Viewing a Movie or Film: Some Questions

Another guide on how to watch a movie is here

1. Like any text, there are conventions and codes implicit in films. Some of these are brought to
light by contrast with other forms of communication. How is the film you are viewing different
from:
a television show
a radio program
a video on your television
a theatrical production
2. What are the narrative conventions that this movie holds to? That is, how is the story
told?
How does time flow? Is this past-present-future, or something else?
Who is assumed to be the narrator? Through whose eyes are we looking? Does this
remain constant through the movie? How would we know if it does not? Is the narrator
assumed to be omniscient, or are there limits to the knowledge of the narrator?
Who is the audience?
Imagine different audiences viewing the same segment. What do you think they would
notice, and would they analyse the segment the same way you did?
Is a literal narrator or visual text used? Is there a reason for this?
What is the sequence of narrative used here? That is, what comes after what?
What might have been included, but was not? How would things be different if other
choices were made?
What is the preferred reading?
How is the narrative implied by shot selection?
Are there heroes and villains? Who are you meant to sympathize with, and what are the
visual cues that lead you to believe that? Who are you meant to be suspicious of, and
what visual cues indicate this?
3. What are the historical precedents for this movie or film?
Can you identify the genre that the movie belongs to? What are the conventions of the
genre? Does the film or movie deviate from those conventions?
Can you identify films or movies similar to this one? Are there direct quotations
occurring?
Can you identify non-film/movie precedents (e.g., books, TV, art, etc.)
What cultural assumptions are made? How far does this reflect or depart from dominant
cultural values?
4. Space
What is the set like? Is it "on location", or on a constructed set?
Is the space made to look "natural", or is it constructed (that is, does it show evidence
that it is a set)?
5. Claims to reality
Does the movie claim to be fact or fiction?
What references (if any) are made to the "everyday" world?
To whom would this movie seem realistic?
What is presented as "natural"? What is assumed to be the natural order of things, the
natural relationships between men and women, whites and blacks, parents and children,
state and citizen, etc.?
What is being hidden in the claims to reality?
Are there "contrasting pairs" (good/evil, male/female, etc.) that are part of the movie?
6. Tropes
What kinds of metaphors or analogies are used in this movie?
Is there synecdoche (a part representing the whole)? Are there other literary forms in the
movie?
Are characters or other elements of the movie supposed to "stand for" something?
7. Technical matters
Describe the predominant shot choice. Why are these shots used? What would other
options be, and what if those options had been chosen instead of what is on the screen?
Describe the acting style. Why this style? Are there other options (imagine different
actors and how they would be in a specific role)?
Describe the music or sound used. Why this sound? What if it was different?
Describe the visual "texture". Grainy or slick? Washed out colour or saturated? Strong
lines or indistinct? Why this? What are other choices for texture, and how would it be
different if a different texture was present?


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR ANY FILM
What was the theme of the film?
What was the filmmaker trying to tell us? Was he/she successful?
What did you like best about the film? Why?
Was there something you did not understand in the film?
Who was your favorite character? Why?
Who was your least favorite character? Why?
Analyze the use of music in the film. Did it enhance the filmmaker's story?
Select an action that one of the characters performed. Why did the character take that particular
action?
Did all of the events in the film ring true? Which scenes did you find especially accurate? Which
scenes did not seem to match reality?
Learning Questions
1. Where and when was Alexander the Great born?
2. Who was Achilles to Alexander the Great?
3. What is the secret to Alexanders military genius according to Joseph Scholten from the
University of Maryland?
4. After conquering and ruling Egypt, what did Alexander begin to believe about himself?
5. Describe Alexanders personality. What personality traits led him to be such an effective
conquerer?
6. What are the different theories explaining what killed Alexander?
7. Why cant Alexanders body be examined to understand how he died?