7 Representing reality

Before you watch

1 SPEAKING   Work in pairs. Answer the questions.
1 What was the last film that you saw?
2 What was it about?
3 Did you think it was realistic? Why? / Why not?

Comprehension check
2 ⊲   Watch the DVD clip. Choose the correct answers.
1 According to the clip, who has created the USA’s most famous myths?
a politicians  ​b the movie industry  ​c gangsters
2 Film-makers often use tricks to save:
a time.  ​ b money.  ​ c energy.
3 Jean-Luc Godard said that every edit was a:
a lie.  ​b story.  ​c mistake.

3 ⊲   Watch again. Tick the things that you see.

a  a cartoon e  a special effect
b  a poster f  a light
c  a cinema g  actors in a studio
d  a film h  editing a film on computer

4 ⊲   Watch again. Complete the sentences with the correct words.

1 Characters like cowboys and gangsters appeal to large .
2 Popular stories and characters help spread a certain to audiences.
3 The film-makers are using a in New York to make their film.
4 can change the order of a film to tell a particular story.
5 A film is never a clear reflection of .
6 Most audiences want to be honest.

Round up
5 SPEAKING   Work in groups. Answer the question.
What do you like and dislike about Hollywood movies?

Solutions Third Edition Upper-Intermediate  DVD worksheet 7 photocopiable © Oxford University Press
 Vocabulary
6 RECYCLE   Choose the correct words.
1 It’s a film about a sports team that cheats / deceives in order to win an Olympic medal.
2 Some Hollywood films distorted / deceived people into thinking something that wasn’t true.
3 The documentary distorts / passes off the truth. It makes you think the police officer shot the criminal.
4 In the film, the politician tells a number of myths / lies to the interviewer.
5 James Bond often passes himself off / owns up as someone else so he can get into buildings and find
out information.
6 A lot of Hollywood films are very good at cheating / manipulating people into believing in the American dream.

7 Complete the sentences with the words below.

edit footage production props scriptwriter studio
1 When a film is set in the 19th century, it’s important that all of the the characters use are also from
that time.
2 They filmed most of the scenes for the James Bond film in a large outside London.
3 The director didn’t like the story the had written and wanted to change everything.
4 They shot about ten hours of for the film, but they need to it so it’s only
ninety minutes long.
5 The film has been in for over three months, but it’s going to be amazing when it’s finished.

Extension
8 Work in pairs. Make a presentation about a film that you know well. Think about the following:
• the characters
• the plot
• how realistic and truthful you think it is
• whether you’d recommend the film

9 Give your presentation to the class. Use the key phrases for talking about films.

Talking about films

It takes place in …
The special effects are …
The plot is a little far-fetched at times, but …
It’s a really fast-moving story.

Solutions Third Edition Upper-Intermediate  DVD worksheet 7 photocopiable © Oxford University Press
 7 DVD teacher’s notes

DVD clip summary

The DVD clip is about how the Hollywood film industry uses different techniques to manipulate its audiences and
present a particular idea or belief.

Background
From its very beginnings, the Hollywood movie industry has been in the business of myth-making. While much
of it was done to help audiences enjoy the story more, there are a large number of films that have manipulated
people into thinking a certain way or believing something that wasn’t true. One of the earliest examples is
DW Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, a silent film from 1915 that represented black people as unintelligent and
aggressive. Lots of white people believed this representation and became scared and angry. The film promoted
racial hatred, led to rioting, and in one case, the murder of a young black man.
Similarly, the western, one of Hollywood’s most enduring film genres, presented audiences with a series of
myths about how the USA was created. Native Americans were represented as being dishonest criminals,
uncivilised and dangerous, and the cowboy was seen as the American hero. The reality was far different.
Business people have also used the power of Hollywood cinema to their advantage. For many decades, almost
every Hollywood star would be seen smoking in a film, creating the impression that cigarettes were glamorous,
sophisticated and made people more attractive. This helped to popularise cigarette smoking worldwide and was
hugely profitable for tobacco companies.

Before you watch

Exercise 1
• Read the questions with the class and elicit answers from individual students. Encourage the students to expand on
their answers and use their suggestions to start a class discussion.
• Answers: Students’ own answers

Comprehension check
Exercise 2
• Pre-watching: Go through the questions with the students.
• ⊲   Play the whole DVD clip. The students choose the correct answers. Check their answers.
• Answers: 1  b  ​2 b  ​3 a
Exercise 3
• Pre-watching: Ask the students to read the list and to try and remember which things they saw in the DVD clip.
• ⊲   Play the DVD clip to check the answers.
• Answers: a cinema, a poster, a film, a light, actors in a studio, editing a film on computer
Exercise 4
• Pre-watching: Ask the students to try and complete the sentences with the correct words before they watch the
DVD clip again.
• Weaker classes: Write the answers on the board in the wrong order and ask the students to match them with the
sentences, or give them the first letter of each word. Then play the DVD clip and pause after each answer.
• ⊲   Play the DVD clip to check the answers.
• Answers: 1  audiences  ​2 message  ​3 studio  ​4 Editors  ​5 reality  ​6 film-makers

Round up
Exercise 5
• Put the students in groups. Give them a few minutes to discuss the question.
• Answers: Students’ own answers

Solutions Third Edition Upper-Intermediate  DVD teacher’s notes 7 photocopiable © Oxford University Press
 Vocabulary
Exercise 6
• Ask the students to read through the sentences first, then choose the correct words.
• Weaker classes: Elicit the meanings of the words first.
• Answers: 1  cheats  ​2 deceived  ​3 distorts  ​4 lies  ​5 passes himself off  ​6 manipulating
Exercise 7
• Ask the students to read through the sentences first, before they complete them. With a weaker class, you could
elicit
the meanings of the words first.
• Answers: 1  props  ​2 studio  ​3 scriptwriter  ​4 footage, edit  ​5 production

Extension
Exercises 8 and 9
• Materials needed: None
• Preparation: Put the students in groups of three or four. Tell them they are going to discuss a film they
know well.
• Language: Elicit ways to talk about films. Focus on the key phrases.
• Activity: Ask the students to choose a film they know well. Ask the students to nominate one note-
taker in the group. Give the students 5–8 minutes to talk about the subject and make notes. Then ask
one student from each group to present their film to the rest of the class.
• Extension: Ask the students to write a review of their film or act out a part of it.

Solutions Third Edition Upper-Intermediate  DVD teacher’s notes 7 photocopiable © Oxford University Press
 7 DVD script

Representing reality
At the turn of the 20th century, the USA was quickly becoming the most powerful
country in the world. At the same time, film-making was emerging as a popular art
form. Ever since then, many of the nation’s most famous myths have largely been
created by the movie industry.
Today, the film industry still plays on many of these common myths and recycles
many of the most popular characters, like cowboys and gangsters. There are
two reasons for this. They know that these stories and characters appeal to large
audiences and make success more likely. But they also help to spread a certain
message that fits with the industry and the country as a whole.
Scriptwriters usually tell stories they know people want to hear. The characters should
be interesting and the plot should be entertaining. But sometimes scriptwriters have
to change their story in order to please investors and make money. In fact, writers
often find that their story has been distorted to fit the message the studio wants
to sell.
Finance is always a factor. During production, film-makers have to use all kinds of
tricks to save money. This scene is set in an old warehouse in Chicago, but it’s being
filmed in a studio in New York. This production company is based in New York and,
as the producer explained, it would have been far too expensive to transport all the
people and their incredibly expensive kit.
But it’s easy to pass off a small studio as almost anywhere with the right props
and the right lighting. All the audience can see is what’s in the frame. Even when
that doesn’t work, the film can always be changed in the editing suite. The famous
French film director Jean-Luc Godard once said that every edit was a lie. Editors can
manipulate the footage to tell the story they want to tell. They can change the order,
change the meaning and choose the ‘reality’ that they want to show.
A film is never a clear reflection of reality. From the script, to the edit, to the final
sound mix, lots of people make different decisions for all kinds of reasons. While
some film-makers manipulate the audience to make the film more entertaining
or emotional, others deliberately cheat and deceive the audience for more
devious reasons.
Most audiences accept that films don’t exactly tell the truth, but they still want film-
makers to be straight and own up to the fabrications behind the film. This is often the
difference between a fake and an original work of fiction.

Solutions Third Edition Upper-Intermediate  DVD script 7 photocopiable © Oxford University Press