Preview
Description
[Transcript]
why Parks selected certain episodes for filming and omitted others. The movie, for example, does not show Jack Winger's courageous and quiet donation of his own skin to help a badly burned girl; Clint, the hard-drinking brother-in-law whom only Sarah can tame; Jack's passionate speech to the school board. The novel's in-depth characterization of Marcus and his relationship with his father are not so fully explored in the film.
Ask your students to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each medium in presenting the story of THE LEARNING TREE. Which elements are stronger in the book? Which in the movie? Students may mention that Newt's intense preoccupation with death is treated superficially in the film. His bewilderment and sorrow over the loss of Arcella are also not as well defined in the film. But Parks in the film interpretation has enhanced some aspects of his novel. How does his sensitive photographer's eye contribute to the significance of some scenes? What is gained by seeing rather than reading a story? Why did he shoot the sequence of Newt and Arcella walking in the woods in slow motion? Why did he blur the image of Big Mabel? What other scenes are made more memorable by Parks' photographic techniques?
Topics for Composition
- Imagine that you must advise someone who has the choice of seeing the movie or reading the book. He cannot do both, but he must choose one. Which would you recommend? Support your position
- In your opinion is THE LEARNING TREE an effective "weapon" against race prejudice, as Parks maintains it is? Support or refute his position, giving specific examples. Which is a better weapon--the film or the book?
- Write a review of the film as it might appear in your local newspaper.
- Discuss episodes which you feel support this view: THE LEARNING TREE is a story not of a black boyhood but of a human boyhood.
- THE LEARNING TREE: An education for the reader/viewer.
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