DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
THE PROFESSOR
1) What do we learn about Dr. Caulder in this scene?
2) Who is Ethan Powell? What was he like before he went mad?
INTERVIEW AT HARMONY BAY
1) Why does Powell choose to speak to Caulder?
2) Do you think Powell wants to die
3) What does Caulder want from Powell? Powell from Caulder?
WALKING AMONG THEM
1) What does Caulder learn with the gorillas?
2) What does he mean when he says when "I stopped using
[the camera], and it was then I began to see them for the first
time"?
3) What conclusions does Powell draw from the gorilla's decision
to include him in the group?
4) What does Powell mean when he talks about the danger of the
cities in comparison with the forest?
5) Why is Powell upset with Caulder?
CONTROL
1) Powell thought he'd become part of the gorillas' family. What
about the family he left behind? What part does family play in
freedom and happiness? Must that family be naturally connected?
Must it even be human?
2) Why does Powell want to be dead to his natural daughter?
ILLUSIONS
1) What does Powell mean when he says, "I didn't even know
what murder was when I was you, Juha."
2) Why does Powell want to share his story with Caulder? Why
does he need Caulder to share his story with others? Why can't
he do so himself?
3) Does Powell have any special insight worthy of sharing? If
so, what is this insight, and where does it come from?
4) Is some control necessary? Is freedom an illusion, as this
scene suggests?
A TRUE HISTORY
1) In Powell's true history, there are some people who are good,
"They never killed more animals than they could use. They
never ploughed more land than they needed. They fought, but they
never waged war. Never exterminated. They had a place in the world.
And in the world, they were part of it. And they shared it."
And, there are some who are bad, "takers." Powell even
represents them in different colors. How accurate do you suppose
Powell's history is? What forces do you supposed changed the world?
2) Caulder asks, "what, are we supposed to change it back?
What are we supposed to do?" What answer does Powell give
him? What does it mean?
GOLIATH
1) Why does Caulder take Powell to see the caged gorillas? What
does he expect will happen there? How is he surprised?
2) Explain the irony in Powell's naming the gorilla he captured
"Goliath."
THE KILLINGS
3) Is Powell guilty, why or why not? If he is guilty, of what
is he guilty? Does he feel guilty, about what, and why?
4) What does the caged male gorilla's madness-his thinking that
freedom was something he'd dreamed-say about the animal?
5) When Caulder asks Powell whether he too has given up, does
the film suggest there is a difference between Powell and the
gorilla, inasmuch as the gorilla cannot be asked such a question?
Does Powell acknowledge any difference?
THE GAME
1) Caulder supposes he's learned something from Powell about
society. What does Powell believe he has learned? What does he
mean by the game? How do you suppose Caulder will change, if at
all?
2) Caulder is emotional about Powell's fate, and presumably afraid
Powell has gone silent again. Why does he care? What can we conclude
about Caulder from his tears?
3) Compare and contrast Powell's tears in the previous scene
with Caulder's tears in this scene.
4) With what implement does Powell dig his way to freedom? Where
did he get it? Is there any significance to Powell's use of this
implement for this purpose?
NOT JUST A DREAM
1) Why does the film conclude with Powell reading his note to
Caulder? What difference would it have made for the meaning of
the film if we had simply seen Powell walking in the forest in
silence?
2) What does Powell mean when he thanks Caulder for giving him
back his daughter? How does he receive back his daughter?
3) Do you suppose that Powell has become, having been restored
to his belief in freedom's existence, more or less fit for society,
why?
PAPER TOPICS
1. How would Rousseau, Marx, and Thoreau understand
and react to Powell's point of view and experience?
2. How is Powell's 'true history' like and unlike Locke's and
Rousseau's accounts of man in the state of nature? How would Locke
or Rousseau criticize Powell's account, and vice versa?
3. What does the film show us about freedom? Does its understanding
differ from that of others in this unit? Answer with reference
to at least three authors and at least one other film.
4. A Marxist/ Rousseauean criticism of the bourgeois man applies
to Caulder: He is deeply concerned with his reputation -- what
others think of him. He speaks of this as a 'game.' With reference
to the selections from Marx and Rousseau, discuss Calder's experience
in the film. What, in terms of our authors, is Calder able to
teach or demonstrate for Powell (and vice versa)?
5. How does Powell's relationship with the gorilla demonstrate
Rousseau's understanding of the compassion of natural man?
