Pleasantville
Dreams by Akira Kurosawa’s
• Are you familiar with other movies directed by Akira Kurosawa or other Japanese films? How did your experience of those films shape your expectations of Dreams? If you had not watched other Japanese films, were you surprised by this one? How?
• Provide examples of patterns or motifs in in one or more of the dreams. What is the purpose of these patterns? What are the reactions viewers are likely to have?
• What is the main point concerning the creative process of art as presented in “Crows”?
• The different dreams use very different lighting and color? What is the effect of lighting and color in one or more of these dreams?
• Discuss realism and anti-realism in one or more dreams. Where do they alternate between the two modes? Why do you think the film-makers made those choices? Do the dreams maintain verisimilitude?
• Does the director manipulate our experience of time and space? How? What is the purpose? Please provide specific examples.
The Ox-Bow Incident
• Most Westerns deal with the issue or justice, crime, punishment and order versus chaos. The Ox-Bow Incident is no exception. There are several conversations where various characters are making comments or offering their ideas about how justice should work or what it is and isn’t. There are, of course, also actions that point to an “understanding” of justice (you may not necessarily agree with this understanding). Ultimately, what do you think the movie is saying about how justice does and does not work? Use specific examples and characters as you respond.
• The posse decides early on that lynching is the best way to handle the suspects. We get several shots of the rope/ropes. What is the impact of seeing the rope/ropes? Consider the time period when this story is set: 1885. Historically, what role does lynching begin to have in our country during that time and beyond? You might want to consider what Revered Sparks (the only black character) says about lynching. Also, comment on why the posse would have chosen lynching over another form of execution?
• Westerns have a tradition of using stories, rumors, hearsay and a person’s reported reputation to propel plot lines. A character will tell a story about another or himself/herself or rely solely on reputation of another in order to form a judgment about that person (of course, we all do that to some extent—however, it is taken a bit to the extreme in the western genre). During the time when most westerns are set, forms of communication beyond stories are rare. So the spoken word and a form of what we might call tall-tales became a way to convey information—often largely inaccurate but powerful in its telling. There are several examples in The Ox-Bow Incident of how a rumor or a story about a person influences an outcome. Discuss a few examples—be specific and thorough as you mention the story told and the impact it has.
• Major Tetley and his step-son, Gerald, have a lot of tension in their relationship, and the final few minutes of the film end in a tragic/dramatic fashion between the two of them. How is the filmmaker using these two characters to develop various definitions of masculinity and what it means to “be a man”? Use specific quotes and scenes to clarify your response. It may be useful to consider how the audience of the time frame the story is set in (1885), the time frame of its production (1943) and our modern eyes today may differently view or interpret the role and meaning of “manliness.”
• Women, people of color and any marginalized group of people are often overlooked or represented in a limited and stereotypical way in most Westerns. Again, The Ox-Bow Incident follows this genre convention with limited representation of diverse people. There are only 4 female characters (Rose, Rose’s sister-in-law, Judge Taylor’s housekeeper, Ma Grier and the woman in the painting) shown on screen and one more female character, Mrs. Miller (who we don’t meet but certainly is a part of the story) mentioned. In their brief appearances, discuss how each is a stereotype or even caricature of a woman. We also meet a black character (Reverend Sparks) and 2 characters who seem to be from Mexico (Poncho and Juan Martinez). In what ways do these characters serve as a limited representation and in what ways do they break through the stereotypes (if they do)?
American Splendor
Birdman
Pan’s Labyrinth
Run Lola Run
Wings of Desire
• You have probably watched other films or TV shows where angels play an important role. How did those experiences shape your expectations of this film? Were you surprised watching Wings of Desire? How?
• Wings of Desire is set in Berlin two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. What is the importance of the historical context in the film? Consider the scenes from World War II and the fact that Peter Falk is working on a film set in Nazi Germany.
• Some critics consider that Wings of Desire is a romantic fantasy. Do you agree with this classification? Does the film belong to any specific genre?
• Children appear very often in the film. What is their function and symbolic importance?
• What is the importance of the circus in the film? Keep in mind that there are several circus scenes and Marion works for a circus that faces financial hardship.
• The film stresses the importance of spirituality in our own humanity. Please discuss how this theme works in Wings of Desire.
• Why does the angel Damien value humanity so much that he is willing to suffer pain and abandon his perfect spiritual life in order to become human?
• Wings of Desire is a film from the New German Cinema. This movement was influenced by Italian Neorealism, the French Nouvelle Vague, and the British New Wave. Please briefly mention the characteristics of any of these movements. Can you see any of these characteristics in Wings of Desire?
For the Film titles that do not have questions under them, just write a lengthy summary over the editing over the film.
