Adaptation for 10/31

1) Since it'll be Halloween, it's OK to come to class in costume. (I'll be dressed the way I usually am.)
2) If you signed up for a final-paper conference this week, be sure to be there (and come 5-10 minutes early, if possible).
3) If you've forgotten what time your conference is, feel free to message me and I'll look it up for you.
4) Bring any ideas for our upcoming pizza party to class.
5) Be prepared to discuss Ghost World.

Comedy for 10/28

Bring along your ideas for our Pizza Party!

Talking Points for Sleeper:
1) How does this film subvert mainstream, Establishment values?
2) How does it subvert counter-culture, anti-Establishment values?
3) What jokes did you not get?
4) What other films that we've seen does it remind you of?

Comedy: Talking Points for 10/21

For M*A*S*H:
1) What annoyed you about this movie? (Or, at least, what seemed different about it?)
2) What are the movie's targets and how are they targeted?
3) What did you think of the shower scene?

Adaptation: Talking Points and Reminders for 10/25

Talking Points for All About Eve & "The Wisdom of Eve":
1) Who narrates the short story? The movie?
2) We don't see even part of a stage performance in All About Eve. Why?
3) What do you like and not like about the movie's various
characters?

Reminders: 
Bring in the text of "The Wisdom of Eve" with the appropriate passages marked.
Keep reading ahead in The Long Goodbye and mark the appropriate passages.

Comedy: Paper 7 Prompt (M*A*S*H)

American Film Comedy

Prof. Jay Boyar

jay.boyar@ucf.edu

FIL 4830H

Paper #7

M*A*S*H

Many of the characters in M*A*S*H have surprising facets to their personalities. "Bad" people have positive traits. "Good" people have negative ones. Cynical characters have tender sides. Smart people can be shallow. And so on.

Give three (or more) examples from the film of characters with surprising personality facets, and explain how we know what we know about them by referring to specific scenes in the film. Comment on how these surprising facets affect your opinion of the characters.

Adaptation: Reminders for 10/17

Be sure to read "The Wisdom of Eve" by class time. We won't actually discuss it much until the following week, but it's better to read this story before seeing the film.

Also keep in mind that the film for this week, All About Eve, is quite long so we won't have our usual midway break. There will be a short (5 minutes, tops) break while I'm setting up the projector, but that's it. Of course, if you need to leave to go to the bathroom at any point, that's always an acceptable option.

Comedy: Talking Points for 10/14

For Dr. Strangelove:

1) Who is the "I" in the movie's subtitle, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
2) Why is the film named after a character who isn't on screen very much?
3) What is the significance of the names of the other major characters?
4) What do you make of the whole fluoridation thing?

Adaptation: Reminders & Talking Points for 10/10

1) Bring your copy of A Room with a View with three passages about a character or characters marked.

2) Bring your copy of Being There with two passages about TV marked.

3) Be prepared to discuss both books and the films based on them.

4) For A Room with a View, think about:
  a) How do you feel about Charlotte Bartlett? Why?
  b) How do you feel about Mr. Beebe? Why?
  c) Do you find the book funny? The film?
   
5) For Being There, think about:
  a) What does the ending mean?
  b) What does the title mean?
  c) What is the movie saying about television?
  d) What is the movie saying about politics?

Comedy: Talking Points for 10/7

For The Seven Year Itch

1) Does this film seem like it was made by the same director (Billy Wilder) who made Some Like It Hot? Which movie do you like better?
2) Does Marilyn Monroe seem different in each film?
3) What's the deal on the canoe paddle?
4) What the deal on the neighbors who are said to be interior decorators?