Slaughterhouse Five
How does this 1972 film, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel, play with the notion of involuntary and random time travel, and force us to consider what impact such a life would have on one’s attitudes toward pain, suffering and tragedy? What do the Tralfamadorians think about death, and how does Billy Pilgrim’s attitude mirror […]
The Missiles of October
What does this 1973 made for TV docudrama tell us about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the events that led to Soviet introduction of intermediate range nuclear armed ballistic missiles into that island nation? What were the justifications cited by Khrushchev? Why is Cuban leadership not portrayed in the film? How did the history of […]
A Ghost Story
How does this 2017 film explore grief, and how does it make use of the ghost, C’s, being almost unmoored in time to express grief? Why is the ghost tied tightly to the house and its location, even as he jumps around in time? Who or what is the neighboring house’s ghost waiting for? Why […]
The Contestant
What does this 2023 documentary about a man who takes part in a Japanese reality television show, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. in the late 1990’s, show us about the morality of such shows? How does the show work to isolate the man from human contact, and why? Why is he stripped of his clothes and confined […]
The Invention of Lying
What does this 2009 comedy tell us about lying? Is the world presented, a world where lying does not exist until the main character, Mark Bellison, ‘invents’ it, a world that is worth living in? Why? What assumptions are made, in this film, about how people would treat each other in a world where lying […]
Friday Night Lights
How does this 2004 film, based on the book of the same title, portray the importance of High School football in the life of the town of Odessa Texas? How does the film contrast with the book, and what choices were made as to what to emphasize in the film, and why were those choices […]
Breaker Morant
What does this 1980 film, based upon the true story of a series of courts-martial carried out toward the end of the Boer War at the turn of the 20th Century, tell us about the morality of guerilla war, and responses to such tactics? What defense is presented for the actions of the members of […]
Oppenheimer
What does this 2023 tell us about its various characters, and the challenges involved in running the Manhattan Project, not only for Oppenheimer, but General Leslie Groves? How does the film explore the tragic flaws in Oppenheimer and his nemesis, Lewis Strauss? Why does the film focus more on this aspect of his story and […]
Captain America, Winter Soldier
What does this 2014 film based upon the Marvel Comic character, Captain America, tell us about counterintelligence and counter-terror surveillance? How does the film cash in on conspiracy theories using the idea that the secret organization, “Hydra,” is in control of the major governments of the world, as well as terror organizations? How does the […]
On the Beach
What does this 1959 film, based upon the Nevil Shute novel of the same name, tell us about the threat of thermonuclear war, and thought surrounding the notion of doomsday machines? How does the story relate to other films that explore the theme, most notably Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove? How does the story develop the […]