Film Analysis

Throughout history, war has caused war upon war. Although we have recorded these instances of one war causing another, and nothing really being solved, we continue to kill one another, torture one another, and threaten one another as a global problem solving technique. In Pink Floyd's movie, The Wall, this recurring motif of mankind is criticized. The example that they show is post-World War I Germany coming to life and rearing its ugly head in Europe. Through the metaphor of the cat preying on a dove and the peace symbol of the dove, this scene conveys the message that when faced with fear and oppression, the worse is brought out in humankind, thereby falsifying the myth that terrorizing and killing people is a solution to conflict.
At the beginning of the scene, a cat is shown eyeing a dove. This cat symbolizes the Allies after World War I. After World War I, Germany was heavily punished for supposedly starting the war, although they did not. Other countries demanded reparations and Germany was put heavily into debt, which only got worse when hit with the great Depression. The dove is then shown looking up at the cat, and as the cat approaches, it flies away. This symbolizes the Germans recognizing the injustice that they had been faced with. As it flies away it is separating itself from the the Treaty of Versailles and no longer obeying the limitations the Allies had put on them. The dove then becomes a surreal cartoon burst into blood, and a Nazi Eagle replaces it. The dove, a renowned symbol of peace suddenly becomes the symbol of hate. The Nazi's then take fear, oppression, and war as their path to solve their crisis. This cycle of the “oppressed becoming the oppressor” or the “hunted becoming the hunted” is evident through all human history, achieving very little social progress.
The dove is the symbol of peace throughout the scene. It shows how fragile peace is because of mankind's instinct to solve problems through violence. At the beginning, the dove is seen being confronted by the cat. The cat is the evadable predator. It stands for forced reparations and demilitarization of Germany. As the dove flies into the sky it is torn apart by the Nazi Eagle. The machine like Eagle is a symbol for hate, the biggest predator of peace. The dove is torn to shreds by the Eagle and that is the death of peace. Lastly, the dove is shown flying through the skeletons and rubble of Britain after the bombing. When it flies past the skeletons the skeletons turn into crosses, it symbolizes that the only peace that is reached during wartime is in death. The afterlife is the only place that man, woman, or child can achieve peace as long as this cycle of hatred, war, and discrimination continues.
With the metaphor of the cat preying the dove and the dove symbolizing peace, Pink Floyd is able to communicate that fear and oppression only bring out the worse in people. Imposing fear on people and murdering people achieves nothing but more fear and murder in the future. Violently solving conflicts has caused crisis and disaster throughout the world indefinitely. In this scene this cycle of humanity is shown as something to be avoided at all cost, for it only brings about nightmarish consequences. This truth will plague mankind with discontent forever.

Film proposal

Movie: The Wall
Scene: Like halfway through the movie, I can't remember exactly.
Scene Running Time: 2:08


Description of the Scene (This scene is very abstract, so its kind of difficult to describe.): The scene begins with a cat's face. Then it shows a dove, which the cat is eyeing. The dove then flies into the sky. The scene then turns into a cartoon and the dove transforms into a Nazi Eagle. The birds flys around the country side of Britain and swoops down and rips a large piece of earth with its talons, which leaves a trail of blood. It flys over Britain menacingly, then a giant beast is shown standing over a city and it turns into a big hall and bomber planes fly out. Gas masked figures are shown crawling around hopelessly on the ground and in bomb shelters. The planes are shown again and they turn into crosses. Then a skeleton fully dressed is shown falling to the ground. The British flag is shown falling apart and blood dripping from it. The Nazi Eagle is show again tilting its head and it turns into a destroyed building in a wasteland. The skeleton is shown getting up and four other skeletons appear. The rubble is shown again and a dove flys through, which then flys by the skeletons and they turn into crosses. A single cross is then shown bleeding into a sewer. That is the end of the scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0v07InoFiU

Anouilh's Antigone

When Creon says life is nothing but the happiness you get from it this raises a much deeper concept than what one might think. The concept that there is nothing deeper to life but the pleasureful aspect of it could totally change the way you live. Antigone wants to believe there is something more. She believes in her own pride. She believes in order and that if she breaks the law she should pay the consequences. Creon sees no value in this. Even though he is at the top of the society he does not care about the strictness of the law. His only reasoning for life is if it will bring him happiness or not, which is completely self-indulgent. Antigone is willing to sacrifice her life or her a brother who is already dead. In a way, Antigone and Creon are polar opposites. The death of Antigone will not increase Creon's happiness in anyway, so it means nothing to him. Antigone believes she must die because simply that's what the law says. Because the situation is so pointless to Creon, he gives into Antigone. This means that Creon's life philosophy loosens his own self control on his life. Whether this is bad or good is a question that will be asked forever.

Jocasta

The character I am acting is Jocasta. The motivation of her actions is the shock when she realizes the situation she is in. She attempted to kill her son earlier in her life. Little does she know, Oedipus is that same son. When this reality begins to come to light, she loses her mind. The prophecy that said that her son would kill her original husband then marry her had already come true. She is on the verge of suicide when I am acting her character.

Antigone New Version

During the 1940s Europe was engulfed in the bloodiest war in history. Also, Facist dictators were in charge of Germany, Italy, and Spain. Basically Europe was torn apart by totalitarianism and war. Millions of innocent people were dying. This sparked a wave of Existentialist writers in France. They considered the idea that life was without any deeper meaning. I think that this play will have existential themes, as well as tragedy.

Antigone

Knowledge Level: Who is Antigone's father? How is Ismene related to Antigone?

Medea #3

In both Medea and Oedipus the catharsis changes but it is there at the beginning of the play for both. At the beginning of Medea pity and fear is felt for the nurse and all those who face the wrath of Medea. By the end of the play pity and fear is felt for Medea and Jason both. Each of them has lost all that have and both of them kind of brought upon themselves. In Oedipus we feel pity and fear for the people of Thebes who are suffering from a plight. By the end of the play this catharsis is narrowed down to Oedipus, who realizes the truth of the conflict, which leads him to gouge his eyes out and his wife/mother to kill herself.