Documentaries

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‘The Hunting Grounds’: A Documentary Review

In recent years there has been a rise in sexual assault activism, which has sparked important discussions about consent, victim-blaming, and the pervasiveness of rape culture. In this debate, "The Hunting Ground" is one movie that generated a lot of buzz. This stirring documentary, which Kirby Dick directed and was published in 2015, provides an uncompromising look at the epidemic of sexual assault that has swept through American colleges. With its moving tales, convincing arguments, and stimulating interviews, "The Hunting Ground" raises awareness of the problem and calls for a thorough investigation of the institutions tasked with handling it.

In this essay, we examine the film's influence, how it depicts rape culture, the experiences of the survivors, and the larger relevance of these stories in our culture, today.

The disturbing portrayal of rape culture in "The Hunting Ground" highlights institutional inadequacies on a systemic level. The film emphasizes the pervasiveness of victim-blaming, institutional cover-ups, and general disrespect for the experiences of survivors. The movie reveals a pervasive issue that goes far beyond isolated events by showing colleges' unwillingness to punish offenders and protect survivors. It serves as an example of how educational institutions designed to encourage and nurture students can inadvertently turn into hotbeds of violence.

The movie provides insight into how rape culture presents itself on campuses through interviews with survivors, activists, and specialists. It highlights the harmful effects of victim-blaming, whereby survivors are frequently faced with suspicion, held accountable for their assault, or dissuaded from coming forward out of apprehension of retaliation. "The Hunting Ground" illustrates the tremendous fortitude it takes for people to come forward and demand justice in a setting that typically ignores their experiences.

The increase of survivors' voices in "The Hunting Ground" is among its most impactful features. The movie provides a forum for survivors to tell their tales, allowing audiences to see the horror and resiliency behind these experiences. Their stories give statistics a human face, transforming the problem from impersonal statistics to real-world, profoundly impacting personal tales.

Through the course of the movie, we get to know strong people like Annie Clark and Andrea Pino who were attacked while enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They set the ground for a bigger discussion about the urgent need for change with their persistent commitment to drawing attention to the problem and holding their institution accountable. Their experiences don't represent isolated events but rather are part of a wider situation that necessitates quick action.

By presenting these accounts, "The Hunting Ground" hopes to clarify myths about rape and counter the victim-blaming discourse that frequently surrounds survivors. The movie shows how survivors are strong, resilient people who want justice and change rather than being defined by their suffering.

A discourse about sexual assault and the need for structural change was generated by "The Hunting Ground" which went beyond its influence on the film industry. Inspiring survivors, students, and advocates to demand accountability from their respective institutions, the documentary catalyzed activism.

"The Hunting Ground" forced institutions to review their rules and processes by bringing the subject of campus sexual assault to the fore of public discourse. Also, it urged trauma sufferers to open out, seek out support systems, and show solidarity with other people who had gone through a similar ordeal.

Additionally, the movie spurred crucial discussions on consent education, preventative initiatives, and the function of bystanders in intervening. It highlighted the significance of creating safe spaces on campuses and giving survivors the tools, they need to look for justice while keeping offenders accountable.

To combat the persistent problem of sexual assault on college campuses, "The Hunting Ground" is a potent call to action. The movie has been vital in bringing about change by exposing the realities of rape culture, elevating survivors' voices, and sparking important dialogues. It urges institutions and individuals to work together to create a safer and more encouraging environment for everyone. It encourages us to address the institutional flaws and cultural attitudes that support sexual abuse.

As the conversation started by this movie continues, we must work toward a time when educational institutions are not just places for learning but also places where people may grow and, most importantly, feel secure.

‘Tinder Swindler’: A Documentary Review

This movie is a non-fictional British movie that brought to life, accounts of the events that happened between a chronic womanizer, who is also a scammer, and the 3 women who were his victims.

He plays these women by wooing them on the dating app called ‘Tinder’ created by Sean Rad in 2012.

It is a 1-hour, 54 minutes movie, produced by Felicity Morris and released on 2nd February 2022.

The interesting and intriguing part of this movie is that the female victims all agreed to act as themselves. They are Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte. The male lead Simon Leviev is played by Shimon Hayut.

Mr. Simon is an Israeli dating scammer, who poses as the prince of diamonds, the son of Israeli-Russian business mogul Lev Leviev, the king of diamonds, and owner of LLD, Lev Leviev Diamond.

His first victim is Cecilie, a single young lady, born in Oslo but lives in London. Who has been on Tinder for a very long time but still has no luck. She comes across Simon and is immediately swayed by him, as he invites her on his private jet, sends her flowers, and asks her to be his girlfriend, which she agrees to. After some weeks of being together, he begins to tell her lies about him not being safe in London and how he needs money to close a $70 deal, he also goes absent for days. Out of worry, she sends him a series of messages and research on his supposed Leviev family only to find out that they are connected to high politicians such as Vladimir Putin himself. She checks his Tinder account and saw that he is countries away and had uploaded new photos of himself. She confronts him and he lies that he has deleted his account.

His next victim was Pernilla, a Swedish self-made girl seeking a smart guy. She comes across Simon while swiping to see that he is what she was looking for and even a traveler from his pictures. Simon texts her and tells her that he lives in Amsterdam. He woos her by booking a plane ticket for her to come and meet him there. He welcomes her and takes her to a restaurant where everyone there knew him and served all kinds of exotic food to them. After dinner, Simon tells her that he just wants them to stay friends. However, they stayed talking on WhatsApp every day, and one day, he flew over just to have coffee with her because she had a bad day.

At the same time, he is still talking with Cecile, whom he just asked to move in with him. Later that night, he sends her pictures of him, and his bodyguard Peter hurt, and tells her that he can’t use his credit cards anymore to avoid being found by his enemies. He asks her to link her account to his card for him to use for the time being, which Cecilie doesn’t hesitate to do. He also asks her to bring $25,000 to Amsterdam with her. She borrows the money and transports it to Simon in fear of him being arrested. On getting to the apartment, Simon tells her that they have to leave because of their safety and sends her back home.

After this he goes to a party with Pernilla, who hopes to have coffee with him the following morning, only to find out that he traveled to Spain. Simon constantly finishes the limit on Cecilie’s card, and she has to call the bank all the time to lift it. He disappoints Cecilie by not going to meet her parents and instead asks for more money, spending more than $20,000 in 3 days, and still asks Cecilie to get more loans while he’s traveling with his girlfriend to multiple countries. Cecilie takes out a loan of $40,000 but he asks for more every 2 days, making her get one loan after another. So far, she loans 62,000 dollars and is under a lot of pressure. In total, she loans 250,000 dollars from various banks and Simon keeps promising that he will pay her back. She cries because of the pressure and recalls the moments he promised her love. Annoyed, Cecilie asks Simon to give her back her money, Simon in turn, tells her to come to Amsterdam to get her money.

Cecilie gets there and Simon gives her a very cold treatment and hands her a cheque worth more than what he owed and leaves. Cecilie returns home to London and cashes out the cheque, but nothing enters her bank account. She called her bank and issued a query, but they had no solution to it. She calls Simon who says he has played his part of the deal and owes her nothing.

She calls for help from the government officials who she thought would arrest her but came to her aid and identifies Simon as one of their most wanted frauds. Devasted that all she felt these past months has been a lie, she returns to her mother in Oslo and blocks Simon on all social media platforms. Simon finds out that he has been blocked and calls Cecilie’s mother and threatens her to which she informs the local police, but they do not take her seriously. She informs the 9 banks she took loans from and thinks of committing suicide.

On the other hand, Simon sends an article to Pernilla stating that he is in trouble and asks her for $30,000, which she transfers to him even though she had been saving it up to buy a house. Meanwhile, Cecilie on her psychiatric bed asks the government officials for more information on Simon and they tell her to google Shimon Hayut. She reports to a renowned media house in Oslo, which is willing to help, and asks for all her conversations with Simon, which are up to 400 pages. The journalists go to Israel to find Simon but see his mother in an old house who says she hasn’t seen him since he was 18.

Simon borrows another $10,000 from Pernilla. Weeks later he sends her a $100,00 receipt, she thanks him but doesn’t see the money. Simon says the money has left his account and asks her to book a flight ticket for him, which she did. Pernilla tells Simon that she is in a bad financial state, and he promises her one of his watches. The journalists reach out to Pernilla in their search for Simon and warn her about it, but he tells her that it is his enemies looking for him.

The journalists travel to Stockholm to warn her of this, she agrees to serve as their ally by calling Simon out for dinner so that they can take pictures of him. Simon notices this and runs into the car with Pernilla who he gives the fake watch. The next day, Pernilla calls him and confronts him in front of the journalists, and he threatens her. The media house put on an article about Simon.

Pernilla and Cecilie team up on how to defeat him. The article goes viral, and Simon’s girlfriend of 14 months Ayleen Charlotte reads it, she is also attacked by people who have seen her with him. Ayleen, knowing about Simon, offers to help him sell clothes while also secretly keeping the police posted about his whereabouts. Simon goes to get a plastic surgery done, but the surgeon refuses and he changes his name to David Sharon.

Ayleen sells all the clothes but does not give him back the money. Simon was on his way to get Ayleen when she informs the police, who arrest Simon at the airport.
Sadly, today Simon still walks a free man both in Israel and around the world. His new girlfriend is a model, and his 3 victims are still struggling to pay up their debts.

HOTEL RWANDA.

This is a 1994 true-life story of a manager at a hotel in Rwanda, played by Terry George, shot in Kigali, Rwanda. Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, and it was released later in 2004. This is an emotional movie that relives one of the darkest moments in history.

Paul the protagonist of the story, saves over 1,200 refugees during the Rwanda Genocide; (the intentional killing of a mass number of people, or groups with the aim or purpose of destroying them for selfish and unrealistic reasons, because of a feud or to establish dominion to the attacking or opposing party). In this case, more than 1000 Rwandans fight for their freedom from the Hutu militia.

He is the manager of Hôtel des Mille Collines which means hotel of a thousand hills which represents Rwanda’s very hilly terrain. This place later becomes a safe house for refugees seeking protection from the violence that is happening. It portrays the selflessness of the hotel staff in the face of this massacre. He worked together with his wife, Sophie Okonedo played by Tatiana, to save those refugees.

The international community (UN forces) led by Colonel Oliver, played by Nick Nolte fails to intervene and prevent this tragic genocide from taking place. They only save their fellow white men, leaving the Rwandans to fend for themselves.

Paul gets tired of bribing and speaks to a General in the Rwandan Army, Mr. Augustin Bizimungu, played by Fana Mokaena. He pressurizes him with the possible allegation of going to court as a crook.

The residents of the hotel are finally able to leave after Paul blackmails General Augustin. They depart in the vehicles provided by the United Nations and journey through, to a safe place far from the Hutu militia’s attacks.

1994 is a year that has some of the worst experiences in mankind as thousands of people were killed in this tragic Genocide. This is a movie highly recommended to recount one of these historical moments.

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