Assignment: Break down this recent film to highlight the content and filmmaking techniques that have made Hollywood the Great American Storyteller. You will focus on the 2018 movie Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly with the main roles played by Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen. Farrelly utilizes many of the techniques and the style popularized by directors such as Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas and others who were among the first to learn formally their craft at film schools. Until the rise of film schools in the 1960s and 1970s, the art of film directing was a learn-on-the-fly, on-the-job career. This generation used many of the same camera, lighting and sound techniques of previous directors but were avid embracers of technology that was exploding on the scene in the 1970s and 1980s. That trend, started by this group, is seen today in the innovative films of the 2010s and 2020s—though still rooted in techniques and strategies of filmmaking from decades earlier.
Assignment Details: Since this essay assignment will span both the Film School Generation unit and the Final, it will be between 600 and 800 words. (I am more strict on the under than the over.) The essay requires you to have two distinct approaches to the film. One will dissect the techniques Farrelly uses in the film and the other will focus on the content (messages and themes) in Green Book. Although the word counts may vary, seek a relative balance between the approaches.
Part A: Farrelly used a full gamut of traditional Hollywood movie manufacturing techniques to craft a well-built story. Since this film is not an action flick, Farrelly relied on camera, lighting and sound uses that have been familiar since the inception of the motion pictures industry. (It’s a good idea to take notes about these details while screening film.) Point to specific, or general, uses of camera angles, camera distances, sound and lighting for this part. Since you have just 250 words or so (the paper intro and conclusion will likely take a combined 100 words), it is best to deal with just one topic (lighting, camera, sound, writing, etc.) Write about how the director manipulates the technique of your focus.
Part B: Set in the 1960s, the movie certainly has a different historical ‘feel’. That’s a given considering the setting was more than 50 years ago. For this part, analyze the content and/or story. Perhaps address any of these questions (Hint: Focus on just one or two):
How effective was the storytelling? What emotions or reactions did the film inspire in you?
Was the relationship between the main characters adequately developed? Was the relationship credible?
How accurate was the film’s depiction of the duo’s road trip through the south?
Was the film’s denouement the right way to end the film?
Was this film an efficient way to learn of this part of American history?
