Philosophy Through Film

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Abstract: Death Note and Justice

In class, we've often talked of morality. Generally, we have talked about morality on a large scale, whether it is right to take this or that attitude. For this presentation, I'd like to focus on how morality affects the legal system, and how the word "justice" can be interpreted. To that end I'm focusing on a story from across the Pacific called Death Note, originally written by Tsugumi Ohba. The story focuses on two young men, Light and L, with vastly differing views on justice and the legal system. However, the two are actually very similar to one another, and their actions are not clear-cut black and white, but more toward the grey. Through examining them through the lenses of various ethical standpoints, we may learn what true justice is.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Locke, Empiricism, and Tabula Rasa

Locke was one of the first empiricists and he believed that memories formulate who people are. He believed that without memories, a body is just a shell, and not an actual person. In this presentation, we will relate Locke’s memory theory to the movie Memento and the TV series Dollhouse. Both deal with people who live in a tabula rasa state, which as defined by Locke is the state all humans are born into. People learn through experience and experience only. In the nature vs. nurture debate, he believed in nurture. These are two representations of this philosophy, because in the case of Memento, Leonard wakes up every day as a blank slate, not being able to remember anything after his accident. He uses his body as a way to organize those facts he knows about the man who killed his wife, so that he can remember, through tattoos. Dollhouse is an example of tabula rasa in that the “actives” memories are erased, and replaced with memories that are desired by other people. After this so called “engagement” the actives minds are once again erased and they revert back into this blank slate state. The big question is: does this event (or series of events in the case of Dollhouse) change who these people are? Or is there something about these people that defines them, instead of their memories?

Abstract: Kuhn and The Paradigm Shift

In 1962, scientist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn changed the way society views science with his revolution book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In this work, Kuhn identifies the nature of a scientific paradigm and describes the process that must be undergone for one to change. While Kuhn’s work focuses on how paradigms affect science and scientists, his philosophy transfers beautifully to film. For this presentation, our scientists will be Neo from The Matrix and Truman from the Truman Show. With the help of these cinematic scientists, Kuhns views on paradigm shifts become more apparent. This presentation will focus on specific elements of the paradigm shift. For the paradigm to shift, an initial paradigm must be in place. The Truman Show will help us to understand why an initial paradigm can seem completely absurd to those above it, while being completely believable to those who subscribe to it. To follow, The Matrix will help us to identify the grief and denial that a scientist may experience when a paradigm is shifting. The Matrix will also demonstrate Kuhn’s notion that a paradigm shift requires a catalyst. Later, Neo will demonstrate the Kuhnian ideal that a paradigm shift can create enlightenment. To conclude, The Truman Show will provide a word of caution and express the need to keep an open mind when confronting paradigm shifts.

Why So Extreme?

One of the things we've been talking about in class is Eastern vs. Western culture and specifically about murder and violence. We've talked about The Boondock Saints and whether taking the life of a person who will kill more is ethical and we've talked about the Dalai Lama and his approach toward the Chinese who've invaded his country.

Why do we only talk about the extremes of death, murder and violence? On a more day-to-day level, what about things so small as talking about someone behind their back? Or lying? Cheating?

Do you inform those with authority if you see someone doing something wrong or believe that karma will even everything out in the end? If you find out that someone said something mean about you, do you spread rumors about them too or shrug it off believing that it says more about the person talking than it says about you?

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ontology: Black Swan

Kathleen Trujillo

Gail Wester

ABSTRACT

Black Swan (2010) directed by Darren Aronofsky exemplifies ontology due to the philosophical issues apparent in the life of the emotionally arrested protagonist, Nina Sayers. These predicaments are concerned with the nature of being and question what it means to be human, what one’s life is amounted to, and will often lead to a significant alteration of the way one lives. In the case of Black Swan, these questions raised launched the main character into a transformation in which she discovered her tragic flaw: an obsession for perfection. Undergoing this change, she learned to embrace herself and others, which ultimately led to her triumphant death. In addition, the analytical nature of the study focuses on differentiating between the psychological and ontological crisis of Nina.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

No Country For You!

The following scene is from the movie The Terminal. I think it shows a great representation of an ontological crisis. This scene is near the beginning of the movie.

I see many parallelisms between this clip and any regular ontological crisis we might have, for example: the fact that Viktor can't communicate clearly highlights the lack of understanding we face when thrust into a difficult situation. In this scene, Viktor doesn't yet realize the full weight of his situation.

If you guys haven't seen the movie, it's pretty good. It gives a humorous look at hard times that we all come across in life.

Heros/ Idols