Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and written by John Irving. The Cider House Rules had a lot of deep social and real life implications that came in to play through out the film. Homer, who was an orphan, was taught by Dr. Larch to perform medical practices and delivering a baby in particular. Homer wanted to explore the world and to see what it had to offer to him and that is what he did when he left St. Cloud, Maine.

I realized with watching The Cider House Rules there were a lot of social issues that were brought up the movie. I noticed the grey area of abortion was brought center stage very often through out the movie. The Cider House Rules also shred some issues of suicide, love, and the behavior of people in general. Reading the chapter with in the book I came across a very simple but yet important pillar in making a film. The Chapter went on to say that the more closely the social aspects relate to the audience, then the more successful the film will more then likely be. I feel that The Cider House Rules hit home with a lot of viewers, including me. A great example of this would be abortion. Homer was a very skilled surgeon but he did not feel that abortion was a practice that should be done, but his mentor and teacher Dr. Larch performed these abortions on a regular basis. Dr. Larch had no problem with performing abortions and said that he was just doing what the patient asked of him to do, even though it was illegal. Homer argued that abortions were wrong and that he would not do them. I feel that society today is still doing the same thing as Dr. Larch and Homer. On one side there are those who see nothing wrong with abortion, and on the other side there are those who think abortion is a horrific thing to do. Abortion is one of those issues in life that is a grey area and there will never be a super majority of people, in my opionion, that agree the same way. Later on in the movie Homer does perform an abortion but it was to help Rose who was expecting her father's baby. Homer realized that there may be certain instances in which an abortion may be performed. Once again this is an issue that many people may be for, against, or teeter either way depending on the certain circumstance at hand. Abortion has many deep underlying issues and effects other then the obvious termination of life.

I feel that there was a connection of The Cider House Rules and the beginning of the baby boomers. I personally believe that it was this time period that created a large impact on social issues. The issues could be from abortions, orphans, to todays impact on social security. The period from WWII and after was a great leap forward for the United States but it did come with sacrific and hardship. I do not have any numbers or facts but logic tells me that when all of the babies were being made during this period there was more then likely an increase in orphans and abortions as well. Society may have changed in certain ways but I feel that our grandparents made the same choices good or bad as we do today. Today's society is probably a lot more open about issues but behind closed doors I think some things never change.

The Cider House Rules in a way challenges society as a whole. Dr. Larch did not have the highest viewing of the world and those in it. On the other hand Homer believed there was a lot more right then wrong. Homer went out and explored life to see what he could find. Homer's travels did give him a taste of hardship, unjust behavior, and heartbreak, but Homer also found who he was and the goodness in people around him.

I found The Cider House Rules was a good movie to watch. To be honest the first ten minutes I thought that it was going to be horrible but my opinion radically changed. I feel the one thing that made The Cider House Rules a good movies was the underlying social, moral, and ethical issues that the movie presented. There was a good plot but the plot was made by the issues. The Cider House Rules was not necessarily a movie about social problems, but a movie about social issues. I feel that The Cider House Rules could pertain to almost anyone because almost everyone has an opinion about the issues that were brought forth. I guess if nothing else when life gives you apples find the best part about it and make cider.

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