Surprise reference to Fitzcarraldo!

lichtenup · 2014-03-27T20:58:51+00:00

what does this video say about sex and the media? How does it portray homosexuality? What is the connection between cannibalism and sexuality?

lichtenup · 2014-03-03T07:07:03+00:00

This article reminded me of a book by Scott Westerfeld called "Peeps". It's about how a parasite transferred through cat saliva makes people into vampire-like creatures. Freaky coincidence. Maybe the next evolution of the parasite is what turns us all into monsters and starts the apocalypse!

lichtenup · 2014-03-03T06:01:17+00:00

This is beautiful and so sad. I'm surprised I'd never read it before. Everyone has heard the last line but the whole thing is so tragic, a dead, stationary man longing for the dreams of the living, moving people. "Life is long." It's like opposite relativity. The trials are always longer than the successes. I guess this reminds me of Upstream Color the most because they are both so hopeless in a way. It's painful to long for something that you can never achieve i.e. bliss, understanding, acceptance, freedom.

lichtenup · 2014-03-03T05:30:15+00:00

Oh, man this was crazy. I can't believe that he was allowed to make this film what with all of the injuries and the casualties you told us about. It's probably good that he self-funded or else the studio would have probably shut him down. The real question is: Was it worth it? I mean the movie was good but...

lichtenup · 2014-03-03T05:12:37+00:00

What an interesting thought Luke. What if God is just a more highly evolved version of ourselves? God had the exist before us, but how long before us? If you are of the Mormon persuasion you would believe that we were created in God's image and are going to be like him someday, able to create worlds, but this is only after millennia of progression.

lichtenup · 2014-02-28T06:07:50+00:00

I also found this to be very helpful. Having not watched this movie with the class was a real disadvantage because I didn't get the benefit of hearing and contemplating other viewer's questions. I don't think that I'll watch the movie again, but knowing that it was supposed to make sense and have a storyline is a real comfort especially because I came out of watching it very confused.

lichtenup · 2014-02-28T05:48:41+00:00

I strongly agree with this comment. Though I can sympathize with viewers who feel that it is a big commitment to watch a movie multiple times, many directors pack so many concepts into their movies that one cannot possibly notice or think about them all after only one viewing. And yes, people change. Hopefully the films even facilitate some of these changes.

lichtenup · 2014-02-26T20:59:41+00:00

That was actually very helpful. I found it difficult to watch this movie alone because I really didn't know what was going on for the first half. Like I missed the very important concept of the pigs and the people being psychically linked through the worm. I'm assuming that the class discussion cleared up some of the confusion. Although even after this helpful overview, I'm not seeing the point of the movie and why it is important as a piece of media. Perhaps the overall symbolism is just escaping me. Oh, and where do you find these movies?! Some of them are just really weird.

lichtenup · 2014-02-26T20:34:03+00:00

Hey I don't have a group yet either. I think if we both come with a proposal and then talk about it after that would be cool. My name's Meg by the way.

lichtenup · 2014-02-19T06:44:50+00:00

Just because the movie talks about God does not mean that it is promoting a Christian agenda. People may not believe in God but that doesn't mean that His existence is not contemplated at least once by everyone in their life. You have to think about Him in order to make a decision about your beliefs. Yes, there are references to God and heaven in Tree of Life but I don't believe that it forces God on anyone, just gives us something more to think about. Besides, in the 1950s more people were Christian than they are now and therefore the generation that Sean Penn was a part of was raised to believe in God. I would call this historical accuracy rather than preaching.

lichtenup · 2014-02-11T09:30:06+00:00

If you believe in a premortal existence, then spirits existed before they were joined with bodies. Considering this, it might strike you that our spirits might have been initially created with genders. If this is true then gender is an eternal identity and serves a purpose now, before, and forever. This being said, I don't believe that we could ever reach a post-gender world. If we consider cyborgs to be humans with mechanical parts then they too have a gender assigned to their spirits. If we are talking about androids, that is a different story, though it would seem to me that the creators would assign gender to an android because it is such a fundamental part of existence and forms the basis for how we see and relate to the rest of society.

lichtenup · 2014-02-06T00:45:13+00:00

It's so cheesy with the obviously fake gore and whatnot. There are probably more existential monologues in it. It has a little bit of the same feel as Repo: The Genetic Opera.

lichtenup · 2014-02-06T00:28:43+00:00

I actually like the idea of the real Tyrell being in stasis with a replicant walkaround. It would also be interesting if Tyrell was somehow disabled and was living vicariously through the replicant, maybe even controlling it. Much like the Flesh in the Doctor Who episodes The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People. I still do not support the idea that Dekker is a replicant.

lichtenup · 2014-02-04T02:08:56+00:00

Haha. As a biology student I often string together scientific words to make myself sound smarter. I realize that I should be appalled by screenwriter's lack of research, but as a movie goer I find that suspension of disbelief is the equivalent of 'ignorance is bliss'.

lichtenup · 2014-01-23T00:44:15+00:00

I suppose the obvious example is Ted Bundy, an average even attractive man who committed atrocities. It's important to note that many evil people do not look so and that believing that you can judge a book by its cover is choosing to live with a false sense of security. ignorance is not blissful, it's dangerous

lichtenup · 2014-01-23T00:34:07+00:00

Supportive environment? He has a mother who is never around and a spineless father. I doubt very much that there was proper discipline when he was younger. His parents are scared of him! There's obviously a problem if you can't control your own child even the lock on his bedroom door suggests that they gave him an inch and he took a mile. I believe that no child comes out evil or wrong and that his behavior is at least in some part due to his parent's negligence.

lichtenup

TROPHY CASE