Thursday, August 29, 2013

Oedipus the King VS. Minority Report

1.To what extent is Oedipus responsible for his own fate in the play? Be prepared to discuss at least two examples from the text which lead you to believe he is or is not responsible.

Oedipus is responsible for his own fate in the play by leaving his kingdom because of his destiny and killing his real father. Oedipus trying to escape his own fate ultimately led him back to his fate. By leaving his kingdom because of the destiny, he ended up killing his real father and marrying his real mother, what his real destiny called for. 

2.How good a king is Oedipus?  In what ways does he excel as a leader?  In what ways does he fall short? 

Oedipus is a good king in the aspects that he has been able to bring good fortune to his land and is aware that when his land is becoming less fortunate and or prosperous as before he knows that he has to take the matters into his own hands and solve the issue. One way that I saw Oedipus fall short as king is that he does not take for his own mistake and automatically blames the people of his land for the cause of failure. 

3.Since Oedipus is considered the quintessential tragic hero, then what would you argue is his tragic mistake?  In other words, what in his own character/personality or what wrong-headed action does he take which leads him to his ultimate downfall? Choose a particular flaw or action and explain its relation to his disgrace and exile.

Though Oedipus was one of the best leaders of his kingdom, Oedipus’s tragic mistake and ultimate downfall was running from his own destiny. Knowing that his destiny was that he would become ruler of his kingdom and marry his “mother” once his dad died, he ran hoping to escape. In the end, he ended up killing his real father and marrying his real mother.   

4.If we agree that Oedipus the King is about the role of fate and humans’ inability to escape destiny, in what ways does Minority Report, and the character of John Anderton in particular, support or refute Oedipus’ notion of destiny?  Think of two scenes that support your position.

John Andertons ability to see into the future led him to his destiny. Knowing that he was going to be convicted of murder, Anderton runs, hoping to escape his destiny. When Anderton sees a vision of his son, who was kidnapped several years earlier, he ends up Leo Crows home, where there are pictures of children, including Andertons son. Anderton, seeing pictures of his son, blames Crow for the kidnap and now plans on killing him. Like Oedipus, John Anderton was not able to escape his own destiny of being convicted of murder. 

5.The eyes are often associated not just with the act of seeing but also of revealing oneself to others. In the film, explain the different ways that eyes or the act of seeing are used for:  1. The Precogs, 2. John Anderton, 3. The culture of the world of the film. 

The Precogs ability to see into the future reveals who will be committing a crime. Being able to see into the future and knowing who committing the crime is, the Precogs are able to stop the crime before it happens. 
John Anderton, being able to see into the future, is now able to see who he will become and what crimes he may be commit. John, seeing that he was going to be committing murder, tried to escape the destiny. 
Being able to see into the future, the world in the film is a safe place because of the police knowing who will be committing a crime and are able to stop the people before they do it. 

6.The story upon which the movie is based was written in the 1950's.  The movie came out in 2002 but is set in 2054.  How much of the events/the attitudes of the movie do you see in contemporary American culture?  Where will be in 44 years?  Speculate on the direction in which our country is headed.  What future contingencies are we preparing for?  To what extent does our attempt to prepare for certain future events determine our own fate? 

America's innovation of technology has exceeded upon the expectations people would have assumed a decade ago. Our technology has been able to do some many things one would have never thought you would be able to do. iPhones are able to locate another iPhone either through "Find My I Phone" or "Find My Friends" app. Security systems are now able to register iPhones to certain systems so that you will be able to turn your security system or lights on and off even when your miles away. The governments use of technology is especially important in order to protect its citizens.  Like the show "Person of Interest", government security systems are able to use face recognition on any city street and are able to know basic stuff such as who you are to knowing if you have committed any crimes. Because of terrorist attacks over the years, government security has been on high alert in trying to keep safe our citizens. Government has been able to crack down on any suspects of terrorism before a crime is committed, much like the Pre Cogs in Minority Report. Though having technology such like this is important to our government, other countries may be able to use it as a weapon or distraction. 

2 comments:

  1. Some interesting ideas here -- but remember to quote and explain text language whenever you can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Some interesting ideas here -- but remember to quote and explain text language whenever you can.

    ReplyDelete