TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: SEEING THE FILM THROUGH THE LENS OF MEDIA LITERACY
© 2006 Frank Baker
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Before students can begin to study film, they must be provided with a focus.
There are many ways to look at a film. Posted below is a suggestion for teachers. Throughout this teacher guide for To Kill A Mockingbird, you will find numerous resources which touch on many of the characteristics listed below.
Students might be assigned different elements in which to research and study.
|
Literary Aspects |
Dramatic Aspects |
Cinematic Aspects |
Language |
|
Narrative Characters Setting Theme Signs Genre |
Acting Costumes Make-up |
Camera angles Sound and vision Lighting |
Integrated skills with a greater focus on speaking and writing. |
* Narrative (the story, story line, what the story line is based on; binary oppositions; disruption of an equilibrium and how a new equilibrium sets in).
* Characters (heroes, villains, helpers, main characters, supporting characters, and how characters function and contribute to our understanding of
the story).
* Setting (physical environment in which filming occurs, indoor or outdoor setting, its significance).
* Theme (general statement about the subject).
* Signs (anything perceptible that has significance beyond its usual function or meaning; an object, a sound, a person, an act, a color).
* Genre (romance, comedy, suspense, a combination of different genres).
* Acting (the performance of actors, whether it is convincing or not).
* Costumes (formal clothes, informal clothes, their color, and their contribution to the film).
* Make-up (style, color, whether it is exaggerated or plain, the effects it creates, colors).
* Camera angles, movements, and positions (low camera angle, high camera angle, dose-up, extreme close-up, tilted camera, and how these affect our understanding).
* Sound and vision (sound effects, soundtrack music, visual effects).
* Lighting (illumination in a scene).
Another Approach2
Questions to consider while introducing, studying and analyzing film:
1. Who is telling the story? Why is it being told? Does it appear to have a purpose?
(media agencies, authorial voice, writers and ‘auteurs’, marketing, economics, ideology)
2. How is it experienced? Who ‘consumes’ it, where and in what way?
(readers and media audiences- private and public experience, narrative structures)
3. How is it made?
(film technology, publishing and episodic publishing-the differences they make to the production process as well as to the finished product)
4. How does it construct meaning?
(film language and written language-expectations of audiences and readers, codes and conventions, narrative structures)
5. How does it represent its subject- especially with reference to period?
(representation, use of stereotypes, representation of the past)
| Literary Aspects | Dramatic Aspects | Cinematic Aspects |
| Who are the characters in the film? | Did the actors make you forget they were acting? How? | What vivid visual images did you note? What did they make you feel or think about? |
| What is the film’s setting? | Were costumes, make-up, and set equally important to the success of the film? | What sounds or music do you remember? What did they make you feel or think about? |
| What are the main plot elements? | In what scene was an actor’s voice (pitch, volume, expression) particularly effective? | What scenes can you understand even without dialogue? Why? |
| From whose point of view is the story told? | Select a scene that must have been difficult to act. How did the actor make his or her body movements appropriate and convincing? | What scene has very effective or unusual editing? |
| What is the theme of the film? | Describe a scene in which facial expression was important. What feelings were developed? Were words necessary? | If the film uses special effects, do they add to or detract from your enjoyment of the film? |
| What is the mood of the film? | Did the actors establish their characters more through dialogue or through movement and facial expressions? | . |
| What symbols did you notice? | How is this film like or unlike other films by the director? Does this director have a recognizable “style”? | . |
| . | Was there anything about the acting, set, or costumes that bothered you or interfered with your watching of the film? | . |
See bibliography for all source material cited here
Recommended Reading
The World In A Fresh Light, To Kill A Mockingbird, Film As Text, Australian Screen Education, No. 35, Winter 2004
Using Film to Increase Literacy Skills, English Journal, Vol. 93. NO. 3. January 2004
How to Organize a Film As Literature Class
http://www.englishjournal.colostate.edu/images/filmclass.pdf
