Working Assumptions about Hollywood and History

Transcription

1 Working Assumptions about Hollywood and History Hollywood the History Teacher: first cut of history colbert report videos/423116/january /kathryn bigelow Kathryn Bigelow Director of Zero Dark Thirty 1

2 The Power of Film It cannot be doubted that motion pictures are a significant medium for the communication of ideas. They may affect public attitudes and behavior in a variety of ways, ranging from direct espousal of a political or social doctrine to the subtle shaping of thought which characterizes all artistic expression. The importance of motion pictures as an organ of public opinion is not lessened by the fact that they are designed to entertain as well as to inform. ~US Supreme Court (1952; Burstyn v. Wilson) Hollywood s Impact films appear to inspire at least for teaching specific roles, values and ideals as do the more traditional sites of learning such as the public schools, religious institutions and the family. -- Giroux, 1997, p. 53 2

3 Why? Media literacy can give young people the power to recognize the differences between entertainment, television that is just bad and the information they need to make good decisions. What they need is a clear awareness of how the media influences, shapes, and defines their lives. ~Richard Riley, US Department of Education, 1995 Working Assumptions about Reading Film Every film has messages or lessons. Readers may learn different lessons or messages than intended. Nothing is accidental; Everything is intentional even what s left out. Hollywood gets the first cut at history Film understandably requires compression of timelines and the invention of characters to advance story. 3

4 Active Viewer or Reader Pay close attention, watch films more than once, take notes, read written texts, read reviews, and discover author motives Discover and focus on significant patterns that emerge Ask and answer the What does that mean? & So what? questions. Arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre based criteria informed by the above steps that are consistent and plausible. Slide adapted from Brian Johnson Active Viewer or Reader of Films 4

5 Essential Questions Driving Course 1. What lessons do film producers, directors, actors want to communicate to their American audiences? Why do they want to make a Holocaust film? 2. How important, if at all, is historical accuracy or authenticity? What does accurate or authentic look like? 3. If the Ethos of Hollywood is first of all the art of the middle, that is, it s meant to appeal to everyone. Can this be achieved when portraying the horrific events of the Holocaust? 4. How can Hollywood portray or explore the murderous, inhumane events of the Holocaust and be commercially successful? What is one of your assumptions about Hollywood and making films about historical topics? Survey Questions that You responded to: A. Whether or not a film is based on historical fiction or actual events, a movie must make no errors in presenting sequence of events (i.e. events are in their correct chronological order). B. Whether or not a film is based on historical fiction or actual events, a movie should have no mistakes in the dates of when events occurred (i.e. correct about day, month, year). C. It is important that the director and screenwriter avoid creating characters who did not exist when making a movie based on an actual event. D. The screenwriters should not invent dialogue for a film based on actual events if they do not know what was said. E. Holocaust films should only portray actual events and not be based on fiction. F. Costumes and scenery must match the time period whether or not the film is fictional or based on actual events. 5