2008 MM Present US-Cinema and the Death Penalty

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(Option - see my letter on the next session for details.

The Life of David Gale (2003),

Thursday, May 15, 20.45, my place, Tannenkampstr. 12

(you supply drink, I'll supply food), --Olaf Simons 11:24, 14 May 2008 (CEST)


The implementation of the death penalty is one of the major cultural differences between the US and Europe today. A number of movies have over the past two decades dealt with, if not effectively fuelled, the public controversy about capital punishment. The seminar will analyse and discuss some of these films against the background of the present debate and in a comparison with movies in which vigilante or self-administered justice and poetic justice create a form of capital punishment - more or less provocatively - beyond the reach of the public debate.


• 11.04.2008: Introduction

Discussion of the seminar plan and modes of participation.

• 18.04.2008: Emotional imbalances: Dead Man Walking (1995)

  • Dead Man Walking (1995)

Plot line, emotional balance, sympathies and how they are created, political messages.

• 25.04.2008: The reception of Dead Man Walking (1995)

Wednesday, 23, 2008, 20:45 my place, Tannenkampstr. 12: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Ein kurzer Film über das Töten (Poland 1988) German wikipedia

Course preparation

Dead Man Walking (1995) as an influential film - debates it managed to raise, debates which just joined the ongoing debate. We need a presentation on the reception history of the film (worth an ensuing seminar paper).

We will have three short presentations on the death penalty focussing on its more ore less "humane" modalities

  • Antje + Marie Katrin: A historical perspective. Background: Michel Foucault Discipline and Punish (1975). See wikipedia on the subject and read the first pages of the book which should be available in the library (you may refer to the German translation Überwachen und Strafen). Another good book on the subject is Cesare Beccaria's (1738-1794) Of Crimes and Punishments, available on the web in English: Of Crimes and Punishments (1764).
  • Philipp promised to take a look at the present US-debate - a good starting point is again wikipedia where you will find a chapter on methods used in the US.
  • Jochen: will take a look at the general debate of humane executions. A good starting point are the links you get if you google Michael Portillo on the subject [1]

All others are requested to take a look at the reception of the film and to feed their information into this page: Dead Man Walking (USA 1995). Give your link and a summary of your result. We should get an idea of the debate the film was able to produce to then compare this debate with the debate we had in class.

• 02.05.2008: Truth and fiction

  • Dead Man Walking (1995)
  • Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)

Both films dealt with actual cases. Was this link to reality important? How was it used in the film and in the ensuing debate?

Some Links:

--Sonja Büsing 13:30, 02.05.2008

• 09.05.2008: The dark side

  • Monster’s Ball (2001)
  • Identity (2003)
  • The Green Mile (1999)

The capital punishment seems to have a dark side - how is this dark side connected with the general appeal of the death penalty?

• 16.05.2008: The legal system on trial

  • A Time to Kill (1996)
  • Last Dance (1996)

A number of films focuses on loop holes of the American legal system - a potentially problematic issue we should connect with the Dirty Harry (with their potentially straight solutions) later on

second thoughts

Dear Participants of my Seminar on Capital Punishment in US Movies,

I still have not quite made up my mind about how we should proceed. I wanted to see a larger number of these films to get an idea of the "genre" - if one can speak of such a genre.

...and I think one can. People have ideas about what a movie of "this kind" should include. The advertising material for Monster's Ball proves the existence of the genre by denying that this film fits into it. Last Dance on the other hand blatantly exploits the genre conventions (of which I'd like to have the clearer picture) - at times Last Dance is almost a copy of Dead Man Walking though with reversed roles.

  • Option one: We take a look into Last Dance - the debate might be flat at the moment, it might circle around Dead Man Walking as the movie with which one will compare the film.
  • Option two: We take another look at Green Mile - I had a problem with the video projector last time and would make sure that we won't have the same problem again. Contra-indication here: It might be difficult to get an interesting discussion, since I did not plan two sessions with distinct topics before hand. I still have my own questions - yet I realised it is difficult to give them momentum: I am intrigued about this kind of magic realism. It makes me feel uneasy. I have spent some thoughts on this uneasiness over the weekend and realised it is a general problem I have with materials which want to be interpreted. It is the role of the intended interpretation per se which makes me ask for a cultural theory of such materials and their potentials (a difficult topic).
  • Option three: We change the plan an move on to David Gale for next session. As you know I did not like the film - wondering whether it does not blatantly discredit the movement of human rights activists opposing capital punishment. I would offer an option to watch the movie at my place tomorrow, Thursday, 20.45 pm.

The reshuffling of the schedule could give us a chance to directly move on to Robert Altman's film and to use the questions Altman asks for the more interesting debate of Last Dance and True Crime in the ensuing sessions.

I am slightly in favour of option three - need, however, your consent to prepare David Gale for Friday.

I am also still waiting for the clearer picture of your personal plans of seminar-work. The seminar will not become interesting if you do not turn it into the platform on which you take your first steps into the works you intend to write. I want you to use the seminar to test observations and ideas and to get feedback from your colleagues,

best, --Olaf Simons 11:07, 14 May 2008 (CEST)

PS Last Dance would (if we took option three) become part of three sessions circling around Altman's film. A Time to Kill would move into the self administered justice section. True Crime and Dirty Harry would move closer together.

---

  • I'd prefer option three just because I didn't like the "Green Mile" too much. Heard quite a lot about "David Gale" and would like to see it. (Marie-Ann Mowka)
  • David Gale would be okay, although I'd like to further discuss The Green Mile, as well. However, maybe we should discuss the further outline of the seminar in the next session, which would give us the possibility to shift the postion of some films...

• 23.05.2008: The educated public on trial

  • True Crime (1999)
  • Execution (2007)

These movies focus on journalists dealing with the controversial issue.

• 30.05.2008: Human rights activists on trial

  • The Life of David Gale (2003)

The Life of David Gale (2003) is probably the worst movie on the list - worth examining as a questionable item.

• 06.06.2008: Hollywood on trial

  • The Player (1992)

Invites a reevaluation of the films we have seen so far.

• 13.06.2008: The separation of powers suspended: Or the cop as judge and executioner

  • Dirty Harry (1971-1888)

We should take a look at the development and compare Eastwood's role here with his role in True Crime (1999)

• 20.06.2008: The separation of powers suspended: Or the citizen as judge and executioner

  • A Time to Kill (1996)
  • The Brave One (2007)
  • Death Sentence (2007)

A Time to Kill (1996) was already on the agenda in session 6 (May 16). The two new movies are recent productions able to reflect the public opinion on a much broader field of issues from gun control to the question of state authority. (A special question: does it matter that Jodie Foster acted in Taxi Driver before?

• 27.06.2008: Poetic justice

I leave this session open. There are numerous movies in which dangerous criminals challenge the police or the public - and have to die eventually. We have seen that the state can do the bloody job in the end, we have seen that individuals can take things into their own hands - a third option should be touched with all those films in which the criminal eventually kills himself, in an act of suicide or accidentally - punished by his own perverse drive or a higher justice (if we want to risk that interpretation).

• 04.07.2008: Teaching the topic

The session might take some of its inspiration from http://www.deathpenalty.org/pdf_files/CurriculumFeb.2006.pdf - a proposal of how the topic could be taught at school.

• 11.07.2008: Final session

Look back on the seminar and my feedback on the seminar evaluation.

Topics

Background information

  • The history of the death penalty and Foucault's work.
  • The legal status in the US
  • Pro and contra: interest groups
  • The question of method - from electrocution to the lethal injection - what is the function of the debate?
  • Religion and the death penalty

Seminar papers

Be creative! And open a special section on the Discussion page to give outlines of topics you are interested in.

Films in which the death penalty plays a major role

  • Execution (2007) directed by Steven Scaffidi. In the year 1995 two filmmakers gained access to death row and filmed the final seven days of a man before he got executed. The Warden confiscated the film footage, but ten years later the filmmakers get the film footage back.
  • Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) (TV) Film directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall and starring Jamie Foxx. The film is based on the true story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the "Crips", a street gang in L.A. He was accused of murder, prisoned and executed. While in Death Row, he started writing children's novels, which earned him Nobel Peace Prize nominations. IMDb
  • Identity (2003) directed by James Mangold. Is it possible/legal to sentence someone to death who's got "multiple personality"? Which of these "personalities" is sentenced to death? www.sonypictures.com IMDb
  • The Life of David Gale (2003) directed by Alan Parker, starring Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey. An acitivist against the death penalty is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sentenced to death. While he is in prison, he tells his story to a reporter in flashbacks. http://www.thelifeofdavidgale.com/ IMDb
  • Monster (2003) directed by Patty Jenkins Adapting the true story of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. IMDb not ordered for library
  • Monster’s Ball (2001) directed by Marc Foster, starring Oscar-Winner Halle Barry and Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton plays a racist prison guard who falls in love with the wife of the last prisoner he executed and reexamines his own attitudes. IMDb
  • The Green Mile (1999) directed by Frank Darabont, starring Tom Hanks and Micheal Clarke Duncan. The lives of prison guards leading the condemned prisoners to their executions, one of them went to prison on false accusation. http://thegreenmile.warnerbros.com/ IMDb
  • True Crime (1999) directed by Clint Eastwood, based on Andrew Klavan's novel, who also wrote the screenplay. Frank Beachum was sentenced to death but claims to be innocent. Steve Everett played by Eastwood is a journalist who attempts to find the truth about the murder. www.truecrimethemovie.com IMDb
  • The Player (1992) directed by Robert Altman using a screenplay by Michael Tolkin based on his own novel. IMDb

Films in which self-administered justice becomes a major topic

  • Death Sentence (2007) A drama directed by James Wan. With Kevin Bacon, John Goodman and Kelly Preston. An executive witnesses a crime that changes his life. He wants to protect his family and seeks revenge. www.deathsentencemovie.com IMDb
  • The Punisher (2004) directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. After his wife and family are killed, Frank Castle takes it upon himself to distribute punishment to those responsible for the vendetta. www.punishermovie.com IMDb
  • Double Jeopardy (1999) directed by Bruce Beresford, starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones. An innocent woman is sentenced to death for the murder of her husband. While in prison, she discovers that her husband is still alive and that he and her best friend betrayed her. After her release on probation, she wants to take revenge; based on the American law that a person cannot be re-accused of the same crime. IMDb
  • A Time to Kill (1996) based on the novel written by John Grisham. A father takes revenge on the rapists of his daughter. IMDb
  • Dirty Harry (1971) with its sequels which handle the topic of vigilante justice in variations till The Dead Pool (1988).

Films in which the accidental death of the criminal reestablishes a higher justice

Documentary films (German/additional/available at the university library)

  • Dubois, Jean-Paul. Henker erzählen: Todesstrafe in den USA. Frankreich, 2004. Fernsehmitschnitt Sw: USA. Fernsehmitschnitt: WDR, 22.10.2004. (VHS, farb., 50 Min.) (Dokumentation über Henker in den USA, die sich kritisch mit ihrer Arbeit und der Todesstrafe auseinandersetzen)
  • Kessel, Julie von. The Innocence Project. Deutschland, 2002. Fernsehmitschnitt: Arte, 03.12.2002. (VHS, farb., 20 Min.) (Bericht über ein DNA-Projekt der New Yorker Columbia University, das sich mit Schuld oder Unschuld zum Tode Verurteilter beschäftigt.)
  • Steinberg, Klaus; Bock, Astrid. Leben mit der Hinrichtung: Begegnungen im Todestrakt. Deutschland, 1997. Fernsehmitschnitt: ZDF (37 Grad), 12.08.1997. (VHS, farb., 30 Min.') (Bericht über zum Tode verurteilte Häftlinge in den USA.)
  • Walwin, Kent; Trombley, Stephen [Reg.]. L 'état meurtrier = Der Staat als Mörder. Deutschland/Frankreich, 1996. Fernsehmitschnitt: ARTE, 21.3.1996, 20,45 Uhr. (VHS, Zweikanalton, Monospur dt., farb., 75 Min.) (Auseinandersetzung um die Todesstrafe vom Ursprung bis zur heutigen Praxis in den USA)
  • Hoewijk, Jaap van. Procedure 769: a hanging. Niederlande, 1995. Fernsehmitschnitt: West 3, 15.4.1996, 23,00 Uhr. (VHS, farb., 80 Min) (Der Film geht der Frage nach, warum Angehörige des Täters und der Opfer von Robert A. Harris dessen Hinrichtung beiwohnten.)
  • Leacock, Richard; Pennebaker, Don Alan. The chair = Der Stuhl. Monospur dt., Stereospur engl. USA, 1963. Fernsehmitschnitt: Arte, 18.10.1996. (VHS, s/w, 75 Min.) (Documentary about the death sentence.)
  • Reinhold, Frank. Take care = Gib auf dich acht! Deutschland, 1997. Fernsehmitschnitt: ARTE, 10.6.1997. (VHS, Zweikanalton, Monospur dt., Stereospur franz., farb., 60 Min.) (Die Liebesgeschichte zwischen dem in den USA zum Tode verurteilten Schwarzen Arthur Lee Williams und einer Deutschen von Amnesty International.)

Literature

MLA on "Death Penalty", "Capital Punishment", "Execution", "The Player"

2007

  • Tolkin, Michael. "[Fiction into Film.]" BookForum: The Review for Art, Fiction, & Culture, 14:2 (2007 June-Aug), pp. 36-37. [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Tolkin, Michael (1950-): The Player (1988); novel; film adaptation; by Altman, Robert (1925-2006).]

2006

  • O'Shea, Kathleen. Killing the Killers: Women on Death Row in the United States. pp. 67-82. Burfoot, Annette (ed. and introd.) Lord, Susan (ed. and introd.). Killing Women: The Visual Culture of Gender and Violence Cultural Studies Series. 6. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier UP, 2006. xxii, 328 pp. (Book article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; television; in United States; 1998; treatment of women murderers; religious conversion; relationship to capital punishment; social conventions; of femininity; objectification.]

2005

  • George, Diana and Shoos, Diane. "Deflecting the Political in the Visual Images of Execution and the Death Penalty Debate". College English, 67:6 (2005 July), pp. 587-609. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; treatment of capital punishment; compared to photographs; of lynching; relationship to witness; voyeurism.]
  • Poirot, Valérie. Cinéma et engagement: Représentations de la peine de mort et images d'exécution dans les productions américaines et françaises. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, 66:3 (2005 Sept), p. 798. (Dissertation abstract) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; in France; United States; 1970-1999; treatment of execution.]
  • Reinelt, Janelle. "The Ambivalence of Catholic Compassion". Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, 20:1 (2005 Fall), pp. 103-12. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Prejean, Helen (1939-): Dead Man Walking (1993); prose; treatment of capital punishment; relationship to Christianity.]
  • Schuyler, Michael T. "'Traffic Was a Bitch': Gender, Race and Spectatorship in Robert Altman's The Player." Journal of Narrative Theory, 35:2 (2005 Summer), pp. 218-47. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; treatment of women; blacks; relationship to spectator; in Altman, Robert (1925-2006): The Player (1992).]

2003

  • Horeck, Tanya. "From Documentary to Drama: Capturing Aileen Wuornos." Screen, 48:2 (2007 Summer), pp. 141-59. [Treatment of Wuornos, Aileen (1956-2002); women murderers; capital punishment; in Broomfield, Nicholas (1948-) and Churchill, Joan: Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003) compared to Jenkins, Patty (1971-): Monster (2003).] see: en.wikipedia.org
  • Goldsmith, David F. "Monster." Creative Screenwriting, 11:1 (2004 Jan-Feb), pp. 30-31. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; film genres; crime film; treatment of prostitute; sexual abuse; relationship to revenge; capital punishment; in Jenkins, Patty: Monster (2003).]
  • Meranze, Michael. "Michel Foucault, the Death Penalty and the Crisis of Historical Understanding." Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques, 29:2 (2003 Summer), pp. 191-209. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: French literature; 1900-1999; Foucault, Michel (1926-1984): L'Histoire de la sexualité (1976); History of Sexuality: "Il faut défendre la société"; prose; treatment of capital punishment; relationship to war; race; power.]
  • Parker, Alan. "Gale Force: My Personal Journey to a Death Row Drama." Film Journal International, 106:2 (2003 Feb), p. 12, 30. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; treatment of capital punishment; in Parker, Alan (1944-): The Life of David Gale (2003); interview.]

1999

  • Neubert, Ingo. "Sichtweisen des Fremden: Der amerikanische Dokumentarfilm und das Lernziel interkultureller Kompetenz: Dargestellt an der Direct-Cinema-Produktion The Chair zur Situation der Todesstrafe in den USA." Anglistik und Englischunterricht, 62 (1999), pp. 407-30. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; film genres; documentary film; treatment of capital punishment; in Drew, Robert L. (1924-): The Chair (1962).]
  • Prédal, René. "The Player ou la mort du scénariste," pp. 127-47. Estève, Michel (ed. and introd.). Robert Altman. Paris, France: Minard, 1999. 209 pp. [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Tolkin, Michael (1950-): The Player (1988); novel; intertextuality; plot; relationship to Hollywood; in screenplay; for film adaptation; by Altman, Robert (1925-).]
  • Stoekl, Allan. "Execution and the Human." Intertexts, 3:1 (1999 Spring), pp. 3-31. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Dick, Philip K. (1928-1982): Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968); novel; treatment of capital punishment; murder; human condition; in Scott, Ridley (1938-): Blade Runner (1982) as film adaptation compared to Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804): Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Rechtslehre.]

1998

  • Lauritzen, Paul. "The Knowing Heart: Moral Argument and the Appeal to Experience". Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 81:1-2 (1998 Spring-Summer), pp. 213-34. (Journal article) [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Prejean, Helen (1939-): Dead Man Walking (1993); prose; treatment of capital punishment; relationship to morality; experience.]

1997

  • Guest, David. Sentenced to Death: The American Novel and Capital Punishment. Jackson, MS: UP of Mississippi, 1997. xx, 179 pp. (Book) [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; novel; treatment of capital punishment.]
  • Nayman, Ira. "The Adaptable Altman." Creative Screenwriting, 4:3 (1997 Fall), pp. 84-96. [Subject Terms: American literature; 1900-1999; Chandler, Raymond (1888-1959): The Long Goodbye (1954); novel; and Tolkin, Michael (1950-): The Player (1988); Carver, Raymond (1936-1988); role of film adaptation; by Altman, Robert (1925-).]

1994

  • Danziger, Marie. "Basic Instinct: Grappling for Post-Modern Mind Control." Literature/Film Quarterly, 22:1 (1994), pp. 7-10. [Subject Terms: Dramatic arts; film; treatment of power; in Verhoeven, Paul (1938-): Basic Instinct (1992); Altman, Robert (1925-2006): The Player (1992)]
  • Pilipp, Frank. "Satirizing Hollywood: The Self-Referentiality of Robert Altman's The Player: Co-Sponsored by the Virginia Humanities Conf. and the Virginia Center for Media and Culture," pp. 80-84. Schwartz, Joel (introd.). Proceedings of the Conference on Film and American Culture. Williamsburg: Roy R. Charles Center, College of William and Mary, 1994. 111 pp.

1992

  • Richolson, Janice. "The Player: An Interview with Robert Altman." Cineaste: America's Leading Magazine on the Art and Politics of the Cinema,' 19:2-3 (1992), p. 61.

Further reading (available at the library)

  • Amnesty International. Todesstrafe in den USA. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1989.
  • Bedau, Hugo A. [Hrsg.] Capital punishment in the United States. New York, N.Y.: AMS Press, 1976. ISBN 0-404-10325-1
  • Martschukat, Jürgen. Geschichte der Todesstrafe in Nordamerika: von der Kolonialzeit bis zur Gegenwart. 1. Ed. München: Beck, 2002. ISBN 3-406-47611-2 (Pb.)
  • Sarat, Austin. When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2001. (not available at the library)
  • Sarat, Austin. Crime and punishment: perspectives from the humanities. Vol. 37. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005. ISBN 0-7623-1245-9 (hbk.)
  • Sarat, Austin. Punishment politics and culture. Vol. 30. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004. ISBN 0-7623-1072-3
  • Schwed, Roger E. Abolition and capital punishment: the United States' judicial, political, and moral barometer. New York, N.Y.: AMS Press, 1983. ISBN 0-404-61623-2

Fiction (additional)

  • John Grisham, The Chamber. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
  • Victor Hugo, The Last Day of a Condemned Man [1829]. London: Hesperus Press Ltd., 2002.

Links

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