American History in American film!
“Throughout much of the 1970’s, the All-American soldier-hero was replaced as a Hollywood archetype by the unstable, if not downright psychotic, Vietnam Veteran.”
- McCrisken and Pepper, 2002, p.94
As we have discovered in the last lesson, (lesson 11), American films are watched all over the world and can be very influential. In this lesson, we will be looking at the history of the Vietnam War and how it has been portrayed in the American film industry.
Task 1 - Letter to the director!
Your job this lesson is to compose a letter to the director of an American film about the Vietnam War praising or critiquing the reliability of their portrayal of the Vietnam War. You will be drawing on your knowledge of the Vietnam War in previous lessons, and conduct some research!
1. Select your film! Your film must be written, directed or produced by an American. Your film must have the Vietnam War's conflict as the main narrative. Below is a list of films you may choose from. This is not a complete list - if you would like to select another film, you just need to discuss this with the teacher. Also, some of these films only have selected scenes you may watch - you will need to inform your teacher of which film you have chosen and you will be informed then.
1. Select your film! Your film must be written, directed or produced by an American. Your film must have the Vietnam War's conflict as the main narrative. Below is a list of films you may choose from. This is not a complete list - if you would like to select another film, you just need to discuss this with the teacher. Also, some of these films only have selected scenes you may watch - you will need to inform your teacher of which film you have chosen and you will be informed then.
Films:
- Good Morning Vietnam (1987) - Heaven and Earth (1993) - Born on the Fourth of July (1989) - Forrest Gump (1994) - Platoon Leader (1988) |
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2. View the film! You will need to view your selected scenes from your chosen film. You should be taking notes while watching, and choosing two scenes that can either be praised or critiqued (or both!) for the accuracy and reliability of their portrayal.
3. Utilise your previous knowledge about the Vietnam War and conduct some research online (the school library's website is a good place to start!) to write a letter to the director.
4. Create your letter to the director/writer/producer using the online letter generator! The letter should be approximately 400 words in length.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_generator/
3. Utilise your previous knowledge about the Vietnam War and conduct some research online (the school library's website is a good place to start!) to write a letter to the director.
4. Create your letter to the director/writer/producer using the online letter generator! The letter should be approximately 400 words in length.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_generator/
Your letter must include:
- The scene's reliability - The scene's accuracy according to your sources - A statement on the importance of being accurate in film as the film industry is a feature of soft power - Opinionated language - Formal letter format - Approximately 400 words in length 5. Upload your final product onto the blog! |