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April 21, 2017 at 7:38 pm #1023Kate SchulzParticipant
I think this is a really good point, too. As I was watching the film, I was surprised to find I actually liked Hannibal Lecter as a character. I kept asking myself why I liked this person who was a violent, psychopathic prisoner, and I found at least part of it was because he was treating Clarice as a person with potential, rather than objectifying her. Yes Hannibal is a cannibal and deserves to be in prison for the crimes he committed, but I too was not upset that he was planning on going after Chilton. In looking at the main goal of the film being to catch Buffalo Bill, then I think the sexism/Chilton were the real villains and not Hannibal, as he does seem to help Clarice with this endeavor. It is impossible to overlook the fact that Hannibal is a serial killer, and kills innocent people in the film; however, I do have a hard time labeling him as the villain, (or at least the only villain), in the film. It’s interesting that this character who has done so many horrible things was actually a character I liked better than the other male characters the film.
April 21, 2017 at 7:23 pm #1022Kate SchulzParticipantLizzie, I think your analysis is really insightful and accurate. I had seen this film before, however never in the context of the typical fairy tale, girl becomes a knight, story. Therefore, I had never made the connections between the two until now, and I agree with basically everything that you have written here. I especially like the comment about Clarice playing both the damsel in distress and the hero. In so many stories, the female is portrayed as only the damsel in distress, and a lot of the plot is centered around her being saved. Additionally, it seems the woman is always portrayed a romantic interest, and always reciprocates those feelings. Even thinking about classic princess stories that give women a greater role (Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, etc.), there is still the romantic plot, ending in love and “happily ever after.” The way that the “happily ever after” never comes before the love story, seems to suggest that that happy ending would not have been possible without it. In my opinion, it was really refreshing to watch a woman who was not interested in romantic relationships and was simply focused on her career and goals, and who did not need a “prince” to save her and contribute to her happiness. Seeing a woman be able to save herself, rather than just being a victim, especially in a male dominated field, was something I really appreciated.
April 17, 2017 at 9:35 pm #1017Kate SchulzParticipantI agree with most of what has been said. This was my first time seeing the film, and I really didn’t enjoy it much. I felt it was cliche and just too cheesy for me, with most of what was happening making me roll my eyes as we were watching it. I felt Mr. Keating was trying too hard to be the cool teacher, to the point where everything he did was too unrealistic for me. I think the film would have been more powerful if Mr. Keating had been a more realistic teacher, with less cliche moments. I also like the point mentioned earlier about Mr. Keating feeding into their privilege by telling them to forego traditional educational standards in pursuit of pleasure. That was something I had not thought of while watching the film, and I think is a really interesting and valid point. Had the boys been of lower income families, that is something that would never have been able to happen.
March 27, 2017 at 3:26 pm #987Kate SchulzParticipantJeanna,
I, like Lizzie, did not particularly enjoy this film, and had a really hard time with it because of the number of characters and the length. However, your comments also helped me view it in a more favorable light. I particularly enjoyed your insight that the number of characters that were heroes showed the reality of war, as well as the concept of heroism in the sense of comforting the wounded and dying. I think watching this movie as a narrative, and trying to focus only on the plot really took away from my enjoyment of the film. Had I been able to step back and view it from the perspective of a film trying to simulate the realities of war, with the length, flashbacks, and number of characters, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I think this is a film where, as a viewer, it is important to realize the difference between intention and narrative, and be able to appreciate a film for one but not the other.
March 27, 2017 at 3:10 pm #986Kate SchulzParticipantI agree with Lizzie, in when I was reading I had decided that the cannibalism was definitely something to include, and that the film did a good job of portraying it as an act of survival when all other options had been exhausted. I think the first moment when Canessa cuts and eats the first piece of flesh was probably an accurate depiction. Most of the team probably realized that if they wanted to survive they needed to eat, and, being stranded in the mountains they did not have any resources, and so cannibalism became the only option. I think the film did a good job of portraying cannibalism as their only option, and showing it as something they resorted to out of desperation. Given the necessity of it, I think the stoic looks on the rest of the teams’ faces was probably accurate. I feel as though the film did a good job of making the audience feel the moral struggle the team was going through, as well as how uncomfortable they were with the actual action, despite it being something that needed to be done for survival .
February 9, 2017 at 2:09 pm #939Kate SchulzParticipantI think it’s really interesting that you bring up the context of WWII in your analysis. As a viewer in a modern setting it can be easy to forgot how dangerous picking a side publicly could have been, and therefore easy to be annoyed by Rick’s apparent neutrality and refusal to fight for the “good guys” throughout the film. Clearly Rick siding with the “bad guys” and throwing Lazlo in a concentration camp would be a morally corrupt decision, however viewers are able to sympathize with him considering his love for Ilse. In the end, he does the morally right thing and allows Lazlo and Ilse to escape and becomes the hero, but as a viewer I found myself wishing he had been able to find a way to end up with Ilse and still do the heroic thing and help Lazlo.
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