This is a take-home mid-term examination, due on Moodle Saturday, March 16th. It should be four (4) typed double-spaced pages, or around 1000-1200 words. While you may discuss the question with other people, the exam should be in your own words. Any sources — including the Internet — should be properly cited and either quoted or paraphrased. You will be graded not only on your understanding of the material but also on how well you convey your ideas. This means that clarity and coherence are as important as substance. You should also give your own views as called for in the question. And while you should use examples from the film to illustrate the points you are making, please do not give a simple plot summary. Since one of the aims of the course is to facilitate critical thinking, you should use logical analysis to arrive at your conclusion, and you should feel free to express views which may differ from those of the instructor or your textbook.
You are encouraged to do a draft of your answer and send it to the instructor before the due date so he can give you feedback and suggest possible improvements. This is particularly important for those students whose first language is not English, or for any students who may have difficulty writing an analytical essay.
John Boorman’s film The Emerald Forest contrasts two traditional societies, the Invisible People and the Fierce People, with modern Western society, whose inhabitants are referred to as the Termite People. Compare and contrast the culture of the Invisible People with that of either contemporary American society or your own society if you come from a different culture.
NOTE: Please make sure your essay covers ALL the following points (do NOT omit part (e)):
(a) a comparison of the authority structure implied by the chief’s statement, “If I told a man to do what he does not want to do, I would no longer be chief,” with the authority structures of American society and/or your own society;
(b) an examination of the role of technology in each culture, including its relationship to the natural environment, and why the Westerners are called the termite people;
(c) the ways in which spirituality is revealed in the culture of the Invisible People;
(d) which culture, in your view, makes people happier and better satisfies human needs (say what these are, and include spirituality and community);
(e) how Freud, Durkheim, OR Marx might answer part (d) above, and why (very important; should be at least 200 words); and
Source: Civilization and it’s or discontents or Communist Manifesto
(f) which culture would you rather live in, and why? Whichever culture you choose, what might our culture learn from the culture of the Invisible People?
