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What does this 1994 epic tell us about the tumultuous period in Chinese history (the civil war of the late 1940s and the first decades of Maoist rule) that is its setting? How does the character arc of its protagonist, Fugui, convey his maturation, his growth as a husband and father, and the effect of four decades of communist rule had upon himself, family and friends? How does the film deal with the “Great Leap Forward,” and the “Cultural Revolution?” How does the fate of the local communist chief Cadre, Nui, reflect the tenuous nature of political or social status in China during the cultural revolution? How does the film contrast the family’s personal relationships with Red Guard, in the person of their loving son-in-law, Wan Erxi and his friends, and the Red Guard running the smelting operations and hospital which ultimately take the lives of Fugui and Jiahzen’s two children, Fengxia and Youqing? How does the film use Fugui’s traditional Chinese shadow-puppetry to comment upon communism's antogonism toward elements of traditional Chinese culture? Why did communist China allow production of this film, its international distribution, but refuse to allow its theatrical release in China? How does Chinese cinema reflect the cyclic and tenuous nature of the CCP's openness to criticism of communist practice?

What does this 1964 black comedy about a nuclear doomsday scenario tell us about the strategic thought surrounding potential nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the early years of the 1960s? How does the film play with the concept of a ‘doomsday machine’ as described in the strategic literature of the day? How does the device described in the film reflect an option described by Leo Szilard, a key figure in the development of atomic weapons? How did economist/strategist Thomas Schelling’s work influence Stanley Kubrick’s script? How does the film explore the kind of thinking that backstops the notion of mutually assured destruction? How does the character Dr. Strangelove reflect Kubrick’s desire to combine and satirize aspects of the real-world figures Wernher von Braun and John von Neumann.

What does this 1997 film, set in fascist Italy during WWII, tell us about the gathering threat in Northern Italy for its Jewish citizens, and how the main character, Guido and his family cope with it? Why does the film explore the Holocaust in the guise of one half of the film being a romantic comedy, the latter being a tragic portrayal of life in an extermination camp? How does Guido protect his young son, Joshua from the harsh reality of antisemitism in Fascist Italy? How does he use deception to protect his son from realizing the true nature of the labor/extermination camp? How does Dora, a gentile, exhibit great love and courage in her insistence on being allowed to board the same train taking her husband and son to the camp? What is the nature of the “game” Guido tells Joshua is actually going on in the camp? What does the alleged ‘game’ have to do with the fact they were taken to the camp on Joshua’s birthday? How does Guido take advantage of Joshua’s fascination with tanks in order to carry out his deception and protection of Joshua? What criticisms did this film garner? How does it illustrate human resilience and love? How does this film illustrate the controversy and utility in using popular culture for keeping historical awareness of events like the Holocaust alive?

How does this 2007 animated feature play with the premise of time travel and multiple histories or parallel universes? How does the film cause us to consider the plausibility of its main character, Lewis, being able to interact with his adult self after having time travelled into the future? How does the film illustrate the large ramifying effects of small events, especially in the childhood experience of “Goob,” Lewis’s roommate in an orphanage? How does the artistic portrayal of the future world, Lewis as inventor, had largely created, reflect Walt Disney’s futurism and “Tomorrowland” theme parks? How does the film provide opportunity to comment upon the mitigation of potential risks of scientific research carried out in the private realm? How does the AI robot “Doris,” reflect these concerns? What risks would suggest some technologies should not be released into the public? How does the film illustrate these concerns with regard to time-travel technology? Should such technology ever be used, or does it introduce too much potential for chaos? Is time travel only possible in a multiple-universe setting?

What does this 1984 adaptation of the 1949 George Orwell novel tell us about the totalitarian tendency in human history? How does it adumbrate upon the surveillance state as exemplified in Stalinist Russia? What role does emerging technology of the day play in Orwell’s vision? How does the film do as a portrait of the subjective experience of this state, as lived by the protagonists, Winston, Julia and others? How does the film portray the efforts of Oceania to control information and change or erase objective records, and what is the purpose of the ‘Ministry of Truth’? How does this effort reflect philosophical ‘idealists’? How do current efforts to change classic works of literature bear similarity to these practices? How does the state of Oceania contrast itself with what, from their point of view, were earlier totalitarian states, such as Communist Russia? Does it believe it’s bringing about a utopian vision? What parallels exist between the regular ‘two-minute hates’ aimed at Goldstein and anti-Antisemitism in the modern world? How does Oceania attempt to eradicate all normal human attachments and the need for privacy? Does it succeed?

How does this 2007 film, based on the 1954 Richard Matheson novel, depart from that book? How effective is the film in focusing on the isolation and loneliness of its protagonist, Neville? How does the dog, ‘Sam’ serve to illustrate that loneliness? What other devices are used to this end? How does the film engage the moral implications of Neville’s search for a cure for the virus that has turned human beings into savage vampiric beings? How does the film’s alternate ending, involving the ‘alpha-male’ leader of the ‘un-dead’ infected, and his mate, who Neville had captured, provide a twist, putting Neville in the role of ‘monster’ and the un-dead infected in role of victims? More generally, how do the novel and film reflect on the darker more savage side of human nature in the person of Neville and in the persons of the living infected, as both fight the almost perfectly savage un-dead infected? In the end, does Neville conclude that any continued efforts on his part in using infected human subjects to find a cure is in fact immoral, given that a large majority of human beings are infected, and that the project requires human trials with an attendant high probability of continued mortality? Is this why he leaves the city with Anna and Ethan, looking for a possible community of uninfected?

How does this 2000 film engage with and differ from Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, on which it is loosely based? How do various characters in the film, which is set in the deep South during the depression, reflect famous characters in that story? How does the film portray the role of popular music in racial integration during this period in American History? How does the film portray the relationship that existed between racial aspects of the prevailing political order and the opposed and organic growth of integration in popular culture? How does the opportunism of governor, Pappy O’Daniel, with regard to the integrated band formed by Ulysses, Tommy Johnson and the others illustrate? What does the film tell us about the power of recording technology and radio as drivers of social change in the depression era South, and what lessons can we derive concerning the modern media environment and its more positive potential?

What does this 2021 film premised on the notion of accelerated aging, attempt to tell us about the emotional and psychological impact such events would have on people suffering through it? How does the film portray the rapid onset of maturation in the children involved? How do the characters of the two parents, Prisca and Guy, show the mellowing of age and its power to overcome rifts, and also show the challenges posed for children as their parents age? How does it portray disease progression in the adults on the beach? Why does this medical testing facility, disguised as resort use the beach and the accelerated aging it causes, as a medical testing facility? What arguments are presented to justify the experimentation, and how thoroughly does the film explore these? How does the film compare with others, such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which also engage the ethics of medical treatment and experimentation?

What does this film, which portrays the events of 9/11/2001 tell us about the responsibilities, training and level of professionalism of the air-traffic controllers involved? How does the film portray uncertainty and lack of information and its effect on the involved people? How does it show the difficulty involved in overcoming assumptions people bring with them as they come to terms with unique events unfolding in real time? How did knowledge of the history of airline hijackings prevent people from realizing these were going to be suicide attacks? What reaction to national tragedy do films such as this typify, and how do they contrast to other darker conspiratorial reactions? How does the portrayal of courage in the face of death play out in terms of the passengers and hijackers? How does this film compare with other films and documentaries that involve the events of 9/11?

What does this 2017 film, set during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia tell us about the radical nature of the communist project of restructuring human society and psychology? Why did the Khmer Rouge resort to using children as soldiers and cadre? How did Pol Pot differ from Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh in his relative anonymity and refusal to create a personality cult around himself? How does the story of the young girl, Loung Ung, and her family illustrate the courage and compassion of that family unit? How do the actions of the mother and father ensure the survival of their children? What lessons should America and her allies draw from U.S. withdrawals from Cambodia, South Vietnam and Afghanistan?

How does this film’s use of the concept of reincarnation allow it to act as an exploration of human nature? Why do the snakes, a species of what are called “evils” in the film desire to become human? What is involved in the centuries-long training they are undergoing to attain reincarnation as human beings? Why does it take hundreds of years to accomplish this? How do the sisters, White snake and Green snake, exhibit their relative levels of progress in that training? How does the film contrast snake life with human life, and the difficulties of attempting the transformation? Do the films surreal and comedic aspects illustrate Buddhist beliefs with regard to Maya and the illusory nature of reality? How does the Monk Fat Hoi treat the snakes? Why is his treatment inconsistent, sometimes compassionate, sometimes harsh? He sees the snakes serving human beings as medics, sees them save their home village from a flood, and indeed helps them do this, yet wants to capture and banish them from the human world. Why? Is this a commentary on Buddhism? What do the cross-cultural symbolic uses of snakes and spiders tell us about the connection between morality and knowledge? What similarities does the story of White snake and Green snake have with the story of the snake in the Garden of Eden and the Amerindian myths of Kukulkan or Quetzalcoatl?

What does this 2003 film about disgraced New Republic reporter, Stephen Glass, tell us about sociopathic or narcissistic behavior? How does the film engage with matters of journalistic ethics, and illustrate the dangers or traps created by journalistic bias when it comes to exercising critical thought and editorial oversight? How does the film show competition between journals aiding or prodding the editorial and critical efforts that should have been in place at the New Republic? How does this film illustrate the corrosive effects of deception and lying? How does Glass abuse the presumption of veracity that we all bring to life and our interactions with others? How do Glass’s story pitches take advantage of his peers' political biases and their desire to engage in advocacy journalism? How does the case illustrate the risks taken on by journals and news media when they allow writers to use un-named sources?