Unit 3: Television, Films, Book Publishing

DURATION: 2 hours

KEY TOPICS

Feature films – formula for success
Representation in film
Representation in books
Hollywood, community and indigenous stories

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this unit, teachers will be able to:

Examine the success of current television programmes and feature films
Assess representations in film, television and print (including books)
Develop a treatment for film and/or television
Examine the placement of television programmes in a network schedule
Analyze gender representation in advertising
Analyze technical strategies in representations
Examine alternative, indigenous stories in television and film

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES and ACTIVITIES

Film is one of the most powerful media of the last hundred years, with mass audiences around the world. In recent years, television and the Internet have also reached a huge public in many parts of the world. At the same time, books remain a significant source of ideas and information. All four media and information providers can play a significant role in shaping how a society understands itself by telling national stories and promoting particular versions of national history. An important part of media and information literacy (MIL) is understanding how these media shape our sense of the world we live in.

ACTIVITIES

Use the Internet to research the success of recent major motion pictures. Visit a website such as Box Office Guru. Make a list of the five films that are box office successes locally or internationally. If possible, view the trailers online for each of these films, or select one film and watch it in its entirety. Describe who or what is represented as central to the storyline. Explain why this representation might be appealing to audiences.
Ask teachers to identify various versions of the representation of historical events. For example, Napoleon in Russia: books published during and about this period; films created in various genres; artworks or pictures; any other visuals such as photos and music videos. Visit a museum or archive (if one exists in this subject area in your region) and based on this, collect material to prepare an essay about your observations.
Select any book or article written about your country. It could be about your community, culture, or a specific event. Identify how different aspects of the subject selected are represented. Do you agree with these representations? Why or why not? Discuss.
Obtain a collection of advertisements from the Internet or local newspapers or television in your country. Try to ensure that these advertisements feature both women and men. In small groups, discuss how women are represented in the advertisements vis-à-vis men. Write down some of your observations. Discuss the possible implications of some of these representations. Are certain representations viewed differently by some members of the group? Why do you think this is so?
A popular feature film formula focuses on the archetypal myth of the ‘heroic journey’. Myths represent implicit belief systems that express the fears, desires and aspirations of a culture. In these stories, the hero – unaware of his destiny – is called upon to take up an important quest. The hero usually passes through several stages as part of the quest, including: his ‘birth’ or beginning, becoming aware of his ‘calling’ or destiny, experiencing romance, encountering foes, receiving advice from a wise elder and, finally, returning home
- Develop a list of films that are based on this formula. Account for their appeal. Describe the hero, explaining to what extent the hero represents the desires and values of the individual in society
- Describe the camera work as well as the use of sound and music. Assess how these technical elements reinforce the representations central to the story (i.e. the impression created of a villain or a romantic hero). Explain how the meaning of particular scenes in the film would change if, for example, the sound track were different
‘Our goal is to get a variety of perspectives represented in film and television. Increasing the number of points of view available on screen is not taking anything away from anybody. In fact, it leads to more and better programming, new visions on screen.’ (Joan Pennefather, first woman chair of the Nation Film Board of Canada, in Maclean’s, 29 March, 1993)
Visit the websites for mainstream, indigenous or community media that represent alternatives to the Hollywood blockbuster. Browse the selection of stories being told through these companies or organizations. Compare these stories to those being produced by the major Hollywood studios. Assess the value of these ‘independent’ organizations in giving representation or voice to alternative, indigenous stories
Discuss the responsibility of the film and television industries to their viewers. Why should all viewers be able to see themselves and their stories on the screen? Discuss the implications of mainstream stories and representations for various audiences. Explore how specialty channels, various Internet sites, blogs and new technologies are influencing the art of storytelling and offering alternative representations to audiences

ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Media & Information Literacy For Teachers

Languages

Module 3: Representation in Media and Information