Films Review

For this extra credit discussion forum assignment there are four possible films to discuss, and you may participate in as many forums as you’d like (as long as you watch and think about the movie).

This discussion is worth up to 4 extra credit points. To get the points you must make a substantive post or reply (you may make a post in direct response to one of the questions, or you may make a substantive reply to another student’s post); “substantive” means that your post is scholarly and/or refers to class material. You can respond to one of my listed discussion questions or feel free to make a free form post as long as it’s relevant to class and class material.

If you reply to one of the discussion questions, please copy and paste the question at the top of your post so everyone knows which question you’re responding to.

Since this is for extra credit, no late posts will be accepted – no excuses. Late submissions defeat the purpose of a discussion forum.

To get full credit your response must be more than just a few sentences.

Your post must be detailed enough so that it’s obvious that you’ve actually watched the film.

EXCESSIVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT EXTRA CREDIT WILL RESULT IN EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES BEING REVOKED

Watch the 1999 film October Sky starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Laura Dern, and Chris Cooper and respond to at least one question below, or feel free to make a free form post. The movie (based on a true story) is about the struggles of a young, aspiring rocket scientist in a poor West Virginia coal mining town who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik.

Here are some links with info about the film:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/october_sky (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132477/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

-What are your general thoughts and reactions to the film?

-Discuss how the film relates to class material.

-Can you relate to Homer or any of the other characters in any way? If so, how?

-Homer has to go through many obstacles to realize his dream of being a scientist. What are some examples of anti-intellectualism encountered by Homer and his friends?

According to Dixon (2015) this is the definition of anti-intellectualism: hostility and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectual pursuits, usually expressed as the derision of education, philosophy, literature, art, and science, as impractical and contemptible.