Preview Discussion Guide

Table of Contents:
1) Letter from the Filmmaker
2) Discussion Guide
3) Role Play Scenarios
4) Film Transcripts

The film discussion guide is built on the following three principles:

STEP 1 – UNDERSTANDING

The first set of questions and discussion points is designed to re-examine and articulate the different mechanisms which the film offers as main contributors to emotion of “hate.”

STEP 2 –HOPE through Empathetic Connections

The second set of questions and discussion points is designed to have the audience,
collectively and as individuals, make a human – connection with those in the film, even those with whom they adamantly disagree. Once this connection is made, hope is born.

STEP 3 – ACTION

These questions and dialogue points are meant to re-iterate ideas from the film, as well as
explore other examples and ideas of how we, as individuals and a species, can work to
overcome the reactionary system of “hate”.

Example exercise:

UNDERSTANDING

OBJECTIVE #1 – Understand how the human mechanisms: Fear, Cultural identification, and Shadow projection create situations of contention, violence, war, and hate.

FEAR Topic Explorations –

- How does fear play a role in Hate?
- What ways do people respond to Fear that lead to violence, war or hate?
- How is fear in an environment of war (actual violence) different from symbolic fear (God’s punishment)? How are they the same?

Discussion Prompts –

- The film presents “FEAR” as a key element to an act of hate. How was Fear consciously and unconsciously at work in the subjects and environments explored in the film?
- When Sheldon Solomon says, “Fear is a good thing when it comes to keeping the angry lion from biting your butt, but the problem is when it becomes symbolically motivated?” What does he mean?
- How does the brain work differently in an environment of fear? (does a non-specialist audience have a basis to know this?)