Lights camera and irony at work
Pre-screening their satire films, the AP Literature class enjoys the humor, irony and exaggeration displayed in each of their projects as they analyze plot structure and certain character development in these parodies of Great Expectations and Animal Farm. Photo by Arthur Wilson.
by Arthur Wilson, fact checker
Ms. Sackstein’s AP Literature class put their creative minds to work producing satirical short films parodying a number of works they spent months studying in class.
Following the beginning of the school year, students spent months studying classics such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, students readapted these texts towards a modern audience with their own ideas of what satire is in mind.
Students were instructed to use humor and irony to follow their novels text as they analyzed a specific element that found prevalence in the original text. A written script with all directed action was required, and followed through with time out of class filming around the school, or even outside.
“We had to film during lunch because the hallways are almost always crowded with students passing through. It took my group a while to have a solid idea to make our movie about, but once we got filming everything went smoothly,” senior Zachary Damasco said.
Starting on December 17th, each group presented their film to the class to be reviewed by their peers. Content, technical effort, and progress against the standards were measured to prove they understood the text and produced a well-constructed film satirizing it.
“I really enjoyed filming this project. Even though our group has such contrasting personalities and ideas, putting it all together really worked out in the end,” senior Callie Kostopolous said.
The films were uploaded to Vimeo and Dropbox upon completion. Two examples, ‘Too many Expectations’, and ‘Great Expectations – the Thug Life’ can be viewed for the viewers enjoyment.