Imagine what each film is about. Write a summary (five lines) for each. 

 

Monday, September 28th 2020

 

Alexis Rockman

The artist :

He is an American contemporary artist. He was born in New York, in 1962, so he is 58 years old. His mother worked in the American Museum of New York so he very often visited it. He is known / famous for his paintings of futuristic landscapes that could one day exist due to climate change.

He belongs to an artistic movement called the New Gothic.

His stepfather was Australian so he lived in Australia with his family.

He collaborated with scientists. In his life, he travelled a lot, for example, he went to Costa Rica, Madagascar and Antarctica.

He is married and he lives in Connecticut, USA.

He wrote books. He attended an art school and he received a BFA, an award. He was interested in science, natural history and art in general. He illustrated the consequences of the industrial revolution.

 

=> In a biography, we use the past. But if the person is still alive, we sometimes use the present.

 => To conjugate a regular verb in the past, I add -ED to the verb or in the case of irregular verbs, I resort to the second column (wrote / was)

 

His art :

Where ? It’s in a zoo in the Bronx, in New York, an ill-famed place.

When ? It was painted between 2012 and 2013.

Who ? What ? We can see wild animals coming from different continents. (a polar bear, a tiger, an elephant, a jellyfish, parrots, a hippopotamus (a hippo), a panda, a monkey, birds, a flamingo, a crocodile / an alligator, an okapi, a dog…

Why ? How ? What happened ? These animals are out of their cages, so there has been a problem… The zoo was abandonned and the animals got free… Maybe humans being disappeared and animals took back their rights. Maybe someone just opened all the cages… Maybe a tsunami on NYC flooded the city and the zoo and the cages opened… The impact of climate change is visible in the warm waters where jellyfish swim, there’s moss everywhere, so this looks like a tropical climate. NYC is rather in an oceanical climate, with warm summers and cold winters (snow storms, hurricanes)

 

The message from the artist :

Alexis Rockman might be saying that animals could be better without human beings… he might also be saying that this could be the consequences of global warming… Or he is showing an apocalytic scene to mean what could happen in the future if we don’t take care of the Earth…

 

This painting can be compared to a Utopian work because all the animals are out of their cages… yet it is a Dystopian painting because even if they are out of their cages, they are still fighting each other, they are not adapted to the environment and they are still in a city. We can still understand / decipher it is NYC even though nature has started to overwhelm the buildings. The presence of human beings can be felt and they do nothing for the zoo to be rehabilitated.

 

click on the painting to enlarge it...

 

Black Mirror (S4E5)

 

Where and when does the scene take place in the first scene of this episode? What is depicted? How is it depicted?

 

It takes place in the countryside. It is a desolate landscape. There is nothing left but land. It is shot in black and white. The camera first shows the landscape as if we were inside the car and then from an outside point of view / a bird’s eye view, we follow the car on the road across the countryside.

 

 

 

Scene 2: from 00’45 to 01’50

 

What is happening inside the car?

 

Three people are inside the car. A woman is driving, a black man is sitting next to her and a younger man is sitting at the back. The woman wants the black man to unwrap some sweet for her. We understand this is the only food left. They go past an abandoned burnt car. Then they go past shelters that were used for pigs. Dead pigs are seen lying next to the shelters.

 

They have a discussion about pigs and their reputation. The woman teaches the word “snout” for “nose” to the young man.

 

 

 

Scene 3: 01’50 to 03’20

 

They arrive at a warehouse. What do they decide? What does it foreshadow about the place and why they are here?

 

They drive over rails and reach an seemingly abandoned warehouse. They want to go and have a look inside the warehouse but seem to be cautious. They need something which is inside to save another character they mention in their exchanges and who is dying. They agree to spend no more than 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Scene 4: 03’20 to 07’20

 

Inside and outside the warehouse. What happens and how is it shot?

 

While the young man tries to start the van that is parked outside, the other two enter the warehouse with torches and search for a precise slot: 95-DY42. The woman has the number written on her hand. In the meantime, the young man is still trying to decipher the code to hijack the van. The woman finally manages to spot slot 95-DY42. She is filmed in a high-angle shot to show how vulnerable she is at that moment. The man helps her bring a ladder so that they can reach the box they are looking for. It is the man who climbs the ladder and reaches for the box. As soon as he grabs the box, we discover what is lurking behind it: a robot, a four-legged robotic guard—a "dog". The dog shoots a shell that showers the man and the woman with shrapnel that contains trackers. The dog shoots the man to death.

 

 

 

Scene 5: from 07’20 to 8’20

 

How does the woman and the young man react? How does the scene end?

 

The woman flees / escapes without the box. She reaches to her car, and the young man follows in the van. The dog follows them and jumps onto the van.

 

The Handmaid’s Tale (trailer)

 

 

 

How does the trailer present the characters?

 

We see them in their function: June as a handmaid, the Commander, alone and with his peers, the police and the army dressed in black. The wife of the commander dressed in blue. Aunt Lydia, dressed in brown, controlling the handmaids and especially teaching them how to behave.

 

 

 

What does the voice over explain?

 

June’s voice explains how the Republic of Gilead was created: first the Congress was slaughtered / destroyed.  Then terrorists were blamed and the constitution was suspended.

 

 

 

“I was asleep before … now I’m awake”: what do we understand of June’s intention?

 

We understand that she will fight to bring things back to normal.

 

 

 

How do you analyse June’s new name?

 

Offred = Of Fred => she belongs to a man named Fred.

 

 

 

What do flashbacks bring to the trailer?

 

They show how life was like before the Republic of Gilead and how things evolved: people were demonstrating, women were fired from their jobs. June, her husband and their daughter tried to escape but they were caught. June was separated from her daughter and became a handmaid.

 

 

 

What is their new role in society now?

 

Handmaids are used as procreators. They serve the leaders and their sterile / barren wives. Ceremonies are organised.

 

 

 

What about those who do not obey?

 

They are sent to the colonies, to recycle toxic waste and they die there.

 

 

 

We then move to June’s place. What do we learn about her household?

 

There is an “eye” in her house, somebody who can help her: it’s Nick, the driver.

 

 

 

How is Gilead presented?

 

The Commander’s wife (dressed in blue) presents Gilead as an achievement. A close-up shot on a pregnant handmaid shows how successful it is.

 

The word “better” is emphasised in the discussion between the Commander and June. They don’t agree on its definition.

 

 

 

Aunt Lydia reminds June of the scriptures: “Blessed are the meek” (the humble / soft people). What does she reply? What action does it trigger?

 

She replies: “And blessed are those who suffer for the cause of righteousness”.

 

Aunt Lydia hits her.

 

 

 

What do we infer from this last shot?

Life for June in Gilead won’t be easy as she is a rebel and will risk her life to speak out and try to escape. But determination can be felt in her voice and in her attitude.

 

 

Read the 4 texts and identify to which category they belong? Utopia or dystopia? One can be both and is also a satire…

 

Utopia: Utopia by Thomas More

 

Dystopia: 1984 by George Orwell / The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

 

Gulliver’s travels by Jonathan Swift is both a utopia, a dystopia and a satire.

 

 

 

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Read again document A and use the following guidelines to write your commentary. Feel free to add your own remarks!

 

What clue(s) do the title and subtitle give to the reader about the content of the chapter? 

 

It focusses on a place in particular and we understand it is a utopian place.

 

How is the island described? 

 

With precise details (we have measurements), use of adverbs (just, almost) and adjectives which denote perfection (same, great, secured), the adjective “great” is repeated several times. It is a protected place (entry = dangerous, garrison). Its entrance is a secret (known only to natives)

 

What about the organisation on the island itself? 

 

The adjective “same” is repeated to show that the cities are all on the same model. The cities are within reach of each other => it is made for human beings to live in.

 

How is the system of government organised? 

 

The cities are run by senators, they meet at the center of the island, in the capital.

 

How is the society on Utopia organised? 

 

People are tenants and not landholders, they don’t own anything. Some are farmers. The people who live in the cities are sent to live in the countryside by turns.

 

What structure do country families have? 

 

The country family is composed of no more than forty men and women. They also have two slaves. Each family is run by a master and a mistress. A group of thirty families is run by a magistrate.

 

What general conclusion can you draw about this description?

 

Organisation is what defines Utopia: everything, from cities to families is organised along a set pattern / model and everybody agrees to that model.

 

 

 

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Read again document B and use the following guidelines to write your commentary. Feel free to add your own remarks!

 

How does the narrative start? (paragraph 1)

 

The narrator speaks first about the circumstances of his travel and addresses the readers directly. He locates the place where he was travelling and indicates difficult weather conditions.

 

What literary device is used to go from paragraph one to paragraph two? 

 

It is an ellipsis: we switch from one situation to another and we understand that the bad weather conditions are responsible for the narrator’s shipwreck on an island.

 

He then wakes up in a different place.

 

In which position does the narrator find himself?

 

He is lying on his back and he is tied to the ground. All his limbs are fastened; only his head can move so he can look ahead of him

 

What can you say about his encounter?

 

He first feels something walking his body and discovers it is a tiny human being, six inches tall. The Lilliputian is armed so as to defend himself against this giant. Even if Gulliver scares them, they come back and show their superiority, speaking a foreign language.

 

Is this situation plausible? Why? Why not?

 

It is unlikely an adult human being can be tied to the ground by Lilliputians : he could easily have broken his ties and he could have gotten up. Lilliputians manage to master Gulliver, it should be the reversed situation.

 

Why would Jonathan Swift choose to describe such a situation? What does he want to show / denounce about Man in general?

 

He might want to show the vulnerability of Man and how weak and gullible Man could be.

 

 

 

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Read again document C and use the following guidelines to write your commentary. Feel free to add your own remarks!

 

How does the setting outside contribute to describing a dystopian place? (paragraph 1)

 

There is only one character who is trying to fight natural elements: the cold and the wind. There is no sound but the sound of a clock. The street is desert, there is only dust.

 

What elements inside the building allow us to understand the situation?

 

The smell gives an impression of life as opposed to the sight which annihilates that feeling of life: the face on the poster is imposing its power to anyone passing by.

 

There ate signs that life is indeed gone inside the building: the lift doesn’t work anymore. Electricity is partly cut during the day.

 

The character is not old (only 39) but he shows signs of decay (varicose ulcer).

 

One element is repeated. What does it bring to the narrative?

 

The poster is the focus of the narrative voice on several occasions: first in the hallway when we have a full description and then it is reiterated on each landing. The climax comes when the caption is given and goes hand in hand with the feeling created by the eyes of the face on the poster: you are being watched and followed => BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.

 

We then follow Winston Smith into his own flat. How is the flat depicted?

 

Inside his flat, there is a voice that he cannot shut down. It comes from the telescreen.

 

What about Winston’s body?

 

It is depicted as small (smallish, frail, meagreness) and hurt (roughened, coarse, blunt). 

 

What vision do we get of the street outside?

 

Cold, wind, dust, sun + blue sky, yet no colour but on the posters: they are everywhere.

 

The English Socialist Party, better known as Ingsoc (Newspeak for English Socialism) is the fictional political party of the totalitarian government of Oceania.

 

What role do helicopters play in such a society?

 

They belong to the police. They patrol and check on people inside their flats.

 

What other police is mentioned? What can you infer about its task?

 

The Thought Police. It is probably a police service which is in charge of controlling how people think.

 

Is Winston free in his own flat? (line 36 to line 46)

 

There is no freedom for individuals even inside their own flat: they are constantly watched by Big Brother.

 

What do we learn about his job?

 

He works at the Ministry of Truth, in London. He can see the building from his window.

 

What does London look like compared to the memories Winston has of his childhood? How does it help the setting of a dystopian society?

 

He cannot remember what it looked like. What he can see is that it has been destroyed. The description gives a post-apocalyptic vision of London, thus emphasizing the setting of the dystopian society which was put into place.

 

What do the three slogans of the Party teach us about life in dystopian Oceania?

 

It is composed of opposites which are put on an equal footing, thus annihilating both concepts and blurring the limits of right and wrong.

 

The state of war is so common that it is perceived as the norm, therefore peace.

 

Being free is a form of slavery of oneself, hence the hidden message: being free is not good for you.

 

Not knowing is usually a weakness but here it is transformed into a strength.

 

Those three slogans show how submitted and controlled the population in Oceania has become.

 

 

 

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Read again document D and use the following guidelines to write your commentary. Feel free to add your own remarks!

 

In which way is the setting presented to the reader?

 

The narrator relies on places that are known and shows what they were before and how they are used now (gymnasium => dormitories)

 

What elements of the past does the narrator recall?

 

The narrator describes all the elements inside the gymnasium to show that life once took place here: the nets on the basketball hoops, the balcony where there used to be people watching games, the smell of sweat, chewing-gum and perfume, the way the girls were dressed then and the way they looked. The sounds are also revived in the narrator’s memory (dances, music, style, drums). All senses are used to recall: the sight of garlands, paper flowers, revolving ball.

 

What effect does it bring?

 

It gives us the impression of a flashback into what life was like before.

 

How is the narrator brought back to reality?

 

From these memories the narrator finds herself into the present. The gymnasium is described in the present tense: it has been transformed into a dormitory and we have a precise description of the army cots, the way they are organised in rows, the army blankets, the lack of light and the Aunts who are patrolling.

 

What about the freedom granted to the handmaids?

 

They cannot talk with each other (line 13). Even though the Aunts have no guns, they control them. They cannot go outside, except for their two daily walks. They go in groups of two and walk around the football field which is surrounded by barbed wire.

 

What do handmaids long for?

 

They would like to have someone to talk to. They developed a skill to whisper without being noticed, they can also lip-read.

 

How does chapter one end? What impression does it give?

 

It ends on the names of the handmaids. It gives an impression of life and a first form of rebellion and fight against the system which shuts them down.

 

What insight does the beginning of chapter two give us?

 

When reading the beginning of chapter two, we peep into a house where a Commander, his wife and his handmaid live.

 

The furniture is minimal (line 31 to 35) but there is still a mirror which allows the handmaid to get a glimpse of what she looks like.

 

How does the handmaid see herself? What literary reference can you spot?

 

She sees herself distorted as if in a parody. She equates herself to a character in a tale, dressed in a red cloak: Little Red Riding Hood.

 

What other comparison does she draw?

 

The colour red is also associated to blood therefore to a form of danger.

 

What do the last two lines of the extract tell us?

 

Hierarchy has to be respected: everyone is associated to a colour.