MovieChat Forums > The General's Daughter (1999) Discussion > What was that man supposed to have said ...

What was that man supposed to have said as an answer?


Hi.

In a scene where Madeleine Stowe's character interviews that young male soldier about Elizabeth's murder, she asked him the question "How scared are you?" about three times, but what was he supposed to answer with? "Yes, I am really scared" or "Not at all"?

And how did he understand that it was meant to be a metaphor for whether or not he was either involved with the crime or how much he knew about it?

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OK, sorry, I meant, about the r-pe, although because she was also murdered and it was originally assumed she was this and that when she was found dead and only later discovered that she was a victim of the original deed before, I wrongly somewhat assumed Stowe was asking that male soldier about the murder.

But still, back to the original question, what was he supposed to have answered with to "How scared are you?" and how come not once did he say "Excuse me, what do you mean?" or "Scared in terms of what?" etc or even just say "I'm not scared" or "I am somewhat scared" etc etc etc?

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"How scared are you?" - "What do you mean by that miss and how am I supposed to answer the question, could you clue me in on that please madam? Thank you."

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She asked that question for the same reason that the victims on Scare Tactics are asked at the climax of the prank: "Are you scared?!"

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Haven't seen Scare Tactics yet but will look into it.

But in this case, in The General's Daughter, it was a far from hidden and non-too-subtle metaphor for "What do you know?" or "tell me everything you know" otherwise you are likely to be in big sorts of trouble, right?

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I was only joking (a dumb joke). I think you're right though; I need to give the movie a fresh viewing (it's been several years).

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I think you're right Wuchak, I have seen this movie many times and own it on DVD and I think your analysis of that scene is pretty much correct. Lol.

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It was a rhetorical question. She was making a statement rather then asking a question. I agree with you though I dislike the "Why are you nervious" question people ask when they accuse you of somethinhg. Guilty or innocent your gonna be nervious anout being accused.

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