Lesson 6

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Flick Chicks: A Guide to Women in the Movies,” excerpt from “Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? (And Other Concerns),” Mindy Kaling, Crown Archetype, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2011

• • Blackfish, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, Magnolia Pictures, 2013

Materials

Tools

• Telling Stories with Film: Filmmaking Glossary

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Telling Stories With Film: Question Set Section 2

Editable Google Docs

• Telling Stories With Film: Question Set Section 2

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will review the entry for movie genres in the Filmmaking Glossary, and discuss the relationship between genre and realism.

Reread the Genre and Realism sections in the Filmmaking Glossary. Review, and potentially revise, the definitions for these terms you wrote in your Vocabulary Journal.

Consider and discuss the idea that audiences expect certain movies to be more or less realistic depending on their genre.

Make a list of movie genres and then discuss how each movie genre shapes the filmmakers’ storytelling choices, including the movie’s level of realism.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read an essay titled “Flick Chicks: A Guide To Women In The Movies” by Mindy Kaling, then discuss realistic and unrealistic movies.

Step 1

Access the essay "Flick Chicks: A Guide to Women in the Movies" by Mindy Kaling in your Unit Reader. Do a first reading of the essay, considering what Kaling means when she discusses suspending disbelief. Annotate the text for unfamiliar and interesting words.

Closely read the paragraph below:

I like watching people fall in love onscreen so much that I can suspend my disbelief in the contrived situations that occur only in the heightened world of romantic comedies.

With a partner, paraphrase what Kaling discusses in this paragraph about movies, specifically romantic comedies, and the suspension of disbelief.

Step 2

Later in her essay, Kaling says the following:

It makes sense, then, that in the romantic-comedy world there are many specimens of women who—like Vulcans or Mothra—do not exist in real life.

Pick one of the seven "specimens of women" that Kaling presents as examples of implausible depictions of women in romantic comedies. For the example you select, discuss the following questions:

1. In what ways is the caricature funny or enjoyable to watch?

2. In what ways does the character represent a woman who does not exist in real life?

3. Why might or might not an audience be willing to suspend disbelief while watching the character in a romantic comedy?

4. Can you think of any movies you have seen in which there is a character who resembles this character type?

Share and discuss your observations about and examples of the character type you examined.

Step 3

Find and read the entry for Suspension of Disbelief in the Filmmaking Glossary. With your partner, discuss how the glossary entry relates to Kaling’s article.

As a class, discuss the concept of suspending disbelief and how it relates to movie genres and the level of realism of a film.

In your Vocabulary Journal, write a concise definition for the term suspended disbelief. Under your definition, list some movies you have seen that are unbelievable, in which you suspended your disbelief while watching.

Share and explain examples with other students in the class.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

As a class, we will discuss belief and disbelief, truth and fiction, and how they play out in various movies.

Step 1

As a class, discuss the following questions and distinctions:

1. In movies, how do we distinguish whether something is

   1. true?

   2. true to life but not exactly true?

   3. apparently true but maybe not?

   4. fictional but based on a real situation or person?

   5. purely fictional?

   6. fantastical, or so strange or extreme that it does not seem to be true?

2. Can any movie tell a complete, true story? Or is it impossible for any movie, documentary or not, to present every fact and perspective in an objective way?

3. Do you think the documentary Blackfish presents a true and accurate story? Why or why not?

Based on your answer to Question 3, make a list of evidence from the movie that supports your opinion, either evidence of truth in the movie or of distortions of truth.

As a class, use your lists of evidence to briefly and respectfully debate whether Blackfish tells a completely true story or not.

Step 2

Discuss what you and your peers discovered about the controversies surrounding the "truth" of the storytelling in Blackfish. Discuss this characterization of the movie.

Online reviews of Blackfish show how controversial the documentary was. SeaWorld disputed the findings of this film, and some SeaWorld trainers claimed after the film’s release that the filmmakers cut any of their comments that did not fit with their agenda, the story they wanted to tell.

Discuss how an audience might determine whether or not to believe a movie, or to willingly suspend disbelief. Consider and discuss the following observations:

Some films classified as documentaries are controversial because viewers claim they are “fake” or staged, like the movie Catfish (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2010.). Other movies have been classified as fiction, but are recognized by critics as being very true to life or faithful to the true stories or biographies they are based on.

Discuss and compare the level of realism, level of truth, and level of believability in the films you have watched so far in the unit:

• Hidden Figures

• Blackfish

• the movies you watched independently in Section 1

• the movies you are watching independently in Section 2

• other movies you have watched recently

Step 3

In the Movie Planning section of your Learning Log, write a few sentences about the level of realism, truth, and believability you might want in your movie and why. Connect your thinking to movies you have watched and found to be enjoyable or compelling.

You will keep these ideas in mind as you decide which level of realism to use when you create your movie.