Marie Jodene A.

Evia

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REACTION PAPER

1. “The Thing”

At first, I didn’t quite understand what the concept of the movie was. The first part wasn’t really
easy to understood. I didn’t understand why a Siberian husky dog was being chased and shot by some men
from in a helicopter. The dog ended up running into a base camp of American research scientists. After the
destruction of the Norwegian helicopter, the members of the American scientists flew to the Norwegian
base, only to discover them all dead or missing. They do found the remains of a strange creature the
Norwegians burned. The Americans take it to their base and deduce that it is an alien life form. After a
while it is apparent that the alien can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans, and
can spread like a virus. The creature was really scary and disgusting though. I was scared and disgusted by
how it turned into another imitation. They called it “The Thing". Anyone at the base could be inhabited by
“The Thing”, and so the tensions escalated. The group figured out who was an alien and who was still
human with a blood test, but someone sabotages the blood supply and then everyone suspected the other of
not being human.

The movie ended with MacReady wandering the burning camp, waiting to freeze to death when
Childs returns. With the freezing temperature affecting both men, there was no real way to determine if
either of them is really human. So, instead of fighting, they shared the remainder of a bottle of “Scotch”.
I’d say that the movie was really an ambiguous one because most of the scenes were so unexpected. “The
Thing” was a movie that examined how people would react in a paranoid world. Philosophically speaking,
I really do not believe that some kind of creature like “The Thing” exists in the environment today. There’s
no proof that there’s such thing alive in this world today. “The Thing” inhabits mysterious places inside the
human soul and also emerges into frightening actuality. I think that the very nature of the film’s alien threat
challenges and exceeds typical horror stories by leaping from the shadows not in any recognizable
formation, such as a masked killer or an actor in an alien suit, and existing both in the realm of the disclosed
and the unknown. How “The Thing” looks like and how it imitates an organism isn’t really credible for me.
Historically speaking, we are not really sure if there’s a creature like “The Thing” which existed in the early
years. There is no proof and evidence that some kind of alien ever existed in our history unlike the dinosaurs
which some people believe it was real. Societally speaking, I think that “The Thing” might represent any
number of threats that could destroy civilization. But the film is not about what “The Thing” symbolizes;
rather, it’s about the unrelenting acknowledgment that such a threat exists and, whether its form is
psychological or physical, humans should be afraid.
2. “Cast Away”

I have watched the movie “Cast Away” several times and I’d say that this is a typical survival
movie just like the famous movie “The Life of Pi”. It portrays a man named Chuck, who got stranded
in a remote island due to an unexpected plane crash, and then struggled to survive. Since he was
the only person in the island, Chuck made his own way of living. Wanting to go home to his fiancé,
he made a raft and sailed across the huge waves of the sea, thinking he’d be rescued. The movie
was not like any other movies who would show the character engaging in some sort of religious
devotion to a deity who would control fate. In the movie, Chuck never mentioned God, nor directs
his thoughts or words upwards. He seems to not have an idea that God exists.

During his time on the island, he made a companion out of a volleyball, and he gives his
thoughts and messages to this imaginary friend, which he named “Wilson’ but there was a scene
where Chuck almost drowned trying to save Wilson but he was torn between the clinging to the
raft and Wilson so he was forced to let Wilson go. After four years of survival, Chuck finally gives
up all attempts of survival. Again, unexpectedly, an act of ‘fate’ happened as a ship passed by
Chuck’s raft and took him home.

In the movie, it can be seen how love keeps people going. It brings people strength and
motivation. Chuck looked at his fiancé’s picture every day and every night. It served as Chuck’s
anchor for the past four years of him being alone in the island. With the hope to come home to this
girl, he fought loneliness. For me, the saddest scene in the movie was when Chuck was already
home, went to his fiancé but sadly she was already married and had kids to a different man. It was
very inspiring to watch Tom Hank’s character play for survival. Indeed, love inspires these action.
When you feel like hurting and giving up because nothing you do seems to be right, remember that
God is putting you in a challenge. Perhaps, He is trying to humble or make you patient.
Philosophically speaking, being humans, with our innate Holy values, we can come up with the
idea that God is director of our lives as to how He directed Chuck Noland’s life in the movie.

3. “Life Is Beautiful”
The movie “Life is Beautiful” is one of the most touching I’ve watched. I think that this
movie is extremely unique because it was about a man who was taking something as horrible as
the Holocaust and turning it into a game. Based on the history, Holocaust was a period in history at
the time of World War Two (1939-1945), when millions of Jews were murdered because of who they were. The
killings were organized by Germany's Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler. A Jewish man and his son and wife
were taken to a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The man’s son is very young, and the
father does not want him to give up. The father wanted to prevent this from happening so he told
his son that they are playing a game, and everything is a challenge that wins points. It was very
intriguing how the father created an elaborate tale just to protect his son. The movie’s amazing
plot hooked me up into the story right away.
The story was also extremely touching especially when the father was struggling to carry
pounds and pounds of lead so his son would think he was having fun. I believe the father did the
ultimate sacrifice by ignoring all his pains so his son wouldn’t have to feel it as well. Also, I was
very touched when he risked his life just so he could reach his wife through the loud speaker.
It was so sad when the father got shot. I didn’t expect that it would happen. But if no one
died, the movie wouldn’t be able to portray the Holocaust very well. Also, the father’s death
showed how he made the ultimate sacrifice for his family. The death of the main character was
awful but it I think it had to happen for the story.
What I liked the most about this movie was how it sends out a message especially to our
society, saying that even in the most hopeless and desperate times there’s always a way to get
through and keep our hopes high. The story is an inspiration to everyone because it tells us to
never give up. Even though the father died in the end of the story, he accomplished his only goal
by keeping the most important thing in his life alive. The main lesson of this movie is, you should
never give up.