Overview
Watch the film “Herbert’s Hippopotamus.” The film is freely available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=gbzhmMDFcFQLinks to an external site.
After watching the film, answer the following questions:
- At one point in the documentary, a journalist asks Marcuse how such tremendous discontent can emerge in a country with unprecedented prosperity. How does Marcuse respond?
- How does Angela Davis describe the proposal for a new college at UCSD named “Lumumba-Zapata College”?
- What is the word that for Marcuse captures the opposite of “rationalization”?
- Toward the end of the documentary, Marcuse’s views about violence are discussed. What does Marcuse say about the question of violence?
- What was your favorite scene and why?
- Describe one important insight or lesson about social justice that you took away from this film.
- Do you have any criticisms of the film? These could include issues you believe are important but that the film didn’t cover or didn’t cover sufficiently, arguments the film presents that you found ambiguous, mistaken, or biased, or any other aspect of the film you found problematic. If you don’t have any criticisms of the film, are there any questions the film inspired for you or any issues you’d like to know more about?
Care and Support Notice: During the segment that starts at the 22:50 mark and ends at the 23:40 mark, the documentary covers the suicide of former UCSD student George Winnie Jr. on May 10, 1970, at Revelle Plaza. This segment contains no graphic images, but you do not need to watch it to answer the questions above. Feel free to skip this segment and prioritize your well-being.