My favorite part of the film is when the serial killer is
captured and seeing him plead for his life. I chose this scene because the
serial killer is finally exposed and seeing him pleading for his life just like
I’m sure his victims pleaded for theirs is ironic and the most satisfying part
of the movie. My least favorite part of the movie is the ending. I don’t like
the fact that the movie ends without showing the fate of the serial killer.
1.
Discuss the evolution of police power as it is
depicted in Dr. Caligari and M?
There is a big difference in the evolution
of police power from Dr. Caligari to M. This difference is seen in the tactics
the police’s used in M to try and capture their killer. The police in M used
advanced techniques, such as searching for fingerprints, researching previous crime
offenders, and doing raids. The police in M were much more sophisticated
compared to the police in Dr. Caligari.
2.
Does the killer deserve to die?
Yes he does. The killings of innocent kids
is a crime that always pisses me off. I can’t see how someone can kill an
innocent little boy or girl for no reason. The serial killer tries to say that
he is crazy and the voices in his head made him do it but that is no excuse in
my opinion and it also would give future offenders an excuse to say they are
crazy to avoid the death penalty.
3.
How does the criminals ability to organize
themselves affect their ability to capture Beckert?
The criminals ability to organize
themselves and set up a plan to spread people all around the city and watch
over children is an effective plan since the serial killer only kills children.
That plan was what made it possible for them to capture him.
4.
How would you judge the depiction of Nazis as
criminals?
The Nazis are represented as very smart
criminals, responsible for performing an act that usually the police would do. Even
though they captured the serial killer and turned him in because his killings
were having a negative effect on their business and not because it was the
right thing to do.
5.
What is the significance of the media in this
film?
The significance of the media in
the film is basically the significance of the media in real life; which is
exposing the public to what is going on in the world. In this case with M the
media was responsible for informing the public to serial killings going on by
handing out newspapers in the street, this lead to the public being scared and
paranoid to send their children to school. They also published the serial
killer’s second letter after the police didn’t bring his first letter to light.
In that scene when the killer was pleedingto be set free, I almost felt sorry for him. after he state that state that he had no control of himself.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the class seems almost evenly divided deciding whether or not the the killer should be killed. On the one hand, people think because he cannot control himself he is more sick than evil and should be treated that way. But, if real life is any indication the real life authorities at that time probably would have executed him, just like they executed real serial killers.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that no one believe Beckert, he really is innocent. What I like about the scene you chose is the idea that he was entitled to an attorney and also that there was provision in the law then to take in consideration his illness. I do Agree that he should be punished but not death that is so drastic all people are capable of doing bad thing especially mentally unstable people but should we rid society of everyone who is not "normal".
ReplyDeleteShineeka I think it is partly due to how people react to a threat. Some people when they sense a threat want to just eliminate the threat. Other people might have a different reaction they might try to understand the threat and what it is that makes it threatening. You could say the first response is the more authoritarian one and the other is more liberal. But in real life liberal society at this time--Germany was sort of a liberal society from 1919-1933--they did really execute killers. I guess if there is an in between position it is: societies set limits on how "abnormal" a person can be. But you raise the very good question who determines these standards? You have to analyze society then to see who actually sets those limits.
ReplyDelete