A. How is
the film a self-conscious reference to previous and current Hollywood
films?
B. What are
the pleasures, and dis-pleasures, of the male body in the film and
how is that connected to its meaning? What are the differences here,
and elsewhere, in the "gaze" and the object of the "gaze."
C. Explain
and critique this quote. Use examples from the film. "…the
film acts out a scenario in which male desire for the mother's body
coincides with the wish to kill the father."
D. Explain
and critique this quote. Use examples from the film. "Jake's anger
and his animal violence stood for something: a resistance to exploitation,
a desire for freedom.
2) Grindon article
A) What are the genre characteristics
of the boxing film that Raging Bull adopts and transforms in order,
according to Grindon, to “achieve its artistry,” and
how specifically does it adopt and transform them?
B) What does Grindon mean when he says
that Raging Bull “cultivates subjectivity in the boxing episodes,
but a subjectivity characterized by sensation rather than reflection”?
Do you agree? Why? Why not? How is this idea played out in the conclusion
of the film, according to Grindon?
C) How is the last scene ambiguous,
and according to Scorsese, “disturbing”? Do you agree
or not?
D) Grindon says that in Raging Bull
an “experience asks you to take stock of a fresh
understanding that fulfills the promise of art striving to realize
its highest
aspirations.” To what understanding is he referring? Do you
agree with his
conclusion about this experience?
