English What role do movies Pedagogical Module 1 play in culture? Curricular Threads: Communication and Cultural Awareness, Oral Communication, Reading, Writing, Language Through the Arts Third Course BGU Biographies and Social Studies movie reviews 4 Movies around 5 the world Idioms 3 Language Writing a biography 6 and movie review Simple past / past continuous 2 English Movie Social Studies Time 7 Important people Movie genres 1 and dates in movies Values 8 Interculturality Movies can tell us a lot about a culture. The Chinese American actor Jackie Chan They can tell us about the past, the present, and once said: “Cinema reflects culture and there maybe even predict the future. They can reflect is no harm in adapting technology, but not at the values and beliefs. Movies are, in a sense, a way cost of losing your originality.” Movies help give of showing ourselves to the world. us a name and place in the world. Freepik How do you interpret Jackie Chan’s quote? Do you agree? Why or why not? Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial 1 Lesson A Communication and Cultural Awareness Do you like watching movies with your family or friends? Movie Genres Culture There are many different types of movies. These types are called Going to the movie theater genres. Some scare us, like horror movies or thrillers. Others make is one of the favorite us fall in love, like romantic movies that have a love story. There are pastimes in many countries also science fiction movies that take us to outer space or some futuristic around the world. planets. Animated movies tell stories through drawings or cartoons, It is a chance to share like Nemo or Mickey Mouse. Documentaries teach us about history an experience with friends or biology or a famous person’s life. Comedies make us laugh! Action or family and discuss the movies keep us on the edge of our seats, waiting for the next exciting film when it is over. thing to happen. We can travel to unknown places with the characters in adventure movies. Dramas involve us in a story with many twists and turns. Magic or supernatural events happen in fantasy movies. Musicals make us sing and dance throughout the story. There is a type of movie for everyone! Match each of the movie scenes with the movie genre they correspond to • Horror • Romantic • Science Fiction • Documentary • Comedy • Action • Animated • Drama • Adventure • Fantasy • Musical © Eulalia Cornejo Freepik Discuss these questions in small groups. • Which is your favorite movie genre? Why do you like it? Vocabulary Are there any genres that you don’t like? twists and turns. in this • What is the best movie genre to see in the movie theater? Why? context, they are sudden changes in the story • Can a movie belong to more than one genre? Explain your opinion. Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial 2 Oral Communication Do you have a favorite actor or actress? 1. Listen to the person talk about two famous North American actors. Take notes on what is said. 2. Now listen again and organize your notes in the Venn Diagram below. Write the things that the two actors have in common in the middle. Jennifer Aniston Wikimedia / gdcgraphics Jennifer Aniston Wikimedia / Angela George Adam Sandler Adam Tip Sandler Note that even though both actors are still alive, the story of what has already • Have you ever seen any of the movies or TV shows these actors happened in their lives is have been in? told in the past tense. Also, ____________________________________________________________ remember that English always needs a subject, so you hear ____________________________________________________________ the pronouns “she” and ____________________________________________________________ “he” repeated. • Based on the description of these celebrities, who would you prefer to meet? Why? Vocabulary ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ to star in. to play the main character in a movie ____________________________________________________________ or TV show Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial 3 Reading Have you ever seen letters associated with movies, like PG, R, or G? What do you think these mean? Movie Rating System In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) devised a voluntary rating system for movies. These guidelines replaced the earlier censorship in place called the Hays Code. The goal of this new system was to encourage parents to take a role in deciding what their children should and should not watch. Today’s Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) gives cautionary warnings to families about the material in movies. These ratings take into consideration various factors such as violence, sexual content, substance abuse, and profane language. The ratings have received much criticism over the years, saying that there is too much emphasis on sexual content and language and not enough on violence. In other words, there are extremely violent movies that children have been allowed to see according to the rating that can have very negative effects on them. Freepik These are the categories that are currently being used: Discuss the following G – General Audiences questions in groups All ages admitted. Nothing would be offensive to children. of 3-4 students. PG – Parental Guidance Suggested • Do you agree that parents should take on this Some material may not be suitable for children. This movie may responsibility? contain some elements that parents may not like their children to see. • Do you agree with this PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned classification? Why or Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Some why not? Would you parts of the movie may not be suitable for children 12 and younger. change anything? R – Restricted • Choose a movie that you have seen. What is its Under 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian. rating? Why do you think This movie contains some adult material. Parents should learn more it is rated this way? If you about the film before taking their children with them. don’t know its rating, what would you rate it and why? NC-17 – Adults Only No one under 17 admitted. This movie is only appropriate for adults. Some films are not rated or are still in the process of being rated. These movies have the letters NR (Not Rated) next to their name. Retrieved from: https://filmratings.com/ Vocabulary Freepik devised. invented, created profane. offensive suitable. appropriate Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial 4 Writing Language A biography A biography is a story about a person’s life. It includes information about where and when the person was born, details about his/her childhood, family, hobbies, important life events, career, and other significant aspects of his/her life. Many times a biography is written after a person dies, as a tribute to the life he or she lived and to teach others about the person. Freepik 1. Think of an actor or actress you really like. He or she can be from any part of the world. Write down his or her name and anything you know about this celebrity. Grammar Note Remember that when we are talking or writing about stories that took place in the past, we can use the 2. Now do some research and add more interesting facts about simple past (verb + ed for the person you have chosen. Continue your list. regular verbs) or the past progressive (was/were + verb ing). The first is used with actions that have a definite beginning and end 3. Take your ideas and write them in a short (100-120 words) mini- in the past, and the second is biography. Be sure to write all the events in chronological order. used for ongoing or habitual You must use at least FIVE time expressions, for example: before, events in the past. after, during, as soon as, while, then, later, at the same time… E.g.: While Bill was studying economics at university, his father had a terrible accident. (Bill was studying over a period of time, his father had an accident at a specific moment.) Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial Freepik 5 Language Through the Arts The Muppets The Muppets are a group of characters who were created by Jim Henson in the 1950s. The name comes from a combination of the words “marionette” and “puppet”. They are puppets that have appeared in several movies starting in 1979 with The Muppet Movie. Their most recent movie is Muppets Most Wanted, 2014. The most popular characters are Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, who have shared an on-and-off romance throughout the years. © Eulalia Cornejo Draw your own original Muppet. Give it a name and share some of its characteristics. Characteristics Freepik Freepik Vocabulary • Have you ever watched The Muppets? If so, who is your favorite character? marionette. puppet controlled ____________________________________________________________ by strings • Do you know any other movies that use puppets? Which one(s)? puppet. model of an animal or person that can be moved, ____________________________________________________________ used in entertainment • Are these types of movies appropriate for all ages, on-and-off. not consistent or just for children? Why? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Non-Commercial Licence Non-Commercial 6 Oral Communication What food is served in movie theaters in your country? Movie Theater Food Around the World Freepik Freepik Movie theater popcorn Tip Value: Interculturality 1. Listen to the speaker telling you about the type of food served Remember that when in movie theaters across the world. Take notes in the chart below. we write about countries, Fill in the countries and the food that they serve in each one. cities, or nationalities Country Food Yes No Maybe in English, the words are always capitalized. For example: Americans usually eat popcorn, nachos and hot dogs when they go to the movies in the United States.