1. drama – The Elephant Man – a – 1980 – century – deformed – historical – film – about – was – a – severely – man – in – late – who - 19th – is – London - Joseph Merrick. = The Elephant Man is a 1980 historical drama film about Joseph Merrick who was a severely deformed man in the late 19th century London. 

2. adaptation – black – The – was – film – an – directed – which – was – by – shot – in – and – white – David Lynch. = The film was an adaptation directed by David Lynch which was shot in black and white. 

3. of – He – was – by – the – true – inspired – story - Frederick Treves's The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences (1923) and Ashley Montagu's The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity (1971). = He was inspired by the true story of Frederick Treves's The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences (1923) and Ashley Montagu's The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity (1971).  

4. surgeon – Frederick Treves – is – a London – at – the – Hospital = Frederick Treves is a surgeon at the London Hospital. 

5. freak – He – in – a – Victorian – Joseph Merrick – show – finds – in – London's – East End. = He finds Joseph Merrick in a Victorian freak show in London’s East End.

6. kept – alcoholic – Joseph Merrick – sadistic – is – there – by – ,  – an – and – showman - Mr Bytes. = Joseph Merrick is kept there by Mr Bytes, an alcoholic and sadistic showman. 

7. examination – pays – His – bring – is – kept – hooded – head – and – Treves – to – to – the – him – Bytes – hospital – for. = His head is kept hooded, and Treves pays Bytes to bring him to the hospital for examination.

8. colleagues – Treves – his – highlights – monstrous – presents – Merrick – to – his – and - skull.  = Treves presents Merrick to his colleagues and highlights his monstrous skull. 

9. Merrick – When – show – beats – Byte – takes – back – to – his – , – he – him. = When Bytes takes Merrick back to his show, he beats him.  

10. hospital – is – then – of – Merrick – taken – care – at – the. = Merrick is then taken care of at the hospital.  

11. few – Treves – teaches – speak – him – to – say – a – and – can – words – soon – Merrick. = Treves teaches him to say a few words and Merrick can soon speak.   

12. curious – Everybody – this – becomes – creature – about. = Everybody becomes curious about this creature.  

13. takes – is – by – again – Bytes – who – leaves – kidnapped – England – road – and – him – on – the – as – a – attraction – once – circus – The Elephant Man. = The Elephant Man is kidnapped by Bytes who leaves England and takes him on the road as a circus attraction once again. 

Can you imagine the end of the story? Add three more sentences.  

The Elephant Man is beaten by Bytes all day long. 

He is kept in an animal cage. 

And one day, Bytes finds him dead in his cage. 

***************************************************

The Elephant Man was treated as a slave. 

He couldn’t eat and drink. 

So he rebelled and wanted to kill Bytes but he lost and was killed by Bytes with a knife. 

***************************************************

The elephant man escapes from Bytes. 

He goes to another country. 

And he lives there. 

****************************************************

How is fear expressed in these two trailers?

Trailer of the film The Elephant Man, by David Lynch (1980)

https://tinyurl.com/tea7rcj

Fear is expressed through…

• people screaming

• the man who is crying

• his name but we don’t see him

• the hidden face of the Elephant Man

• the fact that the EM is deformed and wears a mask

• people beating him

• a swift change of shots

• an extreme close-up

• a zoom on the man who is crying

• a low-angle shot to show the Elephant Man is chased in the street

• the music in the background: a dramatic music evoking suspense / cliffhanger…

• a sad / melancholic music 

• words that are highlighted / salient: Monster / life is full of surprises / the terrible EM! / turn away / a target / perversion / the beauty in the beast / perverted / degraded version of a man / incurable / don’t accept / freak / 

• “Romeo” => the woman sees his personality, his interior person.  

Trailer of a play The Elephant Man, By Studio Tenn (2017)

https://tinyurl.com/urt5awh

Monday, December 14th 2020

Gothic literature

TOPIC: 

How does imagination express our fears of the world, of the other and of our self?

=> imaginary worlds => monsters in cinema, literature and art. 

a film poster for the Elephant Man

made by David Lynch (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Straight Story, Inland Empire, Twin Peaks, …)

in black and white

a quote saying the thing is not an animal but a man… 

two parts

• title / quote / credits => on the left

• the main character on the right => wearing black clothes, we don’t see his face, nor his body…

mysterious

human characteristics? stands like a human being, a head with eyes, a body, an arm…

any feelings? makes us feel uncomfortable because it’s creepy, it’s dark…

the title? ELEPHANT MAN => it’s a mixture between a man and an animal.

// quote: determination (he is sure), 3 exclamation marks => meaning he wants us to believe him  because he feels desperate, no one trusts him, he is perceived as a liar, he is treated as an animal so he needs to assert who he is: he feels anger, indignation, frustration, revolt…

***********************************************************************************************

Poster of a film

Two parts : 

• on the right: a mysterious person

• on the left: a title (of the film), a text (what is said by the man of the right = extract / sentence / a quote from the film : “I’m not an animal, I am a human being, I am a man”

black and white movie

movie by David Lynch (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Straight Story, Inland Empire, …)

title : Elephant Man

link between title / picture => the principal character / quote = a reference to the title

Story? about the differences between people

Elephant Man => representation of a deformed man. Physical characteristics? 

hidden under a hat and a long black coat, the face is hidden => we can only imagine what he looks like. 

grim man => he is wearing black clothes

feelings / emotions? 

no emotion on the picture / emotions in the quote: sadness / punctuation => 3 exclamation marks meaning anger / indignation / frustration / revolt...