Post #13: Final Project

For my final project, I have decided to create a teaching unit about critical film analysis that is appropriate to the high school level. I have purposefully decided not to organize the unit in a weekly or daily fashion, because of the inherent time limitations of such a setup. The unit will be broken down into five sub-units, each of which builds off the previous one. Students will generally watch at least one film per week, and will be asked questions similar to the ones below in order to stimulate the critical thinking process.

Unit #1: Reaction & Response (Weeks 1-2)
This sub-unit will deal with students' reactions and responses to various films, and will focus specifically on the techniques filmmakers use to achieve them.

Example #1: the shower scene from Psycho (1960)


1. How does Alfred Hitchcock mix music, dialogue (or lack thereof), camera angles, and lighting create suspense in this scene?
2. Are his techniques effective (that is, were you, as a viewer, scared?), and why or why not?
3. Assume Hitchcock is still alive and plans on remaking this movie; how could he do things differently to get the proper reaction from today's jaded moviegoers?

Unit #2: Mise en Scène/Visual Aspects of Filmmaking (Weeks 3-5)
This sub-unit will ask students to pay special attention to the visual aspects of cinema, particularly in abstract films where mise en scène may not give a clear indication of the film's artistic intent.

Example #2: mise en scène in Suspiria (1977)


1. How does director Dario Argento use mise en scène to create an atmosphere of foreboding?
2. What does Suspiria's mise en scène have to do with the rest of the movie as a whole?
3. Why do some film directors choose to juxtapose their plots with seemingly unrelated settings?

Unit #3: Symbolism (Weeks 6-9)
This sub-unit will deal with recurring symbols and motifs, and how filmmakers utilize them to enhance the story.

Example #3: the "Gutterballs" dream sequence from The Big Lebowski (1998)


1. Which symbols that occur throughout the movie are most prominent in this sequence?
2. How do the Coen brothers utilize them to illustrate the Dude's predicament?
3. What do you, as a viewer, think these symbols mean, and what implications does your interpretation have for the movie? (Note: this question is highly subjective and the answers will no doubt span the whole spectrum of opinion)

Unit #4: Adaptations (Weeks 10-12)
This sub-unit will deal with film adaptations of literary works, and students will be asked to read the source material BEFORE watching the adapted version.

Example #4: Lady Macbeth's compulsive hand-washing in "Macbeth" vs. the burn ointment in Scotland, PA (2001)



1. How accurate is director Billy Morrissette's adaptation of the scene of Lady Macbeth's compulsive hand-washing, and does Pat McBeth accurately reflect Lady Macbeth's character?
2. Why do you think Morrissette chose to make a black comedy out of a consummate tragedy like "Macbeth"? Does it work? Why or why not?
3. Get together in groups of three or four and pick a genre of film, to which you will adapt "Macbeth". Which genre did you pick, why, and how will you accomplish such an adaptation? (NOTE: students should pay special attention to setting and conflict, rather than just dialogue)

Unit #5: Making Films About Films (Weeks 13-14)
This sub-unit will ask students to examine why people make documentaries about other movies and the techniques they use to do so, and, using that knowledge, will create their own short film about another film that they have watched in class.

Example #5: the opening of Overnight (2003)


1. What does this documentary reveal about writer/director Troy Duffy's personality?
2. What biases do the makers of the documentary bring to the table? Do they overcome them?
3. If you were to make a movie about another movie, which would you choose? Why? What point will you try to make? And what techniques that we learned in class will you use to accomplish this?

STUDENTS' FINAL PROJECT (Weeks 15-16)
Using the concepts we learned in class, choose one of the following two options:

1) storyboard, write, and film a contemporary adaptation or retelling of a classic novel/story, play, film, etc.
2) write and film a documentary about one of the films we watched in class.

For Option #1, students are encouraged to be creative with their interpretations, and should apply class concepts like different shot techniques, creative use of sound/music, mise en scène, etc. during the filming process.

For Option #2, students should take a stance on the film they chose, and should pay special attention to the class concepts listed above in order to back up their view.

Post #12: Teaching Adaptations in the Classroom

I love adaptations, and I definitely plan on teaching at least a few when I eventually get hired at a school. First and foremost in my mind is Scotland, PA, a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in rural Pennsylvania in 1975. Using this as an example, I would first have my students read the original Macbeth (or more accurately, act it out as a class), then watch the movie and discuss the similarities and differences. When that's done, I would then have them discuss why the filmmakers chose Pennsylvania in the '70s, of all places and times, as the setting for their adaptation, and why they chose to make it a black comedy instead of a tragedy like the original. What opportunities does it afford them? What new limitations arise? Do these factors combine to make a good Shakespearean adaptation? Why or why not? The students could then use YouTube videos to act out a scene from the original play in their own unique style and setting (incidentally, I had to do this for a different play, Measure for Measure, in my Shakespeare class just this past summer, and it was actually pretty fun).

Post #11: Heavy Metal as an Art Form

I've considered myself a metalhead since I was in seventh grade, when I first started listening to Metallica in the weight room during the football offseason. Ever since then, my collection of metal CDs and memorabilia has mushroomed from a few lonely albums on my shelf to a serious accumulation of all things metal-related--including a wardrobe of T-shirts bought on eBay or at concerts, several hundred albums, autographed posters and band gear, etc.

I guess the main reason I listen to metal--or the main reason anyone else listens to it, for that matter--is to feel empowered. Metal grew out of a general dissatisfaction with the status quo of the late '60s and early '70s, and that tradition continues to this day. Metal bands often speak about mediocrity, conformity, and submission in overtly negative terms. We metalheads seek to rise above the herd of everyday society; we're looked upon as outsiders, but that's OK with us, because the rat race isn't something we like to put up with. We like being different, we like being individuals, and we're not shy about showing it, whether through long hair, tattoos, shocking imagery, or really loud music. No one listens to metal to feel weak or helpless, which is the way society wants you to feel so you stay plugged in, so to speak; metal is all about bettering yourself through disconnecting from polite society.

There are a multitude of bands I could use as examples of why metal makes me feel this way, but the one I'm going to use is Arch Enemy, a Swedish band with a female (!) vocalist who play a subgenre of metal known as "melodic death metal" (i.e., harsh growling vocals combined with melodic guitar harmonies, sometimes involving the use of keyboards). Below is the music video for their song "Revolution Begins," from their 2007 album Rise of the Tyrant.



This song has everything that a good metal song should: a fist-pumping chorus, anarchistic lyrics, raw vocals, powerful and prominent guitar leads, thundering drums, and a steady pounding bass. The video shows normal kids tearing off their suits and ties, under which they wear their street clothes with a red armband (note: this is NOT a Nazi connotation; red is a color often associated with revolution), and running to watch Arch Enemy play. Also, note the pyrotechnics firing behind the band. The band (particularly vocalist Angela Gossow) describe themselves as political anarchists, and the lyrics confirm their stance: "Never too late to stand your ground, revolution begins...in you, in me...this is revolution!" Since I believe this country is in dire need of a revolution of some kind--maybe not a violent one, but SOME kind of revolution is necessary--I count this song as one of my favorites.

In the unlikely event I were given the opportunity to teach this song in the classroom, I would ask my students to pay special attention to the lyrics. How does the band advocate revolution, and what kind of revolution is it? Is it an actual political insurrection, or is it more of a personal revolution against the things that hold you back from truly experiencing life?

Post #10: Teaching Documentaries

The documentary I chose for this activity is Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising (2008). I chose it not because I'm a Moore fan (far from it, even though I lean pretty far to the left), but because of the message it conveys. Moore's intent was to get "slackers" (a catch-all term that applies to all apathetic voters, but primarily those apathetic voters who fall within the 18-25 age range) to "get off the couch" and vote in the 2008 presidential election. In this documentary, he uses close-up shots of the crowds at his speaking engagements to show his slacker viewing base that the people who show up to hear him speak are just like them: young, disaffected potential voters who want change but don't think their vote will make a difference. His word choice is key too: "The young people of America--you're the ones that are gonna do it! You're leading the revolution!" Phrases like that give the crowd a sense of agency, that they really do make a difference at the polls. Of course, Michael Moore is well-known for his one-sided portrayals of issues in previous films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, and nothing changes here, so viewers looking for evenhandedness are going to be disappointed. However, Moore succeeds in stirring up his fans enough to get out and vote, so the documentary was successful at least in that sense. As a person who feels that the youth of America have the potential to be empowered but remain apathetic for whatever reason, I feel that a documentary like this is not only successful, but necessary.

Post #9: War Movies as Media Ethnographies

War movies appeal to me because of the human factor: old war movies, more often than not, focused on ultra-patriotic themes, but newer movies focus on the individual soldiers fighting the war, and the conflict’s effect on them. Several character tropes exist within this genre: the grizzled old veteran, the level-headed leader, the anxious new recruit, the fast-talking New Yorker, the black man from the Deep South, etc. These movies often focus on a close-knit squad or platoon of soldiers in which these tropes are allowed to manifest themselves naturally. Very often, this squad must accomplish some sort of mission—whether issued from a superior commander or, more abstractly, from within themselves—and naturally, with a variety of people comes a variety of opinions on the best way to do so.

The most commonly occurring themes can vary from the aforementioned ultra-patriotism (The Green Berets, any war movie involving Mel Gibson) to the loss of innocence (Platoon, All Quiet on the Western Front, Full Metal Jacket), to the overarching ideologies that factor into war (Kingdom of Heaven), to a simple look at how normal people behave when thrown into combat (Band of Brothers, The Hurt Locker). This genre is limited in the sense that war, in its most basic sense of one group of people killing another, has remained fundamentally unchanged since the dawn of time, and some would argue that there are only so many times that one can watch people getting killed in various nasty ways before it starts to get old. It can also be argued that the character archetypes that I listed above appear in many, if not most, war movies and that there is little or no room for character development or expansion.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)


Platoon (1986)


Full Metal Jacket (1987)


Gettysburg (1993)


Saving Private Ryan (1998)


Band of Brothers (2001)



Kingdom of Heaven (2005)


Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)


The Hurt Locker (2009)

Post #7: Personal Media Ethnography

The first thing I thought of for this assignment was a Facebook group I'm in. It's a group for fans of hard rock and heavy metal, but the regulars (I'm one of 40-50 people who post regularly) discuss all kinds of music. I don't mean to brag, but my identity in this group is that of an expert: a lot of the regulars who aren't necessarily as "experienced" in metal as I am ask me and a few other people for recommendations. However, the best thing about the group is that it's reciprocal: for every recommendation I give, I get four or five from someone else. It would be a fair estimate that I first found out about half of the bands in my iTunes library via this discussion board. This exchange of information makes for a tight-knit group with its own inside jokes, jargon, and protocol. For instance, if you're new to the forum, you can't just jump in and start posting; most of us regulars consider that rude, and we have a whole thread dedicated for newbie introductions. Also, when one of us says "tr00 kvlt blakk metuhl," most people would have no idea what we're talking about. However, that phrase functions as both an example of our own little version of the English language, and as an inside joke (I won't explain it here, because that defeats the purpose of an inside joke). However, we don't abuse the English language, either: we usually type grammatically correct posts, and people who tYp3 lYk Th15 in seriousness are often ridiculed for being an idiot.

Something like this group I'm in could function in the classroom as a way for students to share ideas. The Ning for this class is an excellent example. Students can post their own material, get feedback from their peers, and respond to others' work. Not only is this a way to facilitate discussion of class material, but it also allows students to sound out their ideas and writing abilities, enabling them to both better understand the material and improve their writing and critical thinking skills.

Post #6: VoiceThread

Representations of family in the media:

ed.voicethread.com/share/1422021/

When teaching representation in the media, it can be helpful to ask students about their perception of the lesson's topic first, in order to gain some insight into their mindsets. After that, one could show a certain movie clip, commercial, etc. and ask both how the clip conforms to and deviates from their perceptions, at which point one can then ask them about the factors that lead to those perceptions. Using this process, one can enable the students to think critically about what they think and why.

Post #5: Teaching Critical Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz2ET5K6zY0

The clip I picked was from one of the most memorable scenes from The Big Lebowski: the "Gutterballs" dream sequence. For this analysis, I will use both semiotic and feminist critical theory.

The dream sequence is highly symbolic and referential: almost everything seen is a reference to something earlier in the movie. The repairman's outfit that the Dude wears was also worn by Uli Kunkel, a.k.a. Karl Hungus, in the porno that Maude Lebowski showed the Dude in her studio. The man behind the counter is Saddam Hussein; the Stranger mentions at the very beginning of the movie that the story takes place during the first Gulf War. Bowling, the Dude's favorite pastime, is manifested several times, including the towering rack of bowling shoes (when Kenny Rogers & The First Edition play the line "I tripped on a cloud and fell eight miles high"), and Maude and the chorus girls' outfits. When the tone of the dream changes, we see a topless girl falling through a black frame; it is the same shot that opened the scene in which the Dude shows up at Jackie Treehorn's party. The three men in red are the three nihilists who kidnapped Bunny Lebowski, and the scissors they carry can be seen (on a red background) in a painting in Maude's studio.

The sequence is highly sexualized as well. There is a widely believed theory that The Big Lebowski's main motif is castration and the male fear of same; the three nihilists wielding gigantic scissors is one of the most cited examples. In addition, Maude is portrayed as an attractive Viking princess, complete with horned helmet. Though she tells the Dude earlier in the film that feminists are wrongly portrayed as hating sex, the dream sequence takes place inside the Dude's head, not hers, so she becomes a woman who needs a man to accomplish something (which proves important later in the movie, when Maude needs the Dude to impregnate her). He shows her how to throw the bowling bowl, as if she could not do it before he came along. The chorus girls are clad in bowling-themed outfits that reveal most of their bodies below the waist, and when the Dude helps Maude throw the ball, he becomes the ball and passes under the girls' spread legs as he travels down the bowling lane, sneaking a few peeks in the process.

In order to teach these approaches to students, I would first have them watch the necessary movie, clip, etc., paying special attention to a) allusions to other points in the movie, b) recurring symbols, images, words/phrases, etc., c) how women are portrayed, and d) the relationship between men and women in the scene in question, as well as the overall film. We would then discuss as a class the different interpretations that could be made.

Post #4: Learning Film Practically

Being an actor in high school and a fan of group readings of plays in books in my English classes, I've always believed that the best way to get to know a book, play, movie, etc. is by doing it yourself. Most of us do it just by watching/reading repeatedly so we come to know the lines by heart. But when it comes to kids, acting out a film not only allows them room for interpretation, but also keeps them engaged in the material. Start by watching the film, then asking the students critical questions about it. Over the next few days, have the students get together in groups and discuss their individual interpretations of the film. Each group is then required to stage what they think is the most important scene in the film in front of the class, whether in person or in a video of their own. Following the presentations, have each student write a short paper on what their own interpretation of the overall movie was, their interpretation of the scene they presented, and why they came to that conclusion.

Post #3: Video Annotations

http://ant.umn.edu/vav.php?pid=61596511232625

This clip is a scene from one of my favorite TV shows ever, Breaking Bad. I chose this clip because it drives home the essence of the show in less than 2 minutes. The director uses lighting and music brilliantly to create an overwhelming sense of suspense and danger. The main character, Walt, undergoes a visible transformation as the scene progresses: from mild-mannered hardware store patron to menacing drug dealer in less than 30 seconds. The director used edgy and increasingly loud music, coupled with extreme chiaroscuro lighting, to show us the stark duality in Walt's double life.

Post #2: Me, Myself, and I

Post #1: Vlog Review

http://stevegarfield.blogs.com/

This vlog came from Steve Garfield, the man behind the Off on a Tangent blog and author of Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business. It uses a "man on the street" technique to appeal to (you guessed it) the man on the street: he uses a handheld camera and is only seen onscreen when the interviewee asks him to turn the camera around. I normally wouldn't care about the event he covers (BlogWorldExpo 10), the guy he's interviewing (Mark Burnett, reality TV producer and current producer of Sarah Palin's "documentary" series, Sarah Palin's Alaska), or what they're talking about (the premiere of a clip from said show), but Garfield's use of a handheld camera and his everyday speech patterns make him into a surrogate for the audience; it's easy to step into his shoes.