My father often talked of things being revealed - that was true
invention, he said. Revealing something's use, and magnifying it;
discovering its imperfections, improving it, and putting it to work for
you. God had left the world incomplete, he said, and it was man's job to
understand how it worked, to tinker with it, and to finish it. I think
that was why he hated missionaries so much - because they taught people
to put up with their earthly burdens. For father, there were no burdens
that couldn't be fitted with a set of wheels, or rudders, or a system of
pulleys.
We eat when we're not hungry, drink when we're not thirsty. We buy what
we don't need and throw away everything that's useful. Why sell a man
what he wants? Sell him what he doesn't need. Pretend he's got eight
legs and two stomachs and money to burn. It's wrong. Wrong, wrong,
wrong.
I'm glad that a number of you today, in a smaller class than usual, enjoyed the movie. It provokes us: it asks fundamental questions; it gives us a hero who is terribly flawed in ways we haven't seen in the other films, and who may be mad, but isn't necessary wrong. Harrison Ford, bless his heart, plays a character who elicits in me, at least, major ambivalence. He's a ego-maniac: he's reckless; he's immature; he's a genius; he's not always wrong. He's not very likeable, and Ford plays him as unlikable. That's a risk for a major actor. Helen Mirren, one of our great actors, plays relatively quiet housewife, something of a change and risk for her. With all this going for the movie, good for you that you're hanging with it.
1. Reaction to the film? Like? Dislike? Why?
2. Katherine, I don't remember what term you used today, but it was something along the lines that Allie Fox is taking his children's childhood away from them. And he is—no ice cream, no television, no, if it were today, cellphones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, American Idol, etc. Katherine, you make this point as a criticism. Is Allie's instinct wrong here? Not necessarily what he does and how he does it, but his desire to spirit his children away from what he sees as a corrupted world? Explain your response.
3. Allie is a deeply flawed figure. What, to you, is his greatest flaw or weakness?
4. We mentioned it in class today. His beautiful wife, called Mother: she seems to be a reasonable person and certainly a deeply loving mother. Why does she follow her husband the way she does? Going off to Central America and pulling a Robinson Crusoe with her children. There's no right answer: we're just interested in how you make sense of this women, who seems to have no problems relocating his children—two very young ones—into the jungle.
See you guys tomorrow.
I know I have said this about all of Peter Weir’s films, but I like The Mosquito Coast! Like all films of Weir, this movie is very well-made. I also think it brings up many more ambiguous ethical issues than his previous films. However, I didn’t enjoy watching this film as much as I enjoyed Picnic at Hanging Rock or Witness (in my opinion, Weir’s two best films).
ReplyDeleteAllie, in many ways, is right; America is deeply corrupt, immoral place that’s completely disconnected from nature. However, his choice to whisk his children away to an obscure, dangerous village on The Mosquito Coast was still not justified. First and foremost, the children are not safe there. In the jungle, there are wild animals and exploitative mercenaries. The children are forced to work so hard to an extent that they didn’t have time to play, didn’t have time to be children. Allie yells at his youngest son for not being a man when they go on that profoundly pointless trek to deliver the ice. Furthermore, I think Allie is planting the seeds to a civilization that will be just as cruel, just as exploitative as America. Just like in the founding of America, Allie is colonizing the people, not letting them make choices for themselves. He is, essentially, a tyrant. If he had a vision of a natural utopia when he set out to found a town, he certainly didn’t create it.
For me, the biggest problem for Allie is his larger-than-life ego. It is his this ego that gives him the confidence to take his children to a far-off, dangerous land. It is this unchecked ego that makes him carry the ice three days to a different village. Because of his narcissism, Allie never stops to think about whether what he is doing is right or wrong.
I understand why Mother fell for Allie. He is idealistic, smart, funny, hardworking, adventurous. She too is adventurous and hardworking, so in some ways they are very compatible. But like her eldest son at the beginning, I think she invests too much confidence in Allie. For example, she doesn’t even seem to question his seemingly impulsive decision to move to a desolate, squalid village on The Mosquito Coast.
1. I really liked this movie actually. It’s probably my favorite film we’ve seen in the class thus far, and I think it’s a brilliant concept and really well done. I was reading some reviews of the film and some trivia about it right before I started this post, and many critics were saying that Harrison Ford’s acting job was too much and too forced and just too dramatic. I agree, but I will say that he has to be dramatic and “too much” and kind of “out-there” to abandon civilization and start a new town. I personally loved this movie actually (as does Harrison Ford: he says it’s his favorite film he has starred in) and I think Weir did a really great job with it.
ReplyDelete2.This film reminds me a lot of Into the Wild, with the whole abandoning the “system” and getting out and living life as it is meant to be lived. I understand what Katherine means here, but I disagree. He is not “robbing” his children of their childhood. He might be robbing them of what is nowadays considered a proper childhood, but everytime I see a movie like this (or Into The Wild), it makes me want to drop out of everything in my life and go AWOL, live in the woods. Granted, knowing me, I would die within maybe 36 hours tops, but still. There’s a sense of wanting to break out of the “system” and stop being such a consumer and live life just off the land. I think that Allie’s instinct is completely right actually. I think that the world around us has millions, even billions of benefits, but the idea of living life without the idea of currency, or deeds, or “proper education” is very idyllic and really good for a self-searching journey, or a family journey. The concept behind picking everything up and abandoning American civilization is a great one that I wholeheartedly agree with, but I don’t know if there is a way to do it without dying in the process if you have grown up accustomed to it. American civilization has grown into this enigma (for me at least), that can be incomprehensible, corrupt, immoral, cruel, unfair, and greedy. It can also be freeing and a land of new opportunities, filled with ways to make money and live a new life free of judgment. It all depends on how you look at it.
3. I think that Allie has too much blind faith in himself. He believes he is Superman: he can own, create and properly take care of a town, he can protect his family completely from three crazies with guns, he can create his own utopia, he can raise his family in the jungle. In reality, he needs help to do all this, and there really is no right way to do this, and there may be plenty of wrong ways to do this, I don’t know. I think that he believes too much in himself and his wants and he ends up completely ignoring the ways others think or believe or want or need.
4. I think that Mother completely feels the same about Allie that he feels about himself. Whenever he does something stupid or costly, she puts on a face of “oh, you little rascal, whatever could I do with or without you?”. It’s never “oh shit, Allie, what did you just do?” as maybe it should be. I think she has too much blind faith in her husband, and maybe it will create a problem, I don’t know.
1. I like the film thus far. It reminds me of a more twisted version of Swiss Family Robinson which is a film I always dreamed of living. I really like the character of Charlie because, like most teenager girls ,I have an affinity for River Phoenix. There are some moments of the film that are a bit over dramatic, but they don’t stand out or ruin my image of the film.
ReplyDelete2. I guess what he is doing isn’t robbing his children of anything, since capitalism is bad blah blah whatever. But I question his motives. It seems the only reason he wanted to leave civilization was on his own quest to feel fulfilled and quench his own thirst for adventure. It’s selfish of him to bring his family into his issues with his own mortality and the fact that he is desperate to find some greater meaning in his life. He’s robbing his children in that way, because he is taking them on a journey that isn’t really their journey to take.
3. Like I said above, his flaw is he’s selfish. He clearly has a lot of issues with himself—issues with his self-worth, his mortality, his place in the world. He drags his family down with him, when, if he was man enough, he would have done it on his own. Also, he is a bit of hypocrite. He tries to help all these people by providing them with crazy inventions, but he really only is pleasing his ego in the end because these people don’t want ice or a Fatboy. People don’t want what he is offering, and it puts his family into a dangerous situation when he tries to feed his ego by giving ice to people who he thinks have never interacted with the “white man.”
4. I have no idea of how I should view Mother. Because it’s Helen Mirren, I keep projecting this image of strength and power onto her given that she is Dame Helen Mirren. But the character isn’t very powerful, and she just is a canvas for Allie to paint on. The fact that she didn’t want to dishes any more can’t be enough motivation to trust her husband blindly and go to an uncivilized area with him in his quest for something more fulfilling.
I love that this film has me more confused than any of the surreal and complicated movies we have seen thus far. Rather than being confused about the plot, I am confused about how I feel about the movie and about Allie. Watching him build his great civilization out of the shanty town in the jungle made me happy, but throughout the movie I have felt a nagging discomfort in the pit of my stomach every time Allie opens his mouth. I think what he says about America is interesting, but I knew his cocky confidence and single-mindedness would be his downfall. Still, I didn't want it to happen because his Geronimo was so cool and all those people worked so hard on it! It's almost like the movie gave me the same false sense of accomplishment and security that the characters must have felt before the fire. I think Allie is wrong to assume that his dreams of creating a great civilization are right for his family. I felt very strongly about that when they first left America, but I forgot for a while when things in Geronimo started working out and I started to agree with Allie. When things started to go wrong I realized how dangerous this whole plan was for the family and that Allie's single-minded determination made it all the more dangerous. I think that is his greatest flaw because his ambition would not be dangerous if he could see the potential danger he puts himself and his family in; ambition is great as long as you know where to stop. I think his wife's problem is that she trusts her husband too much. I think she shares some of that ambition and love of experimentation--the way her face lit up when she looked at the sink full of dishes, as if she was thinking, "Screw it! I'm going on an adventure!"--and she is happy to let her brilliant husband do the inventing while she watches with pride. I think she sees flaws in his plans and trusts that he will be capable of fixing any problems he causes. She has some basis for thinking this--her husband is brilliant--but she doesn't understand that he can't fix the problems he causes because he's too arrogant to realize that he causes problems.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, for everyone else who was out today, I found the entire movie on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy5eZU-cM6k
ReplyDeleteWatch until you get to the big fire at about 1:20:00 (according to Katherine that's where you guys stopped--please correct me if I'm wrong!)
Ah! thanks, I was wondering where to stop...
Delete1. I enjoyed this film a lot. But, then again, I do seem to say that about every film we watch in this class. I haven’t found one I dislike yet! Still waiting. John mentioned in the beginning of class that it was a rather “intellectual movie” to which someone replied, “you mean boring?” This caused me to begin the movie with the preparation of it making me want to take a snooze. The Mosquito Coast made me do the exact opposite of that. Although there were no disappearing girls or shootings, it still definitely caught my attention with the stress of creating an entirely new civilization.
ReplyDelete2. You could argue that Allie his robbing his children of their childhood, but then again you could argue to opposite. He does seem to be only interested in his goals, and drags his family along with him to fulfill them. This is reflected in the scene where Allie yells at his youngest son for being too tired to continue carrying the ice up a giant mountain. On the other side of this argument, he is taking his children away from what, in some ways, our society has become. Things like twitter, facebook, and cellphones will not be in their life. Like Allie said in one scene, if there were to be a nuclear war, the children would survive because of the survival skills they picked up in the jungle with their father, not by knowing the capital of Texas or home economics. And besides, we don’t know what’s going to happen when the children grow up but Allie hardly seems like the kind of man to force his children to stay with him and his wife for the rest of their lives. I feel like once the children are old enough to make their own decisions, he will let them.
3. Allie’s greatest flaw was shown when he finally finished his ice machine and still wasn’t satisfied with it. He spent all this time working on this invention, but it still wasn’t good enough for him. This makes me worry what, if anything, will finally satisfy him.
4. We do not get any personal insight on what Mother’s true perspective is on all of this, but what we can assume is that she is perfectly happy there. She is not shown complaining or unhappy at all; in fact, she may seem like the happiest to be there. She obviously must be on the same page as Allie to marry someone that extreme. I don’t think someone would devote the rest of their lives to that unless they were absolutely certain.
Though this Weir film has some unrealistic elements--leaving his whole life behind, buying an island and getting everyone on the island to go along with his plans, having everyone stay healthy and uninjured without many wildlife encounters in this part of the world-- but I really enjoy this movie. It's quirky, like all of Weir's movies, but funny too. I thought there were many beautiful scenes as well--one being the building of the large ice machine.
ReplyDeleteKatherine said she felt Allie robbed his children of a life of internet and tv and such, but I disagree. There were very little complaints coming from the kids for a while. They seemed to be okay with the move. I noticed that, and that was another part of the movie I felt unrealistic. I know I would have complained. So, he does take all of that away from them, but I think he is doing what he thinks is right and best for the kids. I don't agree that everything they learn out there is all the education they need, though, like Allie said.
I feel like he does not have one overall flaw because all his flaws are related and feed off of each other. For instance, he is very ego centric, like Katherine mentioned, but he also has a thirst for adventure. Without his selfish ways, he would not have been able to take his whole family and movie them to an undeveloped part of the world.
Allie's wife is a likable character--but she is so easy going. I think she knew what she was getting into when she married Allie, and having no issues between her and her husband keeps the conflict away from them an their relationship. She loves the adventure just as much as him, but tries to be a little more logical about them, making her a little hesitant at times.
1. I've really loved this film so far. There is so much symbolism in this movie that I'm trying to figure that makes it so enjoyable. I sit there while watching the movie thinking, "yea, that has to mean something". I also love the complexity with all of the characters.
ReplyDelete2. On Katherine's point, I do believe that Allie is robbing his children of a childhood. It's not like the kids have a choice on whether or not they want to go to this mysterious land. Their father is being exactly what he doesn't want to be, which is a tyrant. I believe that he should have let his children decide if the world was corrupt or not. All the children have heard their whole lives is their fathers opinion, and they haven't been able to form their own.
3. Allie's greatest flaw is believing that he is always correct in what he believes. This is a part of his gigantic size ego that he has. His ego has gotten his family into a lot of trouble. His ego makes him a "Dangerous man" in my eyes. I feel bad for his family.
4. Mother is a confusing character. She blindly follows her husband, no questions asked. I feel like like she has no backbone even though I know she has one somewhere in there. I think that she is such a loving person that she just follows whatever her husband says. Allie on one hand is blinded by love and Mother is blinded by love.
No one can say Weir is not diverse in his creation. Goodness, the variance in his work is astounding. I have never seen anything at all like this here film, and for this reason I am enjoying it thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteEvery child, to some measure, reflects their parents. I cannot argue that Allie's approach is any better or worse, although obviously quite a bit more radical, than the average parent's. He has legitimate desire. As Morrison writes in Beloved, a child is a parent's "best thing." If the parent has the strength and the courage—"the four AM courage"— to go the lengths to do what they think best for their children, regardless of its correctness, kudos to them.
As often the case, Allie's gravest fault is also his grandest strength. The man has no limits. He knows not when to stop, nor can he. This pushes him to the edge. The edge of greatness. He can build a civilization up from the rubble or invent a machine to bring ice to the sweltering jungle. On the other hand, when he achieves what should be contentment, he becomes restless, ending ultimately in his downfall.
Mother thrives off the same nourishment as the characters of Kerouac's On the Road. She needs the thrill of life itself. Excitement provides her sustenance. By and by, as Kerouac shows, this way of living ends in sorrow. But while it last, my the glory.
1. I set my expectations very low before coming in today because Mosquito Coast has been reviewed so poorly and I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is very exciting and fast, the anxiety is high and the opposite of what I expected kept happening. I was expecting Allie to fall on his face earlier, I expected his wife to leave him, and I expected his eldest son to turn into a Fox supremacist, which I think will happen soon.
ReplyDelete2. Allie has the best intentions for his children. He believes that the United States is on the verge of nuclear war and he also wants them to get away from the materialism of North America. I think that his instincts are like any parent’s. He wants to take his children away from danger and bad influences. His idea of what’s wrong is different from most people but the way he acts upon it is similar to other parents. I think that he should give his children a chance to get back to the USA when they get older if they want, but where they live for their childhood should be the parents’ choice.
3. If Allie weren’t so proud of his ice, he would not have gotten involved with the men with guns. He’s very prideful.
4. I think that Mother married Allie for his spontaneity. Maybe she had very strict parents? She seems very content to do whatever Allie wants.
I like this movie a lot so far. It's very different to anything else we've seen, but it's interesting and fairly captivating too. I came in with relatively low expectations but I've ended up enjoying the film a lot. The plot is rather fast compared to a lot of the Weir movies we've seen so far, but I like it.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Allie is not entirely justified, but still more justified than some people seem to think. He seems to truly believe that this is good for his family, and to an extent it is. We've seen that the kids seem to be ok with it and enjoying it for the most part. They didn't seem to be against the idea at all. But, as Katherine said, the jungle is dangerous, and he's putting his kids at risk. Another flaw is how much he expects from them. It seemed ok to take them to this remote place and have them help build the village, but, as we saw in the ice scenes, he can overreact and be far too harsh with them.
3. I think that Allie's greatest flaw is his confidence in himself. Allie seems to have no idea that anything he's doing could possibly be wrong or selfish, even though some of it clearly is. But he is blind to that and seems to think that he is always right and is some kind of missionary of his own beliefs.
4. I think mother is into the adventure almost as much as Allie. She is timid, but it doesn't seem like she was forced to be content with her life, more like she actually enjoys adventure and excitement. That may be what she saw in Allie; someone who was adventurous like her.
So far, I like this film. I like seeing the tension rise between the natives and the Fox family. I really liked the explosion. However, I don't like watching the Foxes be so ignorant and the natives being so compliant. If I were in that situation, at least, I would not be willing to build a house for people who just moved there from America. I would not want to have them come disrupt my society, even if they were going to help. They brought the gunmen and the explosion, and, I'm sure, many other things we haven't seen yet. I wouldn't want to give up my land for people who just make life harder, with only the promise of more food and ice.
ReplyDeleteI think his intentions are good, but the way he goes about doing them is not desirable. He rips them from their home, literally in the middle of a meal, and plops them down in an uncivilized world. In his attempt to make their lives better, he takes away their chance at a good education in things other than how to build a house. He takes them away from their friends and decides for them how they should live. I like that he was trying to give them a better life, to take them away from corrupted America, but he did it in the wrong way. He should have at least given them a bit of warning, given them time to say goodbye and such.
He tries too hard, and in that, he hurts other people. For example, he makes his two eldest sons and two other men carry ice around for a very long time, only to have it melt. In the process, he yells at his son, making it seem as if he only cares about the ice, which very well may be true. He doesn't care if people are happy in the process of doing things, he only cares about the outcome, and how it will help him.
I think she trusts him a lot, and loves him. She obviously loves him enough, having many children with him and not intending to get divorced, to our knowledge. She trusts that he'll keep her and her children alive and well, and therefore doesn't following him into the jungle. To our knowledge, she didn't work in America, so her trust is backed up with hard evidence that he'll do what he needs. I think she also wants the adventure. She's stuck at home all day with her kids, just taking care of them and doing housework, and she much get bored. She must want something more, something completely new that won't get old very quickly (like any material things would).
I stopped at 79:29, the morning after the fire
ReplyDeleteI actually like the film, and I didn't find it to be the kind of film that would put someone to sleep. I think that the personality of Fox really drew me in. Fox has so many weird little ticks on the beginning of the movie, and I was pretty curious to find out how far he was willing to go.. I also thought it was ironic how he sensed a war coming, and then he declares war on the ant in an effort to outwit the men.
I can understand why Allie would want to take his kids away from an environment that he believed to be flawed, I have personally been pulled away from modern society by force, but I honestly enjoyed the time that I had away from society. However, I don’t believe that Allie will be returning with the kids of his own free will. In addition, Allie’s own agenda has put his family and the town in danger. When the men first arrive, I began to wonder if Allie’s kids would even have a childhood to remember. I do believe that Allie’s method was a bit forced, there doesn’t seem to be much up for discussion regarding them leaving. However, I don’t think killing men was a great example either. I think that Allie’s children are going to have to face the same issue that young characters in Weir’s films do: what kind of life will they choose to follow.
I believe that a lot of Allie’s flaw comes from his need to fulfill his own agenda. Like when he wanted to take the ice to the other people, he became almost tyrannical to his sons and the other men. I understand the urgency, since ice can only last so long, but I feel like Allie couldn't stand the thought of not completing his mission. Along the same note, Allie seems to have trouble with letting things go. The most obvious example is when the men with the guns decide that they want the town. Again Allie’s reluctance to let go of what he created is understandable, but there is more at stake. And as we see, Allie’s reluctance to let go leaves him is nothing.
I find Allie’s wife to be a little confusing to be honest. I feel like she I such an important character, but I don’t get enough of her in the movie to really make sense of her acceptance. I think that she must share a good deal of beliefs with Allie, since she seems content and even excited about leaving. I really loved the scene where she looks back at the dishes in the sink, and then runs off. But I feel as though she isn't really giving her input in the situations, only asking Allie what she should do to help and supporting him.
I’ve really liked this film so far and did not find it to be boring as you warned us before. So coming into the film with really low expectations, I’ve actually enjoyed it. I liked how the children seemed to be the most real of all the characters and disliked the Fox family’s ignorance of the native’s situation. Like Molly, I kept asking myself why they hadn’t thought to build the workers houses too.
ReplyDeleteI don’t necessarily think that Allie’s instinct to protect his children from the dangers of the modern world is bad and so I wouldn’t label his actions as “robbing” his children of their childhood. Although his idea of doing what’s best for his family may be radical from our point of view, at least he’s looking out for his family at all. As kids, we are often forced to do things we don’t want to do or move places we don’t want to go by our parents, and, although these examples are not quite as radical as the Fox family in The Mosquito Coast, we should think about that before we decide to make any harsh criticisms on how a parent believes they should protect/take care of their child.
I think that Allie is flawed in his ego in his narrow-mindedness and his inability to know his limits. If he had known his limits, he would’ve known when to stop trying to create more inventions and would not have gotten involved with the armed men.
I think that Mother married her husband knowing what kind of a man he is. And so, in her love for him, she gladly follows her wherever he goes. I also think that Mother has the same sense of adventure as Allie, which can be proven by the scene in which she begins to leave their house but looks back at the dirty dishes in the sink and just smiles—she doesn't look mournful for her house or anything.
1. So far, I'm happy with this film so far. I'm not a huge fan, but I'm not also a huge disliker of the film. It's kind of a neutral film for me. I think Allie is kind of crazy from the begining of the film. He brings the whole family to a different place, and changes the whole civilization. Also starting from the begining of the movie people didnt seem to like his inventions, which was interesting.
ReplyDelete2. I think its a little harsh to take away the kids childhood from them. Its hard for the kids because they have been taken away from what they have know and have been used to, and now into a totally different world. I think its a little bit much to take that away from them. Also I remember at one point, Alli said to one of the kids to 'be a man'. Thats a lot to be asking for because they are still just children, and it might be a little bit scary for them.
3. I think that his greates weakness is that he doesnt take any advice or any critisism. For example at the begining with Doc. Allie thinks he knows everything, which is kind of annoying at some points.
4. I think Mother seems to be very supportive. She went with Allie to centreal america and has been helping the kids a lot. I also think its hard for her too because she is living in a whole different world. She just seems like she wants to make her husband happy and her children. You dont really get to see what she wants to do in life, but all she seems to do is help with the kids.
1. Like other people said, I’m surprised to know that the film has been reviewed as boring. This film not only poses interesting questions but also holds a great deal of tension that makes it very exciting. We knew from the beginning that this little utopia wouldn’t last perfectly forever. When the men with guns came it became clear just unstable the community and its leader are. It’s very interesting to see that he clearly loves his family, but when they begin to question his vision he snaps and becomes quite cruel. Some of his ideas may hold merit, and he may have the strength, mechanical intuition, and charisma needed to get his village on it’s feet with style, but he is the wrong man to try and sustain a calm and happy lifestyle.
ReplyDelete2. Well in the beginning it certainly seems like the right choice. The community flourishes and everyone is happy without all of the modern luxuries. So maybe that means his instinct was correct. However, it has to be taken into account that this life is not sustainable. Allie is what makes this place amazing, but he is also what keeps it from having a future. People’s attitudes can certainly be disgusting in the modern era. Commercialism can be something to scorn. However there’s really no complete escape from that unless you move to the jungle and live how they are already living. Allie comes in and begins to rule and modernize it himself. Certainly there’s no TV and Mcdonald’s, but I get the sense that given endless time Allie would always be improving and modernizing and changing things. And then maybe one day he’d find that he created a society like the one he just left. He was already getting mad when the locals seemed to be taking his ice for granted. Ice is civilization, but Allie wants an ever-evolving civilization without want. That’s just not possible. I think he’s doing the wrong thing simply because what he’s trying to do can’t possible succeed the way he wants it to and the children will end up quite troubled for it.
3. As I said in the last answer, I think his desires are unrealistic and contradictory. He clearly has a large ego and feels he would run a better world than the one in existence. If anyone, even his children, seem to disagree he scorns them harshly. At the beginning he acts like he’s asking everyone else what they think they should do first, but he fills in the blank for them. The man grunts and Allie says something like “Oh good thinking, I agree we’ll start with that.” I’m paraphrasing. He has a god complex and can’t see possible consequences to his actions. He almost seems bipolar, except his mania lasts for most of the movie. I have a feeling the depression will begin to set in now.
4. I think it’s a mix between the fact that she loves Allie a lot and she finds herself enjoying the adventure he can provide. I don’t get the sense that she shares his ideals. She never speaks about it or even agrees with Allie when he’s speaking about it (which is always). If she does agree it can’t be with the same degree of passion. But her actions (smiling at the steaming dishes as they leave and telling her kids “Oh you know that you’re father gets like this when he’s excited” or something like that) show that she’s attracted to his adventurousness and his conviction. In that way maybe she’s weak because she can’t see past the excitement he offers her to think about what really might be best for the children. She can’t see that his behavior is…whatever it is. Manic? Insane?
1. I have seen this movie before and I really liked it the first time and I really like it now. I like it because I really see the appeal to what he is doing. If I were a great inventor I would definitely do that. It would be so fun. I love the wilderness and exploring and building and not having to worry about much ever again, so I think that that would really be the life for me. I think that most aspects of the film are really well done. I know how the movie ends and I like the ending because I really like movies where what happens, happens. One part of the movie that I really like in particular is the whole segment where they are building the town. That is really interesting because we get to see the building process progress.
ReplyDelete2. I would say that him removing his children from society is a good thing if they never intend to return. He does not intend for them to return so let us pretend that this is what is going to happen. If they never return I think that they will probably be much happier people who are educated in relatively more useful ways in relation to their environment. Also in response to the robbing them of their childhood thing, I will say that I think that the older one is probably being robbed a bit. That is the one part of the movie I think is wrong or unrealistic. The older kid does not seem to have any problem with this whole thing at all even though he probably lost friends, other family, and the life he was accustomed to when they left the U.S. This may be because of his faith in his father. At the beginning of the movie he said that he had faith in his father. I think (and know because I have seen it) this movie is about the whole family losing faith in the father.
3. Having seen the movie I would say that his greatest flaw is his inability to settle. He seems to move from thing to thing. This weakness coupled with his evident hate of all civilization is a major problem that will become more evident as the movie progresses.
4. She follows him for the same reason the oldest son follows him. She has faith in him. He is smart and he has (so far) made good decisions for their family. I know he has made good decisions because they seem fairly well off. Also he seems to be a natural leader who people seem to admire and respect. She trusts him to do the right thing so she does what he wants.
1. I'm going to address the film as a whole in the next blog post, I can't write this as if I haven't seen the whole thing and I don't want to repeat myself.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think he's wrong for wanting to take his kids away from a corrupted world. And I can see some of the flaws in "normal society" he talks about in the first part of the movie and why someone might want to get their children away from that. I don't think he's a very good father, though. He seems too focused on his inventing to really care for his kids and any parent who has taken their child from everything they know, taken them to a new, uncomfortable place, and then yells at that child for asking about where he's going to sleep when he's been trekking through the jungle half the day just seems like a bit much.
3. Pride and hypocrisy with a pinch of God complex. He tells the missionary (and I'm paraphrasing) "God doesn't know [Geronimo] exists, otherwise he would have done something to help these people a long time ago but he didn't, I did." or something along those line but basically he said he was these people's savior and in a way, their god. He tries to trek the ice through the jungle because he needs someone to appreciate it and think of it as a jewel. To me, his expectations are completely ridiculous, and it's like he lives in a fog, only occasionally coming out of it to appreciate the jewels he has, like the things he's created or his family. It's like he'll never be satisfied.
4. Well, she married Allie for a reason, so I imagine she agrees with his views of America, to an extent, and believes in him being a genius and wants to give him a chance to do what he wants. I think she's ready to take her kids away from what they know because she believes in the betterness of the place her husband can create. And it's even true for a while, everything is great, but then Allie changes and his pride gets the better of him but by then the children are already there. She's making the best choices she can with her options.
1. I don't think I liked the film very much. It may have been because I saw the end first, but Allie is such a frustrating, disagreeable character. Is it weird that he occasionally reminded me of Jack from The Shining? His wife also reminded me a tiny bit of Jack's wife. He seems legitimately insane some of the time. I also thought the film was hard to watch because I think the family was making the wrong choices most of the time. Even when they had promising ideas and new beginnings, they, (mainly Allie,) ruined it. Allie seemed to be power-hungry and unreasonable. He craved notoriety in an unhealthy way. Yet, no one stood up to him. I got the sense that at the very end of the film, when he asked if they were still going upstream that his wife lied. If that's true, that's the first time they blatantly disregarded his wishes, and even then, she couldn't come clean with him and say that the family was finally choosing their path for themselves. ( I can understand that maybe she lied to protect him as he died.) If she was actually telling the truth, then it's just sad because he makes choices for them even when he has died. It was hard to watch his tyrannical behavior, as well as the ridiculous gender roles in the family. The mother was treated more like the children than a wife by Allie. She had no say, didn't know Allie's plans, and had to agree with his choices or she was berated. I think that Weir created this system on purpose, but it was so hopeless that it was just frustrating for me.
ReplyDelete2. I certainly think there are many pitfalls for children in American culture. One could argue that there's too much emphasis on technology, too much pressure on young kids, and that kids are being forced to focus on the wrong things during their education. To a degree I agree with all of those things, but my solution is not to force my family to start an entirely new society with me. I think Allie's decision was selfish and detrimental. He took his kids from their home with no warning and brought them into an entirely new life. While they had fun at first, I don't think they got time to play like normal children should. When they did play, they had to keep it secret because they didn't think their dad would approve of the game they were playing. At the second island there aren't even other kids for them to play with, but Allie never gives that a second thought. Plus, with all the stress and fear he puts his kids through, he forces them to grow up faster. They have to take care of themselves and their mother when the pressure is finally too much for her. Allie even gets his child to help him commit murder…talk about taking away a childhood, and in particular childhood innocence.
3. His hubris is his greatest flaw, in my opinion. He likens himself to the pilgrims, and Dr. Frankenstein (seeing the role of Frankenstein in a positive light…which it wasn't.) He puts himself above his family, including his wife; he doesn't listen to their opinions, clue them into his plans, or respect them. Whenever anyone disagrees with him he sees them as not only wrong, but as a traitor. He also puts himself above other races. He calls Hatty, who has been nothing but kind and generous to his entire family, a savage, and he thinks he will be the Indian tribe's hero simply because they have never seen ice before. I think Allie's desire for recognition is what starts his journey. He is angry that his boss didn't appreciate his invention, and he wants to be known for something. He continues his journey even when signs are clearly showing danger because he is proud and he doesn't want to admit when he's wrong. Plus, he won't even accept help or advice because of this pride.
ReplyDelete4. I think that she understands the way her kids look up to her husband, and she respects him, too. I think that for a long time she follows the blind hope that he might realize that his journey was a mistake. She wants to bridge the gap between the interests of her family and of Allie, and she doesn't want anyone to get hurt along the way. She also seems to be a fairly repressed character. I get the feeling she hasn't had much practice standing up to people, and she doesn't give herself much power in her relationship.