To get an "A"

Update:  I'd originally wanted this turned in on paper before the end of the year, but just try to write something about Gump on your blog.  Just keep in mind that at least SOMETHING should be on your blog, and the more the better.  If there's nothing - not even a review on one of the many films we watched - it's going to look like you weren't interested at all and just occupying a seat.  I do want to be nice.:)

As we all know, this class is big, this class got canceled a lot, and this class is an elective in the last semester of your senior year - so, it isn't high priority.  Apologies if it was disappointing to some of you.

In any case, I do plan to be generous, but I would like just a bit of effort from you all to secure a minimum score before the end of the semester.

Please write an official essay on Forrest Gump.

We will discuss possible thesis ideas in class.  Off the top of my head:

• Trace the treatment of a historical event within the book and the film.  What comment is being made on it?  How is it being projected through the interpretations of Forrest Gump?
• Gump as allegory.  How is this story and this character an allegory?
• Gump as "hero."  How does Forrest fit into the universal definition of a hero?  Is he a hero?
• Comparative review.  How does the film differ from the book, and how does it succeed or fail in the metapmorphisis?

I would like to split the class into two group for today and tomorrow, and then we will watch the film next class.

The Screenwriter of Forrest Gump - Eric Roth

Eric Roth is a successful screenwriter, and we can't argue that he did an amazing job on Forrest Gump.  However, a lot of people think one his more recent films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is really just a rehash of Forrest Gump with a marginally different story.  Here's a comical video which makes the case:

Loosely based on a short story of the same title written by F Scott Fitzgerald, we can see, again, that Roth turned it into a very different work.  But many criticize Roth for the cookie cutter similarities to Gump.

 

Some questions to consider:  what process did Roth go through in order to adapt Forrest Gump to the screen?   Was Winston Groom pleased with the outcome?


Scenes from the Novel that were not shown in the Movie:

• Forrest Gump becomes a professional wrestler
• Forrest spends time in a mental hospital
• He saves Mao-Tse-Tung from drowning
• He journeys into outer space along side an Ape and a woman
• Lives with cannibals for 4 years
• Becomes a very skilled chess player
• Stars in a movie along side co-star Raquel Welch
• He Runs for United States Senate

 I found the above information at a very good blog here.

Possible Material: Brokeback Mountain

I know we talked about this earlier, and I'd like to take a class vote on whether we should cover this or not.

Reasons we should cover it:

• We compared the book and film when I went to film school, and less so for the subject matter than the fact that both are very well-crafted stories.  In terms of adaptations, this one is one of the most highly regarded with Pullitzers and Oscars to prove it. 
• The short story is short - only 30 pages of PDF.  
• It's challenging material that you won't forget.  It makes you think outside your regular comfort zone.  Lot's of issues to discuss, ranging from homophobia to historical themes.
• You are highschool seniors, and should be mature enough to deal with it.

Reasons we shouldn't cover it:

• Some parts in the book are a bit graphic, and you might find it offensive.

• Some parts in the movie are a bit graphic at least by implication, and you might find it offensive.
• You are highschool seniors, and might be too innocent to confront such issues.

In any case, here is the PDF if you are interested:
Short Story - Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Some interesting stuff from Wikipedia here. 

Forrest Gump

 

As decided by democratic consensus, we will cover Winston Groom's Forrest Gump instead of Apt Pupil.  Don't bother watching the film ahead of time if you haven't already seen it.  The film and book are markedly different, but both are very good.

Here is a link to a PDF of the book.  I hope it works:


Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

As discussed in class, it is also fun to read the shooting script before watching the film, so we might have some fun doing a reading.  Here is the script if you are interested:

An HTML version. (no page separation)

A PDF version. (pages separated, but print isn't dark)


Try to read 30 pages of the book.  It's a smooth fun read. In class we will read the script.

Film Reviews: "Everything Must Go" and "Where The Wild Things Are"

Remember that your blog content pretty much IS your grade, and at the very least I want to see some sort of expressed enthusiasm for films if not reading.  We all read the above mentioned titles, and we watched both films (mostly) which should be enough to generate a well informed opinion.  Why not write a film review?  Thumbs up or thumbs down.  4 stars out of 5.  Whatever you want.
Check out the way reviews are written at Rotten Tomatoes.  Here are links to the films which you are welcome to agree or disagree with:


Everything Must Go  

Where The Wild Things Are

A "Cold Read" of the Cuckoo's Nest Shooting Script...

Hopefully, by now, most of you have at least a hundred pages under your belt (or, better yet, have finished reading).  Today, I'd like to spend some time doing a "cold read" of the shooting script.  This is a fun and useful task which you should try and do once in a while before watching the actual film.

Here is the link:

Cuckoo's Nest Shooting Script

Check out the following image, and it is hard to argue that "The Hero's Journey" doesn't always stand (at least to some extent) in EVERY story.  Today you have to come up with your own within one of the two stories - Wild Things, or Dance.

Today's exercise - I'd like you to get into your groups, and chose one of the two stories below to plug into a Hero's Journey. While "Wild Things" already has one in place in the children's book, you still have to broaden it and expand it.  For "Why Don't You Dance," you have a lot of freedom to come up with scenarios and a set-up to deliver the gist of the story. 

Copy and paste the work below and plug it into your blogs.


Group Members:

Our Story:

Why we chose it: 



ACT I

1. Ordinary World:

2. Call to Adventure:

3. Refusal of the Call:

4. Meeting the Mentor:

5. Crossing the Threshold:


ACT II

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies:

7. Approach to the Innermost Cave:

8. Ordeal:

9. Reward:


ACT III

10. The Road Back:

11. Resurrection:

12. Return With the Elixir:

Points of contention - ifs/ands/buts: