Discussion Guide for Hot Seat
The following are questions that can be used in guiding a discussion about the film Hot Seat.
1) Why is it so difficult for the rabbits—or humans—to step up and take responsibility about a shared item in a shared environment?
2) Are collective problems of responsibility more difficult to solve than individual ones?
3) Have you ever been the person who stepped in and took charge of a collective problem? If so, what prompted you? If not, why didn’t you step up?
4) Are you more inclined to help out in a group if someone else has taken the lead? Why or why not?
5) Why do you think the rabbit finally acted when it did to solve the problem?
6) Many people who think of themselves as responsible office members will nonetheless dump a broken chair on a colleague, walk away from the broken photocopier, and leave the coffee pot empty. Why the blind spot?
7) Are you less responsible about items at work (coffee pot, furniture, etc) than at home? Why?
8) Now that you’re more aware, will you act differently the next time you encounter the broken chair, the almost empty coffee pot, the jammed photocopier? What will you do?
9) What indicates when the advantage to yourself becomes a disadvantage to the group?
