HW for Monday:
–Find and bring in an image, video, or other form of media connecting to your group’s research topic.
–Continue expanding and revising your Essay 1 narrative. Â Bring in a print copy of your most up-to-date draft of Essay 1.
–Write a commentary on the film, Weiner (2016), directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg. In your commentary, respond to the following questions: what stood out to you most about the film?  What did you find most interesting and why?  What is the “story” told by the film?  What would you say the central conflict of this story is?  How is this film connected to our coursework so far?  In other words, why did we watch it?  What does it show about the impact of technology?
In ‘Weiner’, the documentary film about the former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner, it took you through the life of Weiner during his 2013 run for the mayor of New York. Because of director Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg, viewers were able to experience the behind-the-scenes life of Weiner, his wife Huma Abedin , & their political team during his controversial 2013 mayoral race. What stood out to me most about the film was how Weiner tried to move past his past allegations of his sexting scandal & run again for mayor two years later, but when he was at his prime in his election, history repeated itself with women stepping forward about their sexual conversations they’ve had with Weiner. What I found most interesting in the film was that there is a group of female supporters for Weiner that call themselves “Women for Weiner”. I found this interesting because despite the previous news of Weiner admitting he sent a lewd photograph of himself to multiple women during his marriage with his former spouse, Huma Abedin, women still supported him during his second run for mayor. I believe that the story that is being told in this film is that what you post online or messages and photos that you send to one another is permanently out there for the public to see. Even if that said post was from many years ago or it’s intent was to be private, just between you and the recipient, nothing is completely confidential once posted online. The central conflict of this film is that Weiner’s lewd & private past followed him into his public life – costing him his career, as he now serves a 21 month sentence in a federal prison & is required to permanently register as a sex offender. This film is connected to our coursework by giving an example of just how advanced technology has become. Anthony Weiner used his public twitter account to send a link to a lewd photo to a college student, and his personal cell phone to continue sexting multiple woman, including a 15-year old minor. I think we watched this film because it correlates with what we’re reading about in class & it shows just how much of an impact technology has made & how far it has spread. From young children using it to play games to a grown 50-year old man running for mayor of New York using it to send inappropriate photos across to multiple woman.
Wonderful response, Sade. Â I also found it interesting how many women the film shows expressing their support for Weiner in spite of his sexting scandals. Â MS
What stood out most in this film is everyones opinions based on a photo Another got exposed by of himself. What i found most interesting was everyone concerns in personal things he’d done, that everyone seen as “wrong.” Everyone seemed to be so hooked on a photo that was non of there business. Even though him and his wife talked over a situation that was mainly there business and talked over, news and reporters kept bringing it up because he was running for major. It was annoying to see everyone to minding there business and inputing there unasked opinion. The story told in this film was about Another Wiener who was running for major ops New York City and made a “mistake” in his past. Not letting this mistake put him down or stop what him from that he wants to become. Â The central conflict in this film is a spread photo related to “sexting” as a bad look for Anthony Weiner, which made him resign. This film is connected to the course because news was spread over the internet so quickly which made millions off people see it because were so into whats going on in the media. We watched it because media effects your personal life with everything you do, especially a big part of a growing community. The impact of technology made us open our eyes of how quick good or bad could spread. But don’t let it effect you where you can’t accomplish what you want.
In Weiner’s Documentary it shows many people’s opinion his life. Anthony was a member of the senate representing New York. There was an incident of how theres was photos of him “sexting” to another person. Once the photos were exposed his life flipped. The thing that stood out to me most was how even though through all the media that he has faced he continued to fight to stay strong in his political life. The most interesting thing i noticed was how the media was so attracted to Huma and her opinion on things and how her opinion affects how the media portrays Anthony. The story told was Anthony and his career and how he started off as a politician and he faced a personal dilemma that affected his job. He stepped down from his position and soon after he recovers he decided to run for mayor. The conflict was how the pictures of him changed how people viewed him as a politician and how he broke the trust with the people that trusted him. The film is connected to our course work on how through technology there was an affect on how someone’s life can change through something like social media. Technology in small ways can expose truths, rumors or socializing.
In Weiner’s documentary, it shows all the obstacles that he went through, during challenges in his life. What stood out to me most was how, even though he resigned from the congress, he still wanted to fight and change the world with running for mayor. It was interesting how such a scandal (him sexting) changed his life in a significant way (him having to resign, people not trusting him anymore, being seen as a liar). I think the “story” is how he had to overcome a lot of conflict in his life, and how it changed him. A lot of the things he went through was personal, but since he was a public figure when he cheated, it made Weiner look like a bad person, and everyone changed their views on him (polls went down). The central conflict of the story could be how the first time he got caught sexting, he resigned but the second time he got caught was the worst because after he got the people to trust him again, Weiner was caught for the second time (even though he did not cheat twice, it was old news). It is connected to the work we do in class because Weiner used his phone to ‘sext’ which led him to a lot of issues within his job, and his wife. It shows that technology can not always be a good thing, especially when using it to do or send inappropriate things.
Great response, Jewel. Â I really like how you’ve described the narrative, conflict, and backstory of the Weiner film here:
It was interesting how such a scandal (him sexting) changed his life in a significant way (him having to resign, people not trusting him anymore, being seen as a liar). I think the “story” is how he had to overcome a lot of conflict in his life, and how it changed him. A lot of the things he went through was personal, but since he was a public figure when he cheated, it made Weiner look like a bad person, and everyone changed their views on him (polls went down). The central conflict of the story could be how the first time he got caught sexting, he resigned but the second time he got caught was the worst because after he got the people to trust him again, Weiner was caught for the second time (even though he did not cheat twice, it was old news).
In the film “Weiner” directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, a scene that stood out to me would be the scene in which former president Barack Obama said that he would resign if he was in Anthony’s position. This scene stood out for me because many people told Anthony he should resign such as citizens, friends, colleagues and also a former president. This emphasizes the impact his actions and attitude had on the role that many people believe he should flee from his position of mayor, because these dirty facts about his past will only haunt and affect his future. In such a prestigious position any accusation of crime, illegal work or even sexual-conduct can only decrease their chances to gain the position. It also lowers the respect people had for Anthony also he became a joke that every was laughing at and no one truly took his work and opinions seriously. The most interesting point made was when Anthony was being interviewed, interviewers stated that “dad didn’t hug him” which was the reason to his downfall in life that he wasn’t loved by his father hence he began sexting and sending provocative photos.This was interesting because it had nothing to do with the topic of sexting and his photos being leaked but interviewers and reporters will find anything in his life and use it against him. The story being told was your mistakes in life will trace you and find a way to interfere in your life. No matter if its a mistake or a comment you posted it will all come back and track you down. The central conflict portrayed by the film is that sexting has also been used amongst political positions not only teens and adolescents, which shows that technology and its corrupt side will even trace into the most honorable people as well; the evil and poison will attack more than we know. The film connects to our coursework because we are studying the impacts technology has on people, groups, emotions and health indicating that the topic of sexting is also another part of our coursework showing the hidden truth and impacts that technology has on people. Hence the film showed another impact that technology had on even political representatives.Â
In the film “Weiner” something that stood out to me a lot was Weiner’s wife. Because of her husband’s behavior her reputation and image was getting ruined but after everything that happened she still stood by him and helped him run for mayor of NYC. What I found interesting is that after the picture was posted to twitter and he resigned from office, he still sent pictures to women online even after everything that happened. I found it interesting because he continued to do the same thing that made him resign from working in the office in the first place. It was like he didn’t learn from his mistake in the first place. The story that is being told by the film is that a guy named Anthony Weiner who worked in office made a mistake and now after two years of making a mistake that no one will forget he wants a second chance. The story shows all the complications he has to go through because of that incident. I would say that the central conflict of this story is the fact that he has made multiple of the same mistakes in his life in short periods of times while being in a high position in office. This film is connected to our coursework so far because it has to do with technology and how it impacts many people today. This shows that whatever you post online is there forever, always think twice about what you post. This film also shows how technology can have an affect on anything, even when it comes to voting for mayor.
Nice to read your thoughts, Leslyann.  I too find it puzzling that Weiner didn’t “learn from his mistakes.”  Why do you think he may have repeated the same mistake twice (well, let’s be honest, it was far more than twice—there were many women…)?
The film follows Anthony Weiner as he runs in the 2013 Democratic mayoral election in NYC. After initially lying about the sexted pictures, Weiner came clean and resigned from Congress 2011. Two years later, Weiner decides to run for major in NYC. Throughout his campaign, he went through a struggle to accept the fact that the people wouldn’t let go of his past actions. Both him and his wife, Huma Abedin, received personal marriage conflicted opinions on the media. They were constantly reminded about Weiner’s actions and how how it is still a problem for his run as major. What stood out the most was when Weiner was being interviewed, none of the interviewers cared about the things he wanted to do as major but they cared about his sexting actions. A particular question was “How many women were there, can you remember?” What I found the most interesting was that most of the callers and interviewers didn’t seem to care about his ideas if he became major. The story told by the film is to be careful of what you post on the media because it will always be there and it can one day affect you. The central conflict of the film is about how taking actions on media without precaution will impact your life. This film is connected to our current coursework because we can visually see the impact of technology and how it has changed people. The impact of technology was shown because it gives us a connection on how technology can ruins someones life.
Weiner (2016), directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, revolves around Anthony Weiner and his race to be the Mayor for the State of New York. Many issues arrive along the way, the most important one being the second sexting scandal. The first scandal did set him back. People did forgive him, and at one point he was leading the polls. However, the second scandal set him back to the point of no return and was ultimately the downfall of his campaign. One could say, that the use of digital communications like dating apps and instant messaging played a key role in this documentary. It was what made it easy for Anthony Weiner to sext women other than his wife. In other words, technology doesn’t make us act any differently than who we are. It makes it easier to bring out the worst in us. One thing I found interesting was how Huma, Anthony’s wife, progressed through the documentary. She went from a quiet disgruntled bystander to someone who acknowledges Anthony’s mistakes and moves on from that. Only to later on, to be proven time and time again that Anthony Weiner wasn’t willing to move on. This was explicitly shown moments before Anthony Weiner asks the camera crew to leave the office. The look that she gave him conveyed that she wasn’t going to take it any longer and that they needed to talk in private. Overall, I found the documentary to be mildly exciting. I did like the “fly in the wall” angle in which everyone acknowledges the presence of the camera and would most likely behave a different way from it. But it doesn’t seem to have that sort of feel to it. You could see this on how the interviews and general content seamlessly transition.
Melvy, I really like this thought:
“One could say, that the use of digital communications like dating apps and instant messaging played a key role in this documentary. It was what made it easy for Anthony Weiner to sext women other than his wife. In other words, technology doesn’t make us act any differently than who we are. It makes it easier to bring out the worst in us.”Â
I also appreciate the tension you picked up between Weiner, Huma, and the cameras; throughout the film, Huma comes off as extremely resilient and supportive of her husband’s campaign, but it’s clear at times that she is fairly upset with the situation–and understandably so. Â Brave woman.
The documentary film “Weiner,” (based on his life as a congressman) the thing that stood out most to me was the fact that through all the humiliating things he went through and is probably still experiencing, he never gives up. No matter how hard things get he always seems to try and find the bright side of things and he stands up for whatever he believes in whether people are siding with him or not; so with that being said i just found that very brave of him and gives me a different perspective of the way I view him as a person. Throughout the film, I found it very interesting how people were so involved in his life (what he did/does). This was interesting to me because it’s so weird how people can be so concerned about other people and choose to act like God when it comes to someone’s personal decision. I get that he was a congressman trying to run for mayor so he was stepping into the scene of being the face of New York City, and that his personal actions is not the one of a man who has the morals to be a mayor, but despite all that some people refused to look past all that and look at the bigger picture, which is that he had big plans for us, he wanted to make a change; although his actions cost him, he deserved a second chance. During the film, I would say that the central conflict was that of the people vs Weiner. Continuously, it was always back and forth of him losing support, gaining support until he finally lost it (even though there was still people rooting for him, it just wasn’t enough). We watched this film as additional evidence to the work we are doing now, “What is the impact technology has had over the years”. this obviously shows relations to the fact that all of Weiner’s mistakes were made through his phone, specifically sexting. Had there not been such a thing like hacking, social media, etc, Weiner would not have been exposed because it would be no way for that picture to get around, no sites for him to connect with other women, etc.
“Weiner” documentation of Antony Weiners life as congressmen and how relates himself to his other colleagues. He tried to champion himself as person who represents the middle class in NYC. But his scandals keep him from being in office. I don’t like Antony Weiner because of all his problems with sexting addiction, and how he did not acknowledge fully. He cares more about his public image than marriage to his wife. His wife is supporting him in 2016 mayoral race and how consistly lies to public, friends and his wife. The movie tries to humanize him but it makes it more flawed person in comparsion to everyone around him. This response is after I watched the entire documentary.
What stood out the most to me in “Weiner,” was the fact that history kept repeating itself, in other words, after Anthony Weiner’s first sext came out, he resigned, however after running for mayor itself, the situation becomes worse and he’s looked upon as a political joke. What stood out to me, was that if Weiner had never kept irresponsibly sexting girls and getting exposed, he probably would’ve been our mayor in 2016, and not have one that lied about lead paint being used in public housing developments. At least Weiner actually cared about the people of New York’s rights and safety. What I found the most interesting in the film was the main conflict, where Anthony kept getting exposed left and right, as if it were a weather pattern, he knew it would be very bad for him but he still maintained his stability to move forward and didn’t give up in the election.  The main conflict doesn’t just destroy him as a politician, but also embarrassed his wife, Huma who was caught in the middle of this. Everybody has probably sexted, but no one has had a bad sexting scandal as Anthony Weiner (besides Kim K) and in the end it cost him his wife who went on to divorce him, his career because he ended up in prison for 21 months and the fact that he could’ve been a great mayor despite all this. The sexting never made him a bad person, it just diminished his chance at being elected and even though he broke his wife’s trust but he still cared for the people of NY. The movie is connected to our coursework because it’s a bold illustration on how damaging technology can be on one’s life. Anthony Weiner messed up his career at the push of a button when he sent those sexts, if he never had his life would’ve been a complete 360 than what it is now.
Throughout the film I asked myself “Should his campaign have to suffer because of his online affairs”. To me it seemed like Weiner was a good candidate and seemed like he would do great things for the city however it seemed like once people found out about what he does online it they didn’t care about the good things he’s done or the good things he could do. He was constantly attacked by the media who was more interested in getting a rich story for their viewers rather than information on his campaign. However I would put the blame on Weiner for what happened and think that it’s possible that he could have some sort of issue. Even after getting called out for sexting once he goes back to it again and I think that this shows that there’s something wrong with his desires and his marriage. He saw the repercussions the first time yet he does it again knowing the risks which to me indicates some sort of mental issue. I think the film was a good example for showing the way users use the internet to satisfy their sexual desires. I think Weiner probably did what he did as a way to cope with whatever was going on in his current love life, maybe needing more attention and I think that this is a reason why a lot of people use the internet to sext rather than go outside and find someone. I think it’s also a good example for showing the damages that can be caused by using the internet and how anonymity is a sort of sacred thing on the internet. People put many things online, some things that they wouldn’t want anyone seeing, some things that could keep them from getting a job. You can remain anonymous on many sites but when someone finds out who you are it could damage your life like with what happened to Weiner.
In the “Weiner” documentary, the most eye catching thing to me was his son being a part of the film. I found it quite odd for Anthony to speak about his mistakes regarding his sex addiction and then the scene would cut to him being a father. I know sex and parenting don’t necessarily go hand in hand, but if that was their attempt to humanize him and have people “relate”- it rubbed me the wrong way. I felt as if he wasn’t truly owning up to his shit and was more concerned with his image. For me, it ruined the genuineness of the film. It was interesting to me how loyal his wife was to him. I was super heated watching her facial expressions of pure sadness. I also admired her in a way. I wouldn’t be able to be okay with being her in that kind of situation. It also made me come up with so many scenarios to justify her staying with him. Like what are their deep dark secrets? Is Huma involved in some way and just didn’t get caught? Or was smarter to not get caught? Is it a marriage of nude enthusiasts? Anyway, she made me question my patients and standards, which then made me question hers 10x. I felt as if the central conflict was Anthony’s sex addiction, but for me, whenever it was brought up, I found a way to connect it to his loyalty. His scandal connects to the course by being a good lesson on the openness of the internet. Also maybe be careful about where/how you go about you private business. Technology can expose you. It’s much bigger than anyone can wrap their mind around. It’s been a way people cope with their issues and sometimes- in Anthony’s case- it isn’t the best way. I think we should all be mindful about how/why we use technology.