1. What are the causes of labor unrest in the coal mines of 19th-century France?
   What remedies does the movie suggest?
   According to Germinal, are the class conflicts of industrial society avoidable?
   


2. Germinal presents three versions of social reform: socialist, reformist, and anarchist.
   Which characters express each view? What, according to the movie, are the reasons for their preferences?
   According to the movie, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal?
   


3. What are the motivations of the mine operators? Do they express common class interests?
   What are the differences among them?
   


4. How does the film portray the lifestyle of the wealthier classes?
   Among the rich families, how does the film portray gender roles and issues of sexuality?
   


5. From the film, how would you describe German society during World War I?
   Who are the authority figures? What values do they express?
   


6. How did industrialization affect the place of working women?
   According to Germinal, what is a good woman? How important is class consciousness to a good woman? Why?
   


7. How do working class men compare to the richer men? What qualities do they have in common?
   What are their differences?
   


8. How does the film describe private behavior to present class differences?
   How do amusements and recreation reflect class issues?
   


9. In Germinal, what is the social role of the family? How do working class families compare to wealthier families?
   How do family relations reflect economic issues?
   


10. Several other movies deal with conflicts in coal mining, including How Green Was My Valley (1941), Harlan County (1977), and Matewan (1987). To what extent do these films address issues similar to Germinal?

http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/movie/165729

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