect for trusting them to do a job so they treated the caucasian guy and his wife nicely. It all started when he found the $300. Even though he lost 600 dollars earlier he respected the guy and gave the money back, Gowever the guy didnt return the respect when he only gave them 90 dollars for the both of them instead of each. From then, the 2 african americans sabotaged the guys place and ran. Even though he got 90 dollars, I noticed that he gave it all to his cousin.
I think the movie is about how no matter how honest, trustworthy, hardworking respectful you are, you cannot always expect the same in return. You will be mistreated badly. For example, First sign of respect was from the African american guy giving him the 300 dollars back. And the caucasian guy not even giving them 90 dollars each. The white dude was greedy
The responses to the film vary, from pointless waste of time, to too short, to discussions of ethics--what is expected vs. what is unexpected when it comes to civilized behavior. One student said, MacArthur's return of the money was expected. It was in his employer's house, so it belonged to him--no cheering necessary.
Where's the empathy?
This same student also says Mac should have stopped working once he realized he and Katt were not going to get paid the wages expected for the job.
Mac lost his life's savings that morning. His family was split up...their house was moments from being condemned and demolished...rational? The man was barely functional.
Other student writers sympathized with Mac, and understood his frustration. All the men were traumatized and victims of the storm and instead of having empathy for one another, the employer, rubs the men's noses in the situation--"work is work," he says.
In class, someone mentioned that when one takes casual labor gigs, you're taking a chance. It's not guarenteed one will get paid a just wage and treated with respect.
Kimberly Peterson
English 1B
Thursday 08/28/08
*What is the point of the film, and how did the director get his point thur?
The point of this film was to show that even though the
Katrina event was so utterly catastropic, that there
was not much relief for those who were suffering.
After Hurricane Katrina, most people were relocated,
meaning that alot of families had to be seperated.
There were very little, to no jobs at all available
for those who were still living in that area. Some jobs that were availiable, like side jobs of tearing down water damaged houses, that was shown in the film. Macarthur and Katt ended up
cleaning up a married couples home. Katt found some
money that was hidden in an empty jar of peanuts, and
Mac decided to do the right thing to return the money,
because he knew very well they were suffering too, and
that they needed the money. At almost the end of the
day, the man shorts them pay and Mac gave all of the
money ($90 which was only half of the amount that they
were promised) to his cousin Katt. (Basically so he
wouldn't go psycho, and because it was the right thing
to do!) There were many themes in this movie, there
were talks about these "cans" of peanuts (can of money
that got robbed, can of money they found, Macarthur
got "canned") or even the 50% percent theory that a
couple of students came up with. (Macarthur had $600
when he went to sleep, and somebody stole it, they
found a can with $300 dollars in it that wasn't his,
also he only got one ride..etc.) Instead of Mac giving up and saying screwing over the old white guy who didn't want to pay them the full amount of money, Mac ended up doing the right thing yet again and finished the job that they were doing. In the end, Mac ends up losing it when the guy ends up drinking himself drunk, therefore not being able to drive Mac and Katt home. This movie was all about respect, and helping each other out. Helping one another out is a given, its curtiousy, but it seems like nobody wants to help out anyone anymore, but themselves. It is very rare now that anyone sticks together in America, I think that things have to get much worst in situations before they get better!
Faraj Fayad
English 1B
T-TH
The Second Line
"The Second line", directed by John Margery, is a short film filled with many meanings which caused me to ponder about for quite a bit. Though the 20 minute long film seemed short, the class had a lot to say and argue about how they portrayed it's main motif.Over all, we all agreed that it was respect, but i also believe it expressed the meaning of poverty, love, patience, and ofcourse trust.
The maine characters, MacArthur and Katt got into a mans car agreeing to work on his house, which was ruined by "Hurricane Catrina", for $90. Misunderstanding that the man meant 90 for both. The cousins started cleaning the man's house and go through a lot of trouble while doing so. Later on in the day, Katt found $300 in a peanut jar and MacArthur decided to give it back to the owner of the house.
While MacArthur was on break, the man decided to pay him, and only gave him $90 for both he and his cousin to split. When MacArthur said they agreed it was $90 each, the man started complaining that he didnt have enough, when he clearly had $300 more.
Before going back to work, MacArthur gives his cousin the whole $90 and doesn't mention what happened continuing to work. When their job was finished and it was time for them to go home that man was too drunk to drive them back, so he started making jokes about how fun it would be if they spent the night. Having delt with all the disrespect the man had showed them, MacArthur grabs a bat and takes his anger out on the man.
Aaron Lederer
I thought the film “Second Line” was short and sweet, well made. From my perspective, the director was showing the troubles that southerners continue to go through, regardless of the hurricane having been a thing of the past or not. It really isn’t, as you can see all the damage left to the houses in the lower 9th ward (I think). I brought this up in class and I’ll bring it up again here… my 50 % theory. Losing $600, finding $300, expecting 90 $ but receiving $45, needing to cover 50 % to maintain their housing (not sure what the 50 % was), as someone said in class – they received a ride to the house but not one back. They had one mask, needed two. From my understanding, all this added is a metaphor for the stresses that still affect Louisiana. They work just as hard (if not harder) but receive less than expected. Poverty is hard to overcome… like crabs in a bucket. Always someone/something there to pull you back down once you think you’ve made it.
This short film "the second line" was very interesting. I saw how respect, honesty and enequality played an important role. I think that one of the things that the author was trying to present is how even in times of disaster there is people that would not realize how vulnerable we are, but still take advantage of the situation and step over others that need help. It was ridiculous how MacArthur and his cousin found the 300 and Mac decided to give them back to the onwer, but at the end after hard working ours Mac gets a miserable salary, from the person he returned the money, but the part that really called my attention was that he would give the 90 bucks to his cousin and he got nothing. At the end after all that treatment they Mac cant take it nomore and violence comes into place, then we all see the news and hear about minorities taking advange of the situation to generate violence but never hear about what leads to that violence. It was also interesting when one of the class mates brought up the 50% theory, I didnt understand what was the author intention, but It would be very interesting to know it.
Dominique West
For: August 28, 2008
English 1B
Sabir
===>>>Freewrite<<<===
Second Line:
I actually have no idea what the point of the movie was. I mean when I think there is one something else pops up and it makes very little sense to me. However, I think that at some point there is an actual clear view of respect. Respect for others, yourself, and your community. Since I canhardly tell what the point is I have no clue howJohn Magary gets to his point sounds repetitive I know. I also think the movie was ok. It reminded me of another movie "Cast Away" featuring Tom Hanksas far as the quiet in the film goes. You have no choice but to think without the dialogue.
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