Hamilton Billy example essay topic

The story starts off with a young journalist named Hamilton, who's sent on his first story in Jakarta Indonesia. He meets Billy Kwan who soon becomes his photographer and close friend. Billy actually tends to be more of a mentor to Hamilton. This you can tell in the end of the movie after Billy dies and Hamilton wanders aimlessly for stories and becomes too overwhelmed by Jakarta's crisis to continue.

Hamilton is faced with a couple of problems here, one being exposed to such poverty and being too na " ive to acknowledge it, and two actually living there in the midst of it. Can he really stay there alone and cope with the scarce food and starvation, watching the government in their palaces living large and ignoring the truth. He gets pushed around and hurt while getting his stories, enough to change his mind about being stationed there. Jill, a fling he had, tries to save his life by warning him of a weapons shipment to the PKI, but Hamilton chooses to write a story on it, not only endangering his life but the life of his friends Jill and Billy. Hamilton's solution is to just leave Jakarta. Billy faces some different problems, he really cares for the people of Jakarta where as compared to Hamilton, Hamilton puts his story as top priority.

The First time Billy saw Hamilton Billy said, "I feel sorry for the boy placed here all alone". Billy saw something in Hamilton, enough to even help him on his first story. The story was an interview with the president, Sokuro, whom Billy had a fond interest in early in the story. As the movie progressed Billy came to a realization that Sokuro wasn't ever going to help them, Billy, feeling betrayed decided to take things into his own hands. Billy's solution was to try to expose the poverty by hanging a sign out side of a hotel window as the president passed by. While doing this Billy was pushed out the window and fell to his death, Sokuro never saw the banner.

Billy can see that nothing or nobody was going to help these people. PKI guy on the other hand is trying to fight the government. He's waiting for the weapons shipment to wage civil war on the existing government. His problems are more personal, Indonesia is his country and the people of Jakarta his life. PKI guy asks Hamilton, "Am I a stupid man?

Why should I live like a poor man all my life while stupid people in your country live well? Why do you condemn those in my country who try to do something about it". He also said, "Billy Kwan was right westerners don't have answers any more". Then he refers to water on the moon, as if his life is spent tring to reach something he " ll never attain. PKI guy's solution is simple that is to stand up for what you believe in. I could see Taylor in Hamilton.

I view Hamilton as being a Materialist, in the beginning of the movie Billy quotes the Bible saying, "Luke 3: 10 what them must we do" about the ongoing poverty, Hamilton says, "What we do wouldn't do any good just a drop in the ashes". Then Billy says, "Don't think about the major issues, do what ever you can about the misery in front of you. Add your light to the sum of light". Billy wants the story whereas Billy wants to help whomever God puts before him. Taylor believes in the solidity of things, If you can't or don't see it then it's not a sound philosophical notion. Just like Hamilton who doesn't want to see the starvation, he doesn't necessarily ignore the ongoing problems he just feels there's nothing he can do about it.

In Plato's allegory of the cave depiction he talks about a cave dweller who emerges from the darkness and into the light. He compares this to the soul and while transitioning from dark to light or from light to dark the minds eye is hazed as it tries to focus. This reminds me of Hamilton who comes from living accustomed to one way of life and is suddenly forced to witness first hand the blinding poverty of a third world country. Hamilton is flooded with vision from his new environment so much that he is unable to stay.

I see Plato's Allegory of the cave in the movie "The Matrix.".