In preparation for writing your essays I handed out a sheet containing quotes from "The Matrix" that display certain dystopian characteristics.
When writing your essays you should try and use these quotes as direct evidence from the film to back-up the point that you are trying to make in each analysis paragraph.
Try and write 3 or 4 analysis paragraphs that make use of these quotes - then write 2 or 3 more analysis paragraphs describing some of the specific cinematic techniques used by the Wachowski brothers within the film and how they help portray The Matrix as a dystopian society (camera angles/lenses/movement/lighting/mise-en-scene)
Once you have written your anaylsis paragraphs, then you can write your conclusion summing up your points - remember to answer the question as well!
All of the dystopian characteristics are on the handout I gave you at the start of the unit - if you've lost it then you can download a copy from here:
UPDATE: If you download the sheet please leave a comment on this post so that I know who's downloading a copy and why (especially since there have been a lot of downloads recently despite the fact that the exam it was prepared for has now passed!).
This will help me decide what materials will be useful for pupils in future.
Here's a brief summary of the last few scenes of the play:
Scene 12: Gregory is helping Dorothy practice her football skills. She appears on scene immaculately dressed in a track-suit, whereas Gregory is wearing a pair of borrowed shorts. They practice football for a while - Dorothy is brilliant and Gregory is rubbish. At the end of the session Gregory asks Dorothy out on a date and she says "Okay". Amazed at this response Gregory says: "I mean on a kind of date" and asks her to "stop fooling around" when she once again says yes. This shows Gregory's lack of confidence and awarkwardness.
Scene 13: Gregory is getting ready for his big date with Dorothy. Madeline is acting like a mother figure making sure that he is cleaning himself properly and giving him advice on what to do and say on the date. Role reversal with M and G once again rears its ugly head.
Scene 14: This is the final scene of the play. Dorothy stands Gregory up and he is told this by Carol who offers to walk with him to the chip-shop. At the chip-shop Carol passes Gregory across to Margo and then makes a telephone call to Susan. Margo goes for a walk with Gregory and leads him towards where Susan is. We find out that the girls have conspired to set-up Gregory with Susan as she is the one that actually fancies him. Gregory and Susan seem to get along really well together and at the very end of the play they kiss.
You've created your superhero, your villain and a city for them to operate in - now you have to think about the plot of your comic strip.
The plot is the story being told in your comic strip. When you create your own comic strip it will be best to use a traditional superhero plot. Here is a choice of traditional plots that you could use:
1.Your super villain has robbed the city bank and is holding customers hostage. 2.Your super villain is about to place a mind-controlling drug in the city’s water supply. 3.Your super villain has started murdering policemen and is on his way to City Hall to kill the mayor. 4.Your super villain is planning a massive break out at your city’s jail.
Now you're ready to create your own comic strip!
Remember to make use of some comic tehcniques such as: speech bubbles, thought bubbles, captions, panel frames, onomatopoeia
If you fancy having a go at making a professional looking comic then download a free 30-day trial of ComicLife:
In the second part of the descriptive writing revision session we learned a few more techniques that could be used to raise your descriptive writing to a higher level.
Structure A good structure provides shape to your writing. There are several ways in which you can structure your descriptive piece:
location by location
from inside to outside (or vice-versa)
from then to now
from the general to the particular
Theme The reader of your descriptive piece needs to want to read your piece, they need to: be interested, engaged, and be able to relate to what you've written.
In order to ensure this you must write about something that they would enjoy reading about and make sure that your piece isn't just describing a scene - it must have an underlying theme. Professional writers never just write for the sake of describing and neither should you.
Download the lesson's powerpoint presentation for ideas on how to give your piece an underlying theme:
So we've created our superheroes and now we have to create their foes - the super villains!
Remember the important role that contrast plays in comic books - if your superhero wears bright colours then your super villain must wear dark colours and vice-versa.
Also remember the need for motivation. In order to make your villain believable your reader must know why it is that they commit such evil acts. Watch the videos below and see if you can work out why each of the villains acts the way that they do:
Have a look at Marvel's website to see some of their famous villains:
This lesson we began to analyse a dystopian film clip - the clip being the famous 1984 Apple Macintosh advert.
First we discussed "1984". I told you a bit of background information about the famous novel "1984" written in 1949 by George Orwell (Eric Blair).
The novel is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive regime. The story follows the life of a civil servant called Winston Smith who grows disillusioned with his meagre existence and begins a rebellion against the system that leads to his arrest and torture.
"1984" is one of the most famous novels of the 20th century and you can see it's influence throughout British society:
Big Brother: The (in)famous reality TV show "Big Brother" is based on the concept of the all-seeing dictator know as Big Brother within the novel. Big Brother keeps an eye on the citizens of Oceania through large screens which display his image and which also act as video cameras. These screens are situated throughout Oceania and the citizens are reminded of the constant surveillance through the slogan: "Big Brother is watching you".
Room 101: The late-night talk show hosted by Paul Merton on the BBC in which celebrities try and have the objects that they hate the most confined to room 101 is similarly based on a concept contained within "1984". Room 101 in "1984" is a torture chamber situated in the Ministry of Love in which prisoners are subjected to their worst nightmares - nightmares that the Party knows about by means of their constant surveillance and the thought police.
Thought Police: A saying that has come into popular use within the UK post-9/11. The Thought Police are the secret police of Oceania in "1984". It is the job of the Thought Police to uncover and punish thoughtcrime and thought-criminals, using psychology and omnipresent surveillance from telescreens to find and eliminate members of society who are capable of the mere thought of challenging ruling authority.
Then we began to look in detail at the Apple advert. Each of you were given an information sheet on the advert, including a scene-by-scene analysis and a set of questions. You viewed the advert and then began to answer the questions.
This lesson we continued reading "Gregory's Girl" - focusing on scenes 10 & 11.
Scene 10: This scene is set in the darkroom at school. Eric is developing the photos he's taken of Dorothy and Gregory is trying to buy one off of him. The scene is important with respect to the play's theme of adolescence and how difficult a time it can be for teenage boys. It highlights the boys obsession with sex - which is important with regards to the themes of role reversal and gender stereotyping when we compare the boys treatment of sex/the opposite sex to that of the girls.
Scene 11: Breaktime in the school playground. The scene opens with Pete trying to get Lisa to sleep with him by falsely declaring his love for her and stating "But it's dangerous to wait for too long. It's unhealthy. It's bad for you". Lisa isn't interested and maturely replies "If you love me you can wait then". The scene moves on to Gregory being told that Dorothy wants to talk to him over by the bikesheds - where she asks him to help her practice football during the lunch break. Gregory thinks that it's a date. Meanwhile Andy and Charlie are desperately trying to chat-up some girls by telling them "interesting" facts such as the speed at which snot escapes your nose when you sneeze...funnily enough the girls aren't interested. This is another prime example where we can compare and contrast the boys vs girls attitude towards the opposite sex and relationships in general.
So...today we tackled gender stereotyping in a bit more detail (can you guess what theme I'll be pushing you to tackle when writing about the play in your exam?). We quickly recapped the scenes that we'd read last lesson before tackling scenes 6, 7, 8 & 9.
Here's a quick summary of what happened in the scenes:
Scene 6: This scene was set in the cookery class, a mixed class of boys and girls. At the very start of the scene the girls are discussing Dorothy trying out for the football team and Susan asks: "Why is it boys are such a physical disaster?". The girls go on to discuss boy's hairstyle, saying that "It's so temporary" - suggesting an aspect of role reversal in that it is the boys in this play who are obsessed with their image (flashback to Gregory in front of the mirror possibly?) rather than the traditional view of girls being image obsessed. Gender stereotyping and role reversal also rear their ugly heads with regards to the character of Steve who is portrayed as being a master cook and it is the girls who ask him how to cook things properly rather than vice-versa.
Scene 7: It's the second football match and once again role reversal and gender stereotyping are the main themes in this scene. At the start Alan asks Dorothy if he can borrow her football, only to rebuffed as it is "a Telstar 5. It's only the best professional football in Europe" - Alan obviously doesn't have a clue about the more technical aspects of football but Dorothy (a girl) does. We then see the girls standing at the side of the pitch discussing the boys' sex-lives (or lack thereof...) - unlike the boys who get over-excited whenever sex is even hinted at (remember the fiasco in scene 2 outside the nurses' hostel?) the girls discuss sex in a confident, matter-of-fact manner. The girls then go on to discuss the football match, using several technical terms and obviously enjoying and understanding exactly what is happening on the football field - whereas the boys are more interesting in checking out Dorothy. Even when the boys do try and focus on the football match it is obvious that they don't understand the game as well as the girls. At the end of the scene Gregory flirts with Dorothy near the changing rooms, only for two boys from the school newspaper to butt-in and try and seduce her themselves! In the conversations with the boys it is Dorothy who comes across as the most confident person - showing Gregory her scars and using innuendo in he reply to Gordon when she says: "Bring your pencil too...and your sharpener...just in case..."
Scene 8: A recent school leaver called Billy is waiting outside the school to speak to some of the 4th year boys. He is obviously as obsessed with sex as the schoolboys and brags about his supposed sexual conquests - even stating that one of the school teachers is desperate to have sex with him. Compare this discussion about sex to the one the girls were having in the previous scene - which group seems more mature, confident and believable? Watch the Harry Enfield "Women know your place" video below:
Do the girls in the play live up to the traditional gender stereotype that was prevalent in British society during the late 1970s and early 1980s? (Here's a short clip of Gene Hunt from the TV show "Ashes to Ashes" showing the prevalent view of women during the period when the play is set)
Scene 9: Madeline and Gregory are sitting in a cafe discussing Gregory's infatuation with Dorothy. Here is an obvious example of role reversal - rather than Gregory giving his younger sister advice it is Madeline who is advising her older brother. If you look at the language used by each character it is Madeline who seems more like an adult in this conversation; in fact if you weren't told Madeline's age you could be forgiven for mistaking her for Gregory's mother. Towards the end of the scene (after Madeline has left) Richard (Madeline's 1st year boyfriend) appears and asks Gregory where Madeline is. Rather than telling Richard where his sister is Gregory acts very childishly and tells him to "piss-off" and act his age; however, Richard rises above Gregory's behaviour and acts like an adult...yet another example of role reversal!
So...you've listened to "Imagine" and created a list of characteristics for your own perfect world. This lesson you leaned about the historical roots of the term "Utopia" - the fact that it first came into usage after Sir Thomas More published his famous fictional account of a journey to the perfect society of the island nation of "Utopia" in the 1500s.
You looked at some quotes from "Utopia" and (as a class)we discussed these quotes and what they meant. The major point that arose from our discussion was the idea of the individual.
You then listened to the lyrics of the (*ahem*) uber-cool "In the year 2525"...
We then discussed these lyrics with regards to "Utopian" society and decided that it was describing the opposite of a utopian society - what is referred to as a dystopian society.
We discussed the lyrics of the song and what we thought they meant. Again the idea of the individual was very important and how the dystopian society referred to in the song seemed to suggest that individuality was absent in a dystopian society.
This lesson you were introduced to the concept of a utopian society.
We listened to the lyrics of the John Lennon song "Imagine" in which he describes his vision of a perfect world and you were asked whether or not you agree with this vision.
Next you thought about what your perfect world would be like. You noted down some characteristics of your world and then (on a poster) decided if these characteristics were an example of: laws, conditions, customs, politics or something else.
So in today's class we continued reading "Gregory's Girl" - scenes 3, 4 & 5.
We had a brief discussion with regards to the character of Gregory - does he seem normal? Is he maybe a little bit weird? (Would you look at your image in the mirror and speak to yourself about "chesty follicles" whilst putting on deoderant? I think not!)
We also discussed the idea of gender stereotyping in the play, especially with regards to scene 5 when Dorothy tries out for the football team and the PE teacher is very reluctant to let her.
Finally, we discussed the theme of role reversal in the play. Madeline (Gregory's younger sister) has a boyfriend, yet all of the 4th year boys are single. She also talked about Gregory going through "adolescence" in scene 1 - more like a parent than a younger sister. Is Gregory acting like a big brother to Madeline or is she acting more like his elder sibling? This is just one example of role reversal - as we read more of the play we'll encounter some more examples and examine them in greater detail.
Scene 3: In this scene we see Gregory at home as he gets changed for school. He seems to spend a great deal of time in front of the mirror getting changed and the playwright makes good use of monologue here to show the strangeness of gregory - he is not only speaking to himself, but also using strange turns of phrase such as "demon sweaty odours" and "encourage the chesty follicles". Later in the scene Gregory meets his father and has a brief chat with him, there is the suggestion that Gregory hardly ever meets his parents (his father says: "I told her we had met in the hallway, briefly, last Thursday and you looked fine...") and this shows the isolation of Gregory's character from every age group except for his peers.
Scene 4: In this scene Gregory tells his friend Andy that he has been dropped from the football team and replaced in goal by Gregory. The two boys talk to one of the teachers and Andy mentions that he goes to the gym most mornings (perhaps to impress the girls? Theme of adolescence...). Once the two boys have disappeared off to class the PE teacher tells another teacher that he has set up a football trial to look for Gregory's replacement as striker.
Scene 5: This is the scene of the big football trial. Six boys are trying out for a place on the football team and all of them are terrible at football. Dorothy appears on scene to try out for the team and at first the PE teacher won't let her but eventually he allows her to have a trial. Unlike all of the boys, Dorothy is brilliant at football - scoring goals and proving that she is much fitter than the boys. Gregory seems smitten with Dorothy - impressed by not only her football skills! At the end of the scene Dorothy follows the PE teacher demanding that she be given a place on the team as she was by far the best person to try out. The major theme in this scene is that of gender stereotyping and role reversal. Dorothy isn't taken seriously as a player since she is a girl and girls don't traditionally play football; however the roles are reversed in this scene as it is Dorothy (the girl) who is brilliant at football and the boys who are actually rubbish at the game.
This lesson you were introduced to the play "Gregory's Girl" - the drama text that you will be studying over the next 4 weeks.
We discussed the importance of not judging a book by its cover and came to an understanding on the definition of the term "stereotype":
" A fixed idea that people have about what someone or something is like – especially an idea that is wrong."
We watched the Scottish Governement campaign video for "See the person not the age" and discussed how this related to stereotyping with regards to age.
You then split into small groups and discussed other ways in which people are stereotyped in modern society. Some of your suggestions included: nationality, social group (Neds/Emos/Goths), social class (rich/poor) and disability.
I then introduced some other ways in which people are stereotyped:
Race: Black rappers are often stereotyped as being involved in violent crime and promoting the use of guns.
Religion: Members of certain religious faiths are often stereotyped - most notably the stereotype of Muslims being terrorists.
Gender: Gender stereotyping has been a prevalent part of human culture for thousands of years. Women are often portaryed as being the weaker sex, while men are portrayed as tougher and more "macho".
I then hinted at the fact that stereotyping would be a major issue that we encountered within "Gregory's Girl".
Gregory's Girl
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We then proceeded to read the play. At the end of each scene you wrote a brief summary of the events of that scene and noted down anything you found interesting about the characters.
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Scene 1: A football match was being played (badly) with Gregory's team losing. On the sidelines the spectators included Gregory's little sister Madeline and her boyfriend Richard, who seemed to be having a rather mature discussion about Gregory and his "adolescence". The PE teacher was disappointed in the team's performance and demoted Gregory from the position of striker to goalkeeper.
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Scene 2: A group of 4th year boys were spying on a young nurse getting undressed through a window of the nurses' hostel. They were desperate to see her topless and even resorted to trying to use mental powers to persuade her to take off her bra. When the nurse finally removed her bra one of the boys almost fainted from excitement. After these young voyeurs* had departed 11 year old Richard and his friend appeared on the scene and were witness to the nurse removing her knickers as well - however, unlike the 4th year boys before them, these two boys were not noticeably excited about the sight of a naked women. The playwright made good use of ellipsis (...) throughout this scene to convey the excitement of the 4th year boys.
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* voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviour (or to put it more bluntly: being a Peeping Tom!)
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We then engaged in a piece of experiental learning whereby the class viewed the first 2 scenes as they were portrayed in the original film version of Gregory's Girl.
