The Premise

Lajos Egri has a great book that I highly recommend. Art of Dramatic Writing begins with an introduction to a concept Egri calls "The Premise." This portion of the book alone is worth reading to provide some clarity to a topic many students find elusive: Theme.

My only warning is that he uses several of Shakespeare's plays as examples. If you want your students to discover the theme to Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Macbeth, or Othello, there are some other examples provided.

With high school Shakespearean adaptations (here)
(here) , (and here) being so popular I doubt that many of them will be completely unfamiliar with the basic plot.

Theme, however,is an elusive beast. Egri presents it more than just a blanket statement such as "Crime does not pay." Rather than floundering around among abstractions Egri demonstrates how a theme drives action. His template "______ leads to _____" is a great format for introducing students to a framework for clearly expressing the theme while giving theme the tools to articulate how the story present this theme through the actions of the characters.

Electronic Dustbunnies

Ok, ok. I know it has been six months since my last post. There's been a slew of movies I've got to add. . . so updates coming soon.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I wasn't sure how this would play with 14 year olds. I used the English audio track instead of the subtitles since it is really difficult to read small pring on a tv screen from more than 15 feet away.

I was very impressed with the resosponse Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received from my students. Of course, it was probably a bit easier for them to understand than the literature I was aksing them to compare it to.

I decided to finish the school year with Romeo and Juliet as a way of going out with a bang not a whimper. I had used excerpts from the Zefirelli version and the Luhrmann version throughout the unit, so I was reluctant to show either film in their entirety. As I began thinking about some of the themes in the film, I decided that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shared quite a few similarities. I knew that there were enough action sequences to keep the boys interested, but I wasn't sure how most of the girls in class would respond.

Overall the students did an impressive job with their compare/contrast essays. Since I got such a strong response to the film I have also used it as an example of the hero's quest in conjucntion with The Odyssey.

Misunderstood misfits or Romantic Heroes?

It is interesting to see how different generations react to heroes.

When I was in school reading The Catcher In The Rye was something that could get you in trouble or get you labeled as a rebel. Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case today. My students thought of Holden Caulfield as a "loser that needs to get on with his life and stop whining about stuff." Bewildered, I looked for a way to demonstrate Holden's contempt for a society of "phonies." What other character questioned the rules of society?
Cool Hand Luke

Just be careful with this one. I had forgotten about the car washing scene and almost got myself into a lot of trouble. But there are a lot of opportunities to look at the individual vs. society, and characteristics of a Romantic Hero.

Jay Gatsby and Charles Foster Kane

While showing the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is a common occurance in most American literature classrooms, it might not be the best selections. As is often the case, the movie is shown as a reward for completion of the novel, the big test, and any assorted projects that may have been part of the lesson. While this does give you some time in class to grade those essays on symbolism (Dr. T. J. Eckleberg's glasses, the green light at the end of the dock, etc.) some students may watch intently, others may sleep, and others may be catching up on their own schoolwork.

I have found that Citizen Kane offers some great opportunities for compare/contrast essays. The stories share many common themes: obsession with regaining the past, true identity vs. created identiyt, and power/wealth/corruption are just a few that easily spring to mind. While many students won't want to sit through a black and white film, and you may have a few that know what "Rosebud" means, setting up the film as a mystery and providing them with a graphic organizer to identify similarities and differences between the characters of Charles Foster Kane and Jay Gatsby, plot, and theme can provide a foundation for essays and classroom discussions.

I know that there is a lot of pressure out there to "teach the standards" and that teachers are feeling the pressure to get them taught. Adding a movie or two into the calendar does eat up a lot of instrucitonal time. However I feel that it can be time well spent if structured properly. The textbook is not your curriculum, the standards are your guide. The content can be a classic American film just as well as a classic American novel.
I step down from my mini-soapbox now.

As this is a new endevour I'd appreciate any comments/suggestions you might have.

Oscars

I'm getting geared up for the annual Oscar party, but thought I'd mention this little resource the Academy has for teachers: Screenwriting: The Language of Film.

Essential Resource

Reel Conversations is an excellent book to get started with. I ran across it in a bookstore while I was student teaching. It doesn't matter if you are an aspiring filmmaker or just someone that just enjoys sitting back with a bowl of popcorn, this book makes it easy to begin developing a critical approach to viewing films. The authors cite their expereiences with middle school students, which serves as great evidence that students don't have to be juniors or seniors in high school to have strong analytical and critical thinking skills.

I haven't read Reading In The Dark yet, but it also looks like a good resource.