Matthew S. Monahan
2.1 Special Issues
Although I teach high school seniors almost exclusively, which means that the lion’s share of my students are seventeen or over, some of the materials being represented have received a Restricted (R) rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). I do believe that it is ridiculous that Poitras’s Best Documentary feature from 2014 received such a rating for its inclusion of “the f word eight times” (IMDB Parents Guide).
Errol Morris’s film
The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld
received a PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13) for its inclusion of disturbing images of war and specifically its use of photographs from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Objectionable material is scant in the two films that are the main foci of this unit. Nonetheless, as noted above, it will be a challenge to get all students to engage with not only nonfiction films, but films that may be categorized as chamber pieces. The bulk of
Citizenfour
takes place within the confines of a Hong Kong hotel room, and
The Unknown Known
consisting largely of Rumsfeld’s first-person interaction with the interrotron (see more on this in section
3.1.3 The Unknown Known: Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Takes on the Interrotron
). Despite Armond White’s (
The National Review
and
Out
) dismissal of the film review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes -- ,
both my students and I generally agree that it gets it right. --
Citizenfour
rates a 96% on the ‘Tomatometer’ and
Unknown Known
rates an 83%.
It may be worth noting that I have recently become aware of a September release date for a docudrama by filmmaker Oliver Stone featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the titular role of Snowden. Ironically Gordon-Levitt played the role of Philip Petit in last year’s
The Walk
, director Robert Zemeckis’s CGI (Computer Generated Image) fest re-enacting the high-wire act between the Towers. Although my students did not critically view
The Walk
, they did respond to its trailer with much consternation, questioning the film’s very existence especially in light of their experiences with Academy Award-winning documentary
Man On Wire
on which it was based.
2.2 Aims: Objectives and Goals
By completing this unit of study, students will demonstrate proficiency in the following areas: analytical and argument process writing, accessing and analyzing information, and problem solving and creativity; communication and collaboration, demonstrating audience awareness, practicing web publishing, and responding to written and verbal feedback from both teachers and peers.
