ACTIVITE 1
Présentation de films des différents pays
Suède : Fucking Åmål
France : Entre les murs
Croatie et Chypre : films réalisés par les élèves
Analyse de Chypre
 Question 1: Βased on the movies you have watched, what are the similarities of
the lifestyle compared to the Cypriot teenage reality you have traced?
Students have answered that they found several similarities with most commonly the
available time they have to do things that they love most which are common: sport, music,
computers-, to meet friends, have fun.
Also most students use bus to go to school and return home. In addition students have
found common adolescent behaviors such as bullying and fringe of some children.
 Question 2: Based on the movies you saw, what differences in lifestyle compared
to the Cypriot teenage reality you have found?
Some students answered that they found no different in behavior, while some others said
that some acts of students – especially in the Swedish movie- were too extreme. Most
students said that in other countries schools starts at a different time than at our own. Also
pupils travel longer distances to reach their schools using different and many ways of
transport, do not have such strict regulations, and are not required to wear school uniform.
Students seem to be more open-minded and more independent compared to the Cypriot
students.
 Question 3: In which movie an event or behavior has caused you more
impression? Substantiate your answer.
To this question some students answered that the Croatian movie caused them more
impression by their hard behavior against their new classmate, because she was not wearing
expensive clothes. Others noted that the Swedish film impressed them and especially the
suicide scene, as well as the homosexual relationship of schoolgirls. They were also
impressed by the fact that
young people in Sweden are more open-minded and live their lives without caring of what
others would think about them or if others will criticize them. They also identified that they
sometimes have extreme behaviors to address their problems.
 Question 4: Based on the movies you saw, in which country would like to live?
There was a variety of answers on this question, as all countries were selected, among them
and their own country.
 Question 5: If you were a teenager in Croatia, what advantages and
disadvantages do you think you would you have from their way of living?
Students mentioned as advantages the variety of choices of transportation means that
would allowed to them to go from one place to another, they can wear whenever they
want in school, they will also had the opportunity to live in bigger country, and have fun at
huge parks. As disadvantages, students pointed the abusive behavior of some students
against other students, and noted that several children were victims of verbal violence. They
also said that some teachers don't care at all for these problems. Finally some students
mentioned the cold and hazy weather of Croatia, as well as the fact that students need to
walk long distances to go to school or tutorial.
 Question 6: If you were a teenager in Sweden, what advantages and
disadvantages do you think you would you have from their way of living?
Students mentioned as advantages the fact that students can wear whenever they want in
school and the fact that young people living free and independent and more easily accept
others with and their particularities. As disadvantages they mentioned that some minorities
of students cannot express themselves freely, could be blamed by others and eventually
make them to feel embarrassed about what they really are.
 Question 7: If you were a teenager in France, what advantages and
disadvantages do you think you would you have from their way of living?
For this question we got the following answers:
schools have more technological
equipment, students can wear whenever they want in school, there is multiculturalism,
there's no racism and no discrimination among students and they accept those who are
different. Teachers show their love and interest to students. The disadvantages of someone
living in France, students reported, the lack of respect towards their teachers, the fact that
students disagreed strongly among themselves and asked pointless questions during class,
since students are not punished for their misbehavior. Also because of multiculturalism
students lost their own culture and tradition and therefore have common customs and
habits.
 Question 8: In which of the cooperating countries you believe that the teen
would have to face more problems?
Most students answered Croatia.
 Question 8α: What is the biggest problem that may encounter someone?
Students pointed the abusive behavior of some students against other students, and noted
that several children were victims of verbal violence. Other students talked about the fact
that teens judge and criticize others based on their external appearance, their economic
situation or their specific choices. Some other students pointed the problem of the limited
free time that doesn't leave much space to students to do things they love most.
 Question 9: What common problems or concerns of the teenagers you have
found in all the movies?
The common concern of teenagers, students stated that they do not freely express their
opinion because they are afraid of others criticizing them, fear and anxiety that they do not
fit smoothly into the new environment, as well as reflections on life in the future.
 Question 10: State the common interests of teenagers you have found in all
movies.
The common interests of teenagers in all partner countries are dance, music, painting, sport
activities and computers.
Analyse de la Croatie
Dear unknown friends from France,
after we've seen the movie from France, we were wondering if this was a
common situation in French schools, or if it was an exception.
What caught our eye was that the kids seemed to be very aggressive and
disrespectful towards the teachers, who were trying to help them
overcome their financial and social problems in order to get a better
education.
There are some similarities between French schools and schools in Croatia
because in our schools you can also encounter students who act the same
way, being arrogant and disrespectful. Seeing the movie made us think
about what we can do to help these students and get them on the right
path, since they also affect other students by their behavior.
Another similarity we noticed was that the architecture, the school interior
and the climate are very much alike in France and Croatia.
However, there are some differences between the situation in the movie
and Croatian schools. For instance, in France there are a lot of ethnical
groups which can get into conflict with other groups because of their
opinions and beliefs, and that is not very common in Croatia.
Finally, there are some questions we would like to ask about the movie:
How do you handle these situations? How are you planning to solve this
problem? Are there any communication problems between students due to
different ethnicities?
All in all, the movie was different than the other movies we received and it
was very thought-provoking.
Dear unknown friends from Sweden,
we really liked the movie Sweden sent us. We think that most of the
teenagers behave the way they do in this movie, and face similar
problems.
One of these problems is alcoholism, which we consider the biggest issue.
Another problem shown in the movie is drug abuse, especially at parties.
Furthermore, there is too much sexual behavior since the characters are
still young. We also noticed a lack of communication between them and
their parents since the teenagers often don’t even want to talk to their
parents. The characters seem to be very interested in alcohol, cigarettes,
drugs and sex. In our opinion, this isn’t unusual because it is a common
problem in Croatia as well.
Another issue the movie deals with is the difficulty of accepting those who
are different than the majority. The teenagers can’t accept the fact that
their friend is lesbian, even though that shouldn’t even matter. The kids in
the movie are aggressive, mean and pretty immature for their age.
As for the economic status, the characters don’t seem to be in a very good
financial situation. We got that impression because they live in
substandard accommodation, as if they are going through a financial
crisis.
We would like to ask some questions about the teenagers in Sweden: Do
most of the teenagers behave this way? Do you think that teenagers
behave differently in other countries? Why is everyone in the movie so
pessimistic?
Our overall impression of the movie is very favorable because everyone
liked it. It shows a realistic situation and doesn’t make everything seem
perfect, like some of the movies usually do. We are sure that some of us
can relate to the problems shown in the movie, especially feeling like an
outcast in today’s society and being treated badly for not fitting in. The
movie was different than the other movies and that’s why we liked it the
most.
Dear unknown friends from Cyprus,
after we've seen the movie that was sent to us from Cyprus, we've come
to a conclusion that we are different and similar at the same time.
When it comes to resemblance, we are troubled by the same problems,
such as a lack of free time, stress caused by school, and pressure from
our parents and peers. On the other hand, there are some positive
aspects in our lives that are also similar, since we share most of our
interests like dancing, music, reading, video games and sports.
However, there are significant differences between our two worlds, and
from these differences we can learn a lot in order to become better
people. One positive quality that we should pay attention to is that the
students form Cyprus don’t use as much technology or cell phones as we
do, but spend as much time possible hanging out with their friends or
studying.
Another major difference is that their education system is more organized
than ours, their time management is more efficient, and we like the fact
that they can select their own subjects which are related to their interests.
The students form Cyprus are more dedicated to school and their parents
are more involved in their education by choosing some of the subjects and
extracurricular activities.
Aside from the school system, there are some noticeable differences in the
environment. The climate is much warmer and the architecture is quite
different, which we like because the houses are more exotic and the
environment is cleaner.
Overall, we would love to visit Cyprus and ask them some questions such
as how they would spend more free time if they had it, and if they would
like to visit Croatia.
Analyse de la Suède
The Croatian movie
I really cannot say how "all" Swedish students would treat a new student like in "Sandra`s story"
(neither can I say how all Croatian students would react) . I personally feel like it really depends on
what kind of a school you place yourself into going. In a place where there lives a lot of rich people
who normally wears a lot of fancy clothes l think it would be hard for Sandra to fit in. But if she would
go in a more poorer area and school l think she would fit in and make friends. But of course it doesn`t
haft to be like this in more wealthier schools as not all people are always trying to be "cool" like
when Sandra meets a male friend in class.
I think what happens to Sandra could happen in Sweden to, but not often. Sometimes when
someone is a little bit different people who aren´t very confident start to bully them so they feel
better. Sweden sees this like a big problem and we even have a law that says it is illegal to bully
someone. Every school in Sweden also has a curator, a person who works at the school and help
people with problems at home or if someone feels like they are bullied. One rule the curator has is
that it is always the persons feelings that matters. If the bully says he/she didn´t mean to hurt
someone´s feelings maybe the person thought so. But Sweden still needs to get better. Some
Swedish students are still afraid of going to school because they are being bullied. I think the problem
is that it is very hard to spot if someone gets bullied.
I think that this situation can happen in Sweden, but I don´t think you can solve the problem like they
did in the movie. If this situation happens in Sweden I think the teacher will help the student and talk
to the person that’s bully her/him. Swedish students can also treat other students badly so this
situation can happen in here (but I don’t think it will be a big thing just because someone say that
your sweater is ugly). I also think that the Swedish students will help their friends if they are being
bullied like the boy did to Sandra. I don’t think that you start bully someone the first time you face
them. If someone is being bullied I don’t think you will be friends with the bullies just because they
say that you are nice after all. In a school in Sweden the teacher s aren’t so strict as they lock like in
the movie. So it maybe will bee easier to get help if you are being bullied.
Comparing to Fucking Åmål, the movies have some things in common. For example the main
character has some difficulties fitting in and she’s being bullied. Of course, it’s different kinds of
bullying to a certain degree, but it’s still a comparable fact. The two movies were also displayed in
school environments and so you got to see a fairly typical school from respective countries. I think
that this thing could absolutely happen everywhere, not only in Croatia. I don’t think that just this
particular scenario, in exact detail, is very common, but it might have happened to someone
somewhere. Behavior is also mostly not exclusive to a country, I think it highly depends on the
person the people they’re around, so this kind of bullying could exist everywhere and is probably not
uncommon. Seeing as the movie wasn’t professionally made, I still thought it was well done and
nicely produced. It wasn’t hard to follow at all and the plot was easy to understand.
The Cypriotic movie
I don´t think that Swedish students would treat a student the same way as they treat Sandra in the
movie. I think we instead would try to get to know her and take her in to the group. We would
definitely not bully and judge her the first they as they do. The worst we could do would be to talk
about her behind her back, and that’s absolutely not right. After a couple of days she would probably
feel comfortable and hang out with us. If a student in Sweden was getting bullied I think he or she
would get help from teachers and the schools counsellor. In our school we have something called
“Kamratstödjare”. “Kamratstödjare“ is a group of students that have been elected of all the other
students in the school. Their mission is to be nice to other students who is getting bullied or don’t
feel well of some reason. The Kamratstödjare have meetings with the school counsellor every month
where they talk about things that has happened and things that they have regard as bullying, so
these students can get help. Later the school counsellor talks with the person that has been bullied
and make sure everything is good and talk to the persons that have been bullying. Then the school
counsellor follow up with the person who have been bullied and in the end everything is good and
the person is hopefully happy again. I think it´s very uncommon that a student gets bullied in a
Swedish school, especially in our school. Because Sweden is a very kind country without wars and
other big problems.
The film we saw was about Cyprus´s young people. It seemed like the focus was on what they did and
how much time they had for their spare time. I felt like it was the parents who decided what they did
in their spare time and that they didn´t have time for their activities. I think that the young people in
Sweden have much more spare time and that we can decide on our own what we want to do and
not. For example on my spare time I just do what I think is the most diverting activity to do. And that
is soccer. I have chosen this activity on my own and my parents are not involved. They just think it´s
fun to come and see my games and my practices. When school is out, I often have three or four
hours to just relax and have some snacks.
The Cypriotic film told and showed us about teenagers in Cyprus and what they liked to do. After
school they seemed to spend their spare time pretty similar as us in Sweden, I think. Normally they
do homework if they have any. Most students in the film also had one or many activities, like a sport
or something else to do. Many of the students are usually with friends. That´s pretty much describe a
normal day in my life. There is one different thing that separates Swedish and Cypriotic teenagers
everyday though. Some of the students in Cyprus went to a tutor after school. That don´t happen in
Sweden very often I think. At least not in my class. Maybe in high school, when you have more
homework but not now.
The French movie – comments
Honestly, I cannot say how “all” Swedish school , neither how “all” French schools are and are not. In
the French movie though we saw a couple of examples of where the movie is being placed out in
France (which is probably where the school and the neighborhood that they the characters are in the
movie supposed to live). For instance we saw that the class in the movie was really messy and did not
exactly always show the best manners as the most of the students in the class were really
unmannered towards the teacher and to each other. Which at several occasions meant that the
teacher of the class got really angry and at one point "a little bit angrier then he useless was". I bet
that this things comes around a lot in France, so in Sweden. But it doesn't haft mean that the whole
school system (for both countries) is bad or something like that, it`s just that in some part of any
country in the world there are places where people are a little bit poorer then the majority of the
country. In those places the crime rate is higher and the people are more uneducated then the rest.
Which pretty often leads to that if you for instance have got a family in one of these places that is in
the influence what I just explained so can it often lead to problems in the family itself. Like for
example one of the students in the class had a brother who was in prison and maybe a couple of
other leads to that the student were having trouble within their families. Neither do I think that
people that comes from certain areas (like in the movie) are born or just naturally are stupid. It is just
that when students starts comparing them self to other families, how good they might seem to it and
how good grades they seem to be having its easy for the children's confidence to get lowered quite
some. Thinking they are stupid and less worthy of others and in school trying to be cool in front of all
the other students and teachers in need of making them self feeling better and to forget the
problems they have at home.
One difference is that in France they have grades from 1 to 20 and 20 is the best but in Sweden we
have from F to A and A is the best. Another difference is that they had a meeting where they talked
about the student´s behavior and their grades. On that meeting there were other students who took
notes, which would never be accepted in Sweden. One big dissimilarly is that if you do something
dumb in class the consequences will not be as hard here in Sweden compared to the movie. For
instance Soleymane was expelled for accidently hitting a girl and leaving class early when the teacher
had not authorized it. That would not happen in Sweden. In Sweden you should probably just have to
go to the principal. One difference is we also play a lot of football on our brakes. Two more
dissimilarities are that they are about as many in every class as we and when they do something a
little bit wrong they have to go to the principal, so do we.
The Swedish movie
Does the movie "Fucking Åmål" show a good impression of how Swedish society is like?
Personally l don't think that the movie "Fucking åmål" shows a good impression at all about how "all"
Swedish societies are like. But l most definitely think that some is. In the movie we see valiant actions
of words, the children smoking and drinking. Which is something that l feel l really can't relate to in
my own society. So l can't give you a full "saying" about the whole matter. Something that is very
common with where l live and where the kids in the movie live is that Sweden has a lot of people
that is open to being homosexual. So at least i think that is something that the both places in Sweden
share in common.
Fucking Åmål doesn´t show the typical Swedish teenager. I think the movie presents a much meaner
picture of us, for example when Elin and Agnes are locked up on the toilet the whole school are
standing outside and shouting: “Open the door, let us see who your boyfriend is!” that would never
happen in Sweden. The film is very old and the teenagers in that time probably did different things,
such as go to raves. They probably also wear other types of clothes than we do. Another thing that´s
different is that they swear a lot more often than we do, of course we swear sometimes too but not
in like every sentence. They also party more than typical Swedish teens do and when wee party we
don´t drink alcohol or do drugs. The movie is created in a small town called Åmål and I think the
teenagers there behave a little bit less mature. One similarity is that many of the teens in the movie
have motorcycles just like we do. The biggest different is that if you are homosexual today you will
be treated much better because it´s more accepted now. Another big different is that girls do more
sports today compared to in the movie where we didn´t see any girl do any sport. I would say
Swedish girls do exactly as much sport as Swedish boys.
I would say that the movie Fucking Åmål is showing us a pretty good example to a normal young
teenager in Sweden. Everything is not right in the movie like when we saw all the teens at the fast
food place where they drink allot of alcohol. Some of them where only about 14 years old. In the end
when Agnes and Elin said that they where lesbians is a thing that I thought where a bit strange,
because almost nobody would be that brave so they could said that. That is a thing that would not
happen in real life. But if you don´t count that is the movie a good description of teens in Sweden. In
small cities like Åmål is it a big chance to get bored. Many teenagers like Agnes are getting bullied but
that is not that normal. The movie is really old and many things have change, like you can study
more than cars and psychology. Now we also have more respect for people who are gay. But the
most strange thing is that they know that they are gay in that age, they are only 14. Like Agnes many
other teens thinks it`s hard to talk about problems and relationships whit there parents. And it is
normal that the parents struggling to get contact wit there children.
Analyse de la France
COMMENT UPON…..
Cyprus Video presentation
AT SCHOOL We have learnt a lot of things and seen some differences between their school
and ours, but a lot of similarities ( clothes , classrooms, hobbies…) . First of all, at school
they wear a uniform, we don’t! We wouldn’t like to have one ! This year we had one for one
day( for the English day!). Then, they have class only in the morning ( from7.20 to 2.00)…we
think it’s interesting to have the afternoon free …! We finish most of the time at 5.20 pm so
in winter some of us are at home 6.30 and must do their homework… ! but they seem to
work on Saturdays (so 6 days) and we don’t work on Saturdays and we have the
Wednesday afternoon free too , so we can have our extra activities… They start at 7.20 ! it
is very early ! and we wouldn’t like to wake up so early. Most of us live in the villages around l
Arbresle so we have to take the bus so it is good to start school at 8.25 , we don’t leave
home too early !
They seem to be very autonomous comparing to our way of learning…
The number of classes are different : when we are in 6ème in France , they are in 1st in
Cyprus.
AFTER SCHOOL Students have particular classes but the system is different from ours:
they can choose what they want to learn and then have private lessons after school. Then
after these optional lessons, they meet their friends and play. In France, as we go back home
late, we rarely meet our friends after school ! Sometimes we go out for an extra activity (
sport, music etc ) but we are generally not allowed to go out after school as we have our
homewok to do … ! But maybe it is because in Cyprus the weather is warmer, the sun
shines and they can go out easily. Teenagers have some extra activities. Their hobbies are
football, ballet, music , video games or drawing , and it’s like us ! They also spend time for
their studies. We have similar hobbies ! Their clothes are the same, we suppose that fashion
is the same as it is in France ! Like in France, several nationalities are represented at
school, but in our school there is not a lot of diversity. We are in a rural environment.
Croatia : Video presentation
AT SCHOOL In Croatia it seems to be very important for a teenager to have friends !
Students in this school can study professional lessons and they can learn “video “ which is
also an option in our secondary school ( cinema) . Students wake up at 6 and go to school at
7 : it is very early because we start at 8.25 ! but they stop at 2 pm and we stop most of the
times at 5.20pm.. This is a common point with Cyprus ! Some students live in town, others
in the country ( so it is longer to go to school) and we have the same problem here .This
electromechanical high school is really bigger than ours (there are 1220 students and 120
teachers ) and it is a vocational and general high school which is not common in our country
( these schools are often separate). They also explain what they do in their free time : and
meeting friends seem to be their favourite activity, just like us ! but one problem seems to be
important : drinking alcohol …maybe we are younger but drinking is not the biggest problem
in France: when we are all together in a party there are sometimes alcohol drinks but not in
the evening ( as we don’t really go out during the week !). Is it a big problem for teenagers in
Croatia? Do they feel free to drink and go out in the evening? When we are with our friends
we chat and often play video games.
The country “Croatia”. We were happy to learn more about the country ! We have learned
where Croatia is ( in South Central Europe) because we didn’t all know it ! it is much smaller
than France with more than 4 million inhabitants and there are a lot of islands ( 1188) as
there is the long “ Adriatic coast”. Croatians are well developed, and social networks seem to
be important. It was a great discovery as we didn’t know anything about Croatia even if it is
not so far !
The movie : it was very nice to watch it ! great actors !! In this video the topics are
“friendship”, “being accepted by a group”, “bullying “.
The young girl is talented but at first it is not what teenagers notice …she looks different and
some students don’t accept her. We also try sometimes not too be too different from the
others because they can laugh at us. She would like to be friendly but she is rejected : some
of us feel the same as they are rejected because they are “different” and unfortunately it is
difficult to get along with everybody. Some laugh at her clothes for example: we don’t wear
uniforms, we spend time on choosing the clothes in the morning and love changing and
showing our new clothes. It won’t be the same if they could have a uniform ! This is a
problem faced in France ! Our teachers are acting against it as much as possible but this is a
problem ! In France there is an important national campaign against bullying, as the problem
is worse and worse with the social networks for example !
SWEDISH FILM : FUCKING AMAL :
We knew it was a fiction, we watched the movie and we really enjoyed it ! This is a beautiful
love story! But we are aware it could happen…They feel so lonely. It is lively, vibrant and all
the problems are well understood by a majority of us. It deals quite well with the problem of
homosexuality in a high school maybe we realize better that it is a real fact which leads to
bullying, rejects, staying apart, etc…this theme ( homosexuality) is often embarrassing when
we are a teenager . We must be open minded and more mature to accept the other and their
difference. Nevertheless we think that some moments were too private to be shown. We
sometimes felt bad at ease. We don’t easily speak about those private subjects.
And one other detail : as in the film, we are in the country, and some of us would like to live
in a bigger town…but when everything is ok for you, no matter where you live really ( and
Lyon is only 25 km from l Arbresle !) but in their case, they face so many other problems (
relationships with their family, with their “friends” in high school , their love….)
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The euro class (4 ème 13.14): with a summary of the discussions, written by Lola and
Amandine
The whole class 3ème 2 ( 14.15) : after an individual analysis , a summary made in
class all together
A group of teenagers aged 14.15 3ème option cinema (for the Swedish film Fucking
Amal )