Tech wizardry in the Romantic tradition

Overview: The technical effects in movies demand that audiences suspend their disbelief about captivating and seemingly impossible events. Have students consider some of the special effects that are awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. Challenge students to examine the emotional impact of their movie-going experiences.

Curriculum Connection: Media, Literature

Have students read the story, "Tech wizards find screen magic means Oscar," and answer the following questions:

1. What are some kinds of scenes that require moviegoers to suspend their disbelief and accept that what they see on the screen could be actually happening? Which members of a movie production team are responsible for creating the "movie magic" of special effects? Which two distinct inventions won this year's technical achievement awards? Who are Mic Rodgers and Matt Sweeney? What is the "Mic Rig"? How do the actors driving the vehicle during a chase scene benefit from the Mic Rig's design? Who is Pete Romano? What is the Remote Aqua Cam? How does the Remote Aqua Cam enhance the art of ocean cinematography in Hollywood productions?

2. Have students analyze the popularity of the car chase and the metaphor of the stagecoach used by Mic Rodgers. What does Rodgers mean when he says, "It's the modern stagecoach, it's fast, it's exciting. You can't go fast unless you're in jeopardy. Even if you're the good guy you're breaking the law. And I think the audience gets a release; they get to see people get away with what they wish they could get away with"? Explain. Then, ask: Do you agree with Rodgers' comparison of a car chase with a stagecoach race? Why or why not?

Provide students with Merriman-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary's definition of catharsis: purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art; a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension.

Lead a class discussion on the value of art, particularly movies, in providing opportunities for movie viewers to experience catharsis. Have each student select a movie that was personally meaningful and write an essay, using the following questions as a guideline:

3. Inform students that in his Biographia Literaria (1817), Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an influential figure in the English romantic movement, articulated the literary principle of the "willing suspension of disbelief." In his poetry, Coleridge created "persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic ... to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith."

Provide students with the Merriman-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary's definition of the term, "romantic": a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love, and adventure, or the supernatural; a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious. Ask: How can movies be in the romantic tradition? In what ways are viewers compelled to willingly suspend their disbelief and accept that the movie's characters and plot are within the realm of possibility?

On the board, list movies cited in the story and add additional movie titles that students consider "romantic." Then, assign students to work in pairs and select at least one of the movies from the story and one other movie form the list and prepare an audiovisual presentation that explicates the romantic elements in their selected movies. After the presentations, lead a class discussion on the question: If movies contain romantic elements, how vital are the technical effects in captivating audiences?

Materials on this site are reproducible for classroom use.