Tag: April 1

Posted on

4/1 Discussion

I find I have a similar question about these two movies as I did about the comparison of the song Strange Fruit and Heaney’s poem Strange Fruit. In this instance, however, what started out as an Irish tale was adapted in similar circumstances to mean the same thing for an African American tale. I think the question still stands – is this an acceptable comparison to make? Is it more acceptable than the use by Heaney of Strange Fruit’s meaning? If so, what makes it this way?

 

Another question I have is what does it suggest to make a homosexual black man the “root” of the evil action that Tank takes? Instead of coming to the action himself, Tank is coerced into doing it by a gay man. There is also the added incentive to get his own police record erased. Why was this change made? What does this say about the difference between the Irish and black communities, and about the gay community as well?

Posted on

Discussion Questions 4/1

I hope to talk about the effect of the opening credit scene with the biblical reference to Judas in The Informer vs Uptight‘s opening reference to MLK’s assassination. Firstly, what are these openings attempting to do? Are they trying to accomplish the same thing?

Similarly, I think there is much to talk about in regards to the displays of the cultures in both films.  How did you see the black culture being portrayed vs. the Irish?

In both films, the informer was a character that was portrayed as drunk,  poor, and betraying their partners in order to gain the means necessary to escape from their current situations. Were their characters entirely unlikable though? Did one film seem to give more sympathy to the informer than the other?

Finally, I have a question about the reception of the films. What was the audience’s response to these films? Was one more popular than the other? Did the audience find the adaptations to be appropriate and well-done? What were the biggest criticisms surrounding them?