Name
Class
Date
Directions: Your teacher will review the definitions of historical
and cultural and the difference between them. Decide which events
below are historical and which are cultural. Then, at the bottom of
the page, plot each event in chronological order on either the top
line (historical) or the bottom line (cultural).
bankruptcies – financial failures or ruin
Events
1929 — The stock market crashes. Banks across America fail. Business
bankruptcies and mass unemployment plunge Americans into hard times
called the Great Depression.
desegregation – integration
1933 — Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes president of the United States.
During his inauguration speech he tells the nation, “We have nothing to
fear but fear itself.”
Word Builder
inauguration – swearing in
animated – made in the form of a cartoon,
set in motion
Pulitzer Prize – an award given to an author
for a published work
Nobel Peace Prize – an award given to a
person to recognize his or her contribution
to the betterment of humanity
1937 — Walt Disney makes the first-ever feature-length animated film,
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1941 — Japanese attack American armed forces at Pearl Harbor. As a result, America enters World War II.
1943 — While working on an anti-vibration experiment for the U.S. Navy, Richard James accidentally knocks over wire
springs that appear to walk down steps. Soon after, the Slinky becomes a popular children’s toy!
1955 — Police arrest Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
1957 — President Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce court-ordered desegregation of schools.
1959 — Mattel introduces the Barbie doll to America. She is so popular that rival toy manufacturer Hasbro creates the 12-inchtall G.I. Joe doll for boys.
1960 — As a sign of pride, many African Americans begin wearing their hair in naturally tight curls called “Afros.”
1961 — Novelist Harper Lee wins the Pulitzer Prize in Literature for To Kill a Mockingbird.
1962 — Universal Studios releases To Kill a Mockingbird in theaters across America.
1964 — Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent approach to ending racial injustice.
Timeline
Historical Events
Cultural Events
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-1
Reading Activity 4-1: Is It History or Is It Culture?
Reading Activity 4-2
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-2: Motion Picture Association Certificate of Approval
Directions: Read the letter below from Geoffrey M. Shurlock,
representing the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
Answer the questions that follow on a separate sheet of paper.
Word Builder
provisions – terms
humane – kind, compassionate treatment
integral – essential, an important part of
October 9, 1961
Mrs. Kathryn McTaggart
Universal Pictures Company
Universal City, California
inflammatory – impassioned, likely to
trigger heated or angry reaction
coarse – crude
Dear Mrs. McTaggart:
We have received the screenplay in this office on October 5,
1961, for your proposed production titled To Kill a Mockingbird, and wish to report that this basic story seems acceptable under the provisions of the Production Code. However, we direct your attention to the following:
Page 53: This use of the word “damn” by a little girl would not be acceptable.
Page 74: In accordance with Code requirements, please consult with Mr. James Jack of the American Humane
Association as to all scenes in which animals are used. . . .
Page 98: We ask that this use of the word “hell” be changed or eliminated.
Page 136: We recognize that such offensive phrases as “nigger lover” are an integral and vitally important part
of the story. You, on your part will recognize, however, that an excessive use of such insulting and inflammatory
language can defeat its purpose and become offensive. In our opinion, these coarse phrases are used too often in
this story. We ask and earnestly recommend that you make some effort to tone them down.
As you know our final judgment will be based on the finished picture.
Cordially yours,
Geoffrey M. Shurlock
Identifying Information
1. Who is the audience, and what is the purpose of the letter?
2. Did Shurlock, speaking on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America, base his decisions on the film itself or
some other document?
80
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
(Reading Activity 4-2, continued)
3. Shurlock lists four points of objection, one of which focuses on the humane treatment of animals. To which scene might
he be referring?
The other three objections focus on the use of language. What does Shurlock find objectionable about the language on
pages 53 and 98?
5.
Which character probably speaks the language cited on page 136, and why might his use of this language be considered
“integral” to the story?
6.
What argument does Shurlock present for “toning down” the language cited on page 136?
Think More About It
1. Are the points cited in this letter from 1961 still considered offensive? Provide a reason to support your viewpoint.
2. What does this letter tell you about society in the 1960s?
81
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-2
4.
Reading Activity 4-3
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-3: The Movie Review Then and Now
Directions: Passages A and B come from time frame 2, the period
in which the film was made. Passages C and D come from time
frame 3, the present day. Read all four passages and take part
in a discussion led by your teacher. Then decide how audiences’
interpretations of this film have changed over time.
Word Builder
substantial – real, significant, large
profound – thoughtful, meaningful
sociology – the study of how people live
Time Frame 2 — When the Film Was Made
fatuous – silly
Passage A: Time magazine, 1963
contrived – created
While the children are busy playing peekaboo, Atticus acquires a more
contrary – opposite
substantial nightmare. He agrees to defend a Negro (Brock Peters) accused
of assaulting a white girl. Mary Badham provides the best bit in the picture.
elocution – a way of speaking clearly and
Ordered by the cook to “sit right down at that table, young lady, and eat
exactly
your breakfast; you’re going off to school this morning whether you like
ill-paced – with poor timing, too slow
it or not,” the young lady drops herself into a chair as though she were
dire – dreadful, terrible
dropping a dead mouse into the garbage.
Mockingbird has nothing very profound to say about the South and its
sympathetic – warm, kind, understanding
problems. Sometimes, in fact, its side-porch sociology is simply fatuous:
The Negro is just too goody-good to be true, and Peck, though he is
generally excellent, lays it on a bit thick at times — he seems to imagine himself the Abe Lincoln of Alabama.
Passage B: Brendan Gill, The New Yorker, 1963
The screenwriter has patted his puppets expertly into and out of shape — Gregory Peck, the star of the picture, is always
shown wearing glasses, presumably so he won’t look too handsome — but most of the time he hasn’t contrived to make them
breathe. Robert Mulligan, the director, hasn’t helped matters by setting a pace that often approaches slow motion.
Time Frame 3 — When the Film Was Viewed, the Present Day
Passage C: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Steve Rhodes, 1997
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the best movies made in the 1960s. Until we rented it over the holidays, I had not seen it
in its entirety in a couple of decades. Made in black and white in 1962 at a time when other movies had switched to color, it
shattered many notions of what was right.
Of the many small scenes, one of the best is Scout’s first day at school. She is completely embarrassed at having to wear
a dress. She thinks of herself as one of the boys and resents any proof to the contrary. . . . In a film bursting at the seams with
great performances, Brock Peters’s small role is acted with brilliance. As he speaks, the pain he has suffered comes through in
his elocution and on his pained brow. He deserved an Academy Award for supporting actor.
Passage D: “An Oldie but Goody,” Rachel Gordon, filmcritic.com, 2001
Atticus’s impassioned closing statement to the trial of Tom Robinson understandably won Peck an Oscar. His powerful
begging for fair treatment still rings true, as does the shame provoked by Scout’s (Mary Badham) friendliness to the
townspeople who storm the jail in the hopes of getting to Robinson on the eve of the trial.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an oldie but goody that can still entertain as it preaches. It may be a bit long-winded at over two
hours, but it’s worth the effort to sit through. The script, while a little too chatty and ill-paced, is poignantly performed. Racial
equality may not be as dire an issue to take notice of as it was when this film was made, but this story of growing up in a
tension-filled environment still strikes sympathetic chords.
82
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Name
Class
Date
Directions: From approximately the mid-1890s until the 1960s,
a majority of American states enforced segregation through “Jim
Crow” laws. States could impose legal punishments on people who
broke those laws. The laws below are only a sampling of those
posted online as a history resource by the National Parks Service,
a government agency. Read the laws, then answer the questions
that follow.
Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried,
any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial
of white persons. (Georgia)
Word Builder
Caucasian – white
intermarriage – marriage between people
of two different races
null – empty, worthless
void – invalid, useless
partition – dividing wall
Buses. All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate
waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races. (Alabama)
Education. The schools for white children and the schools for Negro children shall be conducted separately.
(Florida)
Intermarriage. The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall
be null and void. (Arizona)
Nurses. No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in
hospitals, either public or private, in which Negro men are placed. (Alabama)
Parks. It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the
benefit, use, and enjoyment of white persons . . . and unlawful for any white person to frequent any park
owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons. (Georgia)
Restaurants. It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city,
at which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored persons
are effectually separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a distance of seven feet or
higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for each compartment. (Alabama)
1. What assumptions about black people do these laws suggest?
2. What do these laws tell you about the historical period in which To Kill a Mockingbird was set?
3. How can you verify, or prove, that these laws were real and not made up?
83
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-4
Reading Activity 4-4: Jim Crow Laws
Reading Activity 4-5
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-5: News Article, 1938
Directions: The document below is from a newspaper article published on August 19, 1938, in The Reflector, a
weekly newspaper owned and published by African Americans in Charlottesville, Virginia. Read the article, then
answer the questions that follow.
Two Negroes were mob victims last week in Alabama. A sheriff and several deputies were ordered to hand
them over to a growling crowd of savage farmers between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, near the Jefferson
County line.
Daniel Pippen was eighteen years of age and the other victim, Albert Harden, was just sixteen. They had
been charged with first-degree murder. Whispered threats caused Tuscaloosa officials to become uneasy. So
Sheriff Shamblin decided to shift the prisoners to Birmingham for safe keeping. Mr. Shamblin and his “force”
of two deputies were met by the mob and the riddled bodies of the two Negro youths were found on a
distant hillside two hours later.
Identifying Information
1. Describe in your own words what happened to Daniel Pippen and Albert Harden.
2.
What specific words or phrases in the article have negative connotations? Who or what do these words describe?
Think More About It
1. What, if anything, does this article have to do with the film To Kill a Mockingbird?
2.
What did you learn by reading this article that you did not know before?
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Name
Class
Date
Directions: Read the map below as well as the caption below the map. Then, on a separate piece of
paper, answer the questions that follow.
States Ranked by the Most Lynchings: Of the 4,743 documented lynchings in the United States between 1882 and 1968, about
three-quarters involved African Americans. The map ranks the 10 states that recorded the highest number of lynchings.
— Source: cnn.com
Identifying Information
1. What years does this map document?
2.
Name the state or states that had no recorded lynchings during this time period.
3.
Which state or states had more lynchings than Alabama?
4.
Given the total number of lynchings documented over an 86-year period on this map, on average, how many lynchings
occurred every year?
Think More About It
1. What does the map tell you that the film To Kill a Mockingbird does not?
2.
At the time the filmmakers made the movie, do you think they were aware that lynchings were still happening in America?
85
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-6
Reading Activity 4-6: Lynchings in America
Reading Activity 4-7
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-7: President Kennedy’s Notes on Birmingham Violence
ENRICHMENT
Directions: The notes below were written by President
Kennedy in 1963. He wrote them in response to racial violence
in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 11, 1963. The “agreement”
was between city business people and the Negro community
to desegregate public places within 90 days. Read the notes,
then answer the questions.
I am deeply concerned about the events which occurred
in Birmingham, Ala. last night. The home of Reverend A. D.
King was bombed and badly damaged. Shortly thereafter, an
integrated motel was also bombed. These occurrences were
followed by crowds, rioting, injury to a number of people,
and considerable property damage.
I am particularly distressed that these events should
take place immediately following the Birmingham agreement
which promises so much progress for the Negroes of that city
in the realization of their just demands for equal treatment
and opportunity.
One of the great moral issues of our time is the
achievement of equal opportunity for all citizens. Too
long have Negroes been denied fair treatment and equal
opportunity in all parts of our land. It is increasingly clear
that this injustice will no longer be tolerated by them as
it should not be tolerated by any American. These are not
problems of Birmingham, the South, or Negroes. They are
problems which must concern all of us and to which all of us
have a moral obligation to put right.
Word Builder
integrated – not separated by race, included
distressed – emotionally upset, disturbed
jeopardizes – puts in danger
extremists – radicals
beneficiaries – people who inherit or benefit
from an action or event
sabotage – thwart, undermine
inciting – triggering, causing
Last week the citizens of Birmingham faced up to that
obligation. All of us should be grateful to them for doing so.
Nothing should be tolerated now that jeopardizes the
progress they made and the agreement to be carried out.
There are extremists who wish to see this agreement
fail and will do what they can to achieve this end — by
striking at night, by inflaming emotions, and inciting or
inviting violence.
The federal government stands behind this agreement.
Not only the people of Birmingham but the people of
the nation are beneficiaries of this agreement. The federal
government will not stand by and permit a few to
sabotage it.
Identifying Information
1. What happened in Birmingham, Alabama, on the evening of May 11, 1963?
2.
According to the president, what is one of the “great moral issues” of the times?
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
(Reading Activity 4-7, continued)
Who does President Kennedy accuse of inciting violence in Birmingham?
4.
What is the federal government’s position on segregation?
Reading Activity 4-7
3.
Think More About It
1. What is President Kennedy’s viewpoint on the racial violence in Birmingham?
2.
Why does Kennedy say the Birmingham agreement is not about Birmingham or the South or Negroes?
87
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-8
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-8: Atticus’s Closing Argument
Directions: Choose a student to read aloud this excerpt from the
screenplay. Then answer the questions that follow.
ATTICUS
The witnesses for the State, with the exception
of the Sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented
themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in
the cynical confidence that their testimony would
not be doubted. Confident that you gentlemen would
go along with them on the assumption, the evil
assumption, that all Negroes lie, that all
Negroes are basically immoral beings, all Negro
men are not to be trusted around our women. An
assumption that one associates with minds of their
caliber, and which is in itself, gentlemen, a lie,
which I do not need to point out to you. And so,
a quiet, humble, respectable Negro, who has had
the unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white
woman, has had to put his word against two white
people. The defendant is not guilty. But someone
in this courtroom is.
Word Builder
closing argument – the final statement or
summary of evidence an attorney makes to
the jury in a trial
cynical – negative, distrustful
assumption – an idea formed without
evidence
immoral – lacking morals
caliber – character, quality
unmitigated – absolute, thorough
temerity – boldness, brashness
idealist – a person who foillows his or her
beliefs
integrity – honor, truthfulness, uprightness
Now gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts
all men are created equal. I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our
courts and of our jury system. That’s no ideal to me. That is a living, working
reality. Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the
evidence that you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family.
In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.
1.
What stereotype does Atticus say the witnesses for the state believe about Negroes?
2.
Beyond saying the stereotype (the “assumption”) is “a lie,” how does Atticus demonstrate that he does not believe
the stereotype?
3.
What social ideal or commentary does Atticus express in his closing argument?
88
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Name
Class
Date
Directions: Read the passage below, then answer the questions
that follow.
Word Builder
clergymen – religious leaders such as
In 1963, thousands of African Americans protested against Jim Crow
ministers, priests
laws and for their civil rights. The demonstrations were peaceful protests.
billy clubs – sticks used by police
However, in Birmingham, Alabama, the police chief was Eugene Connor,
often called “Bull Connor”. Under his authority, city police confronted
the demonstrators with force, including fire hoses, billy clubs, and dogs. In April, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to
Birmingham to join the protests. Soon after, the police arrested and jailed him.
A group of white clergymen criticized King and other outsiders for coming to Birmingham and encouraging local people
of color to demonstrate. They argued that the demonstrations were hurting the process of securing equal rights for blacks.
They wrote:
“We are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders.
We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that
the demonstrations are unwise and untimely.”
The letter ended with the clergymen praising the local police for its “calm manner” in dealing with the demonstrations,
and urging city officials to remain calm and to “continue to protect our city from violence.”
Think More About It
1. What evidence might you find to prove that the arrest of Martin Luther King Jr. happened as described in this passage?
Where would you look for this evidence?
2.
How could you prove that the white clergymen actually wrote the words that are printed in quotation marks?
3.
This passage quotes the statement made by the white clergymen of Birmingham, but it does not present the entire
document. How does this affect your interpretation of what the white clergymen wrote?
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-9
Reading Activity 4-9: The Arrest
Reading Activity 4-10
Name
Class
Date
Reading Activity 4-10: “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Directions: The passage below is from a letter written
by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Read the excerpt,
then answer the questions that follow.
Word Builder
confined – limited, restricted
April 16, 1963
My Dear Fellow Clergymen:
mutuality – dependence, mutual reliance
While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came
across your recent statement calling my present activities
“unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism
of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms
that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for
anything other than such correspondence in the course of
the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.
But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and
that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to
answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and
reasonable terms.
. . . I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. . . .
I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about
what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable
network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. . . .
We have waited for more than 340 years for our
constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia
and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining
political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy
pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.
Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging
darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen
vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and
drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have
seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your
black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority
of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an
airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;
when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your
speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-yearold daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement
park that has just been advertised on television, and see
tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown
is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of
inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see
her beginning to distort her personality by developing an
unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have
to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking:
“Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”;
when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to
sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your
automobile because no motel will accept you; when you
are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading
ominous – threatening
affluent – wealthy
concoct – devise, formulate
harried – troubled, hassled
stance – position, manner
degenerating – breaking apart
abyss – deep hole, emptiness
legitimate – legal
scintillating – exciting
“white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes
“nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you
are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and
mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you
are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you
are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite
knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner
fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a
degenerating sense of “nobodiness”, then you will understand
why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the
cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing
to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can
understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. . . .
Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice
will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding
will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in
some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and
brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their
scintillating beauty.
Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,
Martin Luther King Jr.
90
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
(Reading Activity 4-10, continued)
Identifying Information
1. Reverend King lived in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time he wrote this letter. What reason does he give for going
to Birmingham?
What does King mean when he says “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and
God-given rights”?
3.
What does King mean by “horse-and-buggy pace”?
4.
List at least five social or civil injustices cited by King in this letter.
Think More About It
1. Who is the audience, and what is the purpose of Reverend King’s letter?
2.
What do you think Reverend King means when he says, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”?
3. What does Reverend King mean by the word nobodiness?
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Activity 4-10
2.
Writing Activity 4-11
Name
Class
Date
History Writing Activity 4-11: Document-Based Questions (DBQs)
Part 1 — Find A Moving-image Document To Interpret
Directions: You may review moving-image texts at one of the Web sites listed below. Once you have found a
document, record the source information by completing the chart below.
•
America’s Story from America’s Library, presented by the Library of Congress. Go to www.americaslibrary.gov and click
on one of the circle icons to search a timeline of events or a listing of people or other topics that interest you. When
choosing a topic, look for an entry with a TV screen icon indicating a video is available for viewing.
Examples: You can view a film in which President Teddy Roosevelt rides with the Rough Riders. Or you can view one
of the first-ever animated cartoons, “Gertie on Tour,” dated 1921.
•
Prelinger Archives. In 2002, the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
acquired this collection of more than 48,000 films. Go to www.archive.org/details/prelinger and type your keywords
in the search box.
Examples: You can view a 1960 documentary on the civil rights movement focusing on sit-ins, marches, boycotts, and
rallies in Alabama, New York, and Washington D.C. Or you can view a 1936 silent movie documenting the flood of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Or you can download a kinescope image of the first-ever presidential debate broadcast on
television in 1960, between candidates John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Identifying Information
Title of film:
Date:
Running time:
Author (person or group that sponsored
or produced the film):
Logline (a brief summary of the content):
Reasons why I chose this particular
document:
92
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
(History Writing Activity 4-11, continued)
1. Identify the author of the document. The information may be provided in the credits or on the Internet file page
from which you downloaded the document. The author may be a person or a group. In some instances, the author
may be “unknown.”
Ask:
What do I know about this author?
What bias or prejudice might this author have?
What is the author’s point of view?
Did the author have first-hand knowledge of the person or event? Was the author a witness?
2. Identify the audience and the purpose for the document. The audience may be the general viewing public, or it might
be a more specific group, such as teenagers, parents, workers in a specific industry, or men and women enlisted in the
military. The purpose may be to inform, to entertain, to express an opinion, or to persuade.
Ask:
When and where was the document created?
Why was it created?
Was this film intended to be seen by the public? Or was it a private record?
3. Identify the information presented in the document. Use your knowledge of the filmmaking process to interpret the film.
Ask:
What do you see? Identify specific people, places, or objects the filmmaker shows.
What is the film’s narrative structure, that is, how does the film begin, rise to a turning point, and end?
4. Analyze the film language. Use your knowledge of film language, including composition, camera angles and distances,
lighting, editing, movement, and sound to evaluate the film’s message.
Ask:
What message does the film have?
What does the filmmaker want the audience to believe or do?
What techniques does the filmmaker use to create this message?
5. Make conclusions about the document. Now that you have studied the document, make your conclusions based on
specific details in the film.
Ask:
What questions does the film answer?
What questions does the film leave unanswered?
Why do I think this document is history and not just a series of images from the past?
What value do these moving images have as a source of historical or cultural information?
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©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Writing Activity 4-11
Part 2 — Interpret The Moving-image Document
Directions: Once you have selected a document for study, complete the step-by-step analysis below. Write your
responses on a separate sheet of paper. Depending on the document you select, you may not be able to answer all
the questions just by viewing the film. You may have to do additional research, cross-checking the information in
the film with other print sources.
(History Writing Activity 4-11, continued)
Name
Class
Writing Activity 4-11
Part 3 — Write About The Document
Directions: Once you have completed your interpretation, write your ideas in a short paper.
Follow the steps below.
1.
Date
History Writing Activity 4-11: Document-Based Questions (DBQs)
Decide which method of discussing the moving-image document you wish to take. Select A, B, or C below. Read carefully
the definition of each before deciding.
A. Description
A description is a portrayal of a person, a place, or an object at a particular moment in time. Specific details are very
important in descriptive writing, but description is more than a random collection of sentences about what a person,
place, or object looks like. The passage has a dominant impression, or overall tone, such as authoritative, ominous,
mysterious, etc. One strategy for writing description is showing change over a period of time.
B. Narrative
A narrative tells a story about a person, a place, or an object. Narrative writing includes the following elements —
characters, setting, conflict, action, and resolution. Details are also important, but they are arranged chronologically,
from the story’s beginning through the story’s end. Like descriptive writing, narrative writing must also have a point
or overall message.
C. Argument
An argument is an essay that expresses an opinion or point of view about a subject, then supports that statement with
evidence. The goal is to persuade. An argument has two elements — a claim, or statement, about a controversial issue;
and logic, reasons or evidence to support the claim. In choosing to write an argument, however, keep in mind that
you cannot argue facts or things that are impossible to change.
2.
Develop your ideas, using the format you selected. Ensure that your written information has the necessary elements as
described above.
3.
Present your description, narrative, or argument to the class.
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Graphic Organizer 4-1
Time Frame 3:
The time in which
the film is viewed
(present day)
A Film’s Historical and Cultural Timeline
Historical Events
Time Frame 2:
The time in which
the film was made
Cultural Events
©2005, The Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Time Frame 1:
The time in which
the film is set
Time Frame 1:
Identifies the historical or cultural issues of the 1930s, the period
in which To Kill a Mockingbird is set.
Time Frame 2: Identifies the historical or cultural issues of the 1960s, the period
in which To Kill a Mockingbird was made.
Time Frame 3: Identifies how the viewer’s 21st-century understanding influences
how he or she interprets the film.
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Graphic Organizer 4-2
Depicting Characters in Film
The Filmmaker’s
Intended Effect
Filmmakers use film language to create depictions.
Framing and
Composition Techniques
• Costuming and makeup
• Acting and dialogue
Either positive,
negative, or neutral
representation
of a person, place,
or thing
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• Lighting, sound, camera angles,
visual symbols
• Reaction shots
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Graphic Organizer 4-3
Genre:
Film Drama
Internal Conflicts
Characters may
experience some
external conflicts but
primarily internal
conflicts, often struggling
with what is right and
what is wrong.
Social Themes
Social issues drive the
plot. The film makes a
statement about
these issues.
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Characteristics of a Film Drama
Realistic Characters
The film emphasizes
character development
as well as physical
action.
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Graphic Organizer 4-4
Writing About History
Step 1: The Prewriting Process
Interpret the
document.
Form a conclusion
about the document.
Understanding an event requires finding and interpreting many different types of evidence.
This step may be repeated a number of times for each piece of evidence examined.
Research a primary
source document.
Step 2: The Writing Process
Write a narrative
based on evidence
Write an argument
based on evidence
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Once you have gathered evidence, you can present your interpretation in three different ways:
Write a description
of a person, place
or object
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98
Name
Class
Date
What You Will See: This film clip is the original movie trailer shown in theaters across the country to persuade
audiences to see To Kill a Mockingbird. It includes shots of Gregory Peck talking about the film, as well as shots
from the film itself.
Directions: Review the chart so you know what to observe and what to record. While viewing, jot your observations in the space provided for column 2. You can fill in column 3 after the trailer is finished.
Points of Emphasis
The Message: Describe the images and
the sounds, including written lines.
The Intended Effect: Why did the producer
of the trailer decide to do it this way?
1. Gregory Peck
2. Introduction of
principal players
3. Three shots from
the film
4. Reviews
Think More About It
1. Why did the producer of the trailer decide to introduce the book before the film?
2. Who is the intended audience for this trailer?
3. What promises does the movie trailer make? Fill in the blanks in the sentences that follow:
If you come to see this film, you will see _________________________________________.
If you come to see this film, you will feel _________________________________________.
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Screening Sheet 4-1
Screening Sheet 4-1: Coming to a Theater Near You
Screening Sheet 4-2
Name
Class
Date
Screening Sheet 4-2: Analyzing Film Depictions
What You Will See: This film clip has two segments. Both portray African Americans. White characters are also a
part of each segment. First, you will see what happens in the courtroom after the jury has declared Tom Robinson
guilty. Second, you will see Atticus visit Tom Robinson’s house.
Directions: As you view each segment, keep in mind the film terms you learned in chapter 3. Also keep in mind
the following film techniques for depicting social class and race —— composition, camera angles and distances,
movement, editing, and sound effects, including music. Your teacher will run the clips more than once if you need
more time. While viewing, record your observations below, then complete your answers afterward.
Part 1 — The Spectators in the Balcony
1. How do music and camera angles help depict these characters?
2.
With the exception of Reverend Sykes, how are the people in the balcony dressed, and why are they dressed this way?
3.
What other choices might the director have made in showing these spectators? How would that change the overall image
or depiction of these people?
4.
What is factual about this depiction? What is fictional?
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(Screening Sheet 4-2, continued)
Part 2 — A Death in the Family
1. Describe the set showing where Tom Robinson lives. Consider how it is different from where Atticus or Boo Radley live.
How does lighting in this scene help create the depiction of the Robinson family?
3.
How do character behavior, dialogue, and other filmmaking techniques create a negative depiction of Bob Ewell?
4.
Identify a reaction shot in this scene and explain its meaning.
Think More About It
1. If you wanted to create a positive depiction of a figure in history using moving-image technology, what filmmaking tools
might you consider using?
2.
Why would a filmmaker choose to depict a person, a place, or an event in a negative way or in a positive way? What might
the filmmaker’s purpose be in doing this?
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Screening Sheet 4-2
2.
Screening Sheet 4-3
Name
Class
Date
Screening Sheet 4-3: Atticus’s Closing Argument
What You Will See: This film clip is the visual presentation of the written text you read in Reading Activity 4-8.
Atticus makes his final plea to the jury on behalf of his client, Tom Robinson.
Directions: You have already read and discussed the script on which this scene is based. Now pay attention
to how Gregory Peck delivers the lines. Pay attention also to how the filmmaker frames this scene. Review the
questions below so you know what to observe. While viewing, record your observations on the chart below.
The Actor’s Performance
Written dialogue is different from dialogue that
is performed on-screen. What does the film show
that the words alone cannot?
Film Composition
What visual evidence, or details, suggest that this
is a rural southern courthouse in the 1930s?
Consider both historical and cultural details.
Think More About It
1. Gregory Peck said that his greatest challenge in this scene was to not become too emotional. What does that suggest about
the actor and his personal beliefs about civil rights and social justice?
2.
Is this a positive, negative, or neutral depiction of lawyers? Provide a reason for your answer.
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Name
Class
Date
Directions: Watch the film, then answer the questions on the chart. In describing your observations and
reactions, consider what you knew or thought about civil rights or what you knew or thought about Reverend
King prior to viewing the documentary. How did your views change? What emotions did you experience as you
watched this film?
Images
List six images from the film that, in some way, “got
you thinking” about civil rights and social injustice.
Camerawork
Describe the camerawork in this documentary,
including both positive and negative aspects.
Think More About It
1. How did the images presented in this film help you better understand the meaning of Reverend King’s letter from
Birmingham jail?
2.
What is the purpose of this documentary — to inform, to express an opinion, to persuade, or to entertain?
Tell why you think so.
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Screening Sheet 4-4
What You Will See: This documentary will include shots of Reverend King and his colleagues in jail in Birmingham
as well as shots of people protesting for civil rights. The voice-over narration is Reverend King himself reading
excerpts from the letter he wrote while imprisoned in the Birmingham jail. Although this is the same letter as in
the Reading Activity, the filmmakers selected parts of the letter for the documentary.