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I haven't seen this movie in awhile (but mmmm. Ethan Hawke, still love him to this day). I would say it's about having a great role model & taking what they have to say about life & making it your own. It means standing up for what you believe in, no matter what the consequences. Having your own thoughts, not giving in to peer pressure. And finally: carpe diem!! Seize the fricking day, every chance you get.
... snip ... And finally: carpe diem!! Seize the fricking day, every chance you get.
IMO, that's the main message of the movie. The soliloquy Robin Williams delivers on "seizing the day" is nothing short of awesome, loaded with all sorts of meaning. It's like he told that class "You're all going to be dead some day, like the guys in this old photo on the wall, so what the hell are you going to do with your lives ..." IIRC, the old B&W photo on the wall was of a group of school boys from the 1920's. These are the guys who overcame the Great Depression, calmed the dustbowl, brought electricity to rural America, fought and won both WW-II and the Korean War, conquered TB and Polio, built the interstate highway system, put men on the moon, etc; those old guys seized the day alright.
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I haven't seen this movie in awhile (but mmmm. Ethan Hawke, still love him to this day). I would say it's about having a great role model & taking what they have to say about life & making it your own. It means standing up for what you believe in, no matter what the consequences. Having your own thoughts, not giving in to peer pressure. And finally: carpe diem!! Seize the fricking day, every chance you get.
IMO, that's the main message of the movie. The soliloquy Robin Williams delivers on "seizing the day" is nothing short of awesome, loaded with all sorts of meaning. It's like he told that class "You're all going to be dead some day, like the guys in this old photo on the wall, so what the hell are you going to do with your lives ..." IIRC, the old B&W photo on the wall was of a group of school boys from the 1920's. These are the guys who overcame the Great Depression, calmed the dustbowl, brought electricity to rural America, fought and won both WW-II and the Korean War, conquered TB and Polio, built the interstate highway system, put men on the moon, etc; those old guys seized the day alright.
The whole "carpe diem" issue gives you a great point of departure for a paper. How long does it have to be, and what type of paper (do you need to cite extra sources, etc)? Take this into consideration before launching fully into the project because the concepts you list are broad. If your instructor wanted you to point out sociological issues and summarize them, then that's another type of assignment in itself. If not, you can narrow your discussion by fully exploring the suicidal student vs. one who successfully "lives," so to speak. One succumbs to societal pressures, one does not, yet the students are exposed to similar social mechanisms.
There is a lot you can do with this paper, but I think your movie choice is excellent for a sociology class. I also don't think that asking for inspiration on a public board is akin to "cheating." I think of it more as a cyber peer-group work....this comes from someone who taught freshmen English for three years
edit: I just looked at the date on this post, and you've probably already completed the project....my bad!
Last edited by hvergaetira; 12-21-2009 at 10:18 AM..
Reason: older post
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