Rich Parker

SLM 521

WebQuest

“And The Award Goes To . . . .”

a critical look at a popular art form

Introduction

Movies, motion pictures, films – whatever you want to call them – are the most popular of contemporary art forms. Each year more people see movies than read books, visit art galleries, attend the symphony, the stage theater, ballet or opera. And almost everybody feels he has a valid idea of what makes a “great movie”. Every year lists are made of and awards are given to the best films of the year. These lists are made by those who work in the industry, critics who review the product of those who work in the industry and the moviegoers who spend their money to see and support the industry. As the cliché so aptly expresses the reality of it: “Everybody’s a critic.”

For the purposes of this activity we’re going to restrict our research to films which have been lauded by those whose occupation it is to evaluate the quality of motion pictures. We’re going to take a look at films that have, in some way, advanced the art form over the years.

The Task

Your task will be three-fold:

Ø Investigate several critical list of “greatest films” and choose one for study.

Ø Get a copy of the film and watch it with family or friends and popcorn.

Ø Visit several websites devoted to critical discussion of great films.

Ø Read several original reviews of your film written at the film’s release.

Ø Write a five paragraph analysis of the film, the reasons why it is thought to be so important and your personal response to the film and the critical response to the film.

The Process

First, let’s pick a film from a respected list of important films!

O.K.! O.K.! I know everybody’s got a different idea about what makes an important film, so I’ll give you three choices of lists to use.

Pick a film from any of the three sites listed below:

The American Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest American Films @ http://afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences list of Academy Award winning films from 1937 to the present @ www.oscarworld.not/best_pic.htm

The New York Film Critics list of best pictures since 1935 @

www.nyfc.com/awards.html

Secondly, watch the film. Have fun! Invite friends and family! Pop up some popcorn, open a cold soft drink, load up on jelly beans or chocolates.

This step may take a while; I’ll wait!

Third, it’s time to do a little research on your film. Find out when it was made and by whom. Find out as much as you can about the film and the people who made it. You’ll have the best luck at the two websites listed below:

Internet Movie Data Base @ www.imdb.com

Filmsite.org @ www.filmsite.org

Don’t forget, also, to use your favorite search engine and use your film’s title as your search term.

Fourth, it’s time to get a little more serious. Let’s find out what the critics said about the film when it first came out. We need to read at least three or four critical columns. This is “one-stop shopping”; one website will allow you to access quite a few reviews that appeared in newspapers and magazines the day your film opened.

Movie Review Query Engine @ www.mrqe.com

The Product

Now, it’s time to put all of this together.

Your final product will be a formal, five paragraph essay organized as described below:

q A thoughtful thesis paragraph which introduces the film in a provocative an interesting way. Intrigue the reader; make him want to know everything about this film.

q The first body paragraph should be a clear, concise summary of the film’s plot. Discuss the major events in the film without revealing everything; you want the reader to have the opportunity discover the film on his own with a few surprises.

q The second body paragraph should be a combination of factual and critical material on the film. This paragraph should include interesting information about the film’s production that might enhance a reader’s appreciation of the film; the paragraph should also include critical comments made in print at the time of the film’s release. Verbatim quotes from original source material should be used, and the source of information and criticism should be accurately cited.

q The third body paragraph should be reserved for your own comments. Base your opinions of the film solidly on your own viewing experience. With what factual or critical information about the film (body paragraph two) are you in agreement; with what information do you find yourself at odds? Be the film’s final critic, but do be specific to detail in either your praise or your complaints.

q Finally, your final paragraph should briefly remind the reader of the film’s content, the film’s intent and your assessment of the film’s quality.

A Model

Check this out! Below you’ll find a sample of what you can do!

Program note: the following model is typed single-spaced to preserve space. Your essay should be double-spaced.

Extra special program note: because Psycho was presented as a classroom film, it is “off limits” to you as subject for this essay.

We’ve Got to Get That Bathroom Lock Fixed!

Psycho (1960)

Directed: Alfred Hitchcock

Edited: George Tomasini

Original music: Bernard Herrmann

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates

Janet Leigh as Marion Crane

Vera Miles as Lila Crane

John Gavin as Sam Loomis

Martin Balsam as Milton Arbogast

The Bates Motel on a lonely stretch of forgotten highway has twelve cabins. Recently, those cabins have all been vacant. And maybe that’s all for the best. Since Psycho’s release, this abandoned way station, the house on the hill behind the cabins, the motel’s caretaker and his mother have become synonymous with mystery and murder. In 1960, director Alfred Hitchcock pushed the envelope on terror in motion pictures. So don’t drive on by; do stop at the Bates Motel. Come early, but don’t stay late. Or, perhaps it’s best if you visit from a safe difference through the art of Alfred Hitchcock in his masterpiece Psycho.

In an effort to help her boyfriend out of debt and speed the day they can be married, Marion Crane steals $40,000 from the real estate firm for which she works. On the run and exhausted, Marion seeks shelter one rainy night at a hotel off the beaten path, the Bates Motel. After having dinner with the hotel’s shy, nervous proprietor Norman, Marian retires to her room determined to return the money she has stolen and turn herself in. Unfortunately, she never gets the chance. Before too long, three people are trying to track down Marion and the missing cash. All leads eventually point to the Bates Motel. A private investigator Milton Arbogast is the first to get to the motel and question Norman, but Arbogast soon goes missing as well. As the plot twists and then unravels Norman, the motel and the dark house upon the hill give up their horrible secrets.

Rene MacColl of The Daily Express called Psycho “one of the most vile and disgusting films ever made.” In the same breath, however, he also admitted that the film was “brilliantly directed.” Time magazine echoed MacColl’s criticism of Hitchcock’s appeal to the audience’s baser, voyeuristic instincts, calling Marion’s disappearance “one of the messiest, most nauseating (scenes) ever filmed.” While the critic praised Hitchcock’s earlier films such as North by Northwest and To Catch a Thief, he called Psycho “a spectacle of stomach-churning horror.” Other critics, of course, saw the film as a masterpiece. The Financial Times called Hitchcock’s direction “enormously skillful” and “perfectly assured in his own skill.” Reviewer David Parkinson called Hitchcock “the Master of Suspension” and declared Psycho “a timeless classic.” Over time, the film has been recognized as one of the great American films. “For all the gore and grotesque excess of modern horror,” says contemporary critic Anwar Brett, “few can equal the more chilling moments of the groundbreaking film. It may be 38 years old (Brett wrote in 1998), but it still scares the arse off of me – and I can only envy those about to see this masterpiece for the first time.

Critic Tim Dirk calls Psycho the “mother” of all modern horror suspense films. The film certainly kicks up the level of screen violence and suspense to new levels. It is not difficult to see where a movie such as Scream gets its knife wielding, robed serial killer. Psycho was revolutionary for its time in at least three different aspects: its subject matter, its editing and its use of music. Transvestism, cross-dressing, the Oedipal complex, serial murder, personality transference and sexual predators were all subjects Hollywood had been loathed to examine. It’s all in this film. The audience, like Norman, becomes voyeurs, standing in Marion Crane’s apartment or peeking through a hole in a wall to watch Marion Crane shower. We are all implicated in Norman’s perversion. Psycho is complex and layered in a way few Hollywood films are; symbolic imagery abounds in the film; these subtle visual clues include birds in Norman’s motel office and, most importantly, the consistent use of mirror images to suggest the duel personalities of many of the characters. The film would have a place in history if only for its famous shower scene. Here, following the restrictions of the time, Hitchcock must film an attack on a completely naked woman showing everything while showing nothing. It is a masterful piece of filmmaking by Hitchcock and his editor George Tomasini. The film’s total effect is hightened a score by composer Bernard Herrmann which includes the almost universally recognizable screeching violins that accompany scenes of screeching violence. The film was and remains revolutionary on many different levels.

The film failed to win any of the four Academy Awards for which it was nominated in 1960: best director (Hitchcock), best supporting actress (Janet Leigh), best black and white cinematography and best black and white art direction. The film has, however, had the last laugh, for it has left an enduring impression of popular culture and, for better or worse, has inspired the more graphic horror films that have followed. Viewers tend never to forget the night they first check into the Bates Motel.

Dirks, Tim. “Psycho (1960)”. Wsiwyg://mian.8/http://www.filmsite.org.html. 27 March 2001.

“100 Years; 100 Films”. American Film Institute. www.afionline.org. 27 March 2001.

“Psycho”. http://alfredhitchcock.gfmcity.com/…v?section=story&item=10000100010030.

27 March 2001.

“Psycho Press Reviews”. Wysiwyg://125/http://www.psycho1960.co.uk/presspresent.html

27 March 2001.

“Psycho”. http://www.salon.com/march97/williams970321.html. 27 March 2001.

Evaluation

As you write, keep the following grading rubric in mind.

	No evidence	Evident but not developed	Well developed	Exemplary
Thesis paragraph	Thesis paragraph missing	A separate opening paragraph does exist, but the material is not provocative; thesis statement may be missing	Information is high interest; thesis statement is clear and concise; writing may not be sharp or free of error	Information is exciting; writing is precise and free of grammatical errors
First body paragraph: summary	No summary paragraph	Summary is attempted, but seems unclear or incomplete	A complete summary is evident; one or two questions may arise; style may be bland	A complete summary is evident without giving away all the film’s surprises; writing shows energy, excitement and interest in the subject
Second body paragraph: critical material	Evidence of research does not exist	Evidence of research includes both factual information and critical comments on the film without an attempt to organize the information coherently	Information is extensive and thoughtfully organized; attempt has been made to include diverse opinions on the film; sources are clearly cited	Information is extensive and shows a wide variety of sources; diverse and even conflicting opinions are offered and assessed; sources clearly cited
Third body paragraph	No personal opinion on the film is offered	A personal opinion of the film is offered but too closely echoes material already cited in the previous paragaph	A personal opinion is offered which may, at times, reflect material cited in previous paragraph but which synthesizes this material into an original evaluation	This personal opinion may make fleeting reference to material in previous paragraph, but the evaluation is unique in its style and based on specific evidence supplied by the writer that indicates a thorough viewing and thoughtful evaluation of the film
Concluding paragraph	No conclusion	A conclusion that merely echoes the paper’s thesis paragraph	A conclusion that incorporates findings within the body of the paper	A conclusion that contains unique insight based upon a thoughtful reflection of material in the body of the paper
Grammar, spelling and mechanics		Material has an excess of errors	Material is relatively error free; evidence of spell/grammar check	Material does not need to be completely free of error, but these errors are few
“Technicalities”	Paper lacks a title or heading; paper is not typed/double-spaced	Paper only titled with the name of the film; heading is incomplete; paper is typed but not double-spaced	Paper has an original title which may, however, be bland; complete heading; typed double-spaced	Paper’s title designed to draw the reader in; complete heading; typed double-spaced

Conclusion

“I don’t know art, but I know what I like!”

This old cliché is certainly no more true than when people get together and discuss movies with family, friends and colleagues. The art of the motion picture is a popular art and depends a great deal on popular taste to be profitable. But like any art, there are measures of greatness, though sometimes conflicting measures, established by those whose job it is to study motion pictures, movies, films.

Have you discovered something new through this project? Have you seen a film you might never otherwise have seen? Have you had, in the end, a bit of fun as well?

A Few Webquest Websites

The following five webquest websites may be useful to teachers of English or Language Arts. They do not specifically deal with film study; I’d like to think I may have pioneered something there. Interestingly enough, the vast majority of such sites seem to be products of particular school systems who are using webquests exactly as we are learning to use them – as inspiring learning tools. Here are a few:

www.edhelper.com/language/language.html

This site is actual a broad catalogue of webquests on a variety of subjects in all disciplines. For English/Language Arts teachers, the site offers quests dealing with spelling, reading and specific units such as ancient Greece. This last quest may be useful to teachers, like myself, who struggle to take a class through Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey.

www.spa3.k12.sc.us/webquests.html

As the address above reveals, this is a school-system based site from Spartanburg. The most interesting quest I found here was one on “Children of the Holocaust” which could be used in our sophomore “Knowledge Unit” through which several members of my department introduce students to Elie Weisel’s Holocaust memoir Night.

www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq109/

Again, the product of work within a school system, this site offers up quite a few interesting quests on different subject. Here I found a quest entitled “Living in the Dustbowl” which I have already printed out. It’s going to end up in my Grapes of Wrath folder; I may use it as part of my unit next year.

www. sesd.sk.ca/teacherresource/webquest/webquest.htm

This web site is a general collection of quests on a variety of topics. I discovered another quest suitable to the study of The Odyssey; this one a general overview of Greek mythology.

www.macomb.k12.mi.us/wq/heh2ucs.htm

This school-based webquest site offers, among other things, a couple of nice quests revolving around Shakespeare. I particularly liked one on the Globe Theater.