Film Screening: Stranger than Fiction
Take notes on existential themes you see in this movie. Try to capture quotes that might fit with those themes. (*Note the terms on the board)
JOURNAL 1.17: Make an interpretive claim that connects this film to existentialism. Write a TEA paragraph that supports the claim with evidence from the film.
Terms/ideas to consider:
- Meaninglessness
- Existential crisis
- Existence precedes essence
- The absurd
- Absurd hero
- Angst
- Alienation
- Freedom/Free will
- Acceptance of one’s own absurd condition
- Authenticity
Questions to consider:
- Is Harold Crick an absurd hero?
- What does Ms. Eiffel represent? How might Harold becoming aware of her voice relate to existentialism?
- How does Harold’s angst impact his perspective on his own life?
- What or who might Dustin Hoffman represent? (think about his advice to Harold about pancakes AND to accept his death...)
- What might this film be saying about living an authentic life?
- HONORS: How does Stranger than Fiction relate to The Stranger? In what ways are Meursault and Harold Crick similar?