A Good Documentary

There are many things that, combined, make a documentary good. Unfortunately, many filmmakers make the mistake of not doing these “things” which leaves the viewer drooling or falling asleep. One major mistake I can point out is the abundance of information they cram into the film. You can’t just name off a bunch of facts or statistics and expect your audience to stay interested; People will lose interest quickly! I’ve seen many documentaries, some highly entertaining, some not so much, but after watching so many I’ve noticed specific things that always draw me into a documentary film. Off the top of my head, some of the things that draw me into a doc film are: The visual quality, the soundtrack, Facts/evidence, the main people in the film (their presentation) and most importantly a thought provoking ending. I feel like the thought provoking ending is the icing on the cake. Documentary films that leave the viewer thinking or questioning certain matters are my favorite. There are other things that make a documentary good of course, but I feel that those are the most important. 

Image from: http://angelkissesmaternity.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8354bfcda69e20120a6caec98970b-pi

Bright Idea

In the beginning process of writing my proposal I had a hard time forming my thoughts because I had no experience whatsoever writing one. I had no idea what I wanted to do research over; I didn’t even know where to begin. It actually took me over 2 days to decide what I wanted to research! After strenuous hours of research, I came across what became my current topic, The Henry Clay Estate. I chose The Henry Clay Estate, known as ashland, not only because of it’s beauty, but also because of the plethora of history there was over it. This made the process a lot easier. It was surprising because I hadn’t known that this historic site was in Lexington until I stumbled upon it while researching The Mary Todd House; The Mary Todd House was one of my choices before I decided on choosing Ashland as my topic.  I felt that The M.T. House lacked historical depth and it just didn’t seem as intriguing as Ashland; However, there was a connection between the two. Choosing a topic is usually the hardest part for me so it was a relief that I found one that I stuck with.

Image from: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/vintage-bright-idea-scott-norris.html

Mary Todd Lincoln

                                                                  Mary Todd Lincoln

The Mary Todd Lincoln House has been around since around 1803; Before it became a home it was an inn and a tavern.  However, I want to focus on Mary Todd herself, not the building. Mary Todd Lincoln, born in Lexington, KY, is another important figure in the history of Kentucky in the early 1800's. Mary Todd is recognized for marrying Abraham Lincoln in 1842, becoming the first lady of the 16th president of the United States. Her father, Robert Todd, was one of the wealthier and more prominent men in the town. Lexington, during this time, was compared to Philadelphia and Boston in its wealth and sophistication (mlthouse). This gave Mary the opportunity and advantage to socialize with her father’s influential and political guests, the most prominent being Henry Clay, leader of the young Whig party. Clay was a family friend and resided less than 2 miles away from the Todd’s (mtl house). He once promised Mary she would be among his first guests in Washington should he become president. Unfortunately, Clay never became president. Mary Todd, however, would eventually live in Washington with her husband.

Mary Todd (pictured above) was the first person that came to mind when I was thinking of something that connected to my proposal paper topic. I already had slight background information over it because After researching it, it became one of my choices for my proposal. I was stuck between choosing this or The Henry Clay Estate (Ashland); I ended up choosing the latter because it was simply more appealing to my interests. 

Aside from that, One of the questions I have is: Why did the Todd family decide to settle in Lexington?

Works Cited:

"History." Mtlhouse.org. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.mtlhouse.org/history.html>.

"Mary Todd Lincoln Quotes." Rogerjnorton.com. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln90.html>.

Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall Fresco

Memorial Hall, located in the center of campus near The Funkhouser Building, has been standing tall for over 80 years. I noted that this building has hints of Neo-Palladian Architecture, a style derived from 16th century Venice, Italy. I only know this because it is one of the few things I remember learning about Architectural styles from my Arts appreciation class in high school. It’s really easy to distinguish this building because there aren’t many like this one on campus. It was built in 1929 as a memorial to those from all the Kentucky counties who served and died in World War I. It’s clock tower, which can be seen poking out from afar, is featured in UK’s logo and serves as a symbol of the University. Inside the building, there is a fresco painted by Ann Rice O’Hanlon, completed in 1934, that depicts historical images that have sparked recent controversy from 19th century Lexington and central Kentucky. Further inside the building, the main auditorium was named after a former Kentucky governor and former chair of the UK board of Trustees, Edward T. Breathitt, on May 4th, 2004. 

Today, It is used for performances, lectures, graduations, and many other events. Behind Memorial Hall is the Memorial Hall Amphitheater which I admire every time I walk by. I personally thought it was beautiful how they integrated this into campus. Aside from that, this building is probably my favorite due to it's simple architectural beauty that's so unique from all the other buildings. It's pretty much the first building I notice when I get to campus. Hopefully they 

preserve it and never knock it down to make room 

-Memorial Hall

for more overpriced dorms.

I was left with several questions about this building such as:

• If the Fresco contains depictions of racism, why it still there? 
• why was this specific building chosen to be in UK’s logo?

-Memorial Hall Amphitheater

Sources:

Info from:

http://www.uky.edu/CampusTour/

1.) Memorial Hall Fresco Picture:

Memorial Hall, 2010, Lexington, KY <http://ukcc.uky.edu/cgi-bin/dynamo?maps.391+campus+0049>

2.) Memorial Hall picture:

Kentucky Kernel, Framing Memorial Hall, 2009, Lexington, KY, <http://kykernel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/pg2.jpg>, 

3.) Amphitheater picture:

Utturi, Francesca, 2014