“Harold & Maude” Seminar Post-Write

1. Self Reflection/Assessment:

        Overall, I think my seminar performance was good. Along with being an active listener, I attempted to provide clarification for others’ ideas multiple times and used evidence from the film to back up claims made by peers and I. Even though it might have not resulted in a contribution to the discussion at times, I was continuously attempting to understand what others were saying and create divergent questions out of their statements. To add, I also posed original questions, such as, “Do you think Harold was an absurd hero?” In contrast, I think I could’ve spoken my mind more often, instead of immediately shutting my thought down. In seminars, I tend to pose questions in my mind, but then immediately answer that question with what I believe and, consequently, no longer find value in contributing to the discussion. But I need to remind myself that others may have a different perspective on my question and their thoughts are valuable, as well. So, anytime I have a question, I need to voice it. Altogether, I think I deserve an A.

        As a group, I think we did very well. I did not feel that anyone was dominating the discussion and we all worked to bring each other into the discussion, resulting in at least two contributions from every member. We made intertextual connections between “Into the Wild” and other texts, as well as supporting each other’s claims with evidence from the film. Along with strong collaboration skills, I also think that we weren’t afraid to challenge each other’s ideas respectfully.

        Before the seminar, I found it very difficult to analyze the film and felt that I couldn’t create definite, confident answers without watching it multiple times. However, the seminar substituted for multiple viewings by giving me different perspectives of view the film. I thought it was interesting that Calvin did not view it as an existentialist film. Even though I disagree, it was valuable to hear his perspective. I also found it interesting that a group member thought that Harold’s behavior was due to a lack of “social teaching,” which had not occurred to me. To add, I found out during the seminar that Maude was in a concentration camp, which I missed when watching. This changed my perspective on her morals & virtues. Through the seminar, I was able to gain a more well-rounded view of the movie, but it still didn’t answer my big questions from the film, one being the question of the film’s meaning. While we proposed different ideas of the meaning (including “live life to the fullest” and some relating to the connection between relationships and meaning), none of them felt quite right to me. I believe that it will require much more analysis to come to a definite meaning as a group.

2. Interpretive Claim:

        Harold’s obsession with death stemmed from his poor relationship with his mother. His mother has an incessant need to control his life, which is observed when she fills out the dating application for him (using her own answers) and takes it upon herself to throw away Harold’s car and buy him one that she likes more. His mother, a dominant person, does not provide him with the support and unconditional love/attention that he desires. He states that the moment his obsession with death began was when his mother thought that he had died one day. After that moment, he thought he would “enjoy death” because his mother focused her attention on him, alone, for that moment. His false suicides, which typically don’t get any reaction out of his mother, is a way to attract some sort of attention.

        Consequently, this is why he enjoyed Maude’s company so much. Due to the unconditional attention that Maude provided Harold, he found no reason to ask for it, causing him to halt his “attempted suicides” while around her. Maude acted as the mother-figure he never had (which makes their intimate relationship very peculiar). After receiving his desired attention and influence from Maude, he no longer needed to strive for attention from his mother, causing him to let go of his obsession with death, and focus on life.