AP U.S. History / IB History of the Americas I
Major Wasserman’s Summer 2015 Assignment
text or call me at 941 – 626 – 2111 with any questions
(if you text me, include your first and last name and the fact that you are in the AP/IB class)
OR email me at: rachel.wasserman@sarasotacountyschools.net and be sure to include your actual name and
the words AP/IB Class in the subject line
Welcome to Advanced Placement U.S. History / I.B. History of the Americas Part I.
This summer you must watch at least 8 of the following films from different categories (you will not get credit
for watching 4 films on the American Revolution!).
If one of the film choices you select is a miniseries, you should watch at least two of the episodes, which will
count as one film.
Please be careful to choose the films actually listed – there are a number of films out there with similar names
– only the ones listed on this assignment sheet will earn you the needed credits.
Make sure you are viewing the ones listed – check the dates the films were originally released (which I’ve
listed here)!
You must complete a Film Analysis Worksheet on each film.
Some of these films are rated PG-13 or R, and you must have your parents’ permission to view these.
There are also documentary choices listed in many categories. These films can be found in a variety of places:
the public library system, on youtube, and on Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu.
The film analyses for all 8 films will be due the FIRST day of class.
COLONIAL HISTORY
Nightmare in Jamestown – National Geographic – 2005
Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower – A&E/The History Channel -- 2006
Yours and Mine: The Lesson of 1623 – izzit.org – 2006
In Search of History: Captives – The History Channel -- 1998
Colonial House – Life in 1628 – PBS –2004 -- a group of volunteers spend months living in Plimoth Plantation
as if it were 1628.
In Search of History/The Salem Witch Trials – The History Channel – 1998 – 50 minutes
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR:
April Morning starring Tommy Lee Jones --1988
John Adams starring Paul Giamatti -- 2008
Drums Along the Mohawk starring Henry Fonda -- 1939
Johnny Tremain – 1957 Disney film –starring Hal Stalmaster
All For Liberty – 2009 -- starring Clarence Felder
Mary Silliman’s War – 1994 -- starring Nancy Palk
ANTEBELLUM PERIOD and SLAVERY:
Amistad -- 1997 -- starring Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins
12 Years a Slave -- 2013 – starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender
Prince Among Slaves – PBS – 2008
Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery – PBS –1998
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives – HBO video – 2003
Roots – starring LeVar Burton -- 1977
CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION:
Lincoln – starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field -- 2012
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War 1863 – 1877 – PBS – 2004
Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War – the Upheavals of Reconstruction – The History Channel – 2007
Gone With the Wind – 1939 – starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable – NOTE: a highly romanticized Southern view of the
Civil War
Glory – 1989 – starring Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington
NATIVE AMERICAN ISSUES:
A Man Called Horse – 1970 – starring Richard Harris
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – 2007 – starring Adam Beach and Aidan Quinn
THE WESTERN FRONTIER:
Shane – 1952 – starring Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur
The Gold Rush – PBS/American Experience – 2006
Project XX The Real West – narrated by Gary Cooper -- 1961
Project XX End of the Trail – narrated by Walter Brennan – 1967
Frontier House – PBS – 2002 documentary about group of volunteer families living for 5 months in Montana as
if it were 1883
IMPERIALISM, IMMIGRATION, and INDUSTRIALIZATION:
Far and Away – starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman -- 1992
The Men Who Built America -- 2012 – The History Channel
American Experience: The Triangle Fire – PBS – 2011
Forgotten Ellis Island – PBS – narrated by Elliot Gould – 2009
Modern Marvels: The Panama Canal – A&E/The History Channel -- 1994
WOMEN’S RIGHTS:
Iron-Jawed Angels – starring Hilary Swank – 2004
Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause – A&E Biography – 1995
One Woman, One Vote – PBS/American Experience – 1995 – narrated by Susan Sarandon
Not For Ourselves Alone – PBS – Ken Burns -- 1999
WW I and THE ROARING 20s:
Joyeux Noel – starring Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet – 2005
The Last Voyage of the Lusitania – National Geographic -- 1994
The Great Gatsby – either 1974 or 2013
Chicago – starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere – 2002
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The Grapes of Wrath – 1940 – starring Henry Fonda
Surviving the Dust Bowl – PBS/American Experience -- 1998
Riding the Rails – PBS/American Experience -- 1998
Cinderella Man – 2005 – starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger
THE COLD WAR:
The Manchurian Candidate – 1962 version ONLY!! – starring Frank Sinatra
The Third Man – 1949 – starring Orson Welles
Good Night and Good Luck – 2005 – starring David Strathairn
Target You – 1950s Civil Defense Administration short films (available on youtube)
CIVIL RIGHTS:
Ruby Bridges – 1998 – starring Kevin Pollack and Michael Beach
The Long Walk Home – 1990 – starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek
Mississippi Burning – 1988 – starring Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman
The Help – 2011 – starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis
THE TURBULENT 60s and 70s:
All the President’s Men – 1976 – starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford
Good Morning, Vietnam 1987 -- starring Robin Williams
My Lai – PBS/American Experience – 2010 – directed by Barak Goodman
Major Wasserman’s FILM ANALYSIS WORKSHEET – adapted from Ms. Stephenson
PRINT or TYPE all answers in blue or black ink.
Last, First Name_______________________________________________________________________
FILM TITLE:
Year made/released:
BEFORE VIEWING:
1. List 3 to 5 things you already know about this subject / era BEFORE watching the film: (a bulleted list is fine)
AFTER VIEWING:
2. What is the central message of this film?
3. Who was the target audience for this film – which group of people did the filmmaker most want to address,
AND what makes you think this?
4. What are this film’s strengths?
i.
ii.
iii.
4. What are 1 or 2 of this film’s weaknesses (what one or two things could the filmmaker have done better)?
i.
ii.
5. Explain whether or not you feel this film was EFFECTIVE in communicating its message to its audience – use
SPECIFIC details from the film to support your answer.
6. Does this film appeal more to a viewer’s reason or emotion? Explain your answer, using details from the
film.
7. What information about this topic/era did you gain from watching this film that you feel you would not
have learned from simply reading an article about the subject?
8. What events in the film do you feel were heavily fictionalized (not based on reality)? (a bulleted list is fine)
9. What events in the film do you feel were historically accurate? (a bulleted list is fine)
10. Write as question to the filmmaker about something related to the topic/era that you would have liked
more information about:
11. Do you think this film should stay on my movie list for next summer? Why or why not?