GTCC Calendar of Events

The Dumbest Generation

Please join us for this smartly done film on Monday, February 27 in the AT Auditorium from 12 noon to 2pm.


Below are discussion questions for the film:

1.       Scream (1996) developed out of writer Kevin Williamson's love of classic horror films such as Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980). In Scream, Williamson combines horror, comedy and satire while discussing "the rules" of scary movies. What are these rules, and how do these rules teach the audience about what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior? How does this relate to the influence of media, particularly film and television, on how we view ourselves and others? On how we learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior? How does Scream subvert the traditional horror film as a morality tale? How might this relate to Bauerlein as he argues "the things they hear from their parents, or overhear; the books and magazines they read; the conversation of their playmates and fellow students; the discourse of television, text messages, music lyrics, games, Webs sites…they make up the ingredients of language acquisition" and arguably, of reality and how we understand it? (127).

2.       In the film, Sydney compares her life to a movie-The Bad Seed while her boyfriend, Billy Loomis, compares her to Jody Foster in Silence of the Lambs. Also in Scream, many characters demonstrate extensive knowledge of horror films to make sense of their lives. Sydney, at the end of the film, says she likes her ending of the movie. Stu, one of the killers revealed in the end, even references Apollo 13 as he states, "Houston, we have a problem here" and  Billy references Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho as he reveals himself as the killer:  "we all go a little mad sometimes."  Stu and Billy also reference Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. What is the film stating about how films and media affect our lives? How we use them to make sense of our lives? In this particular film, why is a horror film the chosen genre? Why do these characters liken their lives to films (Sydney does this when talking to Billy, asking why her life can't be a Meg Ryan movie, and Billy laments that life is all a movie)? What are we not considering by reducing life to a movie genre? What is the film attempting to say about this? How might this relate to what Bauerlein argues in terms of this generation's time spent with media rather than books, history or art?

3.     Bauerlein argues that "educators speak about the importance of role models and the career pressures facing kids, but in truth, adolescents care a lot more about what other adolescents think than what their elders think. Their egos are fragile, their beliefs in transition, their values uncertain. They inhabit a rigorous world of consumerism and conformity, of rebellious poses and withering group judgments" (133). At the end of the film, Billy states, "movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative."  Stu, in revealing they killed Sydney's mother, says "watch a few movies, take a few notes." Further, the film even received a negative reception in its filming location of Santa Rosa, CA, noting a comparison of film violence and the disappearance and murder of twelve-year-old Polly Klaas. What does Billy mean here? What is the film stating about the effect of films and personal behavior, particularly on young adults? Stu even mentions that "peer pressure" was his only motive for participating in the murders with Billy Loomis. How does this echo Bauerlein's assertion above?