RE: virus: Meme Movies

Deron Stewart (deron@direct.ca)
Tue, 9 Feb 1999 11:41:01 -0800

Some great scenes from which exemplify the memetics of leadership/motivation...what makes these speeches effective?

Henry V -- the St. Crispin's day speech given by Henry V (Kenneth Branaugh) on the eve of the battle of Agincourt to his troops which are outnumbered 5 to 1. Don't worry, be happy...

Glengarry Glen Ross -- the guy from the head office (Alec Baldwin) gives a "pep talk" to the lacklustre real estate salesmen at a district office. Second prize in the new sales contest isn't great, but it beats third prize...(GGR is "memetically savvy" throughout, esp. Jack Lemmon's sales pitches. A great movie -- but not a great date movie...):

The Untouchables -- Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) gives an after dinner speech about the importance of teamwork to his "executive team", using baseball metaphor and a baseball bat to emphasize his point...

Deron

-----Original Message-----

Richard B:

>>I highly recommend it.  It is a much sharper media critique than
>>Natural Born Killers.  Could others please suggest memetically
>>savvy movies?  Perhaps we can compile a list.

Reed Konsler [SMTP:konsler@ascat.harvard.edu]
>"The Usual Suspects"
>"Twelve Monkeys"
>"Contact"
>"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (both versions)
>"The Breakfast Club"