My
301 class will be involved with a special project after their racism unit. They
along with a university class taught by filmmaker Jocelyn Ford in China will watch 2
documentaries about minorities in Taiwan and China followed by a joint
discussion using WIGGIO.
The
first film they will watch is Ford’s No
Where to Call Home (2014) and the second one is my friend Tony Coolidge’s Voices in the Clouds (2010). I will remind the class about themes we have discussed in the past around issues of Colonialism, Otherness and Identity.
A good article about Tsai Ingwen using aboriginals to make her case of Taiwanese separation from the mainland is NPR's June 11 report. Here are two timelines of Chinese-Tibetan relations one from the BBC, the other from Free Tibet.
A good article about Tsai Ingwen using aboriginals to make her case of Taiwanese separation from the mainland is NPR's June 11 report. Here are two timelines of Chinese-Tibetan relations one from the BBC, the other from Free Tibet.
I. Preview Lesson
Before
they watch the films (with their homeroom teacher) I want to do an introduction
on documentary films. As they watch the films they can fill out this viewing guide worksheet.
I. Introduction
A. Vocabulary
B. Since the 1930s, documentaries have included:
- Educational films
(made primarily for classroom use)
- Newsreel depictions
of events
- Nature films
- Biographies
- Autobiographies
- Films designed to
raise awareness about social issues and inspire people to action
One of the distinguishing characteristics of
many documentary films is that they are not only informational but also
artistic. Film Historian Tim Dirks describes them as “factual works of art.”
B. Techniques:
1. Exposition: In a
documentary, the exposition occurs at the beginning and introduces
the important themes of the film. It is important because it creates the
viewer's first impression and introduces the viewer to the content.
Dramatic segments of the documentary are specially chosen in
order to catch the viewer’s attention. These shots are specifically positioned,
such that the montage positions us to believe a certain theme presented by the
documentary.
2.
Re-enactments and live action (vérité) footage
3.
Stock or historical footage (Archival footage) and images shot by the filmmaker (Actuality)
4.
Voice Over
5.
Interviews
6.
Montage-
visual representation of character’s thoughts
C. Film-making ethics:
1. When
filmmakers tell someone else’s story rather than their own, what responsibilities
do they have to their film’s subjects?
2. What are the
ethics that should govern putting someone else on film?
3. Should the
subjects of the film be shown the footage?
4. Should the
subjects have a right to decide what is or is not included in the film?
D. EXTRA PROJECT:
Allow them 10-20 minutes to plan their film and discreetly give each group
a specific angle to take when thinking about their plans:
Group 1 – How
does the student body feel about the school cafeteria? What do the students
like? What do they think can be improved?
Group 2 – What
kind of food is being served? What is the nutritional value? How does the
quality of food compare to that of neighboring schools’ cafeterias?
Group 3 –
Profile the head chef in the cafeteria.
Have each group present the elements of their plan without revealing their
assigned focus. After all three groups have presented, ask for observations
about the similarities and differences between plans. Ask them to guess what
accounted for the differences. Then, reveal the three different angles and
discuss how three films, all looking at the cafeteria, could turn out to be so
different. Be sure that by the end of the discussion students understand the
link between content and perspective. Advanced students might also discuss how
content might have differed if they had the same assignment, but wanted to
convey different points of view (e.g., they were all looking at the nutritional
quality of the food, but one group wanted to highlight improvements in recent
years, another group hoped to raise additional funding by highlighting
improvements that still needed to be made, and the third group opposed the
changes and wanted a return to foods that a greater number of kids liked, such
as pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, and fries.
Discuss why a television series and website that showcases independent
documentary films would choose the name “POV.”
Sources:
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