Dead Man Walking” is a film directed by Tim Robbins, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn in the main roles. The film is based on the book, of the same name, by Sister Helen Prejean. Sister Prejean became a spiritual advisor for criminals on death row and is now known for her strong stance against the death penalty. Two such convicted murderers, Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Willie, are combined into one role, Matthew Poncelet, for this film. The beginning of the film shows Sister Prejean, played by Susan Sarandon, corresponding through the mail with convicted murderer Matthew Poncelet, played by Sean Penn. She eventually meets face-to-face with Poncelet. During the first visit Poncelet asks Sister Prejean to look over his court case and to try to help him to overturn his sentence which Prejean agrees to and obtains the services of a pro bono attorney. During the process of the court appeals, Poncelet and Prejean form a strong bond. Prejean becomes acquainted with Poncelet’s family as well as the families of the victims. She learns of the grief and hardships both families are experiencing due to the crime. Prejean realizes that in counseling the murderer and her naivety in assuming that the victim’s families would not want to see the spiritual counselor of the murderer, she has made the families to feel betrayed. These meetings lead to her understanding and empathy for both sides.
In the beginning of the movie, Poncelet was shown as vulgar, racist, and as showing no remorse for his crimes. As more of his true personality bleeds through, it is easier to see him as less of a monster. His anguish as each court request is denied and the fear he feels makes him seem more human. At the point of the night of the...
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...bodies. Both spread-eagled on their stomachs; the girl nude. Then Poncelet’s form is shown, also spread-eagled but on his back so his half-open lifeless eyes can be seen. The director depicting the similarities in body positions of the victims and the murderer could be construed as an “eye for an eye” type of metaphor; the murderer ended up just as he left his victims.
“Dead Man Walking” is an extremely emotional thought-provoking film. From the emotional impacts of death to the physical repercussions; the viewer is made to feel many emotions throughout the duration of the movie. Strong acting, music, and camera techniques give the viewer each side of the story, emotionally and visually. This movie is shown from all sides and each side can relate to certain scenes. The debate over whether the death penalty is morally right will never be an easy one.
In the essay “Death and Justice”, Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, presents an argument defending the use of capital punishment in heinous murder cases. In advancing his viewpoint on the subject matter, Koch addresses the arguments made by those who oppose the death penalty. This novel approach to making an argument not only engages the reader more in the piece, but also immediately illustrates his balanced understanding of both sides of the argument. Rather than simply presenting a biased or one-sided argument regarding his opinion, Koch explores a full range of issues surrounding the incendiary issue and displays both balance and erudition in expression his opinion on the issue of capital punishment.
Throughout the century gender roles have changed dramatically. During the 60s roles were given to certain genders. Stereotyping them to play the action of what their gender was expected to do. One may believe that a man or women should have a specific role, but as the years came, certain genders stuck up for themselves, making a statement that they are just as capable to do anything anyone else does. The 1968 drama film Night of the Living Dead directed by George Romero is full of gender discrimination. This movie shows the typical actions of how women and males were supposed to act during the 60s; however, the roles played in this film have changed majorly over the years. Women and males have every right to play any role they want in today’s world. Romero may leave the audience angry with how he judges gender roles in
Death can occur in four ways. A person can die from a physical illness, viruses and infections. A person can die from an accident. A person can commit suicide. Finally a person can be murdered by another person. What if murders could be prevented? In P.K. Dick’s story The Minority Report, and in Spielberg’s film The Minority Report, the future can be altered by using incredible technology. The success of Spielberg’s adaptation of Dick’s short story to film can be determined by the way each was presented.
George Romero's reinvention of the zombie in night of the Living Dead (1968) is clearly a critique of elements of the American society, and the film as a whole is easily twisted into a warped view on the 'American Dream'. Themes throughout Romero’s film, dealing with controversial topics during the time that the film was made, are still, to this day debated by critics and film historians. Themes of racism and war are defined within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, cannibalistic zombies and over the top heroes who, eventually, succumb to the reanimated; despite their every effort. These themes are colored over and painted to hide beneath subtle references to the typical American Dream during this time, and Romero does quite the good job at it too. This dream, whilst continuously changing in the everyday lives of modern Americans, can be loosely defined as a national ethos of the United States, or a set of ideals dealing with freedom and the opportunity for success - an upward social status that can be achieved through hard work and effort.
The board also uses rhetorical techniques to persuade the reader to agree with the opinion presented in this article. For example, the main rhetorical device used is pathos, an appeal to the reader’s emotions. By telling the story of two young men whose lives have been metaphorically taken away, and almost literally, the board shows that the justice system is flawed and there’s no guarantee that everyone on death row is actually guilty, this
Frank Darabont (writer-director-producer) in 1999, returned to the director’s chair for the first time in five years. Darabont, who not only directed Shawshank Redemption, but adapted it from a Stephen King story, followed the exact same path with The Green Mile. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, and Produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, Darkwoods Productions, and Warner Bros. David Valdes is the producer, David Tattersall, B.S.C. is the director of photography, Terence Marsh is the production designer, and Richard Francis-Bruce is the film editor.
The effects Death Punishment causes to society is not one side answer as humans feelings are important, people have the right to have them, to express them; however, when the life of an individual is the topi...
Good Will Hunting is a film which conveys many interlocking themes and messages to its viewers. One of these nicely woven themes is placing trust in the people we care about as well as people we have only recently become acquainted with. Another message, arguably more significant than the last is finding and pursuing the potential one has and bringing meaning into our lives in any form we choose. I believe the potential and success this film demonstrates is that success, growth, and meaning in a person’s life does not always have to come in the form of advancing in a career or social status but rather in the form of overcoming hardships and developing close reciprocating relationships.
Throughout the ages, death penalty has always been a controversial topic and triggered numerous insightful discussion. In Kroll’s Unquiet Death of Robert Harris, the writer employs pathos as an appeal throughout the whole article in order to convince the audiences that death penalty is “something indescribably ugly” and “nakedly barbaric”. While Mencken makes use of ethos and logos and builds his arguments in a more constructive and effective way to prove that death penalty is necessary and should exist in the social system.
A Genetic Odyssey’ is an interesting movie to watch. There were many thoughts that passed my mind as I watched the movie. First of all, it was interesting to visualize the movie back in the day, assuming how one single man lived in Africa approximately sixty thousand years ago. It is quite amazing to have traced the records so far behind to find that Adam could be the father of homo sapiens after all. The better question arises when there are different sizes, races and shapes to each human being.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Juror #1 originally thought that the boy was guilty. He was convinced that the evidence was concrete enough to convict the boy. He continued to think this until the jury voted the first time and saw that one of the jurors thought that the boy was innocent. Then throughout the movie, all of the jurors were slowly convinced that the boy was no guilty.
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go to great lengths to fanatically defend their honor.
Stand By Me, Rob Reiner’s 1986 film, captures the beauty and fragility of human life and friendship through experiences with death. The film operates on two different levels; it serves as a coming of age story of Gordie Lachance, Vern Tessio, Teddy Duchamp, and Chris Chambers, but also as a reflection of the meanings of life and death by the Writer. The Writer serves as the narrator, looking back on the events leading up to his first encounter with a dead body. The film makes wonderful use of the five formal axes of film design to convey its powerful message: life is best enjoyed with a friend, because death is all around.