Classroom Activities
Lesson Plan One
Introduction
To prepare students to consider the theme of gender stereotyping, I would begin by place the word "Men" on one blackboard and "Women" on another. I would ask students to name all of the adjectives, feelings, or any other words that come to mind as they think of each of those words. I will write the words on the blackboard as they brainstorm their ideas.
Another possible technique would be to divide the class into several groups and the give each of them chart paper and markers to brainstorm these ideas within their own groups. This would be followed by taping the responses to the walls of the room to discuss the results and to compare the ideas of the various groups. We would then discuss what the class saw as similarities and differences.
Role Plays
To have students begin to think about Lady Macbeth's tactics, I would ask volunteers to role-play a scenario where they get to try their hand at persuasion. One example might be the following:
To the girls: Pretend your boyfriend has sent you a text message asking you to see Fifty Cent, Ludicrous, or another popular Hip Hop artist in concert. You are thrilled! Then you see him the next day and he has changed his mind. Say everything you can think of to persuade him to change his mind.
To further explore issues of gender, I would now ask the boys and girls to switch places, substituting Beyonce for Fifty Cent, where the boy is attempting to persuade the girl. I would follow this with a discussion of what it felt like to do this. Was it different to watch a girl trying to persuade a boy than the other way around? What does this tell us about how we see the roles of men and women, and what it is okay for them to do in our eyes?
Films
As this one-period introductory lesson is ending, I would then explain to my students that we will be watching film clips from four different screen adaptations of Macbeth of corresponding scenes. I would direct my students to watch the film clips keeping in mind what ideas they currently have about what is a man or a woman. We would consider questions such as: In what ways do you believe Shakespeare followed or differed from those concepts? How, in particular, is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth presented in each of the films we are about to see? How does each of the characters either fulfill or contrast with what you expect from a man or a woman?
Lesson Plan Two
Prior to viewing Orson Welles' Macbeth, it is important to provide my students with background information about possible film techniques. A list of terms that I would use is located in the Appendix.
Next, I would ask my students to discuss their personal views and images of witches. I would ask them to draw a storyboard of the scene on the heath where Macbeth and Banquo first encounter the witches.
Once students are familiar with these terms, we will do a close reading of two scenes. The first scene would be the opening scene with the witches. I would give students a copy of the statement made by Michael Anderegg located in the earlier section on Welles' Macbeth. I would ask students to watch for the elements noted by Anderegg, and to see if they agree with his opinion. Also, we would compare this very brief section with the many pages in Shakespeare's text. Some questions for discussion would include:
- hy did Welles omit so much from the original text? (I would mention that Welles was pressured to cut much from his original film due to poor reviews and pressure from his studio.)
- hat meaning could be gleaned from "voodoo" doll of Macbeth on which the witches place a crown?
- here in the original text do we find the line, "Something wicked this way comes," and why might Welles have placed it here?
- hy is there so much fog? Does it appear to be realistic? How would it help the director who has a small budget? Could there be any other meaning?
- hat effect does the insertion of a man with a cross aimed at the witches have on the viewer at this point?
- escribe Welles as Macbeth. What adjectives would you use to describe him just based on his appearance in this first scene?
The next scene we would consider is the scene between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, beginning with her reading the letter informing her of the predictions of the witches. I would play the scene slowly, stopping after each few frames of film so that we may examine just what Orson Welles has done to create his intended mood. I would prepare a script of the scene (also located in the Appendix) so that students can concentrate on those techniques, as well as to provide them with a place to take notes. I would ask students to fill in the camera angles, to describe the mise-en-scene as the scenes change, to comment on the lighting with each frame, etc. These would be presented in the form of a chart or graphic organizer.
Questions to consider after completion of the chart:
What feeling do you get when the camera looks up at a character versus when the camera is aimed downward? What interpretation do you associate with these camera angels? Do they always mean the same thing? Does the high or low camera angle meaning something different in one scene versus another? Give some examples.
Lesson Plan Three
Background material for viewing Kurosawa's Throne of Blood
Kurosawa's Macbeth is an undisputed masterpiece. It is also a wonderful stepping off point for a discussion of Shakespeare's characters. However, it is essentially Japanese and will not be easily understood by my students in two main areas. Those are characteristics of Noh Theater and the principles of a Japanese Samari. I plan to avoid dwelling on either concept, but to give just enough background information so that students are able to understand what they are watching.
Characteristics of Noh Theater
It would be important to explain just a few basic elements of NOH Theater to my students - just enough so that they understand what Lady Asaji's strange make-up is all about. I would present the following information to my students, and ask them to look for any of these characteristics in Kurosawa's Throne of Blood as we watch portions of that film. We would also discuss the effect on our emotions as we see Lady Asaji in her white mask-like face. Does it increase emotion, or does it just distract from the intended emotion? The information below is borrowed (though excerpted and reorganized) from Ishii Mikko's article "The Noh theater: Mirror, Mask, and Madness." I would give this list to my students on a handout for us to read together and discuss:
- Characters wear masks.
- Stories are often of historical events known by the audience, and involve life's primary emotions: love, hatred, sorrow, vengeance, and jealousy.
- Stories are told in a highly stylized form expressing feelings and ideas using poses and gestures that everyone in the audience would recognize. For example:
- For Deep Sorrow: lowering the head and raising both hand to eye level.
- For Even Deeper Sorrow: repeating this gesture. No tears are shed. The character represents the sorrow quietly but profoundly.
- A journey of a hundred miles to a distant mountain or shore: a few steps on stage.
- The consummation of love between a man and woman: a light brushing together of their sleeves.
- The sequence of events follows a traditional formula. For instance the play begins with. . .a traveling monk or a courtier, announcing his intention of making a journey to a faraway place. He takes a few steps upon the stage and then announces that he has reached his destination. . .
- A chorus, which is seated throughout the play at one side of the stage, comments on. . .the events; accompanied by instrument music. It also sings some part of his emotional speech to enhance the tension.
To further assist my students to understand enough about Noh Theater to be prepared for the film, I would show them images of masks. I would project images from the following web sites to the class for them to see prior to viewing the film. First we would look at a series of masks at a site called the "Noh Theater Page," which shows many of the masks worn in performances. The address is: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~rlneblet/noh/. I would ask students to comment on the various emotions these masks might represent. Next we would visit http://www.artelino.com/articles/noh_theater.asp, an art auction site, to see several fully costumed characters.
I would share the following quote with my students. Michea Carter, in her 2006 Yale National Initiative curriculum unit entitled "The Delicate Marriage of Theater and Film," quotes the actress who played Lady Asaji in Throne of Blood:
In Kurosawa: A Documentary on the Acclaimed Director (2000), Isuzu Yamada is interviewed on her experience being directed by Kurosawa during the filming of Throne of Blood. Speaking extremely highly of the respect and warm regard she holds for Kurosawa, Yamada remembers the struggle she endured mastering the techniques of Noh theatre for her performance. She says that Kurosawa was adamant that her face remain stiff and unmoving as a mask. Her eyes were not to blink and her head was not allowed to make sudden movements of any kind. She was literally directed to control her physical and emotional self as if she were wearing a heavy mask on her face; thereby she forced all emotion to be displaced through her subtle body language and intense vocal variations. Yamada remembers a moment when after tapping a scene; Kurosawa made her tape the scene again because she blinked her eyes. (Carter 10).
Clearly, Kurosawa wanted that extreme mask-like appearance for Lady Asaji.
Role Play
To demonstrate how Lady Asaji's stillness makes Washizu appear even more tense and nervous, I would ask my students to conduct a role-play where one person kneels while speaking, remaining as still as humanly possible (including not blinking) while the other responds to what is being said with facial expressions, grunts, and body movement, such as sitting down, standing up, and walking. We would try this with several different pairs of students and several different scenarios.
The Samurai Tradition
Instead of handing students my own distillation of the meaning and traditions of the Samurai, I would assign them in-class group work to examine the following web sites: http://www.britannica.com/eb/ article-9065252>, http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2127.html, and http://cjj2004.tripod.com/budoryu/id60.html. I would give students these suggested web sites rather than just allow them to do their own search because most of what they would find concerns games rather than actual history. I would ask each group of students to write their findings on chart paper in list form so these can be easily read and posted in front of the classroom. I would suggest to students that they focus on what appear to be the primary principles of a Samurai Warrior. These sites also offer illustrations of Samurai that I will download and copy for display during our discussion. Once these have been posted, I will ask students to keep these in mind as we watch Macbeth's counterpart in the Japanese film Throne of Blood so that we can make comparisons.
Viewing Throne of Blood
I would begin the scene in which Lady Asaji is trying to convince her husband, Washizu, to murder His Lordship. Before any words are spoken, I would ask students to describe the mis-en-scene. Describe the room. Who is there? What are they wearing? Describe Lady Asaji's make-up. What is the lighting? What is the camera angle (in other words, does it come from straight ahead, from above, or from below)? As the scene begins, how are the characters positioned in relation to one another? How would you describe the mood the director is trying to create?
Prior to viewing the rest of the scene from Throne of Blood, I would distribute a worksheet containing all of the lines spoken by Lady Asaji and Macbeth's counterpart, Washizu. This script (see below) will enable my students to have a place to comment on specific elements of action and filmmaking while they watch. While viewing the clip, students will be instructed to fill in comments and observations about each of the following:
- What is the expression on the character's face?
- What is the character doing physically (merely sitting still, pacing, standing, etc.)? What sounds do you hear in the background? Is there any music, sounds of nature like wind or birds, or silence?
- With what intensity are the words on the script spoken? Are they said softly, loudly, yelled, grunted, or what?
- What is the tone of voice?
- What movements did either character make? (Note: remember that in Noh Theater, just a slight movement can mean a great deal.)
- Who is higher in connection to the other character when this spoken?
- What do you believe the character is thinking or feeling at that moment?
- Is this line in keeping with Shakespeare's original idea or does it differ? How much does it differ?
- Copy any lines of Shakespeare next to the lines in the script that seem to be paraphrased from the original Macbeth.
The script would be typed with columns and plenty of space to allow students to comment liberally. We would stop along the way to allow for students to answer the questions and for discussion. Also, I would show the clip a second time, allowing students to comment as each several lines has been spoken. This would give me the opportunity to point out camera angles and other things that they may have missed on the first viewing.
I have written down all of the subtitles and will present this to my students in the form of a graphic organizer so that they can conveniently address the issues in the listed above as they watch. This script can be found in the Appendix of this unit.
After watching the scene, on a graphic organizer, I would ask students to compare the reasons Lady Asaji gives for the killing with those of Lady Macbeth. Who is more convincing to you? Compare the reasons Washizu gives for not killing the Lord. Compare these to those given by Macbeth. Who is more convincing? I would also ask students to complete Character Maps for each of the primary characters (see strategies).
Follow-Up
This curriculum unit is aimed for an advanced twelfth-grade class where writing is an essential component. I would ask my students to write an essay in which they discuss three groups: Organized Crime, Samurai Warriors, and Thanes of Scotland in Macbeth's era. What is similar about the underlying principles in each of these groups? How would each in its own way make them a perfect environment for a character like Macbeth?
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