Questions

Groundhog Day


1. The quote that gets at the heart of the movie is what Phil says to the guys in the bowling alley: “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and everyday was exactly the same and nothing you did mattered?” How are our lives like that? How are they not like that? If they can seem like that, how do we stop them from being that way (and yes, I realize that might be especially pertinent these days)?


2. “Did you want to talk about the weather? Or were you just making chit chat?” What do you think about small talk/chit chat? Do you like/dislike it? Why/why not?


3. “People like blood sausage. People are morons.” While I could sort of agree on the first thing (the texture is just I don’t know), I’m not sure on the second thing. What evidence would you point to in support of Phil’s claim that people are morons? What evidence would you point to in disagreement with Phil’s claim? And if we want people to not be morons, how do we do that?


4. Phil basically gets to do whatever he wants at times - there are no consequences for his actions. Do you think that many/most people would start acting as he did? Why/why not? While you’re at it, maybe check out Lord Acton, a famous Catholic historian, for the one quote everybody knows of his (it would be way cooler if his name were Lord Action - that sounds like a movie star right there. It’s close at least).


5. Please do check out Kubler-Ross’s stages of grief. You might find them interesting. How does Phil demonstrate some of those stages.


6. Rita tells Phil, “You’ll never love anyone but yourself.” He responds, “I don’t even like myself!” How might those two things be related?


7. Do you think people can change? Why/why not? What does it take in the movie for Phil to change? Why do you think he decides to start being a good person?



Social Network Questions


  1. As we discussed in class, a significant portion of the movie is fictionalized (fancy pants word for made up/created) - are you OK with that? Why/why not? And whatever you argue, understand that this is true of almost any movie based on a true story - please factor that into your argument.


  1. At different times in the movie, Eduardo asks Mark, “Do you think this is a good idea?” “Should we shut it down?” Mark seems to be focused on what they can do, not terribly focused on what they should do. How does this play out in the movie? In the real world? (Quick sidenote - I really like this thread [that is seems like maybe he deleted?] from actor/comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who starred in Silicon Valley and The Big Sick, about tech companies doing what we see Mark do in the movie: https://mashable.com/2017/11/01/kumail-nanjiani-tech-dystopia-ethics-twitter-thread/)


  1. What did you think of the role of women in the movie? Do you think Facebook would be different if women were involved in its creation?


  1. Why open the movie the way it did (with the breakup between Mark and Erica)? How do you think that sets the tone for the movie? Does the movie do a good job of referring back/returning to the opening?


  1. Why do you think Mark and Eduardo had their falling out? What led to the breakup of their partnership?


  1. What did you think of Mark’s apology to Harvard? It featured something along the lines of “to any women who feel they were offended” - what is the problem with apologies like that?


  1. Why is it so easy to write/say mean things about people online?


  1. What do you think of social media? Has it been a net positive or a net negative for humanity to this point?


  1. At the end of the movie, Mark claims that he’s not a bad guy. It’s something he seems to be thinking about. What do you think most people think about themselves - do most people think they’re good, bad, good enough, not that bad? Why do you think that way?


Shawshank Redemption Questions

1. What is the purpose of prisons? What does the film suggest about this idea?

2. Why make Red the narrator and not Andy? Who would you argue is the main character?

3. What do you make of the film’s violence? The movie takes a scene of crude humor (hey, let’s laugh at the fat guy) and turns it into a scene of great violence. The violence against Andy generally is shot from a bird’s eye view of sorts, removing us from it. As violent as some scenes are, the violence does not stick with me after the movie is done – do you think that a good thing or a bad thing? Does the film romanticize prison life? Last, why is prison rape a source of humor for some jokes (not in the film, but in crude conversation)? What do you think of Boggs being beat to the point of paralysis – does it satisfy you as a viewer?

4. I think the movie suggests that, in a sense, we create our own prisons, each and every one of us (again, let us not romanticize prison life). What might that mean? Does the story of Brooks’s release suggest anything in this regard? Can you imagine being out of the world for 50 years? Why does he write, “Brooks was here”?

5. My two favorite scenes in the movie are when they are drinking beer on break from tarring the roof, and when Andy plays Mozart over the prison PA system – what do those scenes have in common? What does it mean to feel normal or to feel free? What things in your own life help you feel that way?

6. Is Tommy a believable character? The warden? Hadley? Why or why not?

7. “They can’t get that from you – haven’t you ever felt that way about music?” “Played a mean harmonica when I was a younger man – gave it up, didn’t make much sense in here.” “Here is where it makes the most sense – need it so you don’t forget that there are places not made of stone, that there is something inside that they can’t touch, it’s yours.” “What are you talking about?” “Hope.” “Hope is a dangerous thing – it’s got no use on the inside.”

This is (roughly) the dialogue in the movie at the only point when Andy and Red have a disagreement – next time you watch the movie be sure to catch the look on Morgan Freeman’s face when Robbins says, “Like Brooks?” If looks could kill . . . later, in the letter Andy leaves for Red, Andy writes, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” Who do you agree with, Red or Andy? Is hope a dangerous thing or a good thing? While you are at it, you should read Langston Hughes’s poem “A Dream Deferred.” It might provide some interesting context to your answer.

8. Why does Red say that rehabilitated is a bullshit word? That scene is a fun example of how the truth can set you free.

9. What is it about this movie that people love so much? I think it might have something to do about friendship, and capturing the mystery that another person is – I do not know exactly – perhaps you can help enlighten me. All I know is that I love watching this movie – I find it very affecting.

10. Going back to what Andy says after he gets out of solitary (“the hole”) after playing Mozart, what is the value of this class (I promise I do not ask this question for me, but for you)? What is the value of a literature class, as opposed to more practical classes like math and science? I think it might have something to do with what Andy says in that scene.


Casablanca

  1. “The lives of three people don’t add up to a hill of beans in the crazy, mixed-up world.” Is this something the movie argues is true?

  1. Rick strives to be aloof – the first shot of him playing chess against himself, being told by Ferrari that isolationism is no longer a practical policy, “I stick my neck out for nobody,” “The problems of the world are not in my department,” “I’m only fighting for myself – I’m the only cause I’m interested in (echoes of Han Solo in that one – “Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money.”)” Why doesn’t he succeed?

  1. Was Ilsa’s leaving Rick in Paris cruel or loving?

  1. Why do you think Rick sold guns and fight for the underdogs (Ethopia and the Loyalists in Spain – also, if you do not know the history of those two conflicts, please look them up)?

  1. When Ilsa arrives in Casablanca, why is Rick so cruel to her? Does it make any sense?

  1. My major complaint with the film – isn’t Victor Laszlo a stick in the mud? Does he seem like a hero? He has some kind of corny lines (granted, so do many of the other characters in the movie, but somehow they seem to pull them off, him, not so much).

  1. Who is the most honest character in the film? The most dishonest?

  1. What do think of Rick’s cynicism? Is some of it worthwhile – “Yesterday they were just two clerks; today, they are the honored dead (speaking of the two German couriers)”?

  1. How did the Germans outlaw miracles?

  1. When Ilsa comes to Rick after he refuses to sell the exit visas to Laszlo, is she acting? Are she and Rick in some way paralleling the young Bulgarian woman and Renault?

  1. Do Rick and Ilsa make the right decision in the end (Ilsa getting on the plane with Laslzo)? Should they sacrifice their own feelings? At one point Ilsa tells Rick, “Put your feelings aside for something more important.” How are we to know if our sacrifices are worth it? Can we?

  1. The scene where the saloon sings “La Marseillaise” is one of the greatest scenes in movie history (in my humble opinion). I cannot exactly explain why I love it so much – sure, it is the good guys trumping the bad guys, but somehow the passion that the actors show in the scene comes through somehow. Even before I knew that only three actors in the film were born in the US, many originally from Europe, where war raged as the film was being shot, with some of the actors so overwhelmed by the scene that they were crying afterwards, I loved that moment. I think that it has something to do with the scene being in song and not in English – I looked up a translation for “La Marseillaise” once, read the first line and immediately stopped – the words seeming boring, normal, and rather anthem-like. I imagined them being much greater, and since I still do not know the words, I maintain that illusion (that sentiment is echoed in Shawshank Redemption by Morgan Freeman’s character when Tim Robbins plays the Mozart from the warden’s office – “I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about . . .”). As I watch the scene, I have the hope, somehow, that no matter what happens in the world, good will triumph over evil, silly as that may be, much as I sometimes doubt it. I’m now embarrassed by having said too much about myself, and leave you to write something about the power of the scene.

What is it about this movie that has withstood the test of time and allowed it to become one of the most popular films of all-time?


Almost Famous

1) In a late-night phone conversation, Lester Bangs and William discuss being “uncool.” What does the film have to say to you about the good and the bad of being cool/uncool? How is this reflected in your own high school experience?

2) One of the saddest things in the movie is the use of people by other people. It is a tragedy for a person, created in the image and likeness of God (whatever that might mean – I find it a wonderfully mysterious phrase), to be treated like a thing. In the film one sees this most clearly in the case of the Band-aids, and Penny in particular. How do you see this trait in the film, and how do you see it in the world around you?

3) The film says much about the power and allure of music. What is it that makes music so special for you (if it is)? Are there any parts of the film that helped you understand your appreciation of music?

4) What did you think of what the film has to say about telling the truth, versus ignoring it or telling little white lies. “The truth sounds different.” “Be honest and unmerciful.” “Just make us look cool.” Think of the lies the characters tell themselves – that they are not in love with someone else – that they are OK if the other person is not in love with them, that they are dark and mysterious, the relationships within our band are just fine, etc. Also think of the scene when the plane is about to go down and what happens there.

5) Do true artists have to suffer? What causes their suffering?

6) Here is a kind of touchy one, with you being about the same age as the film’s protagonist – what do you think the film has to say about parental responsibility for children and the need of parents to let go? This may be difficult, but try to watch and be sympathetic toward the mother – it may help you in a year’s time or so.

7) What does the film say about freedom? Does it make being totally free seem like fun? Is freedom free? By the way, that last question is a joke.

8) What are your thoughts on the morality of drugs and alcohol? What does the film have to say about those things?

9) I like the scene where William is first interviewing Stillwater, and the lead singer is prattling on, but William keeps wanting to turn the mike toward the guitar player – what does this scene suggest to you? Are there other examples of the same idea elsewhere in the movie?

10) Jeff (the lead singer) expresses the opinion that the best stuff is the popular stuff – agree or disagree?

11) I think that being onstage in front of a sold-out stadium, with the audience shouting out the words to a song that you wrote, would be one of the most amazing things that one could experience. That being said, I do not know how much fun touring would be. Do you think that things would get old? I think one might get burned out on the sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Another movie I like has a character observe, “Everything gets old if you do it often enough.” What do you think of that idea?