Fine Arts 104: Cinema
Prof. A. Loos
Spring 2021
Reflection Writing: Human Flow
Name: Date:
Type your answers directly into this worksheet and submit using the corresponding link on our Assignments page.
Human Flow is a large-scale film about the largest-scale problem the world is facing:
how we will share the Earth?
Contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Wei-Wei, began documenting and making installation about the Syrian refugee crisis. These project turned into this film, which then included a much larger and growing exploration of many other parts of the world who give shelter to the many hundreds of thousands of people displaced or forced from their homes due to war, genocide, famine, violence, persecution…
The film is not easy to watch. What was your experience?
Where does it leave you?
What did his work teach you?
How are you feeling after finishing it?
Do you feel called to action? Overwhelmed? Paralyzed? Activated? Angry? Sad? Awake? Touched? Moved? Bored?
Additionally, as a visual artist and media maker, Ai Wei-Wei makes this documentary in a highly stylized way, even as he emphasizes realism in patiently interviewing people in the very heart of the crisis.
Do you think these techniques made for a more effective documentary than others you have seen?
Did you find anything distracting? Especially interesting?
Use any combination of the questions above to write 1 page of your own reflections after watching the film.