Mr. Locke's Classroom » WWII http://www.mrlocke.net I will always be a teacher. I will always be a student. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:15:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 WWII Films http://www.mrlocke.net/wwii-films http://www.mrlocke.net/wwii-films#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2004 19:08:43 +0000 Neal Locke http://www.mrlocke.net/wordpress/?p=108 Happy Thanksgiving! Now that the turkey-leftovers are growing cold, and the football games are over, it’s time to get started with Mr. Locke’s cruel, evil, Thanksgiving homework…

Instead of posting topics for discussion on each separate film, let’s maybe focus on things they might all have in common:

  • What (from the perspective of the film) was life like during WWII?
  • Does the film portray the “enemy” (Germans, Japanese, Italians) more or less sympathetically than you might have expected? (especially Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, and Deep Blue World)
  • All of the films are “historical fiction.” How does historical fiction “stack up” or compare to the real, non-fiction accounts of the war that we’ve read (Steinbeck’s journalism, Clyde Cosper news article, Letter from George Hynes, etc.)? Do some of the films tend to “glamorize” war?

Let the discussion begin (and try not to wait until the last minute of the last day)…

]]> http://www.mrlocke.net/wwii-films/feed 0 Steinbeck’s Once There Was a War Part I: England http://www.mrlocke.net/steinbecks-once-there-was-a-war-part-i-england http://www.mrlocke.net/steinbecks-once-there-was-a-war-part-i-england#comments Tue, 16 Nov 2004 04:59:01 +0000 Neal Locke http://www.mrlocke.net/wordpress/?p=106 So we launch into a new six weeks (yes, I realize this is a bit late) and a new theme, as we follow Steinbeck to Europe for his non-fiction journalism during World War II. Two prominent themes become apparent in part one of the book, “England.”

  • Superstition in the face of powerlessness/fate, and
  • The use of humor as a relief for tension and despair

Your thoughts? Comments? Questions? Snide remarks?

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