Film and Society

Use the powerpoints that will be provided to answer the following questions and other resources as well.  600-800 words per prompt/Include word counts 1. Who is George Orwell? What problem was Orwell trying to critique in his novel, 1984? Who is Michael Gallagher, and what is his problem in the film, Absence of Malice? Is Meg Carter a good reporter? How is Meg Carter played for a fool by Elliot Rosen? Is it always best to tell the truth, or are there times when revealing the truth does more harm than good? Should the government be able to pry into the private lives of innocent citizens if it is doing so for admirable reasons–such as to solve crimes? In what ways is Michael Gallagher similar to Ed Snowden? How does this dilemma exemplify the Jeffersonian dictum, “The price of democracy is eternal vigilance.” Does Gallagher “get even” with Elliot Rosen? 2. According to the lecture, where is the boundary between fantasy and reality? What lessons did Americans learn from Richard Nixon’s demise as president? On the other hand, what lessons did politicians learn? Why was America “euphoric” during the 1990s? According to the film Wag the Dog, what effect can the media have on a politician’s career? Also, according to the film, are politicians entirely at the mercy of the free press, or can politicians “tweak” the news (i.e., modify or create newsworthy events, as well as shaping the way that news is reported)? Explain. What responsibility does the press have to report the truth? How should the public respond when they have been manipulated by the press? 5. Who is Sixto Rodriguez? How did the people with whom Rodriguez worked in the recording industry feel about his music? Why did Rodriguez’s albums fail to appeal to a wider audience in the USA? Who was Ed Sullivan, and how did his influence on popular culture undermine Rodriguez’s career aspirations in the US? What is apartheid? How did Rodriguez’s music travel to South Africa? Why did Rodriguez’s music strike such a harmonious chord with South Africans? How could Rodriguez be so blissfully unaware of his fame in South Africa? Did the search for Sugar Man end happily? Why or why not? 6. Who is David Rosenhan and how did he critique mental illness facilities? What does Rosenham’s study tell us about the way that labels are applied to “deviants?” How easy is it for people to remove such labels once they have been applied? In the film, Silver Linings Playbook, which characters are officially designated, or labeled, as psychologically ill, or “deviant?” Why? What distinguishes the deviants in  Silver Linings Playbook from the characters who are deemed psychologically “normal?” In what sense are all of the characters products of their environment? Should people who wear hefty bags in public be committed to institutions for the psychologically unbalanced?