Tasks and questions for books and films (to be done after reading and viewing)

 

Points of interest

1. What is the most important part of the book? Event? Explain.

What is your favourite scene in the film? What makes it powerful, interesting, memorable? Speak about the most tense, touching, dramatic scene?

Does your favourite part of the book coincide with your favourite scene in the film?

2. Do you like the ending? Why/Why not? What might happen next? Which part do you like the best/the least?

3. Does this story sound true to life? Why/Why not? What came as a surprise in the story?

 

Strictly in character

4. Describe the main character(s) (traits of character with examples from the text/film).

How well do the actors manage to bring to life on the screen the main characters of the book? Is the choice of the cast successful?

If you were a director which actors would you choose?

5. Do any of the characters remind you of your friends or family members? In what ways are you like any of the characters?

6. Would you like to be similar to any of the characters? Explain.

7. Do the characters ever surprise you? If they do, are their actions believable?

8. Did you like the way the director portrayed the characters? How did you imagine them after reading the book?

 

Connections and feelings

9. Are there any connections between the story and your life? Are there connections between this story and other stories or films? Explain.

10. What were your feelings after reading/watching the beginning of the story? Half of the story? Finishing the story?

 

Careful reflection

11. Do you think the title fits the story? Why/Why not?

12. Has anything changed in your views after reading/watching? What moral issues are raised in the story? What did the story make you think about? What is the film produced for?

13. Most works of literature undergo significant cuts when adapted for a film. These changes make the film differ from the novel. Are these changes necessary or is it better to follow the book exactly? Do these deviations from the original plot influence the whole idea of the book? Did the filmmakers add any scenes? If so, for what purpose? What challenges do you think the filmmakers faced adapting the novel into a film? Is this version of the novel close enough to the book? If you were a director what would you change?

Make a list of differences between the novel and the film.

14. How are the main ideas of the book conveyed in the film? Do you think that the book is more profound than the film?

15. Express your overall impression from the book&film. Did the screen version impress you or leave you indifferent? Were your responses to the book and film different or alike? What version of the story do you like more? Why?

16. How do music, costumes, decorations contribute to conveying the atmosphere of the book? Is the choice of the cast successful?

17. If there are other screen adaptations, which are more successful to your mind?

18. Why/Why not is the book worth reading? Why/Why not is the film worth seeing?

Additional tasks

 

Additional tasks (to be adapted for some stories and films)

 

1. Do you think it was wrong of ________ to _________ or do you think he/she made the right decision?

2. Are the people in the story to blame for the bad things that happen to them or do they just have bad luck?

3. Which of the characters behave best / wrong? Give reasons.

Which character did you like best / least? Give reasons.

4. Rewrite some of the story/screenplay. Imagine what would happen if______________?

5. What advice would you give (the name of the character)?

6. What relationships are important in the story? How do they move the plot forward?

7. What influences do forces such as socioeconomic, class, gender, race, religion and family background exert upon the characters in this story?

Final tasks

 

1. Which of the stories made the deepest impression on you? Why?

2. Persuade a friend to watch one of the films/read one of the books. Write a review of the story you enjoyed most. Why did you like this story?

3. What happens after the stories finish? Choose a story and write an extra page.

4. Choose one of the stories and write a different ending. Imagine the events in the story unfolding at a different historical time and in a different location. How would that change the plot and how would it affect the characters? How would the message of the story change?

5. Which character can you remember most clearly? What makes that character memorable?

6. Which character do you think made the most serous mistake? Why?

7. Novels often focus on the inner lives of the characters, allowing us to enter their thoughts and feelings. A film must translate this interior world into visual images. How does this particular film portray the inner reality of its characters?

8. What enduring themes are explored? What lasting images, lessons or messages did the novel or film leave with you?

9. A work of literature or a film can offer us the chance to experience a world different from our own. Did this work expose you to new attitudes, points of view, people, landscapes, or cultures? What did you learn?

10. Some books and films are memorable and others entertain us but leave no lasting impression. Which kind of work was this for you?

 

Final discussion “Movies or Literature”

1. There is an old question on the edge of every student’s mind: If the book is too long or I can’t get into it, can’t I just see the movie? There is also an old question on the edge of every avid reader’s mind: Is the movie ever as good as the book?

What is your point of view? Speak about your impressions about the book when you first read it and then watched the screen version and vise versa. Does it happen often that you first see the movie and then read the book?

2. Books are primary, screenplays and films are secondary. But people now spend more times on movies than on books. But do movies always challenge books?

3. Today all books are written more or less like scripts. Is it bad?

Are script fulfilled ideas or could they be completed only in the hands of a director?

4. Is a screenplay an independent work of art or just a half-finished raw material, which needs cinematographic revision?

5. Do you agree with the following statement: “Screenwriters are in a good position. If a film is successful, they could say it’s so owing to their good script. If it goes flop, one can say the screenplay was brilliant but the director spoiled it”.

6. Some critics say that all popular literature nowadays is a supplement to the audiovisual kinds of art. How can you explain this?

7. Unlike films, the novel is an invisible process of contact between an author and a reader. Comment.

8. Many good films are made of mediocre books. On the contrary, good books often have bad adaptations on the screen. A good book would not become worse because of a bad film adaptation and a bad book would not be better after a successful film. Do you agree?

9. Do films take away the authorship from the author?

10. What is the main difference in the way people approach the book and the film?

 

For the questions above give answers using examples based on the books you have read and the films you have watched during this course.