The debut film by writer-director Ari Aster, “Hereditary” (2018) was immediately hailed by critics as a cinematic masterpiece of disturbing horror. Even so, a lot of viewers just didn’t quite know what to think of this unsettling film. The end, in particular, confuses people and has prompted many online “explanations” to help people make senseContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “Hereditary””
Tag Archives: film studies
“Hereditary” Discussion Questions
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts: As usual, let’s start with the title. Why is this movie called “Hereditary”? What are we to understand as being hereditary in this film? More broadly, how are the ideas of inheritance and family significant to the narrative? What is the filmContinue reading ““Hereditary” Discussion Questions”
Wrap Up of “See You Yesterday”
The recent teen science-fiction film, “See You Yesterday” (2019) establishes its literary and cinematic lineage early with a scene where our protagonist C.J. Walker and her sidekick Sebastian, in time-honored teen movie tradition, conspire to borrow a few science project supplies while their high school teacher seems lost in a science fiction novel he’s reading.Continue reading “Wrap Up of “See You Yesterday””
Wrap Up of “Tigers Are Not Afraid”
Thanks to all those who sent me answers to my discussion questions about “Tigers Are Not Afraid” (2017). You all did an excellent job of exploring of the role tigers play in this film, from the title to the final scene. Like me, one of the things you seemed to most enjoy about this filmContinue reading “Wrap Up of “Tigers Are Not Afraid””
Read This Before You Watch “See You Yesterday”
Welcome the second week of our “Teens in the Twenty-Teens” media studies series. Over Memorial Day weekend, we’re watching “See You Yesterday” (2019), a movie that manages to combine the silly, time-travelling fun of “Back to the Future” with the heavier themes of institutional racism and social justice we’re more used to seeing in filmsContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “See You Yesterday””
Discussion Questions for “See You Yesterday”
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts. First, how does this movie introduce us to its protagonist, C.J. Walker? What sort of a sister, student, and friend is she? What are her hopes and dreams? What are her concerns and her fears? What things make her likeable and relatableContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “See You Yesterday””
No Fault, No Hate
So, we started this five-week exploration of teen movies in the twenty-teens by watching “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018), and we continue it this weekend by watching “See You Yesterday” (2019). But before we launch into our second movie, I want to pause to offer a brief explanation about a couple moviesContinue reading “No Fault, No Hate”
Read This Before You Watch “Tigers Are Not Afraid”
We’ve all seen plenty of horror movies where a plucky band of kids has to face down some monster out of a nightmare, but “Tigers Are Not Afraid” (2017) takes that familiar set-up and plants it inside the gritty social dystopian reality of Mexican slums where thousands of kids are killed or simply “disappear” everyContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “Tigers Are Not Afraid””
Discussion Questions for “Tigers Are Not Afraid”
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts: As I often do, I’d like us to start with the title. Why is this movie called “Tigers Are Not Afraid”? What is the larger significance of “tigers” in this film? What tigers do we see? This film is often referred toContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “Tigers Are Not Afraid””
Wrap Up of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
In “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018), we first see our protagonist Lara Jean in her own fantasies. She’s engaged in that familiar teen pastime of reading a romance novel while casting herself and one of her crushes in the lead roles. This non-diegetic “dream sequence” and its sudden interruption by the intrusionContinue reading “Wrap Up of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before””
Professor Chuck 