OK, so the assumption is that they put his brain in the goat's body? That hadn't occurred to me, since a human brain is way too big to fit in a goat skull, but I guess it's a magical story anyway and we can pretend that it works somehow.
I'm really not sure that's better than death. He can't talk, but given enough time and effort I'm sure…
OK, so the assumption is that they put his brain in the goat's body? That hadn't occurred to me, since a human brain is way too big to fit in a goat skull, but I guess it's a magical story anyway and we can pretend that it works somehow.
I'm really not sure that's better than death. He can't talk, but given enough time and effort I'm sure he could find a way to communicate with others (I'm sure I could find a way to communicate with people if I found myself trapped in a goat body). To stop people from finding out what they did they'll have to keep him imprisoned in their garden for the rest of his life as an amputee. If I found myself in that situation I think my only focus in life would be bloody revenge. The more I think about it, the more I can't imagine Bella doing this. She'd have to be either really stupid or really cruel, and I don't think she is either.
> it's made abundantly clear in the film's POV that humans are just a more articulate animal
I didn't get that at all, can you expand on this? The animals seemed like normal animals to me.
> lives on without the blight of cruelty
I also don't understand this sentence. What is the blight of cruelty and how was it removed?
The General, as a goat, is no longer a gun wielding asshole threatening genital mutilation. He's a happy goat. All is improved by this, even his resentful servants.
>Articulate animals
I'm being philosophical here. The film says: Humans are no different than animals, not better, not worse. Godwin doesn't believe in souls and his first monologue compares a dead body to a butcher's table. Just meat and bones. This is why I suggest that having a goat brain is neither torture nor murder.
Everyone is improved by the general being executed, yes, agreed. Maybe not the goat, I think a human body is probably less good for being a goat than a goat body is. But I think the lifespan is longer, so maybe a win there?
> The film says: Humans are no different than animals, not better, not worse. Godwin doesn't believe in souls and his first monologue compares a dead body to a butcher's table. Just meat and bones.
OK, I think I'm butting up against your religion here, in which case experience has told me it's best not to continue. Humans *don't* have souls, and a dead body *is* just meat and bones. If your beliefs state that's the only thing that makes humans different from animals is "a soul" then I see where you're coming from. But the movie isn't being philosophical here, it's just not bothering to indulge any religion. Which is very on-brand for this movie, it didn't have any original sin or sex-shame or anything else either. Just interesting people interacting in the real world without religious baggage at all. I loved it! :)
Aha! I think I see what's being debated here. My mistake if I seemed adversarial.
If you are suggesting that, since the General's brain is replaced, he is "dead," I can understand that viewpoint but do not agree. That would be like saying Victoria or her child are dead after Bella's creation, and in a way neither one is. She's a chimera, and now, so is Alfie. They even show the Frenchie-Goose at the last moment to drive the point home. But I see what you mean now.
Ah, ok yes, we have a lot of disagreement here. The brain is the physical form of a person. If one doesn't involved religious beliefs, then they killed the general and put the goat's brain in his body. They did this so that there isn't a dead body as evidence of murder and everyone else just thinks "Poor general, he went insane."
Victoria is completely dead. Bella is her child, living within the body Victoria vacated. The movie didn't comment on this further because it's not looking to comment on religion, it's doing other things. IMO.
I'm not religious at all, funny enough. To me, applying an absolute (even a phrenological one) to a surrealist film feels like judging a fish on its tennis skills and cheapens the magic. To each their own. Discourse is healthy and I'm happy we've had this chat! 👍
OK, so the assumption is that they put his brain in the goat's body? That hadn't occurred to me, since a human brain is way too big to fit in a goat skull, but I guess it's a magical story anyway and we can pretend that it works somehow.
I'm really not sure that's better than death. He can't talk, but given enough time and effort I'm sure he could find a way to communicate with others (I'm sure I could find a way to communicate with people if I found myself trapped in a goat body). To stop people from finding out what they did they'll have to keep him imprisoned in their garden for the rest of his life as an amputee. If I found myself in that situation I think my only focus in life would be bloody revenge. The more I think about it, the more I can't imagine Bella doing this. She'd have to be either really stupid or really cruel, and I don't think she is either.
> it's made abundantly clear in the film's POV that humans are just a more articulate animal
I didn't get that at all, can you expand on this? The animals seemed like normal animals to me.
> lives on without the blight of cruelty
I also don't understand this sentence. What is the blight of cruelty and how was it removed?
> blight of cruelty
The General, as a goat, is no longer a gun wielding asshole threatening genital mutilation. He's a happy goat. All is improved by this, even his resentful servants.
>Articulate animals
I'm being philosophical here. The film says: Humans are no different than animals, not better, not worse. Godwin doesn't believe in souls and his first monologue compares a dead body to a butcher's table. Just meat and bones. This is why I suggest that having a goat brain is neither torture nor murder.
Everyone is improved by the general being executed, yes, agreed. Maybe not the goat, I think a human body is probably less good for being a goat than a goat body is. But I think the lifespan is longer, so maybe a win there?
> The film says: Humans are no different than animals, not better, not worse. Godwin doesn't believe in souls and his first monologue compares a dead body to a butcher's table. Just meat and bones.
OK, I think I'm butting up against your religion here, in which case experience has told me it's best not to continue. Humans *don't* have souls, and a dead body *is* just meat and bones. If your beliefs state that's the only thing that makes humans different from animals is "a soul" then I see where you're coming from. But the movie isn't being philosophical here, it's just not bothering to indulge any religion. Which is very on-brand for this movie, it didn't have any original sin or sex-shame or anything else either. Just interesting people interacting in the real world without religious baggage at all. I loved it! :)
Aha! I think I see what's being debated here. My mistake if I seemed adversarial.
If you are suggesting that, since the General's brain is replaced, he is "dead," I can understand that viewpoint but do not agree. That would be like saying Victoria or her child are dead after Bella's creation, and in a way neither one is. She's a chimera, and now, so is Alfie. They even show the Frenchie-Goose at the last moment to drive the point home. But I see what you mean now.
Ah, ok yes, we have a lot of disagreement here. The brain is the physical form of a person. If one doesn't involved religious beliefs, then they killed the general and put the goat's brain in his body. They did this so that there isn't a dead body as evidence of murder and everyone else just thinks "Poor general, he went insane."
Victoria is completely dead. Bella is her child, living within the body Victoria vacated. The movie didn't comment on this further because it's not looking to comment on religion, it's doing other things. IMO.
I'm not religious at all, funny enough. To me, applying an absolute (even a phrenological one) to a surrealist film feels like judging a fish on its tennis skills and cheapens the magic. To each their own. Discourse is healthy and I'm happy we've had this chat! 👍
Same :)