Fun & Games

Adaptation

Katharine Hepburn and friend in Bringing Up Baby

We had our big pizza party this week. One student suggested that we play a game in which the class picks a character from one of the books or movies we've studied this semester and then a student who has been kept in a sound-proof booth (i.e., outside the classroom) tries to guess who that is by asking yes-or-no questions. So the first student up got the leopard, Baby, in Bringing Up Baby. Somehow -- and I still don't know how -- he guessed it in just three tries! At the class' insistence, I played, too. I got the weird waiter in Ghost World. That took me 11 guesses. But, hey, that's a tough one, right? I mean, a waiter! Why not the bus driver or an extra in the art-gallery scene? You know, I really ought to be a better sport about these things...

Baby, Baby

Adaptation
Great discussion last night about Bringing Up Baby -- the 1938 screwball-comedy film and the 1937 short story that inspired it. Some students clearly preferred the movie, with its lunacy and belief in love at first sight. Others were more partial to the story, with its more sophisticated humor and wised-up approach to romance. Love those disagreements! We also watched Stagecoach. To get everyone in the mood, I put on a CD of cowboy songs before class. Some students were amused, others just seemed puzzled. Wonder what they thought of the film.

Class Act

Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby

Adaptation
Well, that sure was a great class last night! My students were just so well prepared to discuss Rear Window and the whole concept of adapting a text as a film! I just hope we don't lose too much momentum next week, which we have off for Memorial Day.  Meanwhile, we watched Bringing Up Baby and I had the feeling that at least most of the students enjoyed both the verbal humor and the slapstick gags. You'd think that nearly four hours per night would be enough time to cover everything, but we had to leave a few loose ends hanging. Guess we'll tie them up next time.