Lights, camera, action! EQ: What are the elements that make a movie good and how are they similar to literature?

Element #1 It must entertain What entertains an audience? SEX (it’s true!)/LOVE OR ROMANCE VIOLENCE OR ACTION

ELEMENT #2 MAKES YOU THINK These kinds of movie raise questions about our society and the politics of our day and at the same time should be able to be watched 20 years from now and still understood. A thinking movie should always present its view in a way that is both convincing and non offensive. In other words, it should always make its case in a well organized and respectful way. These movies can be very entertaining, because most of the time they also combine the thinking man’s movie with a background of sci fi, horror or action.

ELEMENT #3 MAKES YOU FEEL The third thing that a movie can do, and the hardest, is to make someone feel... feel anything. Happiness, horror, but most of all, sadness.  A good movie will have, not just interesting but, endearing characters. Characters that, while watching the film, will make us empathize and care about what happens to them throughout their  cinematic journey. Not only endearing but deplorable characters as well. Characters we WANT something bad to happen to. It allows the audience to converse about their views on who were the good guys and who were the villains. This ALLOWS us, as the audience, to perpetuate and embellish on the film with our own imaginations.

ELEMENT #4 ORIGINALITY  If these movies didn't have an original, non- regurgitated plot for us to be thrown into, most people probably wouldn't like them as much. It's simply not as easy to find yourself on the edge of your seat if you've seen the same movie with different names and a few different catch-phrases used by our main characters. Plot goes a long way with even the slightest bit of originality.

TIME TO BRAINSTORM ON A NEW PIECE OF PAPER, MAKE 4 COLUMNS. LABEL THEM AS FOLLOWS: ENTERTAINING, THINKING, FEELING, ORIGINALITY THINK ABOUT WHAT WE’VE READ. PUT THE TITLES IN AS MANY COLUMNS AS YOU FEEL APPLY. (HERE ARE THE TITLES: “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” “The Love Letter” Lord of the Flies) IF YOU FEEL A TITLE BELONGS IN A COLUMN, ALSO ADD EXAMPLES OF HOW OR WHY IT BELONGS THERE. WHEN YOUR COLUMNS ARE COMPLETE, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION OF ONE OF THE TITLES TO BE MADE INTO A MOVIE. WRITE IT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR COLUMNS. EX: I RECOMMEND _________TO BE MADE INTO A MOVIE BECAUSE__________________________.