December 2025 Final Exam Film and Culture

We will focus on three films on the final exam: A Scent of a Woman, Seven, and Nosedive. If you know the following words and phrases, you will do fine:

dystopic, science fiction, column, paragraph, plot, character, theme, colonel, disillusioned, nosedive, misanthrope, information, misogynist, wrath, sin, revenge, infected, similar to, genre, aliens, infected, homoerotic, myth, society, rank, army, riddle, twist of fate, bookends, superficial, vision, future, animation, detective, sentence, creation, insane asylum, jail, hitch hike

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Power of the Dog for two reasons.

First is the bookend idea to start / finish a movie or song.

Both Power of the Dog and Pulp Fiction have bookends.

Remember I said the start of the movie looks like a film reel.

Phil talks about Bronco Henry three times. Every time, George ignores him. He doesn’t want to talk. Phil studied classics in university, or myths, which are stories that are not true. Do you think Bronco Henry is real or maybe he is just Phil’s dream lover.

 

Our last genre is science fiction. There used to be a TV show called The Twilight Zone in 1950s and sixties. It had were short stories with a twist of fate.

A twist of fate is a surprise ending. I think Black Mirror follows that idea. I think the writers of Broken Mirror grew up watching Twilight Zone.

Opening credits: beginning of movie

Nosedive. When an airplane is crashing. It is a dystopia. This is a story set in the future where it is bad or scary. Something terrible is going on in the society.

This episode has my classmate from high school.

Technology is not helping us improve. It is having a bad influence on our psychology, making us stupid, and superficial (shallow).

Are they happy or miserable (very unhappy)? And if they unhappy, but perfect people. 4.8. Why would perfect people tell lies?

Do they really have friends? Why does she have to ask someone she has not seen in many years to be her maid of honor at a wedding?

Are these really friends in the phone?

Will being an honest (true) person get you a low rating? Why?

Picaresque: road trip that the protagonist did not at first want to take

 

Dynamic character: is she a dynamic character?

 

The colonel was a dynamic character. At first, he was selfish and unkind. He was a misogynist. In the last scene, he changes and helps Charlie. And he is respectful to the female teacher at Charlie’s school.

Maybe that was just a good day for him and he was in a good mood. Just because he changed to help Charlie, if we truly look at people, do they really change? How about the next day? Will he stay the same or will he go back to being an unkind, mean old man

If I Were Half the Man I Was Five Years Ago

Scent of a Woman

Here are some homework questions for Scent of a Woman. Remember you only need to do three homework assignments. I will give you a free 25/25% percent for the fourth assignment.

1. Do you think the principal, Mr. Trask, will still give Charlie a recommendation for Harvard at the end of Scent of a Woman? Explain.

2. How does Charlie help the colonel? Tell at least three ways.

3. The autumn scenery reminds us of the four seasons and the changing of seasons. Why is this important to the movie?

4. Is the colonel a hurtful man? Explain.

The Power of the Dog

The Power of the Dog

1. How did Peter protect his mother?

2. Did Peter do an immoral thing in protecting his mother?

3. Why does Peter smile slyly at the end of The Power of the Dog (when he sees his mom with his stepfather)?

4. Why does Peter put on yellow gloves to handle the rope?

5. What happened to Phil at the end of the film?

6. Was Phil a misogynist? Explain.

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Seven

1. What did David Mills do to the man they arrested?

2. Did David Mills do an immoral thing at the end of Seven?

3. Is William Somerset misanthropic or disillusioned?

4. What are the seven deadly sins?

5. What is the worst of the deadly sins? Explain.

6. What genre is Seven?

Detective David Mills

I have watched this film twice. So, I don’t know what the title “The Power of the Dog” means. I am still thinking about it.

It was nominated at the Oscars / Academy Awards for

1.            Best Movie

2.            Best Actor

3.            Best Actress

4.            Best Supporting Actor

5.            Best Supporting Actress

It won Best Director. The director is a woman.

It won Best Soundtrack (which means music). The band is Radiohead.

The music matches the landscape.

This is set in Montana.

Montana is empty of people.

What is the genre?

Pulp Fiction was dark comedy. Film Noir.

Rain Man was a road trip picaresque. If you want to simplify, a drama.

Seven was a detective movie and thriller. It is a psychological thriller.

The Power of the Dog is a cowboy movie or western. It is also a homoerotic movie (gay).

The landscape is stark. That means not much grows there.

Foreshadow: hint of what will happen

 

 

“When my father passed (died), I wanted nothing more than my mother’s happiness. For what kind of man would I be if I did not help my mother, if I did not save her?”

Who does he need to save his mother from?

That boy murdered Phil.

When you see him, he is skinny and weak, a sissy. He does not seem like someone who can protect women.

Subtle.

So, his father is dead. He must protect his mother.

 

Phil talks about “Bronco Henry” three times to his brother. Every time, his brother ignores him and does not want to talk about “Bronco Henry.”

1.            Why?

2.            Who is Bronco Henry.

This is the second time Phil talks about Bronco Henry.

 

Phil is calling himself and his brother Romulus and Remus. They are two men who Romans believed started Rome in 753 B.C. This is not true. Rome is much older. It is a myth. A myth how we explain the world when we don’t understand it from science. The myth says the two brothers were raised by a wolf. One brother killed the other brother.

 

 

This story he is telling about Bronco Henry is impossible. It’s a lie. It is a myth about Bronco Henry.

His brother went to Yale and graduated number one in Classics. The history of Rome and Greece.

Phil got anthrax from that rope.

How did he save his mother?

Remember he gave the hide to Phil to finish the rope. That hide (animal skin) had anthrax.

The title is “The Power of the Dog.” When they look at the hills, he says you can’t see it, I won’t explain.

Is it his secret place?

The movie has a riddle. Something to solve.

Why is Phil so jealous of this woman?

1.            Misogyny: hatred of women

2.            Misanthrope: smart person who hates other people for being stupid

3.            Jealous because she steals his brother?

 

 

 

 

We are half way.

I want to show you ten minutes of a documentary. Documentary is another genre.

This reminded me of something.

I will post last weeks and two weeks’ ago tonight. So, there will be two sets of questions. One for Seven and one for The Power of the Dog. You have to do three homework assignments.

I will give you the midterm exams next week.  

Midterm Exam Fall 2025

Memorize these words for the test. Then you will be fine:

column, synonym, symbolic, definition, misanthrope, picaresque, is, pay homage to, positive, static character, foreshadow, chronological, heirloom, tracking shot, hints, paragraph, plot, setting, autistic, protagonist, Iconic, shot (from a camera), cameo, skills, stereotype, government, ambiguous, combination number (from a lock), briefcase, explain, details, near the start, introduce

Patrick Cowsill: Hope Is in B.C.

The Seven Deadly Sins

 

Seven, directed by David Fincher

I have never taught Seven before. So, I will be looking for a closer understanding like you. The director is David Fincher. He is interested in the psychology of criminals.

Crime. Genre is detective or police flick. Drama. Tragedy. Film Noir. A movie with a 1940s influence. Nothing is good. People are evil. Be nervous about your neighbors. Usually the protagonist (the hero) is jaded. That means usually an older character who has had many bad experiences and now does not trust anyone. Morgan Freeman’s character. Brad Pitt’s character is an idealist. He thinks the future can be better. Usually a younger, family man who is innocent.

They are foils. That means when the two main characters have opposite personalities.

Seven for the Seven Deadly Sins. People think this is from The Bible. It is not in The Bible, but it is Christian thinking. The Seven Deadly Sins were written by Pope Gregory in 590 A.D.

Pope is the boss of the Catholic Church.

The Seven Deadly Sins are seven things good Christians can not do.

Remember The Bible is full of rules on how to behave in the society to be a good person in the society.

1.                           Pride: you think you are great, better than other people

2.                           Greed: want to own lots of stuff

3.                           Wrath: get angry too easily

4.                           Envy: want what other people have

5.                           Lust: always want to have sex

6.                           Gluttony: eat too much

7.                           Sloth: lazy

 

Misanthrope: you will see this idea of misanthrope again and again in literature; literature influences film

A person who is pretty smart and hates other people for being stupid

Twist of fate: surprise ending / finish to a story

Why does it always rain in this movie?

I can’t get involved in this. Why? He is retiring. There is not enough time. But maybe he agrees with the killer. Misanthrope.

Canterbury Tales is the first famous book written in English. 1370. He is reading something that is very hard. But, he is using Cliff’s Notes. Cliff’s Notes are for students that don’t understand Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer or difficult literature. They tell what happened in a simple way in modern English. They are good for high school. You remember the old guy went to the library and read all of the original books.

Both the killer and the older cop are university educated at least as they both read a lot of old books. Misanthrope. Smart, but you hate other people for being stupid.

Foreshadow: a hint of how the movie or story will conclude or finish

Why is the director emphasizing the boxes?

Noah and the Ark: God tells Noah to build an ark. He makes it rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

What does the metronome symbolize?

Time passing. Boredom.

Criminal psychology. Method. He is cutting off his fingernails. This helps the criminal to disappear.

John Milton is a famous, 17^th poet. His most famous poem is called Paradise Lost. Back to the Bible again. Paradise means heaven. The poem is about God and the Devil going to war, and why God threw the Devil out of heaven. Now the devil lives in hell.

 

Who's / Whose on First?

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

 

The importance of the road trip in Western Literature and film.

Why?

It goes back to The Bible, when Paul, an important writer of it, found enlightenment (deep understanding of life) on the road to Damascus.

It is also an easy way to write a long story.

Picaresque: when the heroes (protagonists) usually without a lot of money are forced to take road trip.

Autism: they like rituals (which do everything the same from day to day)

Kmart (Walmart): it is where poor Americans go to buy clothes

Dementia

Stereotype

Midwest: people there are poor and uneducated (flyover states)

Static character (actor in a movie): someone who does not change; they are the same at the end of the movie

Dynamic character: does change

Tom Cruise is a dynamic character. Is Rain Man a dynamic character?

This scene is weird and uncomfortable. You will see the reason for this scene later.

Homework: Answer the following questions. Write a couple of sentences for each. Remember to explain what you write.

1. Is Charlie (Tom Cruise) a dynamic character?

2. Is Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) a dynamic character?

3. Why is the theme "on the road" important in Rain Man? 

 

 

Ezekiel 25:17

 

Iconic Shot

If it is not broken, don’t fix it.

Homework: Pulp Fiction is not in chronological order. I think there are seven scenes (there might be more). Write a sentence to describe each scene. Put the scenes back in chronological order.

1.              When Butch the boxer gets the watch – he is a boy still.

Do NOT email it to me. Put it on a hard copy.

He looks like Ringo, the drummer from The Beatles. He is mocking him.

 

The genre is drama. It is also from literature picaresque. This is when the protagonist (main actor or character) escapes by going on a road trip. Usually, they did not plan to take the trip. Usually, they don’t have much money. They have lots of adventures and learn something. Long trip is called a journey.

Rain Man

Dustin Hoffman has autism. This is when you can do math and remember almost everything, but are not good at dealing with society or relationships. They don’t have sympathy.

Rain Man has a meaning in the movie that is explained. But Rain Man is also a shaman (religious man from Indian culture).

Tom Cruise, the younger man, is very selfish and unkind. His older brother is autistic.

Does his older brother help to heal him and make him a good person.

Ambiguous: more than one meaning

Static character: a person who does NOT change in the story and has the same personality at the end

Dynamic character: a person who does change

Tom Cruise’s character is dynamic. How and why?

Pay homage to: copy a famous scene from a famous movie to show respect (and joke around)

Iconic picture: a picture everyone recognizes (important in meaning)

What does it mean?

It’s the start of the journey.

Literally (truly) : picaresque; they will go to Los Angeles

Metaphor: the two characters’ personalities going to change (journey)

America is also a very religious country, more than most Western countries. The idea of road trip originally comes from The Bible. Paul found enlightenment (meaning) on the road to Damascus in The Bible.

The doctor said he has his rituals (something he always must do or have). Tapioca pudding.