Seamus Robinson - Decalogue

 What particularly struck me about the films we watched the films was the immersive feeling of the films. They had a way of making the viewer tense and uncomfortable. In the instance where the father was looking for his son, it was entirely frustrating to watch him check all over his town and retrace the steps of his son. He was so focused on finding the answer analytically. If he had been in touch with his heart and followed it it likely would have lead him straight to the pond. Instead, the audience watches him scramble all over the town  checking anywhere and everywhere except where he knows his son is.

The concept of Midrash, that we discussed in class,  was used as a form of interpretation of the Jewish law and of the Torah. It is meant to be a deep and serious reflection on God's word such that you almost meditate on the message. The film medium is the perfect one to impose this sort of feeling on someone. Where written word can be powerful and moving, film encompasses all the benefits of written word while adding the opportunity for visual messages that cannot be achieved through text. The above listed example was shown mostly through visualizations of the father running throughout buildings and across streets. The ability to give visual messages on top of verbal or textual ones gives more powerful opportunities for one to challenge a viewer's standpoint and philosophy. Being presented with visual and verbal conflict offer a more powerful challenge to our paradigms and force us into a deeper sense of reflection and meditation.