Boy - developing the main character

Today we are going to look at the character of Boy.  We will watch the opening scene where Boy is giving a talk to his class, and decide what clues we get about Boy's character from this speech and the rest of the scene at school.  Developing the character is also called characterisation.

1. In the speech to his class, what does Boy say his father is doing?
2. What is Boy's real name?  What do you learn about that name?  
3. How do we work out that Boy is telling fibs?
4. Who plays the actor who is a teacher at the end of the school day?
5. What does the teacher say about Boy's dad?
6. How would you feel if you asked a teacher an important question and they just left?

Link to the film

Link to the script

From the script (appears to be blocked at school):

My name is Boy,

and welcome to my interesting world.

My favourite person

is Michael Jackson.

He is the best singer and dancer

in the world.

Last month he put out a record

called 'Thriller'.

It sold a gazillion copies

and now he lives in a castle

with a snake and a monkey.

He is so famous that you can

even see him in the stars.

I live in a white house

with my nanny and my cousins...

Hucks, Kiko, Miria, Chay and Kelly.

I have a pet goat called Leaf.

I also have a six-year-old brother

called Rocky.

- (PEOPLE JEER)

BOY:
Loser!

He thinks he's got powers.

- (BANG!)

- (PEOPLE SCREAM)

He doesn't.

Bye-bye.

Yesterday

my nan went away to a funeral.

While she's gone

I'm in charge of the house.

(ENGINE REVS)

I go to Raukokore School.

I have many favourite subjects,

including art...

(LAUGHS)

...social study...

...and Michael Jackson.

My friends are Dallas

and her sister Dynasty.

They also have a sister

called Falcon Crest.

Dynasty is the only girl

around here with a job.

She does after-school gardening work

for her dad.

Aunty Gracey is my mum's sister.

She has lots of jobs.

(GRUNTS)

She's the tennis coach,

the mailman, the school bus driver

and she runs the local shop.

Aunty, can I have

a free iceblock, please?

(WHINES)

My real name is Alamein.

I'm named after my dad

and he's named after some place

where the Maori battalion

fought during World War II.

Dad's brothers and sisters

are Faenza, Tunisia, Libya

and Michael Jackson.

My dad's not here right now.

He's a busy man.

He's a master carver,

deep-sea treasure diver,

the captain of the rugby team

and he holds the record for punching

out the most people with one hand.

When he comes home he's taking me

to see Michael Jackson live.

The end.

Setting: Time and Place

 Setting is an important part of any film.  It grounds the film in a particular place and time, and that will shape the values, challenges and opportunities of the people in the film.  

Place: if a film is set in New York, the people there will have different experiences and opportunities to what we have here in Māwhera.  They will have some different hobbies and use some different words to describe their world.

Time: if a film is set in nineteenth century Aotearoa, then the opportunities will be different to what we have now.  Getting ourselves and our clothes clean is much easier now!

The setting of a film will powerfully shape the culture of the film.  Today we are going to look at popular culture in 1984, when Michael Jackson was popular on the world stage (including in New Zealand), the internet had not been invented, and Billy T James was a popular entertainer on New Zealand television.  

Today we are going to learn more about these two entertainers.  If your birthday is in January - June, then start with Billy T James.  If your birthday is in July - December, start with Michael Jackson.

Task:

1. Make a slideshow about your entertainer.  Include information on what they did, birth and death, what shaped them to be the entertainers they were.  Find some videos of their work, and describe what you think made them successful.
2. Both of these entertainers had a complex relationship with the colour of their skin and/or their culture.  Michael Jackson changed his skin through surgery, and Billy T. James made a career out of making fun of his own people - Māori.  What do you think of this?

After this, we are going to make a blogpost about either Billy T James or Michael Jackson.  We will include some provocative questions to invite others to respond in the comments section.

Term Two belongs to Taika!

 Welcome back Ngā Here Kahikatea students.  This term we will head into a film study, with some short written texts along the way.  

Year 11 students: please show me what you have worked on in the holidays.  If you didn't get anything done for English in the holidays, please read over your research from last term, look at the exemplars and work out what your next step is.  Some of you will be ready to write your report, and I will show you how to order this.

Year 9 & 10 students: today is about Taika Waititi.  I want you to research this very talented film director, and be ready to report back at 2.45pm.  You can work in pairs.  Each pair can choose one of the following topics:

• Taika Waititi's childhood and inspiration for becoming a film director, and some famous quotes.
• Two Cars One Night
• Boy
• Eagle vs Shark
• The Hunt for the Wilderpeople
• Thor Ragnorak
• Jojo Rabbit