This sub-organizer contains the following sections:

It is expected that students will:

• analyse how social, cultural, and historical contexts influence and are influenced by film and television images and messages
• analyse economic and social impacts of film and television production on the local and global communities
• compare how artistic components in film and television are constructed for specific audiences and purposes in a variety of social, cultural, and historical contexts
  

• Invite students to view films that convey different perspectives on a specific topic (e.g., coming of age, love, athletics, the Gulf War, Custer's Last Stand, the Riel Rebellions). Discuss how artistic components and technical processes are used to convey the different messages.
• Have students view TV programs from the 1950s to examine how these programs reestablished gender roles and family stereotypes after the disruptions of the 1930s and 1940s.
• Suggest that students view five or six TV channels simultaneously during a specified time period (e.g., 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.; 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.). Ask them to track the types of programs aired and products advertised. During the news, have them track the kinds of voice-overs and sounds added to visual images. Form small groups and ask them to discuss questions such as:
  • Is bias evident when you compare news reports from various countries?
  • Are certain kinds of commercials aimed at particular audiences at certain times?
  • How does the television industry influence society? Social values? Personal values?
• Ask students to imagine a world with no television or film. Have them reflect in their journals on the local impact on business and the economy, and the global impact on fashion trends, sports, music, and so on.
• Have students develop scripts for 15-second TV advertisements. Ask them each to select or create three sound scores for the commercial that will elicit different reactions from the audience.
• Provide students with a list of male and female filmmakers from a variety of countries. Invite them to each research two filmmakers (using various print, audio-visual, and electronic resources), then compare and contrast the artistic components these artists use in their films.

• When students review several films that offer different perspectives on a specific topic, look for evidence that they are able to:
  • describe the point of view of each film
  • explain how the artistic components and technical processes contributed to the message conveyed by each film
  • support their opinions with relevant examples and observations
  • identify similarities and differences in the interpretations
  • develop logical generalizations or conclusions about the topic and its context
• Assess students' analyses of five or six TV channels in terms of criteria such as:
  • focusses on key features
  • information is clearly organized
  • makes logical connections between the intended audiences and artistic components
  • shows insights into some of the more subtle and complex messages
  • recognizes stereotypes and cultural influences
  • supports conclusions with relevant details
• When students consider the potential impact on their community of having no film or television, have them present their conclusions to the class. Look for evidence that they have:
  • considered social, cultural, and economic effects
  • looked at both short- and long-term impacts
  • developed logical arguments and reasons to support their conclusions
• Work with the class to develop criteria for their research on how two different filmmakers use artistic components in their films. Criteria might include:
  • correctly describes characteristic ways in which the artistic components are used
  • makes connections between the meaning created by the filmmakers and the artistic components
  • identifies similarities and differences in the filmmakers' use of artistic components and in the meaning they create
  • supports analyses with relevant and specific examples, details, and reasons
  • draws logical conclusions about the styles and intents of the filmmakers

Print Materials

• Calling the Shots
• Elegantly Frugal Costumes
• Understanding Movies, Seventh Edition
  

Video

• Changing Voices
• Constructing Reality
• How Are Movies Made?
• In Her Own Image
• Watching TV

Previous Organizer Next Organizer

  BC Ministry of Education Home Page