Please respond to one of the following prompts (Arrival) 1. William James argues that belief is not about "believing" things that aren't true, or not knowing the facts. It can only happen in actually unknowable situations. Belief, he says, has three conditions: live, forced, and momentous. How do we see those conditions in Arrival? 2. What's the relationship between grief and transcendence according to the film? Discuss one mise-en- scene or edit that helps us understand this relationship. 3. Increasingly, scientists and mathematicians see the world the way the aliens do; that is, time only rarely matters in the math (and reality works the same forward or backward). And yet, we still tell stories with beginnings, middles, and ends. How does the film demonstrate the tension between timelessness and time? Please respond to one of the following prompts (Malcolm X) 1. Craig Martin argues that one thing religion does (or the way it functions) is to legitmate a society. That is, it creates a world but also continuously reinforces that world. How do we see the Nation of Islam, or later, Sunni Islam legitiate itself? Discuss one symbol, myth, or ritual that is important to the group, and what does that symbol, myth, or ritual legitimate? how does Spike Lee make the connection between (1) the symbol, myth, or ritual and (2) the legitimated reality? 2. Discuss the role of color and/or costume/clothing in Malcom X. How do Malcolm's clothes change at each of the three major periods of his life? What colors become dominate at each phase? How does the film legitmate its world through color and clothing? 3. discuss the beginning and end of the film. If Plate is right and editing is like ritual in that it brings together seemingly different events and symbols to create a world, what is Lee saying by putting Malcolm's speech (in the 60s) behind footage of the LAPD's beating of Rodney King (in the 90s)? How does that scene frame the rest of the film might? how does bringing together the speech and the video teach the audience how to view the rest of the movie? Please respond to one of the following prompts: First reformed 1. Plate argued that movies, like religion, build worlds and one way they do that is through framing. That is, the camera teaches the audience what to notice. What kinds of issues does First Reformed want us to notice? Describe either the mise-en-scne or a camera movement or an editing technique that teaches audiences how to view one or two powerful symbols. (E.g., the camera almost never moves in this movie. Why?) 2. What do you think happens at the end of the movie? How does the ending respond to or address a thematic concern of the movie? 3. For Mark Jurgensmyer, religion doesn't "cause" violence, but it can be a factor. He describes four functions of religion when it comes to violence: drama (the theater of terror); martyrdom (dying for a cause but also bearing witness to the cause); purification (an act that will get rid of the dirt of society and allow for a fresh start); and cosmic war (sure, my side or my cause won't win in my lifetime, but this is a war for the ages and ultimately, we'll be vindicated). Choose one or two of those functions and describe where you see it in the movie (or in any of the other suggested movies for this week).