Post #10

I think that there is a parallel between the Schofield kid before he kills the cowboy and Will before he was married. The kid seems intent only on killing and developing his reputation, and Will seems to pity him. I think this may be because Will sees himself in the kid, and hopes that he won't make the same mistakes as he did. After the kid kills the cowboy, he seems to have a much more real view of the nature of his profession. Killing is never easy, even if it may be justified. Will and Ned know this, and now the kid does as well. I also think it is significant that the kid opens up to the fact that he had never killed before. It says a lot about they way that the experience has changed and matured him.

Post #9

Today we finished watching the Seventh Seal, and it had what I considered a dramatic but appropriate ending. Block never learns what will happen after he goes with death, and he shouldn't. The message of the movie is that we cannot know, and so we can believe whatever we choose. Jons maintains his belief that the afterlife brings only emptiness and nothingness, but we see a change in him as well in that he becomes very solemn as he greets death. In his view, his existence is soon ending, and he feels he must spend his last moments in the best way that he can. I have a question about Jons's girlfriends reaction to death however. I do not understand her loving and almost sensual reaction to the arrival of death. It seemed to me that she was enjoying life, and yet she was the only one who seemed truly happy to go with death. If someone could help explain that would be great.

Post #8

The concept of playing chess with death is very interesting to me. Chess is a game which requires the right amount of daring and caution, much the same way that life does. Block is also playing as white in the game, the color that moves first. In chess, the player using the black pieces must often follow and react to the moves of white. I think the fact that Block is playing as white symbolizes the way that everything we do in life causes something else, and that our actions always have a reaction. Death is also playing as black, which is ironic because it is very similar to the term "black death" which was destroying Europe at the time. I also think that the fact that the film was shot in black and white is significant. It is another example of the ideas that i have listed above.

Post #7

Up until today's viewing I felt that Manny and Buck were being portrayed in a somewhat positive light. Its true that they are convicts in a maximum security prison, but it seemed to me that the had the aura of generally good people who had a rough past. While its true that there is good in both men, i felt it became clear that they had their fair share of flaws. Almost as soon as he meets her, Buck asks for sex with the new girl, demonstrating that he truly is a rapist. For his part, Manny attempts to force Buck to go back outside and stop the train. He beats him unmercifully until he finally comes to his senses and stops. I felt that today we got a true taste of the types of people aboard the Runaway Train.

Post #6

Though it may not be the most cheerful outlook on life, existentialism seems to me to be the most logical. First, there is the fact that all existentialists do not have exactly the same definition of their belief. This makes the philosophy flexible and appealing to many different types of people. Second, it is not a totally negative idea. Existentialists believe that is all life is insignificant and meaningless, than any life choice is equally valid. This is a very empowering idea because it says that you make your own life, and no other person or group of people can judge the way you lived. The arguement against existentialism is that all life has a purpose, and that we are working to become a perfect species. However, there are many events that have occurred in human history that are possibly too horrible to dismiss as part of the learning curve towards perfection. A clear example of this is the Holocaust. Despite this event that many consider the greatest tragedy in human history, society has proven that it has not learned from its mistakes. Genocides took place more recently in Bosnia and Darfur, and the world was unable to come together in time to prevent disaster.