All the names were deleted from articles for keeping anonymity. Each paragraph was written by different person. These are the extract of 250 words essay. Enjoy.
PRETTY THINGS
We live in a world covered with a glittering layer made of selfishness,
beautiful cars, elegant people, and technological tools. 'Dirty Pretty
Things' makes a deep cut through this thick layer to show how other people
fight and struggle to live everyday. Those people are very far from the
dazzling word in which we live.
White people like Sneaky do a dirty trade in sex and organs while black people
like Okwe help other poor and illegal immigrants. In my opinion, this means that
we should not have racial discrimination. Skin colour does not relate to people’s
behavior.
It seems there are numerous escape doors surrounding us but people hardly
ever endeavor to break away in stressful circumstances. In my opinion, we just
settle for the present because we are afraid of facing something unusual.
There is a similar movie in Korea, Failan (2001). The Story happens not just
in Seoul and it’s more a romance rather than a thriller, but the film deals with illegal
immigrants and helpless people of the lowest social stratum in Korea. I think It is also
a very nice movie and I’d like to recommend it to people who like the film, Dirty
Pretty Things.
From this point of view, I am not much different from him (Okwe). What I can
do is just to do my best for my dream and just to remind my goal every
morning. Nobody can stand in for me. I have to focus on the present, like
Okwe.
The healthy abandoned heart touches both characters’ sincere hearts and
motivates them to make a dramatic jump leading to their dream. We are all
looking for our missing part with fervent heart, and keep gripping the invisible
filament. Senay’s naive dream hints of a hope to those who have a warm heart.
However, the man’s and the woman’s choice contrast. Did Okwe choose to go
to Nigeria for his family, indeed? Is his life in the slums in London not the Dirty
things for him? And Senay, how would she remember London? Would there
be pretty things her life in New York?
Senay’s dreams one day she can fly to New York to see ‘police on white horse’
and Okwe keeps working and seeking a method to go back to an Africa gathering
with his family. At the same time, he tries his best to help friends and the
poor. Even when he encounters the menace from Sneaky, he can still keep his
conscience and fight back. Thus, all these plots suggest the real ‘pretty’ are
positive ideals and human conscience.
I do not think London can make my dream into reality. London is a place for my
experiment. In the early stage, I will examine and look into phenomenon. If I
find the invisible crack or gap in this society, I will disrupt the status quo. People
can be taken aback by my different approach.
Moreover, the way of expressions in sound and images are really
good at linking with the characters' s emotions and situations. Seney's
dancing with her native music, the mid night silence in the hotel, (or
telephone rings in the night hotel), some ethnic music at the chaos in
the city, and so on, make the situations realistic and effective.
As an international student, it looks like such a miserable situation and I can
understand them. In detail, some international students are waiting for their
working holiday visa very desperately. It is not exactly the same situation
but it has something in common. However, I understand the reason for the
government policy of London.
To conclude, these chains of different contradiction represented very well how
those who are weak in society and those who control them by taking advantage
of their weakness coexist in the shady underground society of London.
On the one hand, the sadness of the buildings and the dark colours of the
environment are particularly surprising. The feeling is that one decade ago life
was harder, and technology was not as advanced as now, for example some
problems in the movie would have been solved just by using a mobile phone.
On the other hand, I found several similarities with today’s London life. London
nowadays is also a very stressful city, where people move all the time very fast,
just like the main character, Okwe, who works 24 hours a day to make a lot of
money.
I still remember one scene when the “ policemen wait in the hotel and try to
catch Senay”: it is soundless and it makes me feel nervous. The director does not
use any background music and keeps the scene in a freezing atmosphere. Silence
can help me pay more attention to the actors’ movement and the relationship
between them. I am led into a wired emotion and I sweat like Okwe does. It is a
very brilliant way to use silence while something is going to happen. It is very
common in films but it is still impressed me.
