I Let It Slide

 Thelma and Louise

The genre of Thelma and Louise is a crime drama. It is also a picaresque. A picaresque usually involves the protagonist on a journey that has no ultimate destination. The protagonist gets into adventures and mischief and is usually poor. People think this is an important Feminist film. Some have even suggested that Thelma and Louise is a cowboy (western movie).

Thelma and Louise was nominated for six academy awards. Both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were nominated for an Oscar in the best female actress category -- the first time two actresses from the same film were nominated in that category. This was the first time Brad Pitt was given a major role; before Thelma and Louise, Pitt only had roles as an extra.

Questions: Answer these with a sentence for our next homwork project. 

1. Why did Louise shoot the man in the parking lot outside of the bar?

2. What did Thelma angrily tell her husband Daryl to do when they were talking on the phone? Why?

3. What does Brad Pitt ask for?

4. Where are they finally headed (going)?

5. Why does Daryl stand in his pizza?

6. What happened to their money (in the envelop)? 

7. What did Jimmy give to Louise? I want you tell me one reason other than US$6700.

8. What job does Brad Pitt's character have in the movie?

9. What did they do to the truck driver? Why?

10. What is the final outcome or conclusion of Thelma and Louise?

11. How can this movie be considered a country film?

12. What genre is Thelma and Louise?

Film Class: Final Exam

I want to finish watching Inglourious Basterds, so we will keep the Final Exam short, like last time. 

I will ask five questions about the movies we have seen. If you came to every class, answering will not be difficult.

I also want you to use a few words to define the following words or expressions:

1. I let it slide

2. Wax on, wax off

3. Boardwalk

4. Internment camp

5. Chopper / Zed

6. Pulp Fiction shot out of chronological order

7. Opening credits

8. Pay homage to

9. Slow motion

10. Soundtrack

Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino, the writer, director and an actor in Pulp Fiction, has made ten movies. His movies have won or been nominated for 34 Academy (Oscar) Awards. Pulp Fiction, which we will watch, was nominated for seven Oscars. The film also won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1994 for best movie.

Pulp Fiction is a dark comedy. A dark comedy has jokes that make the viewer laugh but also uncomfortable. Dark comedy is a little evil, with jokes about death, gender, race, etc. Please pay attention to the opening credits. Tarantino makes a big deal over opening credits. 

This movie is not in sequence. In other words, Pulp Fiction is not linear. It is not chronological. The movie starts towards the end of the plot and moves around. For homework, after viewing Pulp Fiction in our class, I want you to summarize Pulp Fiction in linear or sequential order. I want you to tell me what happened first, second, third, etc. Please use six to ten sentences to summarize it after we watch it. I will give you a grade of 10/10 if you do this.

 

We Will Always Have Paris and Thelma and Louise

Casablanca is Shakespearean. When I write this, I mean every time you watch it, you can come away with a different meaning. When Rick helps Ilsa at the end of Casablanca, there are so many reasons. When we watch it, I want you to tell me three reasons Rick might have helped Ilsa at the end of the film. I will give you 10/10 if you do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blx9lHMivQs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blx9lHMivQs

Thelma and Louise

The genre of Thelma and Louise is a crime drama. It is also a picaresque. A picaresque usually involves the protagonist on a journey that has no ultimate destination. The protagonist gets into adventures and mischief and is usually poor. People also think this is an important Feminist film.

Thelma and Louise was nominated for six academy awards. Both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were nominated for an Oscar in the best female actress category -- the first time two actresses from the same film were nominated in that category. This was the first time Brad Pitt was given a major role; before Thelma and Louise, Pitt only had roles as an extra.

Questions:

1. Why did Louise shoot the man in the parking lot outside of the bar?

2. What did Thelma angrily tell her husband Daryl to do when they were talking on the phone? Why?

3. What does Brad Pitt ask for?

4. Where are they finally headed (going)?

5. Why does Daryl stand in his pizza?

6. What happened to their money (in the envelop)? 

7. What did Jimmy give to Louise? I want you tell me one reason other than US$6700.

8. What job does Brad Pitt's character have in the movie?

9. What did they do to the truck driver? Why?

10. What is the final outcome or conclusion of Thelma and Louise?

Mid-term Exam

The Mid-term Exam is next Monday (November 15). The test is easy if you have come to every class and seen all the movies. Here is how it breaks down:

PART I: You will get five questions about the movies we have seen. Answer each question with two or three sentences. This part is worth 70 points.

PART II: Explain these words. Use a few words for each. No cheat sheets. I will be watching. This part is worth 30 points.

1. Montage

2. Supporting Actor

3. Spoof

4. Satire

5. Your business is politics. Mine is running a saloon

6. Tracking shot

7. Flashback

8. Denouement

9. Script

10. Freebie

Ethan Hawke, who plays the shy student and who has to YAWP in Dead Poets Society, a coming of age flick, has been nominated for four Academy Awards (Oscars). We will finish watching the film later.

Film Noir

1. We have October 11 off for a holiday.

2. We will watch a new movie on October 18.

3. We will finish "Buster" on October 25. Plus you have a quiz on the vocabulary in Part I on October 25. You need to tell me three things about the Coen brothers too. 

https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2021/10/04/1043049186/fresh-air-for-oct-4-2021-celebrating-film-noir?showDate=2021-10-04

You will see the vocabulary after the questions: bird's eye view, fade, flop, etc. 

I heard this on NPR about Film Noir. You can listen if you are interested in Film Noir (1940s) and have free time:

https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2021/10/04/1043049186/fresh-air-for-oct-4-2021-celebrating-film-noir?showDate=2021-10-04

https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2021/10/04/1043049186/fresh-air-for-oct-4-2021-celebrating-film-noir?showDate=2021-10-04

American Film Class: Monday, Sept. 27

Go to this website, please, and watch the documentary about fast food. The narrator expresses his opinion on how much fast food influences modern society. He seems to have a negative opinion of fast food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edUWzy2lg0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edUWzy2lg0

 

PART I: Answer these questions and I will give you a 20/20 grade. Please remember to answer these questions with a complete sentence. We use a sentence to improve our grammar. After you are finished, email your work to pcowsill@gmail.com 

1. How many continents does McDonald's operate on?

 

2. What is the "fattest state in America (1 minute, 50 seconds)?"

 

3. According to the narrator, why are people obese?

 

4. What are the Golden Arches?

 

5. How many days will the narrator only eat McDonald's food?

 

6. What is the patient embarking on (6 minutes, 40 seconds)?

 

7. How does McDonald's influence our cholesterol?

 

8. How much does the narrator originally weigh?

 

9. What percent of Americans exercise (11 minutes, 5 seconds)?

 

10. How often do you exercise? What do you do?

 

11. What did Morgan order for breakfast on the first day (14 minutes, 20 seconds)?

 

12. Why did Morgan get a taxi?

 

13. What happened to the narrator after 30 days?

 

14. What genre of film is this?

 

15. Did you see a bird’s eye view shot? Of what?

 

16. What was the climax of this film?

* * * * * * * * * *

PART II: Here some film terms to consider . . .

a. I will ask you to give examples of the following genres:

Genre: horror, science fiction, fantasy, anime, animation, TV show, sitcom, comedy, drama, documentary, action, blockbuster, flop, arthouse, classic, silent film, talkie, satire, propaganda, spoof, black and white

b. I will add to this list every week:

Structure vocabury, script, rising action, climax, bird's eye view, fade, closeup, tracking shot, montage

Other: lead actor, supporting actor, lead actress, supporting actress, director, narrator