“The director did not want the film to be labeled as anti-death penalty. That’s why we see so much about the crime in the movie. [The director] shows the horror of what Poncelet did to balance out the possible view of the prisoner as victim. I have no doubt that some people will leave the theatre saying ‘Fry ‘em’ about everyone on death row.”
(www.salon.com/06/reviews/dead3.html)
Do you agree that the film is not necessarily anti-death penalty? Does it offer a balanced portrayal? Do you understand why some people will still agree with the death penalty after viewing the movie?
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I agree in that the movie should not be labeled as anti-death penalty. It offers pros and cons of capital punishment. The director used flash backs of the murder to show both sides of Poncelet. I still believe that the death penalty is wrong. The lives of human beings should not be weighed on a scale, no matter what they have done. How is justice being done, if another life is taken away? It also does not show society what not to do, because people are still being murdered no matter what. I wish this was not true. I understand why people may still agree with the death penalty, as they use the word " monster" instead of human being to describe the criminal. However, we are taking away their right to life and dignity.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this movie is well-balanced in its portrayal of crime and capital punishment. We feel genuine sympathy for the families affected by Poncelot's actions. We also learn, however, that although Poncelot did this terrible and horrendous thing, he is still a human being and shows regret for it, even if it is moments before his death. It shows that the death of a human being, no matter what the person has done, is immoral. The way they show the crime and describe it and show the family in the aftermath generates this hatred of Poncelot and people could easily walk out still supporting capital punishment. I liked how this movie wasn't just completely against the death penalty and how they didn't make it so Poncelot was actually innocent, because that would've been extremely unrealistic. Instead the movie challenged the audience because throughout most of the movie you really do hate Poncelot.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that this movie is not anti-death penalty. The director wants viewers to see how Poncelot's actions were terrible and how everyone thought he deserves the death penalty. He started out as an awful cruel heartless person, but two wrongs don't make a right unfortunately. So therefore death penalty is cruel punishment, but he did at least realize what he did was wrong and the nun helped him confess to God. WHat he did was immoral, but the crime was very visual and focused to show his evilness. In the beginning I really disliked Poncelot, because he was full of hate and i can see why everyone in the movie against him was looking forward to him dead. But later on I saw that he at least saw what he did was wrong and admited it. So I applaud him for that and only that. But capital punishment can be confusing, because one has to think about the pain, effects of murders, their families, and his or her own actions.
ReplyDeleteIt was clear that the director made the film without the intentions of being viewed as anti-death penalty. The point of the movie was to show what type of man the killer was, if he to was human like the teenagers he killed. In the movie they show glimpses of his brutal killing and rape as well as him with his family. These scenes give you a mixture of feelings as you view this film. At first i thought he was nothing but a heartless criminal and i wanted him to pay for his actions, but after seeing his true character as he cried in the cell or joked with his brothers i began to realize he was like everyone else, and did he deserve to die? I think the director wanted people to be confused with there stance on the death penalty after viewing this movie, because i know i sure was.
ReplyDeleteI like how Anna said that the director wanted to leave people confused about the death penalty. At first, I thought that the movie was anti-death penalty. Howeveer, after the events that occured, the movie definately left the viewer with mixed feelings. I myself am confused how I feel about it. Although killing should always be wrong, it is hard to want some people to survive after the terrible things they have done. This movie very accurately portrayed both sides of the issue.
ReplyDeleteIt was not clear whether or not the director was for or against death penalty and still we do not know what side he was on. I think that the movie is good for informing people more about the death penalty by giving a concrete example and then showing the concequences and process that a person on death row would go through. The good thing about the movie is that it is up for interpretation, that people can learn more about the death penalty and deicde upon more information whether or not they believe in it. Some negative reprecussions may be that people could classify all people on death row as dangerous, awful, guilty people when that is not neccissarily true
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