Journal Entry #1- Paper Moon

Today in class, we watched Paper Moon, and I genuinely thought it was a charming and entertaining movie. I enjoyed the relationship between Moses and Addie and how it developed throughout the movie. In the beginning, Moses seems concerned only with himself and making money. Addie, on the other hand, showed to be street-smart, which is unexpected from a 9 year old girl. I liked how Addie stood up for herself and even helped others out in the movie. It showed her compassion, and it compliments Moses because they balanced each other out and challenge each other. Having Addie around seemed to make him care about someone other than himself, which Moses probably needed in his life. Their relationship made me think about how sometimes the people we meet can influence us and bring out parts of our personality that we might not normally show, and how others can bring out the best in you and help you develop.

The movie also connected to what we have been learning about confirmation bias, propaganda, yellow journalism, and snake oil. Moses relies on convincing people to believe his stories and claims by playing on others emotions and making them believe the stories he tells. Even though the movie is set in a different time period, the idea of people being convinced by a conman is still relevant today. Instead of selling bibles, though, there is a much greater range of how people can be scammed and it happens on a greater scale. It highlights how we need to be critical of others selling things/ ideas and reminds us to put our thinking caps on to protect ourselves from false information. Overall, I enjoyed Paper Moon because it was funny and entertaining but also had a meaningful message. I especially liked seeing how Addie brought out a more caring side of Moses and showed that people can change because of the relationships they build.

Comments

  1. williams.dan76September 3, 2026 at 7:26 AM

    Thanks for posting your first blog entry. I appreciate your writing about the film Paper Moon. Your fist paragraph is a sound review of the two characters, Moses and Addie. I agree that Addie softens Moses's self-absorption. But I was quite impressed with your second paragraph, offering insight into how Moses manipulates his targets. Great start!

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