We spent the first half of the class period examining the different patterns and themes in the movie, Carrie. We dug deep into the psychology of the characters and examined certain choices that creators of the piece made. For instance, we determined that the sin Mrs. White is constantly trying to destroy in Carrie is really her own sin, and that there were several different messages the writer might have been sending by having Carrie discover her powers right when she gets her first period. It could have been to say that women are crazy, unstable creatures, or the choice could have been made to illustrate that women are powerful beings. We looked at the repetition of the color red and all the things it could symbolize (blood, death, anger, hatred, passion) and talked about why it shows up in certain scenes and how it contributes to the overall message of the piece.
Afterwards, we broke into groups, and each group was given a question to answer about the movie Carrie. The first group talked about what the movie Carrie had to say about sin and purity. That group believed that the movie Carrie said that sin, particularly sexual sin, led to death, corruption, and mental illness. The only kind and sane character is Sue who is very pure in comparison to Mrs. White, Carrie, and Chris, all of whom die while she survives.
The second group looked at what Carrie said about bullying and came to the conclusion that in the movie, Carrie, bullying is like a disease that affects everyone it touches and the consequences pass from one person to another. Nobody escapes, the victim nor the bully.
The third group talked about Carrie and womanhood and about how Carrie receives her power and her womanhood at the same time that leads her down a path of self-discovery. She starts making decisions for herself and gains a power she never had before.
The last group talked about what the movie Carrie says about self-identity. In the movie, Carrie, the only character to survive is the one character who made the decision to go against the grain and to not fit in which is Sue. Unlike her peers she feels guilty for what she did to Carrie in the shower and she gives up going to prom even though she knows everyone will make fun of her. All of the good moments in the movie happen when someone decides to do the unpopular thing. The touching moments between Carrie and Tommy occur because Tommy stepped out of his comfort zone.
Each of the questions we looked at could serve as a topic for their own paper. Notice how we picked a specific aspect of the film, (a character or theme or event) to focus on. This is the best way for you to write a paper that truly analyzes a piece and doesn't just summarize it. We looked at things that kept coming up in the piece (the idea of sin, blood, bullying) and asked why do these things keep coming up? What is the writer and/or director trying to say about all of this? How do these things relate to real life?
Homework
- Write a 750-word analysis of a movie or your choice.
- Read Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin (you can find it in the sidebar under Class Documents)
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