Welcome the second week of our “Teens in the Twenty-Teens” media studies series. Over Memorial Day weekend, we’re watching “See You Yesterday” (2019), a movie that manages to combine the silly, time-travelling fun of “Back to the Future” with the heavier themes of institutional racism and social justice we’re more used to seeing in filmsContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “See You Yesterday””
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Discussion Questions for “See You Yesterday”
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts. First, how does this movie introduce us to its protagonist, C.J. Walker? What sort of a sister, student, and friend is she? What are her hopes and dreams? What are her concerns and her fears? What things make her likeable and relatableContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “See You Yesterday””
No Fault, No Hate
So, we started this five-week exploration of teen movies in the twenty-teens by watching “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018), and we continue it this weekend by watching “See You Yesterday” (2019). But before we launch into our second movie, I want to pause to offer a brief explanation about a couple moviesContinue reading “No Fault, No Hate”
Read This Before You Watch “Tigers Are Not Afraid”
We’ve all seen plenty of horror movies where a plucky band of kids has to face down some monster out of a nightmare, but “Tigers Are Not Afraid” (2017) takes that familiar set-up and plants it inside the gritty social dystopian reality of Mexican slums where thousands of kids are killed or simply “disappear” everyContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “Tigers Are Not Afraid””
Discussion Questions for “Tigers Are Not Afraid”
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts: As I often do, I’d like us to start with the title. Why is this movie called “Tigers Are Not Afraid”? What is the larger significance of “tigers” in this film? What tigers do we see? This film is often referred toContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “Tigers Are Not Afraid””
Wrap Up of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
In “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018), we first see our protagonist Lara Jean in her own fantasies. She’s engaged in that familiar teen pastime of reading a romance novel while casting herself and one of her crushes in the lead roles. This non-diegetic “dream sequence” and its sudden interruption by the intrusionContinue reading “Wrap Up of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before””
Wrap Up of “The Witch”
Thank you for joining me on this adventure to discover current trends in horror movies. I really enjoyed hearing from all of you who are following along at home. You had really good, insightful answers to my discussion questions about “The Witch” (2015). I’m definitely looking forward to getting together a live Zoom chat sometimeContinue reading “Wrap Up of “The Witch””
Read This Before You Watch “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
Based on Jenny Han’s 2014 YA novel with the same title, the teen romantic comedy “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” has been winning hearts and making fans ever since its release by Netflix in 2018. Han reportedly turned down offers from other production companies that would not promise to cast an Asian-American actressContinue reading “Read This Before You Watch “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before””
Discussion Questions for “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
Write a paragraph or two in response to the following prompts. How does this movie introduce us to its protagonist, Lara Jean? What is she doing when we first see her? What sort of a sister and daughter is she? What are her hopes and dreams? What are her concerns and her fears? What thingsContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before””
Discussion Questions for “The Witch”
Write a paragraph or two in response to each of the following prompts: Let’s start with the title. Who or what is “The Witch”? How do we know? What does it mean to be a “witch” in the world of this film? Can one choose to be a witch or is being a witch justContinue reading “Discussion Questions for “The Witch””
Professor Chuck 