Tsotsi Music... Stay Tuned for the Question at the End

The film Tsotsi has a lot of music that is difficult to overlook and ignore. In movies and TV shows, I find it interesting to hear the music that is not part of the soundtrack. This is the music that is played on the radio, or you can hear it through someone's headphones. This was seen in Tsotsi. When Tsotsi was stealing the car, you could hear the music on the radio. When Tsotsi tries to cover up the sound of the crying baby, we heard the music from his radio. I like seeing this in movies and TV shows because it makes the scene more realistic. It also makes me feel as if I'm in the scene with the characters. It also creates a unique feeling of being connected to the characters and the events in the scene.
On that note, here's a question: Why do you think Tsotsi was silent for the majority of the beginning of the movie?
I've been thinking of an answer, but I haven't come up with anything really profound. I'm interested in hearing what you all think!

Special Effect- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The above photos are from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The images are of the tour of the factory that Willy Wonka takes the children on (with help from his trusty Oompa Loompas, of course). Part of the tour takes place in this super cool, hot pink dragon boat that sails through the chocolate river. Of course, there was no real chocolate river with hills of edible grass, so a green screen was used to create this effect.  

Transition Shot--Elf

The movie Elf has a transition shot that I think is very interesting. The camera fades in and out of different landscapes as Buddy leaves the North Pole and heads to New York City. I think that this fade of shots to different locations is interesting because it really highlights the journey that Buddy is on. As the shots transition, so does Buddy. He transitions to a new world he never knew.

The Whale Rider: Historical Response

In watching The Whale Rider, I had to keep the historical context of the film in mind. The film is centered around the life of the Maori people in New Zealand. Although the movie is contemporary, the film focuses a lot on the ancient ways of the Maori people. Koro heavily focuses on the idea of creating a chief out of one of the first born sons. He could not do so with his own child, or his grandchild. Since he could not find a chief out of the boys in the neighborhood, he thought he had failed. This exhibits how much the ancient teachings and his ancestors meant to him. In the film, the viewers are also told the story of Paikea, the chief  of the Maori tribe that rode a whale to where his people were to settle. Koro believes that Pai cannot be the chief because she is a girl. Again, this relates to the ancient belief. Overall, this film just shows how important the Maori history is to the tribes of people, even to this day.