Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made. What have you learned about a country from watching its movies? Use specific examples and details to support your response.

Sherry
University: XD University
Nationality: China

TOPIC: Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made. What have you learned about a country from watching its movies? Use specific examples and details to support your response.

Paved with fantastic stories, films usually show us a lot of the characteristics of the countries where they were made. Watching films is just like taking a trip somewhere personally. During my leisure time, I prefer to watch movies. From my perspective, learning about a country by watching a movie where it was made is one of the most effective ways. At the same time, I can have a better understanding of the country.

We can learn the traditional spirit of one country by the locals’ conversations and their daily lives. Also, the costumes and buildings reflect the local culture. At the same time, we can have a glimpse of the scenery in the country.

One of my favorite movies is Spirited Away. It is a Japanese movie which shows the Japanese lifestyle. For instance, the architecture in the movie is elegant and delicate. The rhythms of the film are in the Japanese style which is soft and very relaxing. In addition, the events in the story happened in a traditional Japanese bathhouse, and the story presents an authentic custom of Japan. Because the Japanese pay much attention to their cleanliness, they go to bathhouses frequently. Therefore, the bathhouse plays a critical role in Japanese daily life. All the details present a vivid picture of Japan.

Furthermore, the plot is very impressive. The leading actress and her parents went into a restaurant. But its host was not there at that time. The leading actress’s parents were very hungry, so they began to eat without paying for the meal. But the little girl, the leading actress, did not follow her parents. In her mind, this behavior was impolite. Then her parents turned into pigs because of the food they ate. This plot shows that Japanese care about politeness very much.

In my opinion, we have limited time and energy, hence visiting every country is impractical for us. Though sometimes we cannot learn about a country precisely, becoming familiar with a country by watching a local film is a good way.