1. Shock Case Study 1: Complete Viewing.
2. Summarise with student notes on first 30 minutes of The Crying Game.
1. How are Jude and Jody presented to the audience as characters in the opening scene at the fairground in rural Northern Ireland?
Jude is most assuredly a true believer and a fine terrorist…or freedom fighter, depending on your perspective. She expresses few qualms about using her sexuality to entice targets of IRA (legitimate targets) and the presumption that she would have no problems with literally sleeping with the enemy seems remarkably grounded. Blonde when she lures Jody into the trap, by the time she arrives in London to force Fergus into one last act of terror, she is sporting a very short and very black bob haircut. Ultimately, Jude proves that in the world of true believers, the female is every bit as cold-blooded as the male.
Jude embodies female sexuality, using “those tits and that ass” to seduce Jody and draw Fergus’ attentions. For Jody and Fergus, she is a woman who cannot possibly understand their tastes. “She’s not my type,” Jody confesses, despite being an attractive female subject whose very image has its powers. Dil’s perception places Jude as the ultimate threat, her uniform sexual identity and gun-carrying soldier status having robbed her of one lover, and threatens to steal another. Jordan’s depiction of Jude does not signify his stance on women, rather constructs a villain who by her feminine nature is a threat to his central characters.
Jody
Jody is just another British soldier stationed in Northern Ireland looking to have fun where he can get it.
His interest in the political struggles between the IRA and England extend to doing whatever his commanders may one day order him to do. The only reason he got abducted in the first place is because he was looking to get lucky with a blonde named Jude. He loves cricket and a girl named Dil back in London. His lack of any notable political ideology makes him an ideal partner in the odd couple that develops between Jody and Fergus. Unlike Fergus, however, Jody ultimately reveals a nature that isn’t trapped permanently in the moment, but may have been shaped just enough by his military experience to design a longer-term strategy with a devastating payoff.
2. Compare Fergus’s actions and attitudes in the fairground scene through to the moment when he removes Jody’s hood and begins to converse with him? Do they change in any way and if so how?
There is a pull between Fergus and Jody during their time together. “You’re the handsome one with the killer smile and the baby face,” Jody notes to his captor, pleading with him to remove his canvas hood. Fergus responds, “Am I?” Jody smiles under his hood, “Yeah, and the brown eyes… You’re the handsome one.” Fergus feeds Jody and the captive says, “Thank you, handsome.” Now playing along, Fergus admits “My pleasure.” Later on, after Fergus must remove Jody’s penis from his pants so that he may urinate, Fergus quips again, “The pleasure was all mine.” Jocular laughs though these may be, once the story progresses, it becomes apparent that there was something more between them.
Jody make friends with his captor, Fergus (Stephen Rea), who shows concern for some decency in Jody’s treatment. As their brief friendship grows, the two debate about cricket, share stories and laughs, and Jody shows Fergus a photo of his gorgeous wife, Dil (Jay Davison), and asks that Fergus look out for her should he be executed. Fergus tells Jody not to think of such things, even though he knows the RUC is not likely to concede to their demands. But Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices.
2. Summarise with student notes on first 30 minutes of The Crying Game.
1. How are Jude and Jody presented to the audience as characters in the opening scene at the fairground in rural Northern Ireland?
Jude
British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker) is lured away by an Irish woman, Jude (Miranda Richardson), and kidnapped by the IRA.
From a feminist outlook, Jude may seem empowered by her station as a protean footsoldier willing to change her appearance and sacrifice her sexuality for her cause, whereas another interpretation recognizes that the men in the room still demand that she make the tea and sandwiches.
Jude is most assuredly a true believer and a fine terrorist…or freedom fighter, depending on your perspective. She expresses few qualms about using her sexuality to entice targets of IRA (legitimate targets) and the presumption that she would have no problems with literally sleeping with the enemy seems remarkably grounded. Blonde when she lures Jody into the trap, by the time she arrives in London to force Fergus into one last act of terror, she is sporting a very short and very black bob haircut. Ultimately, Jude proves that in the world of true believers, the female is every bit as cold-blooded as the male.
Jude embodies female sexuality, using “those tits and that ass” to seduce Jody and draw Fergus’ attentions. For Jody and Fergus, she is a woman who cannot possibly understand their tastes. “She’s not my type,” Jody confesses, despite being an attractive female subject whose very image has its powers. Dil’s perception places Jude as the ultimate threat, her uniform sexual identity and gun-carrying soldier status having robbed her of one lover, and threatens to steal another. Jordan’s depiction of Jude does not signify his stance on women, rather constructs a villain who by her feminine nature is a threat to his central characters.
Jody
Jody is just another British soldier stationed in Northern Ireland looking to have fun where he can get it.
His interest in the political struggles between the IRA and England extend to doing whatever his commanders may one day order him to do. The only reason he got abducted in the first place is because he was looking to get lucky with a blonde named Jude. He loves cricket and a girl named Dil back in London. His lack of any notable political ideology makes him an ideal partner in the odd couple that develops between Jody and Fergus. Unlike Fergus, however, Jody ultimately reveals a nature that isn’t trapped permanently in the moment, but may have been shaped just enough by his military experience to design a longer-term strategy with a devastating payoff.
2. Compare Fergus’s actions and attitudes in the fairground scene through to the moment when he removes Jody’s hood and begins to converse with him? Do they change in any way and if so how?
There is a pull between Fergus and Jody during their time together. “You’re the handsome one with the killer smile and the baby face,” Jody notes to his captor, pleading with him to remove his canvas hood. Fergus responds, “Am I?” Jody smiles under his hood, “Yeah, and the brown eyes… You’re the handsome one.” Fergus feeds Jody and the captive says, “Thank you, handsome.” Now playing along, Fergus admits “My pleasure.” Later on, after Fergus must remove Jody’s penis from his pants so that he may urinate, Fergus quips again, “The pleasure was all mine.” Jocular laughs though these may be, once the story progresses, it becomes apparent that there was something more between them.
3. Fergus guards Jody while the IRA waits to hear whether the British will accept their demand to have IRA prisoners released in exchange for Jody’s release. Look at this scene closely and consider what is significant about it. Also, how are Jude and Fergus contrasted in these scenes?
Jody make friends with his captor, Fergus (Stephen Rea), who shows concern for some decency in Jody’s treatment. As their brief friendship grows, the two debate about cricket, share stories and laughs, and Jody shows Fergus a photo of his gorgeous wife, Dil (Jay Davison), and asks that Fergus look out for her should he be executed. Fergus tells Jody not to think of such things, even though he knows the RUC is not likely to concede to their demands. But Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices.
This is not a film about judgment, but about people required to do something they do not want to do, and the tragedy behind forcing someone to change their nature. Thus, it is about acceptance and tolerance and, for Fergus, about seeking redemption after going against his nature. Jody’s fable, which Fergus has adopted in the finale scene, proves to be true of human natures, not of the divisions between English and Irish or heterosexual and homosexual or man and woman, which are blind and all-consuming assignments. Jordan’s film explores the gray areas of those assignments and finds hope for such black and white divisions.
4. Before he is led to his execution Jody tells Fergus the story of the Frog and the Scorpion. What is that story and why do you think it might be significant to the message of this film?
Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices. When their deadline comes to pass, Fergus’ superior, Maguire (Adrian Dunbar), orders him to lead Jody into the woods; as he does, the prisoner begins to run and Fergus cannot shoot him in the back. Fergus finds himself running with Jody to escape. All at once, Jody reaches a road and is struck by an oncoming RUC truck.
“The IRA has done terrible things,” Jordan said in an interview for the film. “But what’s important about the way the film approaches that reality is that they’ve become people they didn’t want to be. That doesn’t mean the cause is wrong.” Critics who attempt to point fingers at pro- and anti-IRA, pro- and anti-woman, or pro- and anti-homosexual messages in the film have already forgotten the lesson learned in “The Scorpion and the Frog”, that people will remain true to their natures.
2. Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes
Filmmaker’s Intentions (Narrative, Political, Auteur, Technical)
Reasons for Use of Shock in The Crying Game
Consideration of Audience/Spectator Responses – Then and Now
Audience Theories (Deconstruction and Effects Theories)
4. Before he is led to his execution Jody tells Fergus the story of the Frog and the Scorpion. What is that story and why do you think it might be significant to the message of this film?
Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices. When their deadline comes to pass, Fergus’ superior, Maguire (Adrian Dunbar), orders him to lead Jody into the woods; as he does, the prisoner begins to run and Fergus cannot shoot him in the back. Fergus finds himself running with Jody to escape. All at once, Jody reaches a road and is struck by an oncoming RUC truck.
“The IRA has done terrible things,” Jordan said in an interview for the film. “But what’s important about the way the film approaches that reality is that they’ve become people they didn’t want to be. That doesn’t mean the cause is wrong.” Critics who attempt to point fingers at pro- and anti-IRA, pro- and anti-woman, or pro- and anti-homosexual messages in the film have already forgotten the lesson learned in “The Scorpion and the Frog”, that people will remain true to their natures.
2. Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes
Filmmaker’s Intentions (Narrative, Political, Auteur, Technical)
Reasons for Use of Shock in The Crying Game
Consideration of Audience/Spectator Responses – Then and Now
Audience Theories (Deconstruction and Effects Theories)
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