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apwebb93
Reviews
Antigoni (1961)
Loyalty
The question of where does your loyalty lie when the objects of it seem to conflict is central to this movie. On the one hand, Antigone must remain loyal to her brother and is obligated to bury him. On the other hand, it was forbidden to bury enemies of the city near it. The only real problem I have with this movie is that there was nothing stopping her from burying her brother further from the city. While in the movie the command is that he shall not be buried, in actuality there was no such rule; only that it could not be near the city. But I suppose that would result in a boring movie. Even though she seemed to go against the commands of the gods, it was the ruler who ended up being punished by the gods for retaliating against Antigone. What does this tell us? Perhaps that commitments to family are stronger than to the law; but if this were so how would the city's existence be possible? Clearly the laws are more important. Perhaps the only thing that really irked the gods was the way in which the ruler handled the situation. Executing Antigone went too far and insulting the prophet of the gods sealed his fate. Where do our true loyalties lie? Our society or our family? Are they one and the same? Overall a decent movie. If you have a bit of time to ill I recommend you check this movie out.
L'enfant sauvage (1970)
Human Nature
This movie brings up important philosophical questions about human nature. How much of our self comes from our culture and society? Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacque Rousseau and John Locke made important contributions to the idea of our nature; however, theirs were simply thought experiments. They had no basis in fact of experiments. Much is left unanswered by their explanations. This movie manages to shed some light on this complicated issue. The boy does return to society in the end, but why? Was it because he was unable to fend for himself anymore? Or did he develop a human connection with the doctor? The boy never learned how to speak, giving us a defined window in which language acquisition occurs. Does his lack of formal ability to communicate mean he is less than us? Less civilized or less moral? Ultimately this movie causes you to question what exactly makes us human. How much of ourselves is pliable and defined simply by where we're born and who our parents are. There are many reports of other wild children just like Victor. Clearly our nature is much more changeable than many in our society would be comfortable admitting. While none of these questions are answered to a satisfactory standard we must still ponder these questions and how we define ourselves not only as individuals but also our society and our relationship to it, as well as our culture. Overall I highly recommend this movie. The cinematography was outstanding as well.
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Is it right?
This movie asks important ethical questions about the duties of citizens living in a community. From a Utilitarian perspective the actions of Dr. Rosenthal were permissible and perhaps even obligatory. He protected his family from the consequences of his affair and managed to secure and even promote their own happiness. His daughter was getting married soon, and his marriage was doing quite well. But even he questioned the morality of his own actions, and we instinctively condemn him as acting in a purely selfish manner. What does this say about the credibility of Utilitarianism and its ability to answer moral questions if it seems at odds with our common sense and instinct to protect human life? Kant would argue using the categorical imperative that his actions were morally and unequivocally wrong. Which is much closer to our own instinctual reaction. If everyone were free to kill another (or even obliged in some cases) in order to protect oneself from the consequences of our previous choices then there wouldn't be much of a society left. But perhaps many of us would do anything to protect our families, especially from our own morally questionable choices. Ultimately he is not held responsible for his affair, instead he commits another in order to cover it up, and he gets away with it as well. While he initially struggles to live with us actions he manages to rationalize it to himself. Perhaps he will be held responsible by a higher power, but he still sees his actions as necessary and not morally wrong. He's torn between his conscious and his life, including his daughter and marriage. Overall a very enjoyable movie. I do recommend you watch it.