Back
to Film Festival
Film
Festival - Paths of Glory
Wednesday
- November 10, 2004
MAC
Playhouse - 3:30 pm-
6:15 PM
College
Now Course - Humanities
Hosted by: Dr. Robert Singer, Professor of English
College Now English Course Coordinator
Dr. Eleanor Cory, College Now Humanities Course Coordinator
About
the Movie: Paths
of Glory
Director, Stanley Kubrick 1957 - Rating PG
This controversial
and historically true film is one of the most explosive motion pictures you
will ever see. The cruelty of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a
unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and
a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an
impossible attack. This film is a study in power and its abuse. Starring:
Kirk Douglas.
About
the Presenter: Dr. Eleanor Cory
Dr. Eleanor
Cory is a composer whose music is often inspired by art, literature, dance
and film. A member of the Kingsborough Department of Communications and Performing
Arts, she teaches traditional music theory and appreciation courses as well
as a contemporary music/humanities course and interdisciplinary courses with
the English Department. She sees film as a dramatic unfolding of events in
time analogous to the interactions of instruments in musical compositions,
shapes and colors in art, and words in books and poems. She selected Paths
of Glory to encourage viewers to consider how war has influenced the creative
arts in the 20th century.
Extra
Credit Assignments
I-SAMPLE
ACT ESSAY
You have
been asked to write a letter to your local congressperson in which you will
express your views concerning the issue of self-imposed media control and
the idea that both/all sides of an argument would have to be presented in
media projects such as films and television shows. Fully discuss your view;
you may refer to recent historical events, other opinions, television or newspaper
coverage, or even the film Paths of Glory.
II-MINI-RESEARCH
SKILLS REVIEW
THIS IS NOT
A RESEARCH PAPER - IT IS A REARCH-ORIENTED EXPERIENCE IN WHICH STUDENTS GATHER
AND CATEGORIZE INFORMATION. THEY CAN PREPARE OUTLINES, NOTE-CARDS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY,
CITE REFERENCES (quote, paraphrase, summarize), OR PRACTICE ANY COMBINATION
OF THESE SKILLS ASSOCIATED WITH PREPARING A RESEARCH PAPER. Utilizing the
library and its resources, and/or material from the Internet, prepare an investigative
project that focuses on any one of these topics associated with the film,
Paths of Glory:
a - causes of World War I
b - trench warfare/poison gas
c - military tribunals: then and now
d - the Dreyfus Affair
e - films, poetry and art about World War I
III-STANDARD COLLEGE ESSAY
Many issues
arise from the analysis and discussion of the film, Paths of Glory.
Some of the more personal issues involve the military's abuse of power, judicial
injustice, cowardly behavior, capital punishment, and more. Some broader,
social issues discussed in the film involve the role and power of the military
in the times of crisis, the corruption/honesty of leadership, and making a
case for an open trial system. There are other related personal and social
issues arising from the analysis of this film, and these are only some suggested
and significant themes to consider.
In a full-length essay (approximately 400-500 words), later to be revised
for content and correctness, discuss any of the issues raised in the film
Paths of Glory that you consider to be of special interest either for
yourself or for society. Explain why and how these issues are significant
not only in the film but also in relationship to your own life, American society,
or both.
OR
In a full-length essay (approximately 400-500 words), later to be revised for content and correctness, compare "Paths of Glory" to artistic, literary, musical, or dramatic works which you have studied in College Now Humanities, specifically those which deal with issues of war.