choose one of those film and then please answer the following questions in the paper.
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American History X
For this film, please answer the following questions in your paper.
1) The opening scenes of the movie depict a calm and beautiful beach filmed in black
and white. What might be the symbolic significance of this opening scene?
2) What was the ultimate reason for Derek’s switch in his philosophy on race while
he was in prison?
Casablanca
1) Ilsa essentially got Victor Laszlo’s blessing to seduce Rick into giving up the
transit papers. Does that make her a bad wife or him a bad husband?
2) On the surface, it looks like Rick abandoned his anti-Nazi efforts once he left
Paris, and then became a self-centered business man. He states to Ilsa “I’m not
fighting for anything now except myself. I’m the only cause that I’m interested in.”
Did Rick do anything to help the resistance movement in Casablanca, even if only
indirectly?
American Beauty
1) Throughout this film, viewers learn that some of the characters are not who they
first seem to be. Identify these characters, the image they present to others, and
their “real” selves. Why do you think they have these different identities? Do you
know people like this? Have you created an image for yourself? Why?
2) Jane’s friend Angela says, “There’s nothing worse in life than being ordinary. ”
Do you agree? Why or why not?
Crimes and Misdemeanors
1) Speaking to Judah, Rabbi Ben states the two key moral positions of the movie:
“It’s a fundamental difference in the way we view the world. You see it as harsh and
empty of values and pitiless. And I couldn’t go on living if I didn’t feel it with all my
heart a moral structure, with real meaning, and forgiveness, and a higher power,
otherwise there’s no basis to live.” Is there an in between position?
2) Rabbi Ben tells Judah that “without the law it’s all darkness.” Judah retorts, “What
good is the law if it prevents me from receiving justice? Is what she’s doing to me
just? Is this what I deserve?” Judah’s situations is caused directly or indirectly by
choices he’s made, even though he may not have understood at the time he made
them their full implications for the future. Can Judah, therefore, be held morally
responsible for creating his own situation?
The Matrix
1) In a meeting with Agent Smith, Cypher makes the following remark while eating a
steak: “You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my
mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years,
you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.” Do you agree with Cypher that
ignorance is bliss in the context of the Matrix?
2) During breakfast, Mouse makes the following comment about the
appearance/reality regarding tastes: “How did the machines know what Tasty
Wheat tasted like. huh? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat
tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a
lot of things. You take chicken for example, maybe they couldn’t figure out what to
make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.” Is there
something in the human brain that would limit the kinds of tastes that we could
experience or enjoy, and, if so, does this force the Matrix to model the fantasy world
after some kind of reality?
Memento
1) Lenny states, “The world doesn’t disappear when you close your eyes, does it? My
actions still have meaning, even if I can’t remember them. My wife deserves
vengeance, and it doesn’t make any difference whether I know about it.” Do you
agree?
2) The movie closes with Lenny saying, “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves
who we are. I’m no different.” Lenny’s “mirrors” were his memory devices. What
sort of “mirrors” do people with normal memories rely on to remind themselves
who they are?
Metropolis
1) When Ferder sees the accident in the factory, he has a vision in which the
workers enter the mouth of Moloch to be devoured. Moloch was a Canaanite God,
associated with a ritual involving sacrificial fire, which that the backsliding Israelites
occasionally worshiped. What’s the point of this symbolism?
2) Richard Scheib states “You can really debate if Metropolis is as much on the side
of the exploited working classes as it would appear to be. Notably it is the mad
scientist not the industrialist, who is responsible for the evil and upsetting the
balance of labour classes and is the one who is punished for his actions, while the
industrialist benevolently restores the status quo.” Is Scheib right?
The Truman Show
1) In what ways are Christof and the television network similar to God? In what
respects do they differ?
2) The final scene of the film contains the following dialogue:
Christof: Truman, you can speak. I can hear you.
Truman: Who are you?
Christof: I am the creator of a television show that gives hope, joy, and inspiration to
millions.
Truman: Then who am I?
Christof: You’re the star.
Truman: Was nothing real?
Christof: You were real. That’s what made you so good to watch. Listen to me
Truman. There is no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for
you. Same lies. Same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear.
Is Christof on target when he says that there is no more truth in the real world than
there is in Seahaven? What school of thought would Christof fall into with this
statement?
The Terminator
1) What troubles did Sarah have with technology before the Terminator arrives?
Have do they compare?
2) Have does Kyle Reese become the “father” of his own journey?
12 Monkeys
1) How does James Cole become the “father” of his own inspiration?
2) Cole’s “dream” sequences are not all alike (or accurate for that matter). The point
of view changes, so they are not purely his memories. During one sequence he will
remember Goines at the airport–another distortion of the truth. How does this
figure in our understanding of his memory? What does this do for Railly’s argument
that he has constructed the dream sequence (and his insanity) out of bits and pieces
of reality?
Artificial Intelligence
1) The owner of the Flesh Fair states that child mechas like David, were built to
disarm humans by playing on human emotions. Nevertheless, the human spectators
feel sympathy with David, particularly because he pleads for his life. What abilities
would a robot have to exhibit before we would consider it an equal with humans?
2) David enters a warehouse containing boxes upon boxes of other Davids. He walks
up to a facial mask of one of the Davids and peers through its eye openings. What if
anything does this symbolize?
Blade Runner
1) One of the more dramatic philosophical points made in the movie is that we can’t
trust our memories: they may have been implanted in us regardless of how true
they seem. What is the main reason that we trust our memories as more or less
accurate accounts of our past events?
2) Rachael became convinced that she was a replicant when Deckard described
some of her private childhood memories to her. What would it take for you to
seriously question the truth of your memories and consider instead that they might
implanted in you or the result of a drug or mental defect?
Dr. Strangelove
1) One of the tenets of just war theory is “proportionality,” that is, the military
should only use the amount of force that is required to achieve their goal. Does the
dooms day machine abide by the requirement of proportionality?
2) In the war room, General Turgidson suggests to the President that the U.S.
military should launch an all out attack on the Soviet Union, which would reduce the
Soviet’s retaliatory force by 90%. The net result of this action would be 20 million
Americans killed vs. 150 million. Good idea or bad idea?
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