Pay it forward
As part of the video learning class the MLCU batch was shown Pay It Forward a Hollywood movie. This was the first session.
Trailer:
Date: 5th August 2010
Time: 2 to 4 PM
Venue: conference hall
Summary of the movie: Eugene Simmnet (Kevin Spacey) a social studies teacher gives his class an assignment- to devise a plan and put into action that will change the world for the better. Trevor McKinney (Osment) his (11-year-old) student comes up with a plan pay it forwarda charitable pyramid scheme, based on good deeds rather than profit. "Paying it forward" means the recipient of a favor does a favor for a third party rather than paying the favor back. Trevor does a favor for three people, asking each of them to return the favor by doing favors for three other people, and so on, along a branching tree of good deeds.
His first good deed is to let a homeless man named Jerry (James Caviezel) live in his garage. Jerry pays the favor forward by doing car repairs for Trevor's mother. Trevor's efforts seem to fail when Jerry relapses into his heroin addiction. But Jerry will eventually pay his debt forward later in the film by talking a suicidal woman out of jumping off a bridge.
Trevor's mother Arlene ( Helen Hunt) meets Eugene after discovering Jerry in their house and confronting Eugene about Trevor's project. Trevor then selects Eugene as his next "pay it forward" target and tricks Eugene and Arlene into a romantic dinner date. This also appears to fail, but then Trevor and Arlene argue about her alcoholism and she slaps him in a fit of anger. The two adults are brought together again when Trevor runs away from home and Arlene asks Eugene to help her find him.
The opening scene in the film shows one of the later favors in the "pay it forward" tree, in which a man gives a car to Los Angeles journalist Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr). As the film proceeds, Chris traces the chain of favors back to its origin in Trevor's school project. After her date with Eugene, Arlene paid Trevor's favor forward by forgiving her own mother Grace (Angie Dickinson) for her mistakes in raising Arlene, and Grace, who is homeless, helped a gang member escape from the police. This gang member then helped the daughter of the man who gave Chandler his new car.
After finding Trevor, Arlene begins to pursue Eugene sexually. Eugene has burn marks visible on his neck and face, and he initially resists Arlene's advances. Arlene accepts Eugene's physical disfigurement, but abandons their relationship when her alcoholic ex-husband Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi) returns to her, claiming to have given up drinking. Ricky's return angers Eugene, whose own mother had a habit of taking his abusive, alcoholic father back. He explains that his stepfather intentionally burned him, and he warns Arlene of Ricky's potential to abuse Trevor. When Ricky resumes his abusive behavior, Arlene realizes her mistake and asks him to leave again.
Chandler travels to Las Vegas and identifies Trevor as the originator of "pay it forward" and conducts an interview in which Trevor describes his hopes and concerns for the project. Eugene, hearing Trevor's words, realizes that he and Arlene should be together. As Eugene and Arlene reconcile, Trevor is stabbed while defending a friend against a group of bullies, and consequently dies at the hospital. This news is reported on television, and Eugene and Arlene are soon visited by hundreds of people some of whom are Trevor’s friends and some who have participated in the "pay it forward" movement, gathering in a vigil to pay their respects to Trevor. The movie ends with an ariel view of the neighborhood filling up with a long line of cars.
The themes gathered from the movie were
ð Helping is essential – it is what makes us human. Religious texts point to doing good deeds as a way of showing humanity a path.
ð Learning at any age is possible.
ð Helping is possible doing good to others is possible.
ð Adults are not as open to change and being pro social as children are. Children are more open to new ideas and are more enthusiastic when it comes to acting on instruction.
ð Sometimes people are hesitant to help or to accept help.
ð Narratives of helping people at a personal level were shared.
Cast:
Kevin Spacey as Eugene Simonet
Helen Hunt as Arlene McKinney
Haley Joel Osment as Trevor McKinney
Jay Mohr as Chris Chandler
James Caviezel as Jerry
Angie Dickinson as Grace
Jon Bon Jovi as Ricky McKinney
Running time: 122 minutes
Summary taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_It_Forward
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