The Geographical Analysis Tools - Coursework Example

Dat Geography is the study of physical features of a region. It has two main branches, that is physical geography and human geography. Physical geography focuses on the study of earth science. It is the study of earth physical features that include lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. On the other hand, human geography involves the study of settlement patterns. It encompass the human cultural, political, social and economic aspects. The Fast and furious is a 2001 American street racing action movie directed by Rob Cohen and starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordan Brewster. Filming location include Los Angeles and parts of California The movie location, Los Angeles lies on a hilly coastal plain with the pacific oceans as its southern and western boundaries. The city stretches north to the foothills of the Santa Monica and is bounded by the San Gabriel Mountains to the east. It is also characterized with numerous canyons and valleys, making it a region of diverse climatic conditions. It also experience warm weather, moist pacific air, keeping temperature mild throughout the year. In addition it is the populated state in the USA with people from different cultures . In the movie Fast and Furious has numerous geographical aspects that are featured throughout the movie. Some of these features include landmarks such as mountains, deserts, and water bodies. Other features include Man made features like buildings, roads, bridges and other constructions. The paper will analyze the physical geographical characteristics reflected in the movie and explore how they support human life as reflected in the film. These features include, mountains, rivers, oceans, climate, and physical land marks. In addition, it will also analyze on various human geography aspects portrayed in the movie through application of geographical themes. It will examine different cultures, economic activities, population size and patterns, building styles and how people of different cultures interact in the film. The location of the movie is rich in geographical features and comprises of different people with different cultures. Space is the part of the Earth’s surface that can be identified by humans and given a meaning. The place may be experienced , understood and valued differently. It ranges in size and it can be on the streets, rooms, parks or the roads. Space can be described by their shape, physical features, environmental features and people’s way of life. The film Fast and Furious was filmed majorly in the streets; this is evident from the action race competitions in the city roads. The film main theme is racing, and that’s the reason for its road parked action. The film place has numerous physical features which facilitated the shooting of the film. Presence of large land for the wide roads construction. Place is that place which give humans a sense of belonging. In place, human life is supported since there are required services and facilities to support life. Themes of geography Location- the Film and Furious was filmed in Los Angeles and also partly in California. Los Angeles city is located in the California’s Southern California region. Place- the physical characteristics of the location as depicted from the movie consist of natural grassland with no forest, there are presence of mountains in the scenes where Vin Diesel and his cohorts unsuccessfully tried to hijack a track for the second time. His colleague got hurt and was airlifted to the hospital, at that scenario there are good mountain images. The presence of bridges can also be observed during the final race with the train takes place down by the harbor. The bridge links the mainland San Padro with Terminal Island. Presence of ocean is along the coastal stretch part where Vin Diesel fought a Japanese gang leader during the coastal car race competition. The region is developed with good modern infrastructure. For example, it has good wide roads, railway transport, and high electricity generation for automobile industry. There also exist various building style with tall buildings and small residential buildings in the neighborhood. Buildings are constructed by the use of different building materials such as concrete, metals and timber. As can be observed from the movie Vin Diesel’s white wood frame house. The film involves different people with different cultures and religions. In the film there is evidence of different ethnic groups that are whites, black Americans and Japanese. The majority of the occupants has a racing culture, everybody in the movie enjoy racing and it is perceived as a source of fame. It is a culture that is inclusive, both ladies and men actively participate in it. Religion aspect is also reflected in the film, the presence of churches within the neighborhood means that there are Christians in the neighborhood. Also the scene where the Asian gangsters were shot, there is a Vietnamese religion court with white marble statues. Interactions within the occupants is based on violence, when the two rivalry groups meet their always looms violence. It shows the hostility of the local communities. Human environmental interaction Humans’ uses environmental resource for survival; therefore environment is a vital necessity for human life sustainability. With the population rise, humans have exploited the available natural resources for production leaving land unbearable. Human activities such as deforestation, mining, and building constructions has lead to the destruction of natural resources. From the film Fast and Furious , the construction of the urban centre contributed to the clearance of forest land. People also harvested timber for constructing residential houses as the one for Vin Diesel. Human activities also led to pollution of the environment, automobile industry and car racing emit carbon dioxide gas into the air hence pollute the environment. The locals also use coastal regions for recreational activities, from the movie, locals go to the coastal region for racing competition. The weather condition in the location is warm and dry, so people have adopted by wearing light and half clothe wears. Environment support agricultural activities for food production, for example land can be utilized for food production. People can engage in different farming activities to produce food. It always depends on favorable climatic conditions. The movie location portrays no agricultural activities apart from beef farming and industrialization; this is evident from the type of food consumed by the actors. People do beef farming due to the presence of grassland zone, although the region depend more on industrialization as a source employment. The locals have modified source of income by opening small enterpreunal markets and automobile warehouses due the nature of activities in the region. In the film, Vin Diesel with the help of her sister runs a food restaurant in the Torretos market. Movements It defines the interaction between people and places, passing communication and how products are transported. Mass communication has all played major roles in shaping our world. People interact every time and everywhere. They also communicate and travel from one region to another. In the movie location, there is various means of movements. People travel by roads, the whole film has a road action that is ether racing or scenes of moving cars on the road. This is a clear condition that majority travel by road. Fast and Furious film is full of road action activities, People ride on motorbikes as reflected in the Asian gang scenario. In the police-racers chase many motorists are observed in the road. In addition, the interaction between Paul Walker and Vin Diesel involved car drives. There is also presence of rail transport that is used to transport heavy goods from the ports to the industries. Goods are transported by road and rail, the track hijacked y the Vin Diesel was transporting products from one region to another. The train which crossed the road towards the harbor also was in goods transits. At the train scene, there is a glimpse of a harbor where goods are loaded into ship cruise. Therefore, there is a clear evident of sea transport. In the movie location, there are communication lines in almost every scenario . Actors use communication gadgets like mobile phones to communicate with others Region Region is a basic unit of study in geography. A region is a part that displays a coherent union in terms of the government, landform and language. They are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed. There exist three basics types of regions formal regions ,physical regions and functional region. The formal region is that region under government rule. In the Fast and Furious film location, there exist both regional types. Already the paper has discussed physical region of LA, therefore the paper will discuss the formal regional aspect of the locality. From the movie it is clear evidence of formal administration, this is due to the presence of police who their work is to bring law offenders to justice The producer’s motivation in choosing the film setting was based on the geographical potential in terms of regional size, population distribution and manmade features like wide roads and sparsely populated streets for racing . Use of maps Mapping is an essential tool in finding one’s location, it is easy to search places and find locations. Various tools can be applied in mapping depending on the purpose and nature of the search. Some of the commonly used mapping tools include use of maps or modern navigation software like GIS. The film portrays the usage of mapping in allocating locations. For example, the police cars and helicopters use mapping technology in pursuits of the racing cars. Conclusion The geographical analysis tools are essential in demonstrating the geographical distribution of a particular region. Through the application geographical themes, a region can be well analyzed to understand its physical features, human environmental interactions , movements and other geographical facts. Work Cited Paterson, J H. North America: a Geography of Canada and the United States. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Read More