Characters
James ‘Radio’ Kennedy
Coach Jones
Frank Clay
Johnny Clay
Principal Daniels
Mary Anne Jones (Coaches Daughter)
Setting
TI Hanna High School
Anderson, Sth Carolina 1976
PART 1- BASIC
1) What is Radio doing in the opening scene?
2) How do people react to Radio in the opening scenes?
3) What concept does Coach Jones want his players to learn by doing up/downs?
4) What does Radio do when he finds the football?
5) How does Coach Jones punish his team for what they did to Radio?
6) How do we know the boys respect Coach Jones?
7) Where does Coach Jones go after every game?
8) How do you think he gets the name Radio?
9) What is the principal afraid Radio is being used as?
10) In the restaurant how are the town people reacting to Radio?
11) What is Frank’s problem?
12) Why does Radio cry with his mother?
13) What does Radio do during football’s off-season?
14) How does Coach Jones’ relationship with his daughter suffer because of
Radio?
15) Why does Radio get arrested?
16) What does the police officer have to do to make it up to Radio?
17) What does Johnny do to set Radio up?
18) Why does Coach Jones say that Radio is a better man than him?
19) How does Coach put Mrs Daniels in an awkward spot?
20) What is the main ‘twist’ in the film?
21) Why is Coach Jones doing what he is doing? (hint: he tells his daughter)
22) Who dobbed Radio in to the school board? Why?
23) What is Johnny’s response when his dad tells him to ‘make sure Radio doesn’t
get in the way’?
24) In the end what does Coach Jones do to support Radio?
25) What do the towns folk think of Frank after this?
26) What does Johnny do for Radio?
PART 2- INTERMEDIATE
The movie ‘Radio’ explores many different themes. Pick two of the themes from the
table below and write a 30 – 50 word summary of how the film relates to the theme.
E.g.- The film Radio touches on the theme of family in the way that the film looks at
Coach Jones’ family. The film looks at how Coach Jones’ family suffers as a result of
the pressure he is put under by people within the town. Coach Jones relationship with
his daughter and wife suffers as a result of his spending so much time with Radio, but
in the end his relationship with his family becomes better because of their experiences
with Radio.
Mentally handicapped
Discrimination
Conscience
Sense of belonging
Football / sport
Punishment
Kindness
Honesty
Friendship
PART 3- ADVANCED
Complete the following tasks as prescribed by your teacher
Task
Pretend you are Coach Jones. Write a letter to the boy you didn’t help in your youth and explain what
you have done with Radio to try and make up for it.
Collect magazines and pictures of things that relate to the film and make a collage of all of these
pictures
Create a training program for the HI Hanna football team incorporating all of the training techniques
and drills that Coach Jones used.
Present a timeline of events throughout the film beginning with Radio walking past the football
ground.
Write an essay explaining why, in your opinion, are people so unkind to other people? Use examples
of situations you have seen and explanations of why people may have behaved in such a way.