Close Reading The Village: November 15, 2018

Focus: How do we analyze evidence from a film?

1. Warming up with a "Friday" freewrite on The Village and 9/11:

M. Night Shyamalan (writer, director, and producer of The Village) has stated that he created this film in response to the post-9/11 culture of fear and hysteria. 

• Where do you see this film specifically addressing post 9/11 culture? 

• What does this film have to say about our semester questions:
• What do Americans fear?
• What do we do to feel safe, and does it work? Why or why not?

3. Performing a sample close reading of a scene together to get you ready for your end-of-unit assessment tomorrow

Gather evidence: List at least three specific details from this scene that could be read symbolically. Look especially for details that can be read in at least two different ways.

Find the pattern: Brainstorm what ideas theses details have in common.

Connect to something bigger: Look through our Gothic mysteries and your Village viewing guide. Does anything here connect to the ideas/evidence you just explored?

Draft a thesis: Compose a thesis statement that asserts how one of the Gothic elements or a specific symbol reveals a larger theme about fear and/or safety (a Level 3 idea) in The Village. What do we fear? What do we do to feel safe? Does it work?

Sample: In The Village, M. Night Shyamalan uses the Gothic element of the forest's uncanny sounds to illuminate that our greatest fears result not from external forces but from our own insecurity and imagination.
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Switching gears!

4. Offering you the transcendentalist book club overview and giving you time to browse and start forming groups

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Finalize your thesis for tomorrow's in-class writing on The Village. Click HERE for a detailed overview of the timed writing expectations.

2. For TUESDAY AFTER BREAK: Bring in your transcendentalist book and your signed proposal.

3. For FRIDAY AFTER BREAK: Start preparing your one-minute speech for next Friday, November 30. Use the rubric to guide your preparation. If you have not yet selected your topic, please do so immediately.

• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.