Understanding point of view, interpreting characters’ actions, identifying themes - each of these skills is recognized as part of appreciating literature in most secondary classrooms. But often, students do not understand the subtleties of a writer’s techniques to providing keys to meaning. John Golden, in his book Reading in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom, suggests that studying film can improve students’ skills in both reading and analysis. Golden’s book provides the reader with basic terminology, film to literature links, and recommendations for movie segments. The appendixes include a glossary of terms, blank activity charts, an annotated list of resources and an index of the films discussed.
Although Golden includes a chapter on teaching complete films, his purpose is not to transform a language arts class into a film class. Instead, he provides sound advice for teaching such elements as point of view by moving from the techniques used in film to the techniques used in print. In addition, Golden recommends using only sections of a film, generally less than ten minutes, to highlight a particular point. The model Golden has developed begins by studying a film technique and then viewing a film example. Once skills of application and analysis are developed here, Golden moves to analyzing literature and literary techniques.
In the first chapter Golden introduces film terms directly relevant to literary techniques. The terms included are editing, framing shots, focus, angles, camera moves, lighting and sound. Incorporated into the discussion are a number of movie shots that exemplify the terms. These shots are effectively chosen so that the reader can immediately link the term to an example. By the end of the chapter on terms, the reader can understand how a director’s message can be effectively transmitted to the viewer by use of available techniques. For example, lighting variations (low-key, high-key, bottom/side, front, or neutral) help a director make decisions regarding shadows, thus establishing suspicion or ambiguity or innocence. Then he suggests shots from films (in this case, a scene from Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing). Finally, discussion following the film viewing would include naming the angles and interpreting the message.
Following one of Golden’s suggestions, I read the text with a film (muted) playing in my VCR. That allowed me to note my own examples of what he was discussing. And as Golden points out, the sound is not essential to understand angles, shots and camera movement. Later, I replayed segments to listen for the effects of sound.
As he discusses the film terms, Golden provides suggestions for having students experience the camera by designing a “camera” with a rolled up paper. Camera movements are also simulated through student action. To help students experience these decisions, Golden suggests using a flashlight in the classroom to demonstrate how lighting from different angles affects characterization. These practical suggestions could be implemented in any language arts classroom.
Building upon the terminology experience of chapter 1, Golden moves to “Film and Reading Strategies” in the next chapter. He begins with predicting, and then turns to responding to and questioning the text. The procedure he recommends starts with viewing a film segment. Once the students have understood how a director uses focus, shots, lighting, sound, and so on to communicate, they move to print text to use the same strategies. So, for example, Golden includes a chart showing how students predicted character, theme and setting in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, and then moved to Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. In each instance, the students must support their interpretations by linking them to the director/author’s techniques. Because his purpose is to understand strategies, Golden does not suggest that a text be linked to its movie counterpart.
Storyboarding is another technique suggested in the “Reading Strategies” chapter. To create a storyboard, students select a segment of a story and transfer it to a storyboard. They link the story with techniques such as framing, angles and sound. To complete the storyboard, Golden next asks students to develop a soundtrack for a short story segment. This task requires in-depth critical thinking to justify music choices for particular print passages.
It is in the third chapter, “Film and Literary Analysis,” that Golden outlines the connection between film techniques and literary techniques in character, setting, point of view, symbol and irony. As in the previous chapters, Golden’s approach is clear and practical. He provides the reader with specific film recommendations. For example, he recommends using The Remains of the Day 1:27:17-1:30:20 (James Ivory, 1993) to discuss character. Golden also provides sample charts of actual class responses and practical suggestions for discussing literary elements in film. Thus, he begins the transition from film to print.
The final chapter provides suggestions for teaching a complete film. The challenge in using a complete film is in balancing the students’ need to “have a somewhat genuine cinematic experience” and the teacher’s need “to be able to point out and discuss significant details”(p. 97). Golden’s approach considers this balance. The films chosen each come with a recommendation for appropriate grade level. Then, for each film, Golden provides a rationale for the film’s choice, suggestions for previewing through questions, and a viewing schedule. Each film is segmented, so that generally each viewing day includes about 25 minutes of viewing. For each segment, Golden suggests things to notice, identifies the segment, and lists discussion questions.
This text is insightful and invigorating. The approach is fundamentally sound. The emphasis is clearly on analysis of techniques and how understanding the meaning of the techniques improves reading and analytical skills. It is well written for the novice in the field of film. Using Golden’s recommendations, charts, and directions, a teacher could begin implementing these techniques immediately. Given the media-rich environment so many students thrive on, linking film to literature may be one of the best fresh ideas for opening print media. Not only for the improvement in reading and analysis that Golden promotes, but also for the improved skills related to film appreciation, this text is worth considering for the language arts teacher. Golden’s “Introduction” describes the stereotype of movie day: “Lights go off, heads go down, and teachers finally get some grading done” (p. xiii). But that is not the point of this text. Here, Golden finds a workable approach “to help students improve their reading and analytical skills” (p. xiii). Although Golden’s students “complained” that they could never “just watch a movie anymore” without analyzing it (p. xiv), Golden found that by using the film unit, he saw marked improvements in reading and analysis.
Pages: 175
Price: $26.95
ISBN: 0-81413-872-1
Reviewed by Marian Salwierak, St. Gregory’s University
