Finding the Message of a Film

How to find the message Look for the conflicts in the characters What happens that goes right? Example: When I do something for someone else, I get something good. What happens that goes wrong? Example: When I lie, something goes wrong. How do the main characters end up at the end of the movie? How did the bad guy end up? Why was he/she like that? How did the good guy end up? Why was he/she like that? Consider the worldview of the movie

Worldview Worldview – the way that one sees the world A worldview shapes a movie’s message Lots of movies have a worldview. The worldview is the lesson that can come from the movie. Many movies deal with certain topics such as: Climate change Women’s rights Criminal justice Discrimination Racism Your Worldview

Examples of Worldview The message is shown through different ways in movies: Mood Message Conflict Music Characters

How to talk about message “What is the message of the movie?” “I think the message of the movie is…” “…that X and Y are wrong, but if you do Z, everything will ok.” “…that Xing is always hurtful to others but is also hurtful to you.” “I think the movie is saying…” “The main character clearly shows that doing X brings problems. He learned at the end that doing Y is better.” Talk about the main characters, any main emotions, and the final result of the movie to talk about message

Examples in Movies Lou Bullying and stealing are bad, but you can change by doing the right thing. Moana Following your dreams is a good thing. Thor: The Dark World Doing the right thing sometimes means taking a different, unexpected direction in life. Catch Me If You Can What was the worldview of that movie? (clip)

What is the Message? What kind of message did you see in the clip? What advice was Carl trying to give Frank? “I think the message of the movie is…”

Practice