watch film answer questions

Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008)

Viewing Questions for Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008)

Note: The extra credit quiz will be based on a random selection of these viewing questions.

• Please identify the following figures from the film by profession: Kevin Kline, Tony Kushner, Bertolt Brecht, George Wolfe, Jay Cantor.

• What are the names of the actresses who played the role of Mother Courage in the original 1949 production and in the 2006 production, and in what cities did those productions occur?
• In the documentary, Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008), Jay Cantor describes the problem of “people being malleable” (according to Marx). What does he mean?
• In Brecht’s play, Mother Courage and her Children, as we see it in Walter’s documentary, how does Mute Kattrin die?
• TRUE or FALSE: In “Act 4” of Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008), Brecht is seen denying in front of the HUAC committee that he was ever a member of a Communist party.
• In Brecht’s play, Mother Courage and her Children, as we see it performed in Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008), the song, “The Great Capitulation” is sung by Mother Courage to a young soldier, to try to ‘teach’ him something about life. What is the lesson of the song?
• In Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008), several wars and military actions are the object of public protest. Which wars are being protested against?
• What does Oskar Eustis (Director, Public Theater, NYC) define as the “fatal virtue” of Brecht’s character, Mother Courage?
• Carl Weber, who had worked as Brecht’s assistant director, reads a Brecht poem, entitled “To Those Not Yet Born,” at the end of the documentary. What is the final question of the poem?
• In Theater of War (dir. Walter) (2008), which scenes are shot in black and white and why?