MovieChat Forums > The Donner Party (2009) Discussion > Putting into the Pot?

Putting into the Pot?

posted 14 years ago by amymitsme
8 replies | jump to latest

I was confused about the discussion the Forlorn Hope party had after the first man had been killed/eaten. What did Mr. Foster mean when he was questioning the others about putting his share in the pot?
Thanks

[–] eclecticgoddess 14 years ago

That was confusing to us too. My theory was that they agreed that everyone should cut off their own slice of the dead man, so that all of them were equally responsible and no one could claim innocence later.

[–] Francis_P 14 years ago

That is correct. It was a decision that they all made as a group.

[–] NothingButDVD 13 years ago

Yeah, that was one of the most confusing parts. They didn't explain anything in this movie, but that scene was uber-crazy, Viewer-doesn't-know-what's-happening.

[–] JeffKaos71 13 years ago

i was confused by that as well

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room"

[–] jeremygordonmarch 13 years ago

It's a good question. I think he simply meant that everyone was expected to help cook the meat (by cutting pieces from the bones of the corpse and putting it into the cooking pot). Remember that the members of the party were very ashamed of what they were having to do to survive. They also almost certainly regarded partaking of the grisly meal as a sin (remember that a lot more people were religious in those days than they are now). IMO, Glover's character meant that no one should try to avoid responsibility - either "practical" responsibility for the very unpleasant work or moral responsibility - by expecting everyone else to cut and cook their meat for them.

[–] yesimgonnabeastar 12 years ago

Thanks to everyone for confirming what I believed & had to explain to my sister, who watched this with me. This movie leaves a lot up to the viewer to decide, and unless you're either (a) LDS and familiar with the pioneer story or (b) traveled in or are from around the setting (Truckee), hardly any of what you saw here really happened anyway.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] eddiehellstrom 9 years ago

I thought the reason for letting everyone cut off some meat and putting it into the pot was because of how mentally hard it must've been to slaughter/dismember a human being. They would all be sinners/responsible once they started eating anyway, so it wouldn't matter who put it into the pot.

I also wonder why they insist on chewing when they have knives. That Fosdick guy chewed like he was eating a steak or something. Poor directing.