Persepolis
Tagline: “ War. Revolution. Family. Punk Rock.
All part of growing up.”
What do you think this means?
Cover: What does the cover tell you about…
Character/s: (Who are they?)
Plot (What happens and why?):
Setting (When and where does the action take place):
Synopsis: Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins
during the Islamic Revolution. What other coming of age films have you seen?
Style of animation: Primarily in black and white the film’s style is bold and graphic, anti-realistic. Flat
platforms are all the more expressive for their simplicity. Moves away from classical cartooning
where main characters can never die, irreversible death is prominent in Persepolis.
How is this different to the animation you are used to?
Source: Persepolis is based on a graphic novel/memoir by Marjane Satrapi.
Does this make it more powerful than a fictionalised account? Why or why not?
The Great Gatsby
What clues do the covers give to the reader?
Genre
What type of book do you think The Great Gatsby can be categorised as? _____________________
How do you know this?
Other books by Fitzgerald:
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This Side of Paradise
Flappers and Philosophers
Tales of the Jazz Age
All The Sad Young Men
The Beautiful and Damned
Tender Is the Night
What is the reoccurring subject matter in
Fitzgerald’s books?
Blurb:
For Jay Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and
waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a
secret: a silent longing for the one thing that will always be out of his reach. And soon this
destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.
After reading the blurb, what do you think will happen in the book and why?
After reading the blurb, what message is the author trying to give the audience?
Macbeth
What’s so great about Shakespeare?
Shakespeare in adaptation: Many of Shakespeare’s play were reinterpretations of popular
stories or true events. Hollywood now does the same thing with his plays.
Match the play to the modern day film adaptation
The Tempest, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth
Brief synopsis: Macbeth is a tragic play about a man who lusted after power, stole the throne of Scotland from
the rightful Prince Malcolm, and threw the country into chaos through his evil reign. In the end, his own greed
and guilt defeat him. Ironically, at the beginning of the play, Macbeth has everything going for him. He is an
honoured and valiant Scottish warrior who has just won his greatest battle and the title of Thane of Cawdor.
Unfortunately, shortly after the battle, he meets three evil witches who sow the seed of greediness in his soul
when they predict he will become the King of Scotland.
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
What plays have you read or seen live on stage?
What is the value of reading as opposed to seeing a play performed?
Based on the title, what do you predict the play is about?
What would be the modern day equivalent of a kewpie doll?
What do you think has changed about Australian society since 1950’s?
Background Info: In the 1950s Australia was in the midst of an economic boom. Robert Menzies was Prime Minister and
the post war immigration programme was slowly challenging the idea of Australia as a solely Anglo country. Questions
were being raised about the nature of Australian identity. Artists such as Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd were emerging and
Australian literature was flourishing. In the midst of this cultural resurgence, Victorian Ray Lawler wrote Summer of the
Seventeenth Doll. The play's uniquely Australian character and presentation of Australian life in a realistic manner was a
revelation for theatregoers at the time.
The play is relatively simple in structure, but complex in plot. It is this contrast which was partly responsible for its success.
It revolves around the lives of four major characters, Roo, Barney, Olive and Pearl. Roo and Barney are Queensland cane
cutters who spend five months of each year, (the layoff) in the city. During this time they live with two bar maids, Olive and
Nancy. The play is set in the seventeenth year of this arrangement. Nancy has married and been replaced by the sceptical
Pearl. Roo has left the cane fields due to a dispute with a younger cutter, and makes plans to settle in the city. Olive fights
against the change, desperate to maintain her ideal of ‘the layoff.'
The play deals with wide ranging themes, such as the nature of happiness, the destruction and loss of idealism, and deals
with issues such as aging and the inability to accept change. It also comments on the Australian institution of mateship
illustrated by the relationship between Barney and Roo.
The Australian vernacular is used throughout the text. It is peppered with words such as ‘strewth’, ‘larrikins’ ‘chockablock’
and phrases such as ‘up there Cazaly; and ‘did his block.’ Set in a Carlton terrace house, the play is firmly Australian in
situation and language.