dead poets and wonder boys teaching writing in the movies
DESCRIPTION
Dead Poets and Wonder Boys Teaching Writing in the Movies. Joseph Harris Duke University. Teaching Writing in the Movies. The Familiar View The Heroic View Dead Poets Wonder Boys The Problem with the Teacher as Hero An Alternate Approach. Teaching Comp: The Familiar View (1). - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Dead Poets and Wonder Boys
Teaching Writing in the Movies
Joseph Harris
Duke University
Teaching Writing in the Movies
The Familiar View
The Heroic ViewDead PoetsWonder Boys
The Problem with the Teacher as Hero
An Alternate Approach
Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (1)
“I’ll be doggone.” Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller settles the bet in Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (2)
Susan Sarandon as the ditzy Annie Savoy in Bull Durham (1988).
Teaching Comp:The Familiar View (3)
Burt Reynolds as the inept Phil Potter in Starting Over (1979)
Teaching Comp:The Familiar View
Plodders
Dilettantes
Novices
Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (1)
Robin Williams inspires as John Keating in Dead Poets Society (1989)
The Dead Poet as Teacher
What sort of teacher is John Keating?
What does Keating do in this class/scene?
What do the students do?
Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (2)
Hillary Swank fights on as Erin Gruwell in Freedom Writers (2006)
Updating the Dead Poet
In what ways does Erin Gruwell teach like John Keating?
How does her pedagogy differ from Keating’s?
The Dead Poet as Teacher
Performs
Inspires
Exhorts
Lectures
Directs
Assigns
Oth
er D
ead Po
ets
Katherine Anne Watson (Julia Roberts) in Mona Lisa Smile, 2002
Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) in Mr Holland’s Opus, 1995
Lou Anne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer) in Dangerous Minds, 1995
Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) in Stand and Deliver, 1988
Sylvia Barrett (Sandy Dennis) in Up the Down Staircase, 1967
Teaching Writing:The Heroic View (3)
Michael Douglas as the burned-out Professor Grady Tripp in Wonder Boys (2000).
The Wonder Boy as Teacher
Describe Grady Tripp as a teacher
What works in this class?
What doesn’t?
Oth
er W
onder B
oys
Hector (Richard Griffiths) in The History Boys, 2006
William Forrester (Sean Connery) in Finding Forrester, 2000
Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) in Educating Rita, 1983
Some Differences
Dead Poets
Female and Male
Invested
Energetic
Public schools
Plot moves downward
Wonder Boys
Male
Disaffected
Blocked
Private schools
Plot moves upward
The Writing Teacher as Romantic Hero
Charismatic
Empathetic
Flirtatious
Rebellious
Talented
The Critique of the Heroic Writing Teacher
Performer
Seducer
Cheerleader
Anti-intellectual
Three Views of Teaching Writing
Familiar Heroic Critical
Mundane Performative Intellectual
Para-professional
Erotic Disciplined
The Problem
Who is the hero of the critical approach?
How can we build upon (rather than simply endorse or resist) the images of teaching writing offered in the movies?
An Alternate Approach
A shift in focus from
the image of the teacher
to
the work of teaching and learning writing
Teaching Writing in the Movies
Students writeWe see or hear the texts students create
Teachers respondTeachers are coaches as well as cheerleaders
Students reviseWe see learning occur
Representing the Work of Teaching (1)
Michael Caine responds and Julie Walters revises in Educating Rita (1983)
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
What does Frank demand from Rita?
How does she respond?
How would you describe their relationship?
Representing the Work of Teaching (2)
Hector (Richard Griffiths), Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore), and Lintott (Frances de la Tour) in The History Boys, 2006
Thinking about the Work of TeachingWhat options do Hector, Irwin, and Lintott pose for their students as writers?
Representing the Work of Teaching (3)
Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery, 1990
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
What does Annie teach Paul about writing that he didn’t know before?
Representing the Work of Teaching (4)
John Keating responds to student writing
Thinking about the Work of Teaching
What work does Keating do here as a teacher?
What does Todd learn about writing?
What opportunities for learning are missed?
How might we out-Keating Keating?
Continuing the Conversation
Check out my courseEnglish 173: Images of Teaching and Learning
In Fiction and Film, Duke University, Spring 2007
Email me [email protected]
Films D
iscusse
d Gilbert, Lewis (dir.). Educating Rita. Columbia,
1983. Hanson, Curtis (dir.). Wonder Boys.
Paramount, 2000.
Hyner, Nicholas (dir.). The History Boys. Fox, 2006.
Lagravenese, Richard (dir.). Freedom Writers. Paramount, 2007.
Pakula, Alan J (dir.). Starting Over. Paramount, 1979.
Reiner, Rob (dir.). Misery. Castlerock, 1990.
Shelton, Ron (dir.). Bull Durham. MGM, 1988.
Spielberg, Steven (dir.). Saving Private Ryan. Dreamworks, 1998.
Weir, Peter (dir.) Dead Poets Society. Touchstone, 1989.