BEING THERE

US, 1979, 123 minutes, Colour.
Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine?, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, Richard Basehart.
Directed by Hal Ashby.

Being There has been adapted from his novel by Jerzy Kosinski and directed with finesse by Hal Ashby. Supported by Shirley MacLaine?, Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas and Jack Warden as the U.S President, Peter Sellers has an excellent role as Chance, the gardener, a naive, oversheltered, illiterate (but constant TV watcher) middle aged man who, by strange circumstances and by his plainness and directness of speech (which nobody believes could be true) changes people for better and worse. The TV watching has retarded him and made him incapable of confronting evil; the garden has given him wisdom. Chance (in a realistically drawn Washington) is a symbolic figure of the ills (and cures) of our times.

1. The significance of the title, its tone? The sense of presence? Expectations? The quality of the film, its awards? The work of Hal Ashby?

2. The contribution of Peter Sellers, his reputation for impersonations? His subduing his personality for the seemingly impersonal Chance? Audience expectations of Sellers, response to his impersonation?

3. An atmosphere of realism: the presentation of the Washington house, the streets, the blacks in the streets and their confrontation, television, shops, the political atmosphere of Washington? The President, his advisers, finance and committees? The media? How much of a sense of realism was needed for making the fable credible?

4. The contrivances of the plot in the realism? Chance and his being retarded for 55 years, his manner, the situation of his employer, Louise? His leaving the house after the confrontation with the solicitors? His walking the streets, the blacks? His taking his manual switch with him and trying to turn off reality? The chance encounter with Eve, with Ben? His being liked? The chance meeting with the President? Television interviews? His not being on the files? His rise to fame and influence? The plans for his becoming President during the funeral? How satisfying was the blend of contrived plot and realism?

5. Peter Sellers as Chance in name and fact? The symbolic nature of the name? The humorous irony of even understanding his name as Chauncey Gardener? The fact of his being a chance man, a gardener? Significance of names in society?

6. The presentation of Louise, her information about the death of the employer, her bringing Chance's meals to him? Her leaving the house? Her reaction to seeing him on the television, her explanations to her friends and to the audience? The comments on whites and all possibilities being open in the United States for whites? The credibility of her bringing up Chance and his dependence on her?

7. The audience's invitation to identify with Chance from the opening of the film: his waking up in the modern soft style, his immediate looking at television, his dressing, working, love of the plants? His lack of reaction to death and his preoccupation with eating? His encountering the solicitors and answering plainly, even to their misunderstandings and subtleties? His calling people by their Christian names? His reaction to being evicted? A man of simple needs and his expectations that they would be fulfilled e.g. asking people in the street for meals? A spontaneous child in front of television programmes, his continual changing them? His changing reality, his remote control and the encounter with the African American boys? The television in the shop window mirroring him and his preoccupation with it? The irony of losing his remote control as he moved out into the world? Chance as being moulded by television? Being able to act differently only when imitating television behaviour? His impersonal personality, stereotype?

8. The predominance of television, the fact of television especially in the U.S., the number of sets, the places in which Chance had his sets throughout the house? Television sets in the cars, shops, mansions? Television as presenting image? The relationship between image and reality, interpretation of image? Changing images, reversing them? Substituting images for reality? Communication via images? Chance and his learnt behaviour, through the words of television, styles e.g. handshake, yoga, kissing and his stopping when he didn't have any television models? The importance of the content of the television shows he watched, the popular entertainment shows, advertising? The focus on the inane content of television? The audience familiar with the satiric objects of the film?

9. The film's comment on television moulding chance and its comment on television moulding all viewers? Chance as a child and the communication via television, the importance of imitation, taking it for granted, his statement that he liked to watch television and couldn't read or write? The television being taken away and Chance being lost? Television as a too easy way of communication and education? Its taking away the capacity for discrimination, thinking, understanding? The irony of Chance always replying 'I see' as well as 'I understand'?

10. The importance of Chance and his work with the garden - the knowledge that he acquired by his experience in the garden: growth, the seasons, the variety of plants, the type of care and love needed? The contrast between television imposition and the experience of learning?

11. Chance and his being stunted emotionally - the old man and his tyrannical hold over Chance? Louise and her bringing Chance up, the importance of the description where she ridiculed his capacities? Chance's encounter with Eve and his inability to relate emotionally, sexually? Ben and his seeming appreciation ? and the effect of Ben's illness and death and Chance actually crying at the end? Indications that human experience could teach Chance something?

12. Chance as an allegorical figure and his story that of the United States? A listener, a watcher, a reactor? The irony of people crediting him with more than he actually had? People interpreting his basic remarks, his attentive listening, his reacting? Chance changing people because of this impassive presentation.. people reading too much into his responses. their inability to take the simple truth and accept it? The irony of audience response to the film and the danger of the audience taking too much from the film, reading too much into it as if the film was like Chance?

13. Peter Sellers and the quality of his comic performance? manner, dress, speech? His directness and the irony that he was always telling the truth? His encounters with Louise and the response to the old man's death and his wanting his meal, the man and woman wanting to evict him and his speaking plainly and their not being able to understand it? The encounter with the blacks in the street? The politicians?

14. The significance of Chance's walking the streets of Washington and discovering the outside world, the cumulative effect of this initial experience? The use of Richard Strauss' music and Chance's walking towards Capitol Hill? The television set and its reflection of him, the boys and the talk about Rafael? Chance and his wanting to be agreeable about Rafael and later asking the black doctor? His wanting to turn off unpleasant reality through his remote control? His asking people in the streets for meals? A man lost in the real world, despite all the information poured into him?

15. The accident, the chance encounter with Eve? The introduction to society? The beginning of reactions to him ? Eve and his dress, his name and her misunderstanding of it? People making claims ? and imputing them to Chance? His being taken into the house, his fascination with the elevator. his examining the house and the tour with Eve? His being invited to stay and his being able to accept? The elegant meal and his conversation? The encounter with Ben and Ben liking him? The visit to the doctors and the discussion about his injury? His reacting to everyone and still searching for the television sets?

16. Ben and the world that he represented? The wealthy sophisticated financial American? Age, control, his complaint about his illness as a youth disease? His access to the President? His love for Eve and his permitting her an affair with Chance? His watching Chance, Eve? Social outings and his pride? The importance of his friendship with the doctor? The meeting with the President? His enjoyment of Chance's company, testing his ideas and reading too much into Chance's non-reactors? His making financial policy because of Chance? His illness, the importance of keeping him alive and the focus on the medical aspects of American society? Chance at his death and the humane encounter, Chance's grief? The ironies of his funeral and the discussions by the pallbearers of Chance's possibility of being President? What type of American of the 20th century did Ben represent?

17. Shirley MacLaine's style as Eve? A wealthy society woman, her home, her fascination with Chance and her puzzle about him? The tour of the house, the meals, the society party and people's gossip? Chance becoming a sex object? Her response to his watching the television and puzzle? Seduction sequence and her throwing herself at him, telling him of Ben's permission? The lovemaking sequences? Chance and his statement about watching and her erotic behaviour? Her not comprehending his non permissive tone? Ben's death, Eve's grief? The modern American woman?

18. The characterisation of the President - in himself, his shaking hands, use of Christian names, his talk, guards, library, plane? The encounter with Chance and the discussion about the garden? His pragmatic using of Chance's imagery, his speech and the praise of Chance? The irony of his watching television with his wife and his own impotence? The investigation of Chance and there being no record? The conferences and his political grip slipping? The irony that people wanted Chance to succeed him?

19. The portrait of the doctor as Ben's friend, as liking Chance, as searching for his identity, the enquiries that he made, meeting the solicitor and his girlfriend and discussing what happened? His recognising the truth about Chance? Why was he the only one?

20. Society and its reactions - television interviewers, people at the party, the Russian ambassador and his wife, the F.B.I. and C.I.A. investigations, the Presidential aides? The satiric view of society and its response to cultivating Chance?

21. The staff in Ben's house and their response to Chance? His being one of the serving people and being feted as a guest? The presentation of class structures in the United States and the satiric observations on these?

22. Chance and his agreement to go on the television interview? His answers, his being taken up as a celebrity? His wanting to watch it? His switching himself off? The significance of Chance and his inability to face himself?

23. Themes of American society, politics, manners, morals? All these being confronted by the direct Chance ? the ironies of the response?

24. Simplicity versus complexity? Chance as deprived America, and the possibilities for growth? The irony of the discussions at the funeral? The faceless men preparing a coup ? and choosing the wrong man? The significance of the ending and Chance walking across the water - surviving, the overtones of Christ, the reality of the frozen lake? The continued focus on Chance with his particular style of dress, walk, hat? His going off into the distance, the future?

25. The effectiveness of this kind of fable, for entertainment, for jolting audience expectations, for changing attitudes?