1 / 34

Teaching Literature with Film

Teaching Literature with Film. Rhian Davies Department of Hispanic Studies University of Sheffield. Reading the Situation (2000).

MikeCarlo
Download Presentation

Teaching Literature with Film

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Teaching Literature with Film Rhian Davies Department of Hispanic Studies University of Sheffield

  2. Reading the Situation (2000) • ‘Britain remains a nation of book lovers with novels and non-fiction books read in 90% of homes. On average, adults read books for five hours per week. 15% read for at least 11 hours.’

  3. Contrast UK Government Statistics • Prime reading material = newspapers • According to the 2002 survey: ‘The proportion of people reading a national daily newspaper in Great Britain has fallen since the early 1980s.’

  4. Time Spent on Selected Activities: By Age (2000-01)Source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk

  5. Reading Material: By Sex (2001)Source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk

  6. Reading Preferences: By Sex (2001)Source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk

  7. ‘The Bookseller’, (The Guardian, 12 March 2005) • ‘More than a third of adults in the UK never buy books […] light readers see books as a major investment of time, and resent it when they are "mis-sold".’

  8. ‘UK Readers Deprived of World Literature’ (The Guardian, 28 June 2005) • Dr John Carey: • Foreign literature [is] ‘neglected’ in the UK. • To an outsider the British publishing industry could ‘seem like a conspiracy intent on depriving ... readers of the majority of the good books written in languages other than their own". • If such laxity had applied 50 or 60 years ago, ‘that would have meant, for the English reader, no Kafka, no Camus, no Calvino, no Borges.’

  9. 2000 Government Survey ‘The lowest level of interest in books is registered around 18 to 19. Women quickly recover from this dip but men don't.’

  10. Components of a course on Galdós taught to second-year students at Sheffield • Tristana (1892) by Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) • Tristana (1970) by Luis Buñuel (1900-83)

  11. ‘Travelling Books’ Fair Pamphlet

  12. Other links between Film and Literature • C.S. Lewis publicity: • ‘Read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe before seeing Narnia’ • The Harry Potter novels

  13. Today’s Students • Respond more effectively to dynamic visual representations rather than static or auditory materials? • Regularly go to the cinema? • Don’t read novels frequently? Are frightened of literature? • Approach film sensitively? • Can using film make studying literature appear less formidable?…

  14. Doubts and Problems Related to Using Film • Could the novel become sidetracked? • Could the novel be perceived as material of secondary importance? • Which film should I use? • Time constraints?

  15. Teaching Aims • To engage the students through considering questions that demand discussion, critical analysis, decision-making, and evaluation, thus mirroring a research approach and fostering independent learning.

  16. Teaching of the Novel • Chapter summaries • Exploration of context • Analysis of themes

  17. Introduction to the Film • Worksheet: • Read a description taken from the novel of a number of characters and, using this, draw a picture of what you imagine the character would look like.

  18. ‘Travelling Books’ Fair Pamphlet

  19. Teaching Methods • Compare and contrast novel and film • Problem-based learning method – why are they different? What is the effect of the differences?

  20. Worksheet: Opening Scenes • Where do you think the film is set? • What impression does the setting convey in the opening credits? • What is the effect of the Church bells? • What effect does the characters’ dress convey? (NB. Tristana, Saturna, the boys etc.) • Why does Buñuel introduce the deaf mutes at the beginning? (Can you think of possible themes they might express?)

  21. El Greco’s Toledo

  22. Galdós’s Novel vs. Buñuel’s Film (1) • Setting • Novel: northern suburb of Madrid • Film: Toledo • Why? • Practical reasons? • A detrimental effect?

  23. Galdós’s Novel vs. Buñuel’s Film (2) • Timescale: • Novel: 19th century • Film: 1930s • Effect? • Social commentary – problem of backwardness, attitude towards the Civil War? • Highlights the modernity of the novel • Highlights the fact that the novel is a springboard

  24. Galdós’s Novel vs. Buñuel’s Film (3) • Characters: • Novel: Don Lope • Film: Tristana, Saturna, Saturno • Effect? • More dramatic? • Introduction to more characters?

  25. Galdós’s Novel vs. Buñuel’s Film (4) • Themes: • Novel: Aspirations, Social status, Ambiguity • Film: Backwardness, Oppressive Traditional Values, Crippling Claustrophobia, Crippled Humanity (- deaf mutes – link the amputation of Tristana’s leg later)

  26. Galdós’s Novel vs. Buñuel’s Film (5) • Buñuel as a reader of Galdós’s novel • Film: a work in its own right • Usefulness of controversial material • Promotion of independent thinking

  27. Conclusion: Using Film - The Pitfalls • Time-consuming • Problems with technology…

  28. Using Film: The Advantages • Catalyst for class discussions • New insights : the reciprocal relationship • Satisfaction & enjoyment • No wavelength problems • Studying literature through film can be fun?…

More Related