Section I
In 500 words or less, explain how normatively governed conduct is created, enforced, challenged and/or rewarded in Brügger’s The Red Chapel? What is the significance of deviation from these norms? In what ways could this film be interpreted as nihilistic, existential, cynical or postmodern? Please be specific and provide examples that support your arguments. Be sure to clearly define what constitutes the specific norms you will be analyzing, since you are limited to 500 words.
Section II
In 500 words or less, address the issue of globalization as it relates to Kaurismäki’s Le Havre. How is the idealism of the film’s characters challenged or complicated? What examples of Balibar’s notion of inner exclusion can you identify within the film narrative? How are world politics and local politics presented in the film and how do they relate to one another?
Section III
In 500 words or less, explore the depiction of the “family” in Lukas Moodysson’s Together. How is “togetherness” (or the collective good) offset by “loneliness” (or the individual good) in the film? In what ways does the collective family paradigm challenge the patriarchal nuclear family? Do you think the film ultimately endorses one over the other? Why? Please be specific and provide examples.
Section IV
In 500 words or less, explain how Motherboard’s “The Grind” negotiates the Faroese whaling controversy. You may want to consider Anne Brydon’s notions of the problematic nature/culture divide, anthropomorphism, the influence of global media, Faroese national identity, reductive national stereotypes and the broader context of international norms and deviance.
