Brainstorm
Theme: Racial Tension-” Everything would be better if they weren’t here”
What happened: A drawing is passed around of Jamal with racist oversized big lips. Mrs Gramell enrages and compares it to the holocaust. The students argue back that she doesn’t understand.
Techniques: hat put on by Jamal after he sees drawing, used to hide, body language support this -head down, shoulders hunched, he feels embarrassed.
Mid shot: shows us how the students feel as a collective, with lots of emotional reactions.
Shallow/soft focus: used to make us focus on one character amongst the class.
Music: ambient sound-breathing, sniffing, desk shifting. Atmosphere-Emotional, tension, sympathise. Body language and dialogue. At the end, we get music when Mrs G asks if they have been shot at. Used to show Mrs G realisation- starts quiet, gets louder, builds internees.
The audience feels- sympathetic for the students because they have suffered, we sense Mrs Gramell’s quilt at not having a background or understanding of their experience. Mrs G has realised no one has tried to teach these kids before.
Director purpose- To show the disconnection between students and staff – teachers don’t try, students feel teachers don’t care, think they’re stupid, belief that not all teachers are good- body language/dialogue, close up, over the shoulder, soft focus.
Link-contrast-opposite/Juxtaposed- ‘I can’t teach seniors’ scene-students are disappointed, frustrated because Mrs G can’t teach them because the Eduction board doesn’t allow it.
In ‘The holocaust scene’, Over the shoulder shots are used to bring the audience into the conversation. This is demonstrated in a lesson where a picture is passed around the class showing Jamel with oversized offensive lips. Mrs Gramell intercepts it and a class argument begins comparing it to images of Jews during the Holocaust. Over the shoulders, shots are used when the students responded to Mrs Gramell in an aggressive manner to show that the class as a whole disagrees with her views of them. This makes us understand that although their experience are different, each member of the class feels disconnected from school and the purpose of learning. Eva says “what can you teach me in here that makes a god damn different in my life.” The director did this to show the theme of racial tension beyond just between the students, but also toward teachers.