Judith J. Katz
Once students have begun to become sensitized to the idea of CCR and CPC the next logical step is to bring their awareness to the idea of Causal Logic. Corrigan and White define Causal Logic as part of Character Development. They say,
Characters' thoughts, personalities, expressions, and interactions focus the action of most films and propel their narratives. In this sense characters "motivate" the actions of a film's story. Their wishes and fears produce events that cause certain effects or other events to take place; thus, the actions, behaviors, and desires of characters create the
causal logic
of a film narrative, whereby one action or event leads to or causes another action or event to follow." (224)
Many scientific studies have been done in the past several years that show teenagers brains have yet to develop the segment that helps humans to project consequences. That is one reason why the writing of teenagers often lacks Causal Logic. It's not their strong suit. Even though teenagers have difficulty in projecting causal logic in their own realities, they are often capable of following it in film and stories, especially when they are looking for it.
Film: Smoke Signals. Directed by Chris Eyre., 1988. 88 minutes
I have chosen
Smoke Signals
directed by Chris Eyre., 1988
as the third film in the series of films to be shown in this unit. This film brings together many of the ideas this unit is trying to get across to students. It has a clear CCR, each main (and a few minor) characters have full CPC's and the causal logic of the film is one that I believe high school students can relate to.
Smoke Signals was the first film produced by a Native American writer and director. Oddly the genre you are likely to find it under is Road Movie/Buddy Movie and arguably it fits those categories, but there is an inherent poetry and rhythm to the language in the film, the slow revelatory nature of the film, and the visually compelling and complex actors that you'd be hard pressed to find in a typical buddy movie. The film has all the typical elements of a buddy movie as well: a handsome teenage athlete who harbors a secret heartbreak, a geek he wouldn't normally even talk to becomes his traveling companion, and a journey they must take to
uncover and resolve the mystery and pain of a fire that changed both of their lives when they were infants. In addition the geek is a storyteller, a word shaman, and a poet.
The film takes place in the past and present and is narrated using flashbacks.
Projected Length of Lesson
The sequence of lessons follow the same sequence as Lessons one and two, except the writing assessment that follows Smoke Signals is Lesson Four, which is the film essay.
