Today's Film: The Island

Check out some information about this film at IMDB.

The Island stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson as clones kept in a secure facility where they one day hope to escape to 'the island'--the last uncontaminated place on Earth. In reality, their fate is sealed when their real-world counterparts need an organ or even baby--unless they can escape!

The Island
Starring Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Djimon Hounsou and Michael Clarke Duncan
Directed by Michael Bay

Trailer


Synopsis (from IMDB):

Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly Utopian but contained facility in the year 2019. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island" - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones. Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta. Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.

Today's Film: Equilibrium

Check out some information about this film at IMDB.

Equilibrium was the breakout role for Christian Bale, who would later become Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. 'Equilibrium' is maintained via brainwashing and a ubiquitous drug called Prozium--the result? Emotions have been outlawed and obliterated. Preston (Bale) is the long-arm of the law, tasked with the destruction of the last vestiges of the 'feeling'.

Equilibrium
Starring Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Sean Bean, William Ficthner, Emily Watson and Angus Macfadyen
Directed by Kurt Wimmer

Trailer


Featurette


Synopsis (from IMDB):

Reading Question: Where Winston and Julia Meet

"Winston was in Victory Square before the appointed time. He wandered round the base of the enormous fluted column, at the top of which Big Brother's statue gazed southward toward the skies where he had vanquished the Eurasian aeroplanes (the Eastasian aeroplanes, it had been a few years ago) in the Battle of Airstrip One. In the street in front of it there was a statue of a man on horseback which was supposed to represent Oliver Cromwell. At five minutes past the hour the girl had still not appeared. Again the terrible fear seized upon Winston. She was not coming, she had changed her mind! He walked slowly up to the north side of the square and got a sort of pale-coloured pleasure from identifying St. Martin's Church, whose bells, when it had bells, had chimed 'You owe me three farthings.'" (Orwell, 1984)

This passage is describing a famous landmark in London called Trafalgar Square. Read about it! This is an important example of literary symbolism!

For your reading question, please answer the following questions in short paragraph form: What is Trafalgar square famous for? Why does Winston see a prisoner there in 1984? Who was Oliver Cromwell? What does Oliver Cromwell represent to Winston and Julia's 'rebellion'?

Reading Question for Brave New World & 1984

Please answer the following response question by commenting on this post. You may comment by clicking the link where it says the number of comments (for example: 0 comments) immediately underneath the relevant post.

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984 are often compared as two-sides of the same coin--they both represent future 'utopias' run by totalitarian governments, with many of the things we take for granted in today's world absent, outlawed, banned, or otherwise taboo. Both texts treat sexuality as a tool to control society: to encourage frivolity and disconnection in Brave New World or for the purposes of basic procreation and nothing else in 1984.

Please answer the following several questions in one combined paragraph-length response. What is the effect of sexual repression on Winston? Use specific examples, describing his relationship with Katherine and also Julia. How is sexual repression administered by society? Are there laws about it? What does this do to Winston's self-esteem? Describe what Winston would find to be the "norm" of his society.

Some Resources for Today's Class

Today we'll be discussing Part 1 of 1984, as well as doing a comparison of the last two films and the text. To aid us, we'll be looking at an essay written by Aldous Huxley, written about 30 years after he wrote Brave New World, called Brave New World Revisited. This is the essay embedded below:

Brave New World Revisited



Please remember--we will be starting Part 2 of the text tomorrow. That means you need to be at or very near p. 104 in your reading by the end of today! Please keep up!

I am as free as nature first made man,
Ere the base laws of servitude began,
When wild in woods the noble savage ran.
-Dryden, The Conquest of Grenada

Today's Film: Brave New World

Check out some information about this film at IMDB.

This rendition of Brave New World is a made-for-TV film. Therefore, you're not going to be able to find it as easily (for example, on Netflix or Hulu). Still, I believe the entire film has been uploaded in parts on Youtube...so please feel free to check it out if you're interested.

Brave New World
Starring Peter Gallagher and Leonard Nimoy
Directed by Leslie Libman and Larry Williams

Reading Questions (up to Ch. 8)

The following are some questions to consider as you read our class text. Show me your work, and I'll show you my good side: answer one, several, or all of the following questions in comments below--the more responses I get, the less like Big Brother and the more like Little Brother I'll become ;)

1) Describe, in short paragraph form, what the term "Newspeak" is, who speaks it, who advocates it, how it works and its general effect on the populace of London, Airstrip One.

2) Describe, in short paragraph form, who the 'proles' are, what is meant by the party slogan "proles and animals are free", and discuss what is meant by Winston's journal entry: "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious".

3) Describe, in short paragraph form using examples from the text, the present nature of Winston's relationship with Katherine, and Winston's opinion thereof.

4) Describe, in short paragraph form, who Commander Ogilvy was, explain how this character is an example of "doublethink", and define "doublethink" using several other examples from the text.

5) Describe, in short paragraph form, Winston's attitude towards O'Brien, using key moments in the text where O'Brien is mentioned explicitly (up to Part 1, Ch. 8).

6) Describe, in short paragraph form, the general structure of The Party: its functions, its organization, its enforcers, its propaganda, etc.

7) Comment, in short paragraph form, on the veracity of Orwell's prediction.

8) Comment, in short paragraph form, on the psychological impact of the events "Two Minutes Hate" and "Hate Week".

9) Research George Orwell (Eric Blair) and discuss, in short paragraph form, elements of his personal life and experiences that apparently influenced the subject matter found in 1984, drawing key examples from the text.

10) Describe, in short paragraph form, Winston's profession. Answer the following questions: What does Winston do? How does he feel about his job? With whom does Winston work? How does his role impact society at large? Does Winston's profession have a corollary in our world?