Critical Thinking in Movies - Essay Example

Critical Thinking Question Sister Helen has good morals, and has been brought up by the community with strong human values, and would later becomea nun to repay the community for this good upbringing. I on the other hand, Mathew is ruthless and rude, he has no value for anyone, and is completely isolated by the community. 2. Their lenses may be different due to the type of upbringing they received. Sister Helen could have received mentorship on how to be a good person and to integrate with community. On the other hand, Mathew might have lacked mentorship on good values and how to treat and love others, resulting in cruel characters. 3. At the beginning of the film, Mathew is rude and speaks in resentment and hate, while for Sister Helen her moral and responsible up bringing is viewed when she decides to visit Mathew in prison and to become his soul mentor 4. Sister Helen honors an invitation by Mathew to be his spiritual advisor. 5. Mathews is overburdened by events of his life and wants an advisor and someone good to listen to him in clearing his conscience. 6. Mathew at first could not believe the nun would honor the invitation, he considers himself to be completely unworthy to be visited by the nun. 7. The nun has compassion for Mathew due to what he has gone through, and recognizes the good person in him; rather than the beast in him. 8. The inmate told the nurse of how death inmates have to be rude, he was screwed by the authorities, and that would eventually die. To him, He was not guilty; it was a frame up. 9. The nun lived a very humble life among her poor constituency, in a crime prone congested area. 10. Mathew and his friend had raped and killed a young lady 11. He believed he was innocent, and that he had been framed by authorities. 12. No; the nun wanted Mathew to accept his actions, and repent to die with a clear conscious. 13. Mathew’s mother influenced the nun’s lens by her remorse, and her efforts in pleading for his son’s life. 14. Mathew’s mother encouraged the nun by portraying a different picture of Mathew, as a person who deserves leniency and forgiveness just like any other human. 15. The nun was influenced by the different lenses, which were different from hers, and was focused on helping Mathew spiritually. 16. Mathew’s lens towards his crime was that it was a product of being rejected by the same community he lived in, and no one cared for him. It was influenced by the community. 17. The lens of the director was to present a dark side signifying the blurred life that Mathew lived before meeting Sister Helen. 18. To present the idea that crimes happen in secrecy and not in open, clear conditions in order to hide the details. 19. Mathew was able to change and to view life positively once again after meeting Sister Helen. 20. The nun through Mathew’s lens saw a person who had been turned into a beast through neglect by the society, and who required compassion. 21. Sister Helen fainted due to exhaustion. Having tried everything to ensure Mathew was not put to death and failed, and withstanding the humiliation of seeing Mathew being denied even to hug his mother overburdened Sister Helen. Fainting symbolized the end of her mission in saving Mathew. 22. The nun meant that though he would be hanged eventually, he would meet God there; meaning his life would not be lost, but would be saved; though physically dead. 23. The lens of love meant the importance of perceiving the ‘human’ in the other person, and not condemning them, but showing the importance of such a person despite the difficult situation faced. 24. The director’s lens was to portray the helplessness in Mathew, and the sorry life he had lived in. 25. Nun’s lens changed Mathew by making him to accept his guilt, and recognize the essence and value of humanity, while Mathew’s lens affected the nun by learning how society judges and condemns a person; perceiving them animals, and not as human beings worthy of compassion. 26. Both Helen and Mathew’s lens changed others by bringing out the person in Mathew, and the compassion of Sister Helen in advocating the need for forgiveness and furthering humanity instead of revenge. People were able to view Mathew in a different perspective for the first time. 27. Mathew’s lens changed the nun’s lens by making her to understand the ‘human’ in a criminal, and the ability of such criminals to change to good people. 28. The nun’s lens changed Mathew by showing him love and concern; an aspect that he had not experienced before, thereby recognizing his importance as a person. 29. The last dialogue was smooth and with elements of understanding. For example, when Sister Helen assured Mathew that “Christ is here” before being killed by a lethal injection, Mathew had a facial expression of both understating and compassion, as she listened to her mentor. 30. The primary change was the tone and content. From a rude tone narrating his ordeals, the dialogue changed to a light tone that exuded confidence and understanding. The exonerated Rosenbaum (2004) argues the law happens in black and white, translating to black robes in white court rooms. However, Rosenbaum is quickly to note that legal system in most cases lacks the spirit and human sensibility in becoming a moral legal system, having the image of humanity in it. The legal system blasts off the emotion , complexity, and subjectivity in every dispute, with the ‘winner take all’ mentality, which in most cases does more harm than good to convicts and the society in general (Rosenbaum, 2004). This is exactly the case presented in the play ‘Exonerated.’ Five American men and one woman were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes that they did not commit, only to be freed when six of them had already spent more than a hundred years in jail, and after errors in the criminal justice system were corrected. This revealed the truth regarding the innocence of the 7 convicts. According to Rosenbaum (2004), moral is defined as what is right, what is true, and assumes that in the legal system, the truth has to be objective. Moral outcomes according to Rosenbaum only make sense in the heart and in the soul; meaning the judicial system follows the majority decisions to determine the truth, with these people being satisfied in heart and soul by bad acts. In exonerated, the police and the prosecutor carried out gross misconduct, and were satisfied by these ills in their souls, leading the majorities in the court room to convict the innocent convincts immorally. The truth and morals in this judicial system were lacking, and the legal system depended on subjectivity, rather than the objective truth. References Blank, J., & Jensen, E., (Producer), Balaban, B., (Director). (2005). The exonerated: A play available. http://www.movie2k.to/The-Exonerated-watch-movie-3403.html Prejean, H., & Robbins, T. (Producer), Robbins, T., (Director). (1995). Dead man Walking, available http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaEGK1bbxCQ Rosenbaum, T., (2004). The Myths of Moral Justice. NY: Harper Collins. Read More