America has always been depicted as an amiable place to live in. More than often, foreigners would visualize America as the place where neighbors would greet each other in the morning and have their children play in the back yard with the family dog. However, as with most foreigners, this image was shattered by the adverse environment that surrounded them. One of the biggest mistakes that they failed to recognize was the murder of innocent civilians. These murders were almost always published on the front-page of every major newspaper. As such, Americans have always been interested in the death of others. This is true in the ninetieth and, more predominately, twentieth century. As tales of murders got colder and bloodier, Americans had an instinctive …show more content…
Americans would read about it and try to imagine the crime scene as well as the actual killing. It was not until the twentieth century when Americans could visually see the criminal’s deed as well as the carnage carried out. One particular film, Rope, by the famous Alfred Hitchcock, attempts to derive from the status quo of murder film and, instead, focuses on the ideals that drove the murderer. The film is loosely based on the murder case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two young adults who murdered a teenager. The film revolves around three main characters, Brandon Shaw, Phillip Morgan, and Rupert Cadell. Rupert, being a philosopher of sorts, instills the idea of Friedrich Nietzsche’s übermensch upon Brandon and Phillip. Thus, this drives them to kill their former classmate, David. However, whereas the true crime story, written by Miriam deFord, focuses more on the actions committed by the perpetrators, the film primarily focuses on the psychological aspects of each character and the philosophy behind the killing. Rope shows the philosophy that drove the killers to their deed, in comparison to the story, which mainly depicts the killing …show more content…
In story, Leopold is shown to be a highly skilled academic as well as a follower of Nietzsche’s theory of the Superman (558). This devotion can be seen when he chooses to commit petty thefts with Loeb and, ultimately, when he participates the in murder of Bobby Franks. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Leopold does not agree with the laws or moral bindings that the common man follows. DeFord mentions, “He built up a comforting picture of himself…a Superman who could do nothing wrong” (558). This ideology that Leopold believes in is mainly attributed to his horrendous upbringing as a child. In order to compensate for this, he chose to image himself as a superior being, someone that cannot be harmed nor be subject to the scrutiny of the normal man. Loeb, on the other hand, does not share the same ideological belief as Leopold. DeFord mentions Loeb as a kleptomaniac and as a “congenital criminal” (561). Unlike Leopold, Loeb does not have a sense of fulfillment, only the enjoyment of committing crimes for the fun of it. This is evident when deFord states, “Loeb was obsessed by the glories of crime…” (561). Loeb longed for the fame and limelight that crime brought him. Loeb does not believe, nor does he accept it, in Nietzsche’s theory. Loeb merely enjoys the life of crime and has no
How would mankind communicate to each other without names? Names are what describe people in terms of personality, traits, and association. That’s why names are immensely important and thus, used in films such as Bound, in order to create a deeper meaning in a character’s actions and personality. The film Bound is written and directed by The Wachowskis. The film is about two lesbians: ex-convict Corky, and lesbian prostitute Violet who is in a relationship with mob money-launderer Caesar but decides to escape from Caesar after meeting Corky for she fell in love with her the moment she sow her in the elevator. So Violet wants to leave Caesar for Corky, but that’s not all. She and Corky come up with a strategy to steal two million dollars from the mob and blame it on Caesar. "Your name defines you," says Gregg Steiner, a Los Angeles talent manager (Parenting). In the film Bound, characters’ names have a lot of significance in which some have more connotations than others. Each character’s name holds symbolic meaning to the character’s role in the film and this is very apparent among Corky, Violet, and Caesar as well as the supporting casts: Gino and Johnny Marzzone.
Throughout Rope and The Secret History, Alfred Hitchcock and Donna Tartt explore the philosophy of crime and justice. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History opens in medias res with a chilling recount of a group of classics students pushing a classmate off a precipice to his death. Similarly, Rope opens with Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan strangling an old friend and hiding the body as they prepare a dinner party. Though Tartt recounts the events that lead to the murder of Bunny Corcoran as well as the unsettling aftermath of the incident, Hitchcock explores the aftermath of the murder of David Kentley
...de Americans on September 11, 2001. Now we are being told this number is possibly three times higher than originally reported, adding to the horror in America’s citizens. Society has been indoctrinated in the belief that there is continuously a worldwide threat. Paranoia and anxiety has been the key focal point and the American way of life.
American society, like that of Germany, was tainted with racial bigotry and prejudice. The Japanese were thought of as especially treacherous people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The treachery was obviously thought to reside in ...
It glorifies soldiers as warriors not only because they are fighting the villains but are seen as heroes who defend the American values of freedom and democracy. As the United States has made these values the normative standards for itself and the rest of the world, the attitude of superiority has increased in the people, thus making it easier for the US to use the normative values as justification for military actions. The cooperation between media and government, which has unconditional support from American people by fostering a “peace through war” attitude, also help in strengthening a patriotic feeling in the society. This is probably the reason why people do not think about the numbers of others that the US military has killed as a negative issue. In the collective American mind, the US is militarily involved for the greater good, taking on the role of peacekeeper, thus making warrior culture a necessary component of peace culture in the
Within the German Democratic Republic, there was a secret police force known as the Stasi, which was responsible for state surveillance, attempting to permeate every facet of life. Agents within and informants tied to the Stasi were both feared and hated, as there was no true semblance of privacy for most citizens. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the movie The Lives of Others follows one particular Stasi agent as he carries out his mission to spy on a well-known writer and his lover. As the film progresses, the audience is able to see the moral transformation of Stasi Captain Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler primarily through the director 's use of the script, colors and lighting, and music.
Cognitive dissonance is recognized as a clash in beliefs or thoughts. This clash is common throughout life and is present even when unexpected. The justification of murdering other humans is often overlooked throughout war. When looking at society as a whole, one can see the willingness for humans to downgrade themselves to the savage, bloodthirsty beings they have the potential of being is detrimental toward the truth of present and future actions. This damaging truth is harmful toward the future because it promotes the idea that not caring is actually okay and even expected. People seem to just simply shrug it off when they hear about a soldier’s death, a criminal taking his own life, or innocent people dying in a car crash, simply because they just don’t “know” those people. The constant overlook of unneeded death creates an atmosphere of acceptance where “those t...
War has always been an essential ingredient in the development of the human race. As a result of the battles fought in ancient times, up until modern warfare, millions of innocent lives have ended as a result of war crimes committed. In the article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” Herbert C. Kelman and V.Lee Hamilton shows examples of moral decisions taken by people involved with war-related murders. This article details one of the worse atrocities committed during the Vietnam War in 1968 by the U.S. military: the My Lai Massacre. Through this incident, the question that really calls for psychological analysis is why so many people are willing to formulate , participate in, and condone policies that call for the mass killings of defenseless civilians such as the atrocities committed during the My Lai massacre. What influences these soldiers by applying different psychological theories that have been developed on human behavior.
In the movie Rope directed by Alfred Hitchcock, two students, Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan, set out to commit the perfect murder which has been inspired by their college philosophy professor Rupert Cadell. The victim of their choice was another student, who they viewed as inferior to them, David Kentley. After committing this crime, they decide to throw a dinner party inviting David’s close friends and relatives, and Phillip. They hide David’s body in a casket-sized
In this paper I will argue for the moral permissibility of the death penalty and I am fairly confident that when the case for capital punishment is made properly, its appeal to logic and morality is compelling. The practice of the death penalty is no longer as wide-spread as it used to be throughout the world; in fact, though the death penalty was nearly universal in past societies, only 71 countries world-wide still officially permit the death penalty (www.infoplease.com); the U.S. being among them. Since colonial times, executions have taken place in America, making them a part of its history and tradition. Given the pervasiveness of the death penalty in the past, why do so few countries use the death penalty, and why are there American states that no longer sanction its use? Is there a moral wrong involved in the taking of a criminal’s life? Of course the usual arguments will be brought up, but beyond the primary discourse most people do not go deeper than their “gut feeling” or personal convictions. When you hear about how a family was ruthlessly slaughtered by a psychopathic serial killer most minds instantly feel that this man should be punished, but to what extent? Would it be just to put this person to death?
The murder of an innocent victim makes the public feel the need to take vengeance by executing the criminal. Indeed, being exposed to violence and the legalization of executions will ease the guilt and moral expectations that society is supposed to feel but does not. Executions have evolved into a debauched ceremony where the public can view and not endure any concern for a dehumanized criminal. Nevertheless, dehumanization of society has and will continue to prosper as culture is desensitized from executions.
In this film, the director gives to the audience a lot of information and from the beginning they know what is happening but what keeps the suspense throughout the film is the idea that Brandon and Phillip would eventually be discover as they fail to hide their crime. Also what keeps the audience in suspense is the hypothesis of how the crime would be discovered, who would bust Brandon and Phillip, and finally what would their reaction be. But according to (…) in Hitchcock films there is usually an underlying topic, cover by a plot that involves unreal situations but what really wants to address of a personal issue that could be in a relationship or the daily life politics. In the Rope, the underlying topic could be homosexuality as both characters
With the media shining so much light upon this topic, it is evident that mass murders in the United States of America are more frequent and deadly. In fact, studies have found that the USA has more mass public shootings than any other country (Christensen). These numbers have only been increasing in the past decades. This is shocking because the USA holds only 5 percent of the world’s population, but as a nation, contributes to 31 percent of mass murders (Christensen). Although these murders continue to be a rare phenomenon, weak gun laws, the need for fame, and issues with societal views are the main causes of the increase in cases.
Sayres, William G. “Compounding the Crime: Ingratitude and the Murder Conviction of Justine Moritz in Frankenstein.” Sayres, "Compounding the Crime", knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/sayres.html.
The television comes on everyone puts their hand to their mouth in shock. Another mass killing has happened. As a nation we feel this is happening more than it used to, but how much is it really happening? The images of Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech are burned into the minds of Americans. Since 2006, there has been more than 200 mass killings in America (Overburg). Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech capture the nations attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny (Overburg). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) qualify a mass killing as the death of four people or more. With gun control and mental illness becoming a large topic due to these mass killings USA Today set out to find out who commits these killings, the weapons they use and the forces that motivates them. USA Today examined FBI and local police data and found that mass killings in America happen far more often than the government reports. Also the circumstances surrounding the killings are far more particular than most people think.