BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999)

CHARACTERS: Craig (John Cusack, puppeteer), John Malkovich (John Malkovich), Lottie (Cameron Diaz, Craig’s wife), Maxine (Craig’s romantic interest), Dr. Lester (business man)

Questions on the reading—respond to all of these

  1. What is the “high art/ low art divide”?
  2. What does the author mean when, regarding movies being philosophical he says “being philosophical” admits of degrees?
  3. Explain the three levels of his “hierarchy” in your own words.
  4. Define gestalten, paucity, aesthetic, explicit, paradigm, instantiate, and any other word you don’t know or figure out from the context.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Choose one numbered question and one lettered question.

1. Craig states that he likes puppetry because it gives him an opportunity to get inside someone else’s skin, to think differently, move differently and feel differently. This is evidently the same pleasure that people get when experiencing John Malkovich’s life. It is also behind John Malkovich’s enjoyment of being an actor, and Lottie’s empathy with animals. In each of these cases, though, the vehicle is just as miserable as the spectator (think of how Craig’s puppet characters were all tormented, and the psychological ailments that Lottie’s animals had). How, then, could such an experience be a source of comfort?
2. One of Craig’s puppet skits shows a man and woman separated by a wall. In fact, every major character in the movie is isolated from others in some major respect. Does the movie offer any solution to the problem of human isolation?

3. Discuss the goal the group has of living forever. Consider what they each have to give up to do it and the existential crisis involved.

  1. The world of the movie is very similar to ours but with very fundamental absurdities. Choose one absurdity and explain what it may say about the real world.
  1. In the movie, Craig learns more and more how to obtain a more perfect control of Malkovich, being able to exercise more control for longer periods of time. Eventually, he is able to live inside Malkovich and use his fame to his own advantage. This movie explores quite a few interesting philosophical questions. For example, what defines the self? While Craig is in Malkovich, who is he? Is he Craig or is he Malkovich? This question is along the same lines as the Ship of Theseus problem. Also, there are many questions as to how someone could be considered morally responsible if they were being controlled by some intangible force.
  1. Probably the only problem that wasn't really clearly addressed in this movie was the irresistible question of what would happen if Malkovich jumped inside his own head. It was not adequately addressed what would even happen to Malkovich, even though the movie did tackle the question. Instead, the answer came as a comedic scene where Malkovich was trapped in one of his own memories and could not distinguish anyone's face from his very own, nor anyone's words from the repetition of his own last name over and over. What might work as an alternative scene to answer the question more clearly?Explain an alternate scene and the choices you make in that description.
  1. YOUR question and answer: Perhaps you brain functions independently of you desire to only think about how you’re going to copy next period’s homework in time and developed some sort of question about the movie. State that question and then potential answers or even just different trains of thought you have in regard to the question. It should, ideally be prompted by something in the film but relevant in some way to actual human life. (i.e. The question “How does Craig drive all the way out to the NJ Turnpike in the 15 minutes that someone is in the portal?” is not one that fulfills my criteria here.)

______Relate our texts______

  1. Craig states that the portal is a metaphysical can of worms and raises philosophical perplexing questions such as the nature of self, the existence of a soul, and whether I am me. Does the movie offer a solution to any of these questions? What does it add to the idea that “we can never transcend human subjectivity”?
  1. In what ways is Maxine like Inez from “No Exit”? (Use the coal analogy from the play.) Is she in any way like Meursault? She is drawn to “two people gazing with lust and devotion from one set of eyes”. “So he can control Malkovich and I can control Craig…”
  1. When Craig returns home after being beaten on the street for his puppet show, his wife asks why he keeps letting this happen and he replies, “I’m a puppeteer.” What does that say about his view of his craft? In what way does it imply he lives in bad faith? In what ways is he like Garcin? Also address his comment when he cages Lottie: “I don’t want to be a monster.” (This is after he says he didn’t cheat on her because of his loyalty to her—a comment quickly corrected by Lottie.)
  1. Sisyphus and his boulder—These characters and the patrons of their business with the portal are all trying to escape the mundane, repetitive, meaninglessness of their lives. What does the film add to our understanding of the analogy of Sisyphus? Can we, in any real way, escape or does the film posit the same idea as Camus about humanity’s struggle?
  1. Sartre put people in hell and made each the other’s torturer. Kauffman (screenwriter) creates the portal. How are the texts the similar?What may be the symbolism or purpose behind the physical structure of floor 7 1/2?
  1. At the outset of the movie, Craig states to his wife’s pet chimp “consciousness is a terrible curse: I think, I feel, I suffer.” Do you agree? Relate this to Sisyphus.
  1. Craig has fantastic relationships with things around him that he can control; the downside is that he can only control inanimate objects. His inability to control humans or his emotions eventually leads to his downfall. Craig is terribly poor at connecting with other humans. He is driven by his emotions, which are often very erratic. One almost wonders how he and Lottie remained married for so long. Like every other character in the movie, Craig cannot completely articulate why he loves being Malkovich so much. Everyone in the movie has almost the same response ‘it was fun and it…just felt right.’
    Hall states “human activity is not reducible to conscious intent” (pg. 105), which is evident throughout this movie. Hall is stating that not every action that humans make occurs because of a conscious or coherent thought. Oftentimes actions or activities occur because of outside forces and factors, in the case for John Malkovich, many of his actions and thoughts were dictated by Craig. The thoughts and actions were not actually his but rather that of another person. How does this relate to existentialism’s view of choice and responsibility?
  1. Your Own Connection. Make it. Write it down.