According to what my teacher was saying, we (that being our class) need to write an essay comparing/contrasting a particular idea using more than one resource (article from text book, article from Mercury reader book, or movies) that has an 'ah-ha' moment.
::shrug::
The example she gave us what on "what a lost boy is" and she did this by showing clips from the Disney version of Peter Pan, the musical version of Peter Pan, Hook, and the movie Lost Boys. In it, she compared all the central idea's of what a lost boy is, what each version itself presented as a lost boy, and did this both by visual and by what was said.
Since I would really enjoy using my homework time to watch movies, I have decided to try and do this by comparing idea's in movies.
I thought about doing something about Indians and watching "Last of the Mohican's" and "Dances with Wolves" and that sort of thing, and talk about how Native American's were viewed and treated (at least by how the video depicts it).
However, I am open to suggestions. So, are there any movies that are somewhat related that I could do this on, that you think would be fun?
Posted by JonnyNotSoBravo (Member # 5715) on :
Ooh! You said movies, and I immediately thought of the last Matrix movie coming out this November and how you could develop an idea out of it.
The idea could be "What is reality?" or even "disillusionment". You could use scenes from the Matrix and Memento and other movies and discuss where we get our bases for reality.
If you do the Native American thing, don't forget to include older movies as well, and perhaps how our perception of Native Americans has changed in the movies over time (didn't the Indians always used to be the bad guys in older movies?).
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I suggest you do a report comparing your life and the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And then not show up to class. Posted by Ayelar (Member # 183) on :
If you do the Native American thing, you'd have to rent "The Searchers" by John Ford with John Wayne.
That's a pretty huge topic to tackle, though, so I like JNSB's suggestion. You know the Matrix films inside and out, they meet the criteria for the paper, and you've undoubtedly thought about the ideas in the film already... It would be a narrower, and thus more interesting topic, I think.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I have a suggestion that would call for you going above and beyond your teacher's expectations.
The best "ah ha" moments usually come from examining outwardly dissimilar material and then making that genius intuitive leap that leads to a discovery. (Think John Nash in A Beautiful Mind).
So I think comparing a series of movies in the same genre is not challenging enough for a person of your obvious intellectual caliber. Try finding movies that apparently have nothing to do with each other and come up with a genius thesis showing how, when viewed together, they provide you with a flash of insight.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
If you are going to Native American's as Lost Boys you MUST see Smoke Signals. (Was that the name? I think so - very powerful, with lots of humor to contrast the intensity - made with the real people on a real reservations here in the real present day . . . and thematically, it fits.)
As a matter of fact, you could compare the invisibility pf present day lost NAtive Americans to say OSC's "Lost Boys" and who is able to see them and why . . . .
Beren's right on with that dissimilar works thing, by the way.
Let us know how you do -
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Vampires: Rent an old classic Dracula, Love At First Bite, and then go see Underworld.
Tarzan: Rent an old Black & White version, the Bo Derek Version and the Disney version, and contrast/compare their views on Race/Women and the ideal man.
Scratch that. I couldn't curse anyone with the Bo Derek version.
Go rent 5 different Dr. Who's with 3 different doctors.
Or 1 Doc Who, 1 Star Trek TNG, and B5 and compare the idea/physics of Time and Predestination.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Robin Hood. Nothing beats the original 1938 version. I had a friend last night who didn't realize it was one of the first true forerunners of today's modern "action" film. Even if the stunning special effects were limited to sword fighting shadows it has a classic theme.
Then you have the Disney versions both cartoon and live action, Prince of Thieves, and Men in Tights.
You could also tie in Princess Bride as a modern Robin Hood because of the swashbuckling adventure theme and the swordfights.
AJ
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
"Smoke Signals" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"
SPOILERS
both involve torching a building with a person still inside. Granted, the person is already dead in both cases... And it is the parent of the person doing the torching.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
pooka - did you cry like a baby at various points in Smoke Signals?
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)