Using Movies
as a Means
of Literary Analysis
Presented by Lynn Knowles
North Star of Texas Writing Project
June 7, 2004
knowleslm@lisd.net
Quick Write
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What is your favorite movie?
Brainstorm & Discuss
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Why do we watch movies?
What are the genres of movies?
How do movies compare to books or
other entertainment?
Writing Exercise
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Convince me to see your favorite
movie.
Preparation: Discuss teacher as movie
viewer – different from student as
movie viewer.
Discussion of audience and tone.
Best Sentences
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Aladdin – While the “magical” aspect
of the movie dazzles the children, the
deeper concepts hold the adults.
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Field of Dreams – It is not the magical
aspect of the movie that gives us
hope, it is the joy of watching people
learn to appreciate the simple, often
overlooked parts of life.
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Forrest Gump – Viewers become
engulfed in the drama of the movie
from the moment it begins to play,
and as Forrest tells his story, they feel
that they are a part of it, too.
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Italian Job – It is not the individuals
that make their goal possible, but their
teamwork and trust that lets them
accomplish their task and succeed in
getting their gold.
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Life of David Gale – This becomes a
film not about Gale’s current situation,
but about the consequences of Gale’s
actions and the ultimate purpose of his
crime.
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Lion King – Running away from your
problems will only cause them to
become greater, and Hakuna Mattata
can only help you for so long.
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Master and Commander – The movie
knows what it has to do and does not
try to be more than that, a downfall of
many other large-scale productions.
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A Night at the Roxbury – A Night at
the Roxbury is filled with fun and
adventure that will make you laugh
until you wet yourself, cry until you
wish you had never watched the
stupid movie, and feel suspense that
would have even Edgar Allen Poe
shaking in his boots.
Web Sites
of Movie Reviews
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www.mrge.com
www.imbde.com
www.movie-reviews.colossus.net
www.filmcritic.com
www.All-Reviews.com
www.CriticsNest.com
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Movies serve the function of all storytelling,
to entertain, inspire and perhaps even teach
us to cope with problems.
Delving into the inner workings of great
cinema making means becoming immersed
in the elements of a good story.
- Stuart Voytilla
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Moviemaking can be considered the
contemporary form of mythmaking.
Many of our most memorable movies
follow the classic configuration of the
Hero’s Journey.
- Stuart Voytilla
Archetypes

An archetype is a pattern or model
that serves as the basis for different –
but related – versions of a character,
plot, image, or theme.
Heroic Pattern
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Call
Response
Departure
Conflict
Transformation
Return
Hero Archetypes
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The Hero
The Young Man from the Provinces
The Initiate
Relationship Archetypes
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Mentor-Pupil Relationship
Father-Son Conflict
The Star-Crossed Lovers
Character Archetypes
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Mentor
Threshold Guardian
Hunting Group of Companions
Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good
Heart
Scapegoat
Outcast
Female Archetypes
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Earth Mother
Temptress
Platonic Ideal
Amazon Warrior
Unfaithful Wife
Damsel in Distress
Place Archetypes
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Threshold
Underworld
Wilderness
Garden
Crossroads
Situation Archetypes
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Quest
Task
Initiation
Journey
Fall
Death and Rebirth
Student Responses
A Beautiful Mind
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Call = to break codes for military
agency
Journey = into unreal world
Transformation = comes through
therapy and medication
Fall = descent into schizophrenia
Finding Nemo
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Mentor-Pupil = Dory to Marlin
Innate Wisdom = Dory
Father-Son Conflict
Miss Congeniality
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Call = to become undercover agent
Damsels in Distress = beauty
contestants
Mentor = Michael Caine’s character
Office Space
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Initiate = Peter
Hunting Group of Companions = best
friends
Outcast = Milton
Devil Figures = bosses
Damsel in Distress = Jennifer Aniston’s
character
Remember the Titans
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Mentor = Coach Boone
Threshold Guardians = picketers
outside the school
Journey = early morning run to Civil
War battlefield
Wilderness = old school house out of
town and near the woods
The Ring
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Heroic Pattern
Call = death of niece
Response = investigation
Stony Place of Suffering = well made
of stone
Stairs = Katie runs up them,
symbolizing a dangerous way into the
unknown
You’ve Got Mail
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Maternal Figure = Birdy
Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good
Heart = Joe Fox
TEKS connections
(from English II)
The student is expected to
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write in a variety of forms with an
emphasis on persuasive forms.
write in a voice and a style appropriate
to audience and purpose.
organize ideas in writing to ensure
coherence, logical progression, and
support for ideas
The student is expected to
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compile information from primary and
secondary sources in systematic ways
using available technology.
The student is expected to
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draw upon his/her own background to
provide connection with texts.
The student is expected to
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compare reviews of literature, film,
and performance with his/her own
responses.
The student is expected to
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compare and contrast varying aspects
of texts such as themes, conflicts, and
allusions.
understand literary forms and terms…
The student is expected to
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evaluate the credibility of information
sources, including how the writer’s
motivation may affect that credibility.
The student is expected to
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identify and analyze the effect of
artistic elements within literary texts.
evaluate artistic performances.
The student is expected to
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deconstruct media to get the main
idea of the message’s content.
recognize how visual and sound
techniques or design convey messages
in media.
Final Comments
Work Cited
Voytilla, Stuart (1999). Myth and the
movies: discovering the mythic
structure of 50 unforgettable films.
Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese
Productions.