Steven Brence
11-20-2011, 11:08 PM
1. What figurative work might the dying trees do in Vagabond? Note that the Professor, Mme. Landier, while attempting to save the trees also thought she should save Mona, whom she described as having "taken root" in her car. Might there be some comparison with the dying trees in The Virgin Suicides?
2. Several of the women who encountered Mona were envious of her freedom. The men, however, even the former dropout, often regarded it as foolish and self-destructive. Mona died, which might seem to suggest that the latter were on to something. However, was it the form of freedom Mona sought, or something else that led to her death?
3. Upon several occasions, Mona notes the number of rooms, or even whole large houses, that are left vacant, protected by people and dogs, while she and others lack homes in the winter. Does this fact indicate some injustice or some other regrettable fact of late twentieth-century life?
4. At times Mona seems to seek out work while, at others, she rejects it. Does Vagabond provide any indication as to what accounts for that variation in her disposition? Should one always accept work as a precondition of survival, or might we side with the young woman who helps her pump water when she declares to her mother that "at times it would be better not to eat"?
5. Like Chris, the character in Into the Wild, Mona seems to indicate a preference for being alone. Is it so clearly genuine in the case of the latter? Does she have the kind of positive agenda to find freedom in the wild (or on the road) that Chris seemed to have, or is she more singularly driven by a will to escape?
6. The French conception of democracy, as pursued in the French revolution and noted in the French republic's motto, did not exclusively value liberty, but also equality and fraternity. Does Vagabond have anything to say concerning the possibility or worth of the first absent those others? How have the latter two values come to be subordinated to (or even eclipsed by) the former as it is commonly understood in contemporary society? Does liberty really have coherent value apart from equality and fraternity (or some non-gendered conception of community)?
7. Mona seems almost entirely indifferent to more traditional notions of femininity, or even of cleanliness. Is that purely an accidental product of life on the road, or does she abandon such manners as part of some kind of strategy? Might the two be dialectically associated (that is mutually determining), as some of the other people in the film seem to think?
8. Many of the others in Vagabond regard themselves as in a position to judge Mona. Are those that do really in such a position? Are they so superior in their worth and achievement? If we, as viewers of the film, are also inclined to judge her, upon what basis would we do so? Would such judgment be fair?
9. Why does Vagabond present its main character as almost entirely unlikable? How does that determine our reaction to the film and what we may make of its meaning?
10. Vagabond is commonly regarded as a feminist film. Is it? How or how not?
2. Several of the women who encountered Mona were envious of her freedom. The men, however, even the former dropout, often regarded it as foolish and self-destructive. Mona died, which might seem to suggest that the latter were on to something. However, was it the form of freedom Mona sought, or something else that led to her death?
3. Upon several occasions, Mona notes the number of rooms, or even whole large houses, that are left vacant, protected by people and dogs, while she and others lack homes in the winter. Does this fact indicate some injustice or some other regrettable fact of late twentieth-century life?
4. At times Mona seems to seek out work while, at others, she rejects it. Does Vagabond provide any indication as to what accounts for that variation in her disposition? Should one always accept work as a precondition of survival, or might we side with the young woman who helps her pump water when she declares to her mother that "at times it would be better not to eat"?
5. Like Chris, the character in Into the Wild, Mona seems to indicate a preference for being alone. Is it so clearly genuine in the case of the latter? Does she have the kind of positive agenda to find freedom in the wild (or on the road) that Chris seemed to have, or is she more singularly driven by a will to escape?
6. The French conception of democracy, as pursued in the French revolution and noted in the French republic's motto, did not exclusively value liberty, but also equality and fraternity. Does Vagabond have anything to say concerning the possibility or worth of the first absent those others? How have the latter two values come to be subordinated to (or even eclipsed by) the former as it is commonly understood in contemporary society? Does liberty really have coherent value apart from equality and fraternity (or some non-gendered conception of community)?
7. Mona seems almost entirely indifferent to more traditional notions of femininity, or even of cleanliness. Is that purely an accidental product of life on the road, or does she abandon such manners as part of some kind of strategy? Might the two be dialectically associated (that is mutually determining), as some of the other people in the film seem to think?
8. Many of the others in Vagabond regard themselves as in a position to judge Mona. Are those that do really in such a position? Are they so superior in their worth and achievement? If we, as viewers of the film, are also inclined to judge her, upon what basis would we do so? Would such judgment be fair?
9. Why does Vagabond present its main character as almost entirely unlikable? How does that determine our reaction to the film and what we may make of its meaning?
10. Vagabond is commonly regarded as a feminist film. Is it? How or how not?