Movie Witness Written by Mark Book in 1985 Essay

Movie Witness Written by Mark Book in 1985 - Essay Example In this movie, we find two characters Rael and her son Samuel, boarding a train to take them to Baltimore to visit Rachel’s sister. This part has a reflection of family ties exhibited by the Amish community. It shows how the community values keeping close with other family members irrespective of the distance. This is because, despite the many challenges they face and delays of the train, they braved themselves and waited for three hours to ensure that they reach the destination and see their sister. The western culture also values family ties as notes Capsi (72). He notes that mothers liked keeping family members close the same way Rael an Amish woman does. He, however, notes that close family ties are getting cut off. Capsi (76) asserts that some Americans express fear that they would soon lose their family members through family cutoffs. According to western culture, a brother-brother relationship is emphasized for rivalry, jealousy, competitiveness, and ambivalence. Howeve r, this is not the case with the Amish Community. The train is divided into compartments with different rooms for men and women. According to western culture, this is not the case as both men and women are expected to share an apartment. There is no differentiation between men and women’s apartments. It is in the men’s room that Samuel witnesses the murder of an undercover narcotics. This is followed by the entry of the detectives among them being John Book. The book is seen receiving a phone call which makes Samuel wander about in the room. He wonders because his Amish community is a conservative community and always avoids phone calls (New York Times 72). The movie, therefore, brings about the change in technology, which has become the mode of communication in western culture. Inside the room, there is a newspaper article that talks of McFee, one of the narcotics officers.