The Battle Of Algiers ( A Reenactment Of Algeria s Fight...

An imperative aspect of art is that it is open to interpretation and analysis. If the piece of art is significant, it will be thought or emotion provoking and uncensored. It is not the role of art take cautious steps in an attempt to leave its audience unoffended, but rather to embrace diversity of thought and creativity to portray untainted ideas. Filmmaking—being a form of art—follows the same guidelines and thus shapes society through its objectionable and often jarring subject matter. The Battle of Algiers (a reenactment of Algeria’s fight for independence from France from 1954 to 1957) was a politically motivated piece that was banned in France upon its debut. The lifelike images of war, rebellion, and torture became a controversial†¦show more content†¦Without the brutal violence in American History X we would not be able to take an emotional journey of discovering a lost man as he regains his purpose after killing two people under the influence of a neo-Nazi gang. The hatred towards everyone as experienced in Taxi Driver is essential to understanding the raging emotions flowing through Travis’s mind as he goes on a killing spree. On the opposite end of the spectrum, without the provocative homosexual romance in Brokeback Mountain, the passionate strain of keeping a forbidden love covert would not be felt. Since homosexuality had not been greatly explored in film this way before, Brokeback Mountain generated a confusion of empathy for a love that society would not allow, as well as for those that were betrayed by it. The audience is at war for and against both sides (the lovers and those that do not want the lovers together) in some aspect throughout the movie and the controversy carried into real life. According to the Los Angeles Times, people that identified with the cowboy role portrayed by the two main characters were deeply offended by the homosexual association, which they believed tarnished their cowboy image. The article also says the film’s amorous relationship angered homophobic people across the nation, but it also, contrarily, made others more empathetic towards members of the gay community’s feelings and desires (Brady). The socially