Fiction and Film

[Hoot]

DS will be a senior in the fall and we would both like to step outside of the traditional high school class box and do some courses that reflect more of his interests and passions. He is ALL ABOUT music, video production, and stage tech. He is already relatively accomplished in these areas, but we would like to use them as a springboard for other subjects this year.

 

Since he will already be doing Oak Meadow's "The Study of Music" as an elective next year, I would like to pull his interest in film into our literature study. We already have Movies as Literature, but that's not quite what I'm looking for. The movie choices seem so dry and dusty and I don't want to do movies in place of literature. Instead, I want to dig into the differences and similarities in the way the stories are told based on the choice in media. I also don't want it to turn into straight up comparing the book to video. Some discussion of themes would be nice.

 

I went trolling around on some college websites and found a great description of what I'm looking for at Berklee.

 

This course focuses on film adaptations of novels and short stories, paying special attention to similarities and differences in narrative technique. Students view various types of film adaptations and consider reasons for changes from the works of fiction. The course emphasizes the challenges in adapting a work of literature to the screen, the limits and possibilities of both art forms, and the techniques writers and filmmakers use to express their ideas. In addition to discussing works of fiction, film adaptations, and the roles of film director, screenwriter, and film scorer, students will have the opportunity to work on their own cinematic adaptation of a short story, including writing original music for the screen. Such authors as George Orwell, Ayn Rand, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Cormack McCarthy, and Vladimir Nabokov will be considered, as well as such film directors as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Claire Denis, François Truffaut, and Akira Kurosawa.

Is anyone familiar with a textbook, curriculum, syllabus, or outline that may fit the bill here and uses film adaptations of actual books?

[Lori D.]

Just poked around with some internet searching… Maybe something here will give you and DS a jumpstart into creating your course:

 

 

PBS Masterpiece teacher resources:

Film in the Classroom, home page with links

Adaptation: From Novel to Film, article/guide

 

Teach With Movies website

lesson plans using film adaptations of novels, short stories or plays

worksheet for an adaptation of a novel

 

University of Minnesota, Rick Beach, CI5472 Teaching Film, Television, and Media:

module 12: Integrating Film into the Curriculum ~ Studying Film Adaptations: Different Modes of Adaptation

(short article, with a nice big list of resources at the bottom for further reading :))

 

Union Academy Charter School, Margaret Dalpe: Film as Literature course

course overview

syllabus -- SUPER detailed breakdown of topics, terms and resources!

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Lori D.

[elegantlion]

A book called the Writer's Journey might be something to look into. Although it is designed for writers, it references numerous films based upon the archetypes found in literature.Christopher Vogler is the author.