OBSERVE

Linking Film with:

Composition: History: Grade A/Senior High School (Adolescence)

Composition: Grade A/Senior High School (School Violence)

Characters:

EXTRACT A

– Press pause at 00:00:25. In your opinion, who is the main character? What are the elements of the film’s language that indicate his role (framing, costumes etc.)?

– In literature and film, the study of manners of the characters focuses on their actions and their relations with other characters. Observe the relation of Vasilis with his co-players. How would you describe Vasilis? How would you describe his relationship with the other school kids?

– What do you think that Vasilis told his friend during the screening?

• How did this scene make you feel?
• What is it that annoyed you the most during this scene?
• In the end of the film, Dimitris shows up. He could have been one of Vasilis’ targets. How does this make him feel? But in the end, is this the case? Do you believe that he found himself in the shoes of the victim or the victimizer?

EXTRACT B

– What is the relation between students and teachers?

– What kind of evidence regarding Dimitris’s mood do we get by his facial expressions and his body language? He’s turning his head from right to left, what is he looking for?

 – In adolescence, the emotions and mental processes are “amplified”. How would you interpret Dimitris’ psychology? Do you believe that his reaction results originates from the fact that he is already a victim of violence?  

– What do you think that scares him the most? Violence or the menace it generates?

Script (check Glossary):

EXTRACT A

– What would happen to the script’s structure if Dimitris was the victim in this scene? Why doesn’t he intervene?

– What is the role of the “audience”? Can you imagine how could the observers react differently? How would this affect the the plot?

– What kind of violence does Vasilis use? In which ways is the emotional confusion (so typical among teenagers) represented? To what extend have the props (i.e. the objects that are held by the characters), the costumes, the details, and the location affected your way of thinking?

• Examine real examples of school violence, focusing on its impact on the victims and society as a whole. Who are seemingly the victims?

EXTRACT Β

– How is this scene connected to the title?

-Following the backbone of the film, we reach the climax and witness a scene that stands out for its excessiveness. Why did the director select to emphasize this particular moment in a school’s routine?

Linking Film with:

Composition: Grade A/Senior High School – Adolescence/Idols

“Tree of Thoughts”:

In order to understand and react to any expression of teenage angst, we need to regard it as a tree with many branches.

First Step:

Split into 3 groups:

Α. Positive Β. Negative Γ. Role Models

Second Step:

Use a one-meter-long cardboard to design a tree. According to the team you belong to, note in each root the characteristics of youth spirit and, and in each branch the reactions that are relate to them and their possible implications. Eg. Root: “Young people are judgemental.” Branch: “Yannis cannot read properly, he keeps messing up his words. He is useless.”

Third Step

Each team presents its trees and symbolisms to the other two teams.