1)
“The way of the ghost is haunting, and haunting is a very particular way of knowing what has happened or is happening. Being haunted draws us affectively, sometimes against our will and always a bit magically, into the structure of feeling of a reality we come to experience, not as cold knowledge, but as a transformative recognition”
– Gordon, Ghostly Matters. P. 8
In The Others, a case can be made that the movie is talking about the promises, as well as the perils of such a ‘transformative recognition’. In what ways does the movie demonstrate ‘recognition’ rather than simply ‘knowledge’ as the end-product, and in what ways is that recognition transformative: what, or who, is transformed? What new conditions of existence does that transformation make possible?
2)
“Possession and the loss of autonomy is perhaps the main fear…”
– Curtis, Dark Places. P. 24
One can see the desire for (dream of…), and the pursuit of both autonomy and sovereignty in The Others. It is perhaps also a cautionary tale that sovereignty and autonomy are more fraught with tension than we might initially believe them to be (personally, socially, and politically). In this question, please grapple with the twin ideas of autonomy and sovereignty: how they are present in the movie AND how the movie seems to destabilize or undercut them as desires, goals, or normative ideals.
3)
“If after two generations the injustice appears embedded within society, then it may be time to search for other solutions to the problem”
– Spinner-Halev, Enduring Injustice, P. 11
Injustices can become ‘embedded’, ghosts are ‘embedded’. How does ‘embedded-ness’ function within this movie as a part of the narrative structure, or as part of the very geographic, architectural ‘reality’ that we experience (both as the characters experience or the viewers experiences). What does embeddedness do to the characters, or what impact does it have on their ‘place’ in the world?
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|