Done for a theory task in college.

1. 29-09-2018
Week 3 theory Task
Amy (2015 film)
Afterwatchinghalf of the film“Amy”whichisa filmaboutthe life anddeathof AmyWinehouse,I
have realisedthatafewpeople were toblame forherdeathmostnotablyherhusbandBlake
Fielder-Civil. Herproblemswithsubstance abuse andaddictionhoweverwere believedtohave
startedas a reactionto the deathof hergrandmotherwhowasone of few stabilisinginfluencesin
herlife. Afterthisitwasherhusband whoonlyencouragedthese habitsbyintroducinghertocrack
cocaine and heroin.He confessedtothistothe tabloidsaswell asadmittingitlive onThe Jeremy
Kyle show.
The filmalsotalksabouthow otherpeople aroundhersuchas herfatherdidn’tbelieve thatshe
neededtogoto rehabilitationandthatshe was fine. Despite thisfactshe still went. The
documentaryalsotalksabouthowWinehouse hadproblemswithself-harmaswell aseating
disorders.Winehouse’smotherwasshownonthe documentarytoknow herdaughterwas suffering
frombulimiahoweverwhatwasalsoshownwasher lackof response tothis.Whilstitwasn’t
explicitlystatedIgotthe impressionthathermotherwasindenial andas a resultshe chose notto
helpbelievingthatitwasjust a phase and thatit wouldpass. A reporterone saidthat “Winehouse
was a victimof mental illnessinasocietythatdoesn'tunderstandorrespondtomental illnesswith
great effectiveness."Itislikelythatthislackof understandingfromthose people inherpersonal life
such as herfathercontributedagreat deal toher alcohol abuse anddepressionwhichinturncaused
herdeath.
Doingsome of my ownresearchintothe deathof AmyWinehouse itisdifficulttodetermine
whetherthe documentaryisafair,honestandtruthful reputationof Winehouse ornot. The reasonI
say thisisbecause I thinkthe documentaryinitiallycomesacrossastruthful asit usesthingslike
personal home videofootageof Winehouse toallow the audience toconnectwithherona personal
level andsee the worldthroughhereyesaswell asherown shortcomings andall the pressuresand
stressshe had to deal with.Because of thispeople are likelytobelieve thatthisisanunfilteredand
therefore truthful view onthe lifeof Winehouse.Despitethishoweveronce I didsome of myown
backgroundresearchI foundthatthe filmhadbeenwidelycriticisedbypeople suchasherfather
Mitch Winehouse ashe isquotedasbelievingthisfilmtobe "misleading"and"containssome basic
untruths".He is alsoquotedassaying "The film is representing me in a notvery good way.Thereis
no balance,there's nothing aboutthefoundation.It'sportraying meand Amy in nota very good
light."
My initial reactiontothisquote wasthatitappearedselfishandthatMitchWinehouse wasmore
botheredabouthisownreputation howeveritthenoccurredtome that mightnot be the case. I did
more researchand foundthathe hadalso describedthe filmas“hurtful tothe family”and“thatit
focusedtoomuch onher drug problem andmissedouthersense of fun.”Ithenrealisedthathis
accusationsare true as the filmdoes portray mostof Amy’snegative traitsmore thenitportraysher
goodones.For example,the filmtalksalotabouther heavysmokinghabits,promiscuityandher
battleswithdepression,substance abuse andeatingdisorder.However,the onlypositive traitsthat
it reallyshowedof herwashertalentforsinging.AfterrealisingthisInow understandwhather
fathermeansbythe filmskippingoverher“sense of fun”andthat there waslikelyalotmore to the
personthat wasAmyWinehouse thenwhatwasportrayedinthe film.

2. To conclude Ibelieve thatthe film portraysthe lackof supportfrompeople asbeingthe maincause
of AmyWinehouse’sdeathasitwasthere faultthat hersubstance abuse problemsgotoutof hand.
However, Ibelieve there ismore tothe storythenwhatit portrayedinthe filmandtherefore atthis
pointintime I cannotsay that I believethe filmAmywasatruthful,honestand fairrepresentation
of the life of AmyWinehouse.