Senior School English Mr Bakes 

The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.

Albert Einstein

Ephesians 4: 29. The Bible says:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, so that it may benefit those who listen.”

In another version it says this: “Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift”

A third version says this: “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.

Homework

We are viewing the film Bully as part of this unit

Bully (originally titled The Bully Project) is a 2011 documentary film about bullying in U.S. schools. Directed by Lee Hirsch, the film follows the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis. Bully premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. It was also screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the LA Film Festival.
Bully had its global premiere at Italy’s Ischia Film Festival on July 17, 2011. The film was released in United States theaters on March 30, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully_(2011_film)

Here is a link to the documentary movie we will be viewing this week – please view it before we watch the film

bullying-links

Please read this information on documentaries from Curriculum Organiser

Documentaries are similar to feature articles. A documentary’s purpose is to inform and entertain. It explores facts by presenting information to the viewer, and/or commenting on its significance.

Documentaries are perceived to be more ‘real’ than other TV programs. They are perceived as powerful tools in political circles. Generally, non-commercial documentaries have more credibility than those on commercial stations.

Nature, travel and current events documentaries occupy a lot of screen time. They use the same codes as other entertainment but vary in the way they are constructed. Some collect evidence in the field, which makes nature documentaries so appealing. They take the viewer to places that are generally out of reach, creating interesting scenes that require patience and time.

Some compile old footage. This gives the impression of history, a context, a time and place. Recreating the past in a documentary provides a context for the present.

Other documentaries have a lot of narration. This adds a voice of authority to the content. If the narrator is well known to the viewer, it adds greater credibility, regardless of the narrator’s authority on the subject matter.

Dramatic recreation is another style of documentary. It employs the techniques of drama, which adds the emotive dimension. Recreating scenes, for example courtroom scenes, allows filmmakers to create sensational views of the idea being presented.

Cinema-verite is a style of documentary that keeps the camera running irrespective of the action. Its purpose is to capture a sense of real life, not a construction of it. Reality TV had its beginnings as cinema-verite. It is a very old style of film. During World War Two, the camera would be left to film certain action. This style of documentary is still a construction. The people of the film are influenced by the presence of the camera. Producer’s work on the construction and angles as soon as they start filming.

Television news and current affairs programs are a selective, constructive commodity. They are sold to viewers as information, but commonly operate as entertainment.

Dialogue – conversations that take place between subjects in a film (or subjects and the filmmaker)
Factual –attempting to relay information that is accurate about something real or actual; based on facts
Fictional – something invented or imagined; a made-up story
Footage – refers to all material used in a film, including edited and unedited sequences
Opinion – an evidence-based personal belief or judgment that, unlike a fact, can be disputed by another person without either of you being wrong (e.g., Vanilla is the best flavor for ice cream)
Persuade – to cause to believe; convince
Point of View – sometimes abbreviated as POV, the perspective from which a story is told; in film, also refers to a shot that depicts a character’s outlook or position
Re-enactment – a depiction created at a later time than the actual event
Represent – to re-tell; all media is a representation of something (e.g., a photograph of a horse is not the actual horse; it represents the horse)
Stock footage (archival footage) – footage that is included in a film that is often shot by another filmmaker or for another project and not specifically for the film
Subjects – the topics of the film or the people the film features
Voice-over – a production technique or creative device in which an off-screen voice is used for narration. This voice often establishes context and was recorded at another point in time.

sourced from: http://www.pbs.org/pov/docs/Vocabulary%20Handout.pdf

4. An anti-bullying video made by an elementary school in America. http://english12applied.wordpress.com/bullying-links/

The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” was written by Robert Frost, an American poet in 1922. The poem tells the story of a man riding his horse through a forest alone on the darkest night of the year. Ironically he wrote the poem on a summers evening and was published in a book of poetry that earned Frost a Pulitzer prize for literature.

The following web address takes you to a clip of Robert Frost reciting this poem frost.html

As you listen to him read the poem what do you notice about his tone and speed and how does this add to your understanding of the poem.