Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Wednesday, April 15th--11:15 pm

Hello, I apologize for those section 19 students who were confused as to where to meet for class today. I mistakenly reminded section 5 students by writing English 5 students in the last blog posted.
I was hoping that you would follow the instructions JUST for section 5 students from the April 10th post. (And I also talked last week about the fact that section 19 students did NOT have to move to another room to view the film because the section 19 class was already set up with a projector, etc.)
Anyway, again, I apologize.

FOR SECTION 5 STUDENTS ONLY...
please check the blog before class on Friday, as I still do not know what room we will be meeting in.

Below you will find the handout distributed in class today. Along with the synopsis of the film, there are three essay prompts. Those are the choices you will have on Monday for the in class essay on the film. This way you can prepare specifically for a particular prompt.


FROZEN RIVER (2008)------Full Synopsis
A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt's emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ray Eddy is in an impossible position; it's two days before Christmas and her husband has suddenly disappeared with all of the family savings. Now, as the newly single mother of two realizes the futility of attempting to cover the house payments on her meager Yankee One Dollar Store wages, her children are forced to exist on a nutritionally devoid diet of popcorn and Tang. Deciding that her only hope for survival is to find a man who will support her and her children, Ray sets out to find a husband but instead makes the acquaintance of street-smart Mohawk Lila Littlewolf. Lila, too, has been struggling to keep her head above water amidst economic despair, and has recently stumbled across a rather unconventional solution to her dire financial situation. Lately, Lila has been earning a living by smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., but her tribal elders vehemently disapprove of the scheme and have recently attempted to stop it by forbidding the local auto dealers from selling her a car. As fate would have it, Ray's Dodge Spirit may just be the only thing the destitute mother can count on anymore, and as this unlikely pair gas up the tank for a daring dash across the iced-over St. Lawrence River, their fates become forever intertwined in ways that neither could have ever anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
(Melissa Leo (Ray) was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress and Courtney Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award for Best First Screenplay)
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Do you consider the film, Frozen River, an authentic film? In other words, do you believe Lila and Ray’s lives are portrayed by the writer/director in a genuine and realistic manner
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Frozen River appears to be a film that is littered with symbolism. Some of the elements that could be considered symbolic of a particular theme or idea are:
·      the frozen St. Lawrence river
·      the double wide trailer
·      the landscape
·      the infant in the duffle bag
·      the blowtorch
·      Ray’s collection of bubble bath that she never uses
DO YOU SEE OR NOTICE OTHERS?
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How might you complete this sentence?
The film, Frozen River, is less about________________________________________________

and more about________________________________________________________________________.

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