Using Movies as a Means of Literary Analysis

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Using Moviesas a Meansof Literary Analysis

• Presented by Lynn Knowles
• North Star of Texas Writing Project
• June 7, 2004
• knowleslm_at_lisd.net

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Quick Write

• What is your favorite movie?

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Brainstorm Discuss

• Why do we watch movies?
• What are the genres of movies?
• How do movies compare to books or other
  entertainment?

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Writing Exercise

• Convince me to see your favorite movie.
• Preparation Discuss teacher as movie viewer
  different from student as movie viewer.
• Discussion of audience and tone.

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Best Sentences

• Aladdin While the magical aspect of the movie
  dazzles the children, the deeper concepts hold
  the adults.

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• Field of Dreams It is not the magical aspect of
  the movie that gives us hope, it is the joy of
  watching people learn to appreciate the simple,
  often overlooked parts of life.

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• Forrest Gump Viewers become engulfed in the
  drama of the movie from the moment it begins to
  play, and as Forrest tells his story, they feel
  that they are a part of it, too.

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• Italian Job It is not the individuals that make
  their goal possible, but their teamwork and trust
  that lets them accomplish their task and succeed
  in getting their gold.

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• Life of David Gale This becomes a film not
  about Gales current situation, but about the
  consequences of Gales actions and the ultimate
  purpose of his crime.

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• Lion King Running away from your problems will
  only cause them to become greater, and Hakuna
  Mattata can only help you for so long.

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• Master and Commander The movie knows what it
  has to do and does not try to be more than that,
  a downfall of many other large-scale productions.

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• A Night at the Roxbury A Night at the Roxbury
  is filled with fun and adventure that will make
  you laugh until you wet yourself, cry until you
  wish you had never watched the stupid movie, and
  feel suspense that would have even Edgar Allen
  Poe shaking in his boots.

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Web Sites of Movie Reviews

• www.mrge.com
• www.imbde.com
• www.movie-reviews.colossus.net
• www.filmcritic.com
• www.All-Reviews.com
• www.CriticsNest.com

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• Movies serve the function of all storytelling, to
  entertain, inspire and perhaps even teach us to
  cope with problems.
• Delving into the inner workings of great cinema
  making means becoming immersed in the elements of
  a good story.
• - Stuart Voytilla

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• Moviemaking can be considered the contemporary
  form of mythmaking.
• Many of our most memorable movies follow the
  classic configuration of the Heros Journey.
• - Stuart Voytilla

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Archetypes

• An archetype is a pattern or model that serves as
  the basis for different but related versions
  of a character, plot, image, or theme.

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Heroic Pattern

• Call
• Response
• Departure
• Conflict
• Transformation
• Return

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Hero Archetypes

• The Hero
• The Young Man from the Provinces
• The Initiate

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Relationship Archetypes

• Mentor-Pupil Relationship
• Father-Son Conflict
• The Star-Crossed Lovers

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Character Archetypes

• Mentor
• Threshold Guardian
• Hunting Group of Companions
• Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart
• Scapegoat
• Outcast

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Female Archetypes

• Earth Mother
• Temptress
• Platonic Ideal
• Amazon Warrior
• Unfaithful Wife
• Damsel in Distress

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Place Archetypes

• Threshold
• Underworld
• Wilderness
• Garden
• Crossroads

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Situation Archetypes

• Quest
• Task
• Initiation
• Journey
• Fall
• Death and Rebirth

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Student Responses
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A Beautiful Mind

• Call to break codes for military agency
• Journey into unreal world
• Transformation comes through therapy and
  medication
• Fall descent into schizophrenia

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Finding Nemo

• Mentor-Pupil Dory to Marlin
• Innate Wisdom Dory
• Father-Son Conflict

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Miss Congeniality

• Call to become undercover agent
• Damsels in Distress beauty contestants
• Mentor Michael Caines character

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Office Space

• Initiate Peter
• Hunting Group of Companions best friends
• Outcast Milton
• Devil Figures bosses
• Damsel in Distress Jennifer Anistons character

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Remember the Titans

• Mentor Coach Boone
• Threshold Guardians picketers outside the
  school
• Journey early morning run to Civil War
  battlefield
• Wilderness old school house out of town and
  near the woods

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The Ring

• Heroic Pattern
• Call death of niece
• Response investigation
• Stony Place of Suffering well made of stone
• Stairs Katie runs up them, symbolizing a
  dangerous way into the unknown

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Youve Got Mail

• Maternal Figure Birdy
• Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart Joe
  Fox

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TEKS connections(from English II)
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The student is expected to

• write in a variety of forms with an emphasis on
  persuasive forms.
• write in a voice and a style appropriate to
  audience and purpose.
• organize ideas in writing to ensure coherence,
  logical progression, and support for ideas

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The student is expected to

• compile information from primary and secondary
  sources in systematic ways using available
  technology.

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The student is expected to

• draw upon his/her own background to provide
  connection with texts.

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The student is expected to

• compare reviews of literature, film, and
  performance with his/her own responses.

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The student is expected to

• compare and contrast varying aspects of texts
  such as themes, conflicts, and allusions.
• understand literary forms and terms

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The student is expected to

• evaluate the credibility of information sources,
  including how the writers motivation may affect
  that credibility.

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The student is expected to

• identify and analyze the effect of artistic
  elements within literary texts.
• evaluate artistic performances.

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The student is expected to

• deconstruct media to get the main idea of the
  messages content.
• recognize how visual and sound techniques or
  design convey messages in media.

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Final Comments
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Work Cited

• Voytilla, Stuart (1999). Myth and the movies
  discovering the mythic structure of 50
  unforgettable films. Studio City, CA Michael
  Wiese Productions.