Rationale
The film study unit that I am going to teach is a unit that I feel is quite urgent in the society that we live in today. I feel that Hollywood filmmakers have depicted the African-American race with such degradation that in order to reclaim the minds of young African-Americans the true story must be told.
I have chosen four films and four novels to use to give students a direct view of where the African-American race has been to help them understand where they need to go. The films being used are: Sankofa, written, directed and produced by Ethiopian filmmaker, Haile Gerima. Amistad was written by David Franzoni and directed by Steven Spielberg. Hotel Rwanda was written by filmmaker Terry George and co-screen writer, Keir Pearson. The screenplay Beloved was written by Akosua Busia a prince from Ghana. The companion novels are: Kindred, by Octavia Butler, Mutiny on the Amistad, by Howard Jones, Hotel Rwanda, (Bringing the True Story of and African Hero to Film), by Terry George and Keir Pearson, and Beloved, by Toni Morrison. The authors of each of these novels will play a role in this unit. Not only are they diverse in race and gender, we will learn how financial support determines the depth of how we measure success.
Throughout the reading of the films and novels I will highlight the difference in the visual styles of the filmmakers, the acting, the language, and the use of music for dramatic effect. In the novels, the writing styles of the authors will be noted along with the themes of oppression and other human issues and dilemmas. I will demonstrate how all of the texts deal with these issues and feelings. I will discuss slavery and the impact African history have made on society today in an effort to help students understand and appreciate their past and the struggle, pain, and sacrifices, of others.
I will begin the unit by having an open discussion on slavery. I will give them a definition of slavery from the dictionary. I will discuss with student the fight against slavery. I will give students the opportunity to share their feelings about slavery. They can express what they have heard, what they have seen, the effects it may have had on society, and whether or not slavery has affected them personally. I will inform them that within this unit they will see a lot of injustice, oppression, suppression, and maybe feel some depression. It is important to focus on the thematic purpose for comprehension and enlightenment. I will show how enslaved black people in the new world of America are connected with their African past and its culture. Throughout the unit, I will introduce new vocabulary terms and how they relate to the study. I will discuss the backgrounds of the authors and how their view points on slavery vary. The different angles from which the films are produced may also be a reflection on the author. I will emphasis the importance of the author in both film and in the novel.
In class, we will read portions of the novel Kindred. I realize that it will take practically the entire year for the unit to be completed in its entirety; therefore we will only read certain chapters, pages, or lines to teach this novel. (The chapters are specifically stated in the lesson plan. However, the teacher's discretion can be utilized) I will give the students outside reading assignments, which will give students who would love to read the entire book an opportunity to finish the novel. I will provide the students with in depth discussions in class to enable them to fully understand and ask questions about their reading. After we have read and completed all assignment pertaining to the novel, I will show the film Sankofa. This novel is similar to Sankofa because it also tells the story of a black woman who travels back in time and becomes a slave. Also in the end both kill their tormentors. I will discuss comparisons and contrast with the students which will allow them to create a comparison/contrast chart.
I will point out the differences in the novel and the film by telling them, for example, that although Dana, in Kindred is pulled back in time to save a drowning boy, she remains aware of her twentieth century identity unlike Mona in Sankofa. (2)
I will help students to identify the plot, the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, the rising action, and the falling action, and the recurring theme in both the film and the novel. I will assist them in identifying the cinematic effects of the film. I will help them take a closer look at the camera movement, the sound, the focus, and the importance of shots taken from specific angles.
I will model for the students giving them lead questions, which will help to identify the author's purpose. For example, why is the eagle continually looking back in the beginning of the film? What does society see when it continues to look into its past? Why is sound important in a film? For example at the beginning of Sankofa when we see pictures of African sculptures, including the Sankofo bird we hear African chanting and drums playing. The narrator (Sankofa's interpreter) begins speaking. Sankofa is calling out to the Spirits of the Dead-the stolen Africans. He speaks of their suffering and mistreatment and urges them to "rise up and possess your vessel. . .your bird of passage."(3)
Finally, I will demonstrate the important role that filmmakers and authors can play in defending the value of African culture as part of their assertion of their own pride in being black.
Amistad
Having understood the project of Sankofa, this unit now can compare Gerima's tone with that of another film, Amistad, from a director with a totally different background. These films share a central theme. . .the issue of slavery and race relations.
I will begin by reading portions of the novel, Mutiny on the Amistad, by Howard Jones, and then we will watch Amistad. Because of the difficulty in viewing the inhumane treatment in this film we will discuss the film and the novel together.
I will focus on images, emotions, and narrative voice as we view Amistad. The novel will be used as a supplement since it only briefly tells what the film is about. I do feel that it is important however that we read the printed text to build comprehension skills.
I will compare and contrast the independent black film maker Haile Gerima's struggles in making a film with the best known, wealthiest, and most influential filmmakers in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg. I will ask students to tell what the disadvantages are of making a film with no money. I will also ask them to list some advantages of making a film when there are no monetary limitations.
I will give an explanation of the author's point of view and perspective. I will illustrate how the point of view determines the author's tone or attitude toward a particular work. I will examine the harsh narrative voice used in Gerima's Sankofa and compare it to the understanding empathy conveyed in Spielberg's Amistad.
"Both Amistad and Sankofa depict the cruelty and injustices of slavery. Both demonstrate the horrific conditions of the Middle passage. Amistad shows how slaves were stripped of all their clothes, squeezed into a small storage area that was damp and dreary, and constantly whipped and beaten for no reason at all. These depictions are important because descriptions of the Middle passage are usually avoided since the conditions were so humane and humiliating to the slaves; scholars do not like to believe that whites could have been so cruel. While Amistad only shows the abuses that occur on the ship, Sankofo goes further to also demonstrate the abuses that occur on the plantation as well. Also Sankofo's theme centers on the importance of going back to the past in order to understand the present. Amistad does not focus on this concept but at the end, when John Quincy Adams is giving a speech to the Supreme Court, he says, "Who we are is who we were". One point the Amistad and Sankofo differ on is their depiction of the role of Christianity in slavery. While Sankofo portrays Christianity as an instrument of white oppression used to manipulate and control slaves, Amistad shows a slave being inspired by Christianity. (4)
Beloved
The third segment of this unit will focus on the film and the novel written by Toni Morrison, Beloved. Being black and female in today's society is a challenge within itself. I am sure that as Toni Morrison focuses on slavery, brief freedom, and a woman who struggles to survive, she incorporates some of her own experiences and personality.
This novel is quite extensive and can be difficult to read. I will spend most of this segment interpreting the film. I will challenge students to be creative as they view the movie, taking notes, and writing their own personal reactions.
I will use this film to teach word choice and syntax. I will point out certain passages and conversations during the film and ask students to write a comment using their own words. For example, the mother's need to escape; escape from what or from whom?
I will ask students to write about a time they felt they wanted to escape from something.
I will continue with the recurring theme of slavery and knowing our past in order to move into the future.
I will lead a discussion on the love that a mother has for her child, as we discuss some of the ways a mother will try to protect her child from dangers, disappointments, shame, etc.
Beloved and Sankofa both discuss slavery and the attempts to escape slavery at any costs. They also both address the fact that mothers feel especially determined to escape when they are about to have a child because they cannot stand to see their child born into slavery. In Sankofa, Kuta runs away because she wants her child to be born in a free land. In Beloved, Sethe attempts to run away immediately after she has had her third child in order to prevent her from becoming a slave. When she is caught, she goes even further-she kills her third child and attempts to kill her other two children in order to prevent them from being slaves. Sankofa and Beloved are also similar in that both involve the past history of slavery haunting the characters in the present. However, Beloved and Sankofa differ in the impact of the past. In Sankofa, going back to her past allows Mona to become free and makes her more confident about who she is. In Beloved, the connection to the past, in the form of Beloved's (murdered child's) ghost, drives Sethe insane and results in her sons' and lover's departure.(5)
Hotel Rwanda
As I stated in the introduction, film and literature are not enemies; in fact, they should be seen closely together because they share so many common elements and strategies to gain and keep the audience's attention. Educators know that for many of our students, film is much more readily accessible than print because of the visual nature and immediacy of the medium, but the very things that films do for us, good and active readers of literature have to do for themselves. With that similarity in mind, this unit deals primarily with isolating particular skills that we want active readers to possess and demonstrating how they can be introduced and practiced with film and then transferred to the written text. This philosophy, I think, reflects most classroom teachers' approach to reader-response theory that students should try to put themselves into a text before beginning the formal analysis and synthesis. All film does is make this leap easier.
In the final section of this unit, I will present one of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind that took place in the country of Rwanda. In an era of high-speed communication and round the clock news; the events went unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages. (6) The truly amazing thing about this film is that the events are an eyewitness account. This film is the real life story of Paul Rusesabagina, who exemplified courage to save 1,268 people from certain death while the rest of the world closed its eyes.
I will use the film Hotel Rwanda to tie this unit together. Using the literary account of Hotel Rwanda, Bringing the True Story of an African Hero to Film, written by a white filmmaker who struggled for three years to gain support and financing for this film, I will give students the opportunity to view film once again from another perspective.
Both Sankofa and Hotel Rwanda tell a story vastly different from the generally distorted representations of African people that Hollywood gives us. Many of the Hollywood made movies gives a distorted picture of what slavery actually looks like. Both films outline a long struggle which continues today, to escape exploitation and oppression, and to achieve genuine equality.
I will explain to the students that unlike other films depicting slavery, both Sankofa and Hotel Rwanda we actually see a movement through social, political and religious changes. The fight against slavery and a slave revolt are prominent parts of Sankofa. In Hotel Rwanda we see a fight to survive. I will demonstrate how the relationship between slavery and genocide cruelly coincides with injustice for all.
Because of the reality of the events I will review the elements of a story with this film and novel. I will focus on the plot, characters, setting, problem, and solution in viewing this film. I feel that it is crucial in a true story to help students understand the difference between real and imagined. I will ask students to write the plot or the main occurrences in the film. I will assist students in identifying the major characters and explain why they feel that there role is significant. I will give students background information on the country of Rwanda. I will discuss the culture, the language, and the land. I will ask students to write about the problem that the people in Rwanda are experiencing and to write a logical solution to the problem.
I will lead the class in a discussion on genocide. We will talk about the differences between mass murder, and the Africans who were killed during slavery. We will also draw a relationship and connect all of the films and novels as a unit. I will use a Venn diagram to demonstrate similarities and differences with both films and novels.
In conclusion, I have attempted to blend the contemporary reality of African descendents with the experience of slavery to help students deal with the psychological, cultura and political impact of that brutal event of all of our lives. Also in my efforts I have sought to empower black youth by showing how African peoples' desire for freedom made them resist, fight back, and conspire against their enslavers, and overseers to free them from oppression.
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