Wednesday, February 16, 2011

PERIOD 3 - AFTER THE FIRST

After The First is a parable - a story that has a moral or teaches a lesson. To figure out the moral of the film, first ask yourself what lesson Steve's father and mother wanted him to learn? Second, what do you think Steve actually learned? Then decide what the film taught you.

Mr. Gallagher

34 comments:

Jess Ward said...

In the film "After the First" Steve's father wanted him to learn how to become a "man" almost and hunt with him. He wanted to teach him like his father had taught him when he was a boy. His mother on the other hand believes he is too young to go hunting and doesn't want him to. His father wanted him to learn but what he actually learned was that he didn't want to kill an innocent rabbit. He thought it was fun shooting the stump with the shot gun but when it came to killing, he only shot the rabbit to please his father.

Isaiah M said...

"After First", is short film depicting a rite of passage. In the movie, Steve's father wanted him to become a man through hunting. His mother wanted him to take his time becoming a man a preferred an alternate "rite of passage" other than hunting. In the end, Steve learned that shooting a tree in not the same as shooting a live, moving, breathing thing because target practice is not the same as killing.

Clark Masterson said...

In the film "After the First", Steve's parents have conflicting views on what they want him to learn. His mother opposes the idea of hunting for sport and not only refuses to go hunting with them, but also attempts to convince Steve's father to call off the hunt. On the otherhand, Steve's father believes hunting is a rite of passage and he adamantly fights to make sure Steve comes with him. After the first and second kills, it is obvious that Steve looks at hunting much differently than simply shooting a stump. The only reason he shot the rabbit was because his father told him to. The fact he has taken a life weighs heavily on him and it is clear that he is not enjoying himself like his father intended.

Kasey Murphy said...

I think that the lesson the Mom wanted Steve to learn is to not be afraid to try new things, even though she didn’t like the idea of him going hunting I think that she thought that it would be a good experience and that he would think if killing a rabbit is worth pleasing his father. I think that hunting was a way for Steve and his father to bond and it would symbolize Steve becoming a man. I think that Steve learned that hunting is important to his father and that he sympathizes with Steve because he said to Steve that it will get better and that the first shot is not how you’re going feel after every hunting experience. I learned that you should stick up for your beliefs and if you don’t feel comfortable doing something than you shouldn’t have to do it.

Kasey Murphy said...

I agree with Jess that he only shot the rabbit to please his father, the preassure of pleasing his father was weighing heavily on his mind and that he learned that he didnt like shotting the rabbit.

Andy Tabb said...

In the film "After the First", Steve's parents both were trying to teach him a lesson. His father was trying to teach him how to become more of a man by hunting with him, while his mother was telling him that he might not be ready yet to start hunting. After Steve had shot the Rabbit, he learned for himself that he did not like the idea of taking the life away from an innocent animal.

Andy Tabb said...

I agree with Isaiah that Steve learned that shooting a stump is not nearly the same as shooting a live animal.

Rick Packer said...

As everyone has said, Steve's mother was opposed to the idea of hunting, whereas his father expected him to have a good time. While his father does sympathize with Steve's remorse after he kills the rabbit, Steve is clearly much more effected than his father. The film showed that people react to killing in very different ways, and often can't be predicted. Even though his father suggests it will get easier, this is probably not the case.

Gabby King said...

I think that the moral of the film “After the First” is to do what you want and listen to your gut instead of listening to someone else. Steve listened to what his father said and didn’t want to stand up to him and decide not to shoot the rabbit. Steve didn’t listen to his gut feeling when he decided to shoot it since his father wanted him to. After, Steve was upset and almost horrified by what he had just done since that wasn’t what he really wanted to do.

Gabby King said...

I agree with Clark. His mother was reluctant about letting Steve go and the father was very enthusiastic and thought Steve would like it just as much as he did. Steve thought that shooting a stump was awesome but clearly he felt very different after shooting and killing a rabbit.

xoxivette said...

In the film "After the First" it showed two very different rights of passage. One was his dad's constant reassurance that if he went hunting he would become a man and the other was his mother's worrisome attitude towards him going hunting at such an early age. While they were hunting Steve learned that he liked the power of shooting a gun and was having fun shooting at random targets. But when it came down to shooting an innocent rabbit he had to think twice but eventually go through it just to please his father. The pressure of having killed an innocent creature dwells on him and he realizes that maybe it wasn't such a good idea and that this is definitely not for enjoyment.

xoxivette said...

I agree with Clark that the fact that he took a life is really hitting Steve hard and makes him realize that maybe he was wrong to go hunting.

Natalie Donabedian said...

In the short film "After the First", we see a young boy, Steve, who is just celebrating his twelfth birthday. As a present, his father decides to take him on his very first hunting trip out in the woods, just the two of them. Although his wife clearly objects, he still ends up taking Steve out. Steve is very excited about this at first but things quickly changed. Steve's father wanted to teach Steve how to be a man. He felt that Steve was long overdue to go hunting since his own first trip was when he was only nine. Steve's mother wanted to preserve Steve's innocence. Steve ended up learning a lesson about violence.

Natalie Donabedian said...

I agree with Isaiah's statement that target practice is not the same as killing and Steve is quick to find that out the hard way.

Rachael King said...

In the film "After the First" each character has a different view about hunting. The mother is against it and does not want Steve to learn how to hunt. Steve's father thinks it is a right of passage and that although the first time is hard, it gets easier every time. He thought that it would have the same impact on his son as it did on him, but he was wrong. Steve looked up to his father and really wanted to impress him. He was nervous about shooting the bunny and you can tell that he is deeply disturbed after he shoots it. Although he feels it is wrong, he still did it to please his father.

Rachael King said...

I agree with Isaiah's comment when he says that shooting a tree is not the same as shooting an animal. When he first got into the woods he was excited and didnt really think about the big picture and the effect it would have on him, until he shot the bunny and realized how much he hated it

Jenny Volpe said...

Steve's father wanted him to learn about firearms the way he did as a child, his father teaching him while hunting. This way he is taught the safest way where he can see for himself the effects of guns. Steve's father learned that it is not as easy as it looks to shoot and kill a living thing, and he is teaching his son the same lesson. His mother doesn't want him to be taught this lesson so young. I think Steve learned that he cant judge too quickly. He was excited about hunting at first, and then right before he shot the rabbit he realized that it is not as fun as it seems. The film taught me that I would never want to hunt, because I feel that I would have the same reaction as Steve did. Killing a living thing is not something I could ever do.

Jenny Volpe said...

I agree with Ricky that people respond to killing in different ways. Steve's father said that after the first it gets easier, and I think that it wont for a person like Steve. He will remember what he felt when he shot his first animal, and I don't think he want to bring those emotions back up again.

Nicky Simard said...

Steve's parents in "After the First" wanted him to learn different things from his hunting experience. His father wanted to continue the tradition of father taking son on a hunting trip as a right of passage. His mother did not think her son was emotionally ready to take on the hunting experience and didn't want him to go because she wanted to preserve her son's innocence. What steve wound up learning was that with a gun comes responsibility. Whatever he chooses to do with it will rest on his shoulders. He also learned that he shouldn't listen to other people telling him to do something that he believes is wrong. He has to trust his gut feeling and do what he wants to do and not what anybody else does.

Nicky Simard said...

I agree with Jenny in the sense that Steve judged the hunting adventure with now previous knowledge about the sport. He expected it to be a fun trip with his father but in fact he was faced with a very difficult deciscion: whether he should kill the rabbit and make his father proud, or he shouldn't and make himself happy.

Berit Bancroft said...

I think that in the film "After The First," both of Steve's parents wanted him to mature and learn a lesson but his mother was fearful of him learning that lesson by hunting, at least at his age, and his father thought that this was the best way for him to become a man. I think Steve knew that he felt wrong shooting the rabbit but he did it anyway just to please his father so the lesson that he learned and that he taught us is to listen to your gut and don't do something that you feel is wrong.

Berit Bancroft said...

I agree with Kasey and Nicky. Steve only shit the rabbit because he felt the need to please his father. Also, he expected the trip to be different than it was and more fun. Both of which weighed heavily on him and his emotions and I don't think he knew how to handle that.

Jen Bracey said...

In the film "After the First", Steve experienced a rite of passage and went on his first hunting trip with his father. His father wanted to teach him how to hunt and to handle a gun properly. His mother had a lot of hesitation about the trip, but reluctantly let him go on it. At first Steve thought hunting was going to be really fun, however once he was persuaded to shoot the rabbit, he realized that he didn't like it and he fell to the pressure of his father.

Andrew_Lipke said...

I think the purpose behind taking Steve on a hunting trip was that they want him to learn responsiblity as well as the cycle of life. They want him to understand that their is a cycle to life, that eventually he is going to have to look out for his kids. What he learn however is something different. He learned how heavy the responsibility of adulthood can be on a kid, how he intially may have enjoyed the trip, but he really just wants to stay a kid. Me, I really didn't learn much, I have been hunting since I was about 6 years old, and I have been hunting with a code that whole time. I know what he went through, but it is not as big a thing as the movie makes it out to be.

Jen Bracey said...

I agree with Isaiah because Steve thought shooting tree stumps was really easy and fun, however when it came time to shoot an animal, it's a whole different story. Steve realized this the hard way by listening to his father and shooting the rabbit. Steve came to the conclusion that he didn't like the feeling of killing an animal and that it is much different from shooting a non-living target.

Chris said...

The film “after the first” displayed a very interesting message. The father in the film was trying to teach Steve what he feels are valuable lessons learned from hunting. The mother is scared of her son losing his innocence so is against letting her son go hunting. However, Steve really wants to go because he sees how much satisfaction his dad gets from it. However, after the death of the rabbits, he realizes that hunting wasn’t what he imagined and didn’t appreciate how the rabbits were unnecessarily killed. Untimely, that is what I learned from the film. It is that not everything appears to be what it seems. Also, I learned after group discussion that aggression is in everyone but it is brough out differently.

Chris said...

I agree with jenny and ricky about how people react to death and murder in diffrent ways. Some people get a thrill or rush from doing it while others not so much. This can even be applied to today's society and how we have hunting organizations, as well as animal rights organizations, which totally go against each other.

Steph Debs said...

This short film showed a family who was helping their son through a rite of passage. The son, Steve, went hunting with his father for the first time. The mother was hesitant to let her son go at such a young age. She didn’t want him to be hurt physically and didn’t know how he’d handle it mentally. She wanted her son to learn that he had to be responsible and mature to hunt. The father was excited to pass on the tradition of hunting. He was in the war and used to killing animals so he wasn’t very worried about how the son would handle it. He pressured the son to take his first shot and to kill the rabbit. He taught the son that it was good to hunt and he thought it was a fun sport. The son was excited to go with his father and hunt. He liked bonding with him and sharing stories. However; his mood changed after he killed the rabbit. He was nervous to take a life and he felt guilty. Steve learned that hunting isn’t all fun and games. Steve realized that it was a serious matter.

Steph Debs said...

I agree with Berit. Steve’s dad did think that hunting was a mild stone that made his son into a man. His parents did want to teach him a lesson but he may have been too young to learn it. I also agree that Steve learned that it was wrong to take the life of the rabbit for sport and not necessity because of the way he felt afterwards.

Tony silva said...

In this short film the boy Steve was faced with taking a step into manhood at the age of twelve. He was brought out to hunt and kill rabbits, at first he was very excite and enthused, but when it came time to actually kill he was not excited and aprehensive. I believe that 12 is too young to be put into a situation like that and be expected to be ok with it, Steve was too innocent and did not feel right when his father was telling him to shoot the rabbit.

Jack said...

I think this story shows alot about personality along with personal characteristics. The sun, despite being related did not have the same veiws of hunting. He was put in a sithation where he wanted to make his father happy but at the same time knew in his heart it wasnt the right thing too do. He was persuaded too do something despite hes negitive veiws towards it

Tony silva said...

I agree with issaih that steve realizes thy practicing shooting is not the same as having to take a life, even if it is from a rabbit.

Jack said...

I agree with ricky. Everyo.e has there own personality. Just because there is a genetic relationship doesnt mean they share the same opinion about killing.

Brenton Croteau said...

I was absent these days.