Author Mentors: Ellen Van Neerven and Theme

This is Part 3 in a series on 'Author Mentors'. In a nutshell, these lessons are about using short extracts to scaffold student engagement; a way of backward mapping from the NSW Year 12 Craft of Writing module and the Year 11 Reading to Write module before that. 

After looking at context and structure, today's sample lesson moves into more conceptual territory - what an English teacher might traditionally call 'theme'. You will need a copy of Ellen Van Neerven's Young Adult anthology Heat and Light for the extract that forms the crux of these activities.

1. Extract. Start by reading a selected extract from Heat and Light as a class. The extract in question is from the first page of the short story 'Hot Stones'. It starts with 'Thirteen is the age that makes you,' and ends with 'Go easy. I have to see if we're related, first.'

Students then do a think-pair-share activity, discussing each of the following questions before responding in their books:

1. Tell me what you liked best about this extract.
2. Tell me about the main character in the extract.
3. Tell me how you would feel if you had been kicked out of English.
4. Tell me about the Grandmother.
5. Tell me why the main character is so interested in Mia. 

These are fairly straightforward questions designed to gauge comprehension and provoke a personal response. Comprehension is a key part of thematic engagement because the skill of summarising is the very core of what a 'theme' or 'concept' is. If a student is able to summarise something, then they are identifying the most significant aspects of the text. There is some degree of subjectivity in this, which is what we (the teachers) want because identifying or responding to a theme in a text is a highly subjective process. The more that a student is able to take a firm and individual position, the more they will find success in crafting a thesis for an extended response. 

In some Gifted and Talented/High Potential and Gifted Education circles, summarising leads to the higher order skill of abstraction; the ability to think of things in terms of concepts rather than plot points. 

2. Connecting. Once students have begun grappling with the text at a surface comprehension level (and perhaps deeper), move on to looking at the connections that can be made with the text. Again, this should be a subjective experience for each student. It doesn't matter how an outsider may judge the 'quality' of the student's answers, what's important is said student's ability to create their own connections when reading. The process of generating ideas of how to connect the text to other things is an entire step on its own before we look at guiding students in calling upon more judicious examples. Some students may struggle to make what the teacher sees as an effective connection, but this is why we look at doing this in Stage 5 or earlier... it's part of that backward mapping process that fosters skills needed for Year 11 and 12.

Anyway, ask students to connect: 

1. To Self - What is something you have in common with or something that makes you different from Colin?
2. To Text - What is a similarity that this extract shares with another text?
3. To World - What is something from the wider world or history that you can relate to this extract?

3. Considering Theme. Now we're ready for the final part of the activity. After thinking about the text in a few different ways, students are then asked to reflect and develop on their ideas. This starts with a prompt to concentrate the extract into a single-word abstraction. Students are then asked to develop this into a statement of theme, which is essentially a scaffolded way of getting students to develop a mini-thesis, or a conceptual understanding of the extract. Concept, idea, abstraction, or theme - it doesn't matter what you call it, it all supports the process of writing an essay.

1. If you had to summarise this extract as being about something in a single word, what would it be?
2. What opinion do you think the author might have about the single word you just wrote?
3. What do you think the extract is saying about this word?
4. You've now developed a thematic understanding of the extract. Find three quotes that support this theme.
5. Explain exactly how each quote supports your thematic understanding.

It is entirely possible to take this further by delving into structural territory and looking at techniques used, etc., but I would personally keep the focus tightly on theme. This reinforces the cognitive purity of the lesson in teaching one key thing. 

The above lesson can be found as a PowerPoint here. 

Acknowledgment: The following material has been adapted and modified specifically for this blog. I would like to acknowledge some of my colleagues - Ashleigh Galea, Lauren Hage, Amra Winter - who helped develop some additional material not included here.

Akira Kurosawa: Filmography

Akira Kurosawa with Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, two American filmmakers who were both heavily influenced by Kurosawa. 

This blog generally focuses on the teaching of English and History but, as I look at Twitter and attempt to calculate exactly how long it might take collapse in on itself, I thought I would also use this space to preserve a retrospective I'd posted there. This filmography reflects my longstanding interest in the masters of the medium, which is something I previously explored in a past life as a part-time film reviewer. It also links into my ongoing interest in the film canon, as previously seen with overviews of 'Best Films' at the Academy Awards and the wider Film Canon.

Below is a chronological filmography of the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), one of the most acclaimed and influential cinematic artists of the 20th century.

Sanshiro Sugata (1943). It's quite amazing that this sport/martial-arts underdog story is really Kurosawa's first film as director. From the ambitious opening tracking shot to the use of vertical wipes and revolutionary slow motion, he creates a dynamic and memorable classic that still holds up today. Parts of the film feel quite modern - such as an inventive transition in which a sudden dramatic wipe jumps to a scene in which a man crashes through a wall. Definitely a must-see in Kurosawa's body of work. 

The Most Beautiful (1944). Kurosawa resisted requests from the Japanese navy to make propaganda about fighter planes during WWII. As a compromise, he instead made this semi-documentary film about the efforts of the country's female factory workers. As a State-funded war film it's quite historically interesting. It's also, from a modern viewpoint, evidently problematic as it presents several falsehoods about a society that was under a lot of strain. 

Sanshiro Sugata Part II (1945). Despite popular cineaste wisdom often claiming The Godfather Part II (1972) to be the first major film with a 'II' in the title, or that the British sci-fi/horror film Quatermass 2 to be the first numbered sequel, it is most likely Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata sequel that is the first film to have 'Part II' in the title (one of its Japanese titles literally translates to Judo Saga 2). Like many sequels, this isn't as good as the first one. And as a government-sanctioned sequel intended to demonstrate Japanese superiority to white foreigners, it doesn't quite hold the same integrity as most other Kurosawa films - indeed, Kurosawa didn't particularly want to make this film but, being in the final year of the war, it was his only chance to make a film and was also one of the few movies actually made in Japan at all in this time. 

One point of interest... the presence of about twenty 'American' characters/extras in a Japanese WWII-era film raises certain uncomfortable (and unanswered) questions from historians, namely whether or not these are POWs who had been captured and brought back to Japan. Some film historians have suggested that these are most likely not POWs but it has always seemed odd that so many white actors were able to be assembled for a Japanese film at this point in history. At least two actors have been confirmed as Turkish-Russian, but the rest? No one is yet to definitively provide this information.   

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tale (1945). Like the first Sanshiro Sugata film, this is a standout amongst Kurosawa's earliest work. It's also the first of many samurai films made by Kurosawa. This film was initially banned by the U.S. occupation forces in 1940s Japan due to its depiction of a feudal society, with the fear being that it might encourage warlike values. Eventually released in 1952, the film itself is a terrifically tense adventure about a fugitive commander and his six loyal samurai. Kurosawa crafts some great characters (specifically the comedic Porter, who provides a low class counterpoint to the noble samurai) and memorably suspenseful set pieces. 

No Regrets For Our Youth (1946). A romance that focuses on the true story of radical anti-military activists in the 1930s. This is the sort of film that could never have been made in WWII-era Japan and was a sign of a new filmmaking atmosphere in postwar Japanese society, revealing Kurosawa's true humanist leanings (which were politically at odds with the previous Imperial government) No Regrets For Our Youth is also one of the few Kurosawa films to have a female protagonist. Like Sanshiro Sugata Part II, but for completely different reasons, this is another historically-fascinating film.

Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946). Kurosawa's 'lost' film remains largely unseen and unreleased. It was a union-promoting propaganda piece that the occupying U.S. forces encouraged the director to make, with the hope that it would help push postwar Japan towards democracy. Kurosawa felt that he had little input and used his growing influence to have the film quickly buried. Subsequently, it's the only film on this list that I haven't seen. 

One Wonderful Sunday (1947). A young couple attempts to make the most of their day together with only 35 yen to their name. Another underrated gem within the director's early output, this is the first Kurosawa film to take a more unvarnished look at postwar Japan, with the couple's misadventures acting as a tour of a society in quiet trauma. 

Drunken Angel (1948). An alcoholic doctor (Takashi Shimura) becomes embroiled in the life of a yakuza gangster (Toshiro Mifune) in this tortured film noir classic. Great performances from Kurosawa's frequent collaborators Shimura and Mifune make this crime drama very watchable. This is the first of several famous Mifune roles directed by Kurosawa, and the young Mifune creates a complex character that holds his own against an experienced and unforgettable performance from Shimura. This is also the first of Kurosawa's many memorable forays into the crime genre. 

The Quiet Duel (1949). Kurosawa looks at another compromised doctor in a very different scenario, with Mifune playing an idealistic young GP who harbours a secret burden that twists the path of his life Kurosawa's exploration of postwar Japan's troubled psychological landscape features a lot of devastatingly effective symbolism, and also allows Mifune to demonstrate his incredible range as an actor. A fantastic film. 

Stray Dog (1949). The director takes a small scenario (a cop loses his gun and attempts to track it down before anyone can find out) and opens it up to reveal the trauma and suffering of postwar Japan in this heatwave-imbued film noir. It's also a powerful crime drama that shines a light on a devastated economy and the desperation and shame this bred throughout Japanese society.

Scandal (1950). An artist and an actress are ensnared in a fabricated news story by Japan's new American-influenced tabloid culture. On one level, it's a melodrama that entertains through the stakes felt by its characters, but, on another level, it's a thoughtful indictment of Japan's cultural and social degradation under U.S. occupation. It also features some powerful performances from its leads (Toshiro Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Takashi Shimura).

Rashomon (1950). A murder involving a samurai, his wife, a bandit, and a woodcutter is shown to the audience from multiple conflicting perspectives. This film caused such a stir that it became the first Japanese film seen by many people around the world, and it catapulted Kurosawa onto the international stage as a director to watch. Rashomon is truly one of the greatest and most groundbreaking films of all time, influencing everything from The Usual Suspects to Star Trek. 

The Idiot (1951). Kurosawa's three-hour adaptation of the Dostoevsky novel of the same name. I found it a little hard to get invested in this one - I possibly would have appreciated it more if I'd read the source material! I don't know, I just found it a little meandering and patience-testing.

Ikiru (1952). Recently remade in 2022 as Living (in which Bill Nighy gave an Oscar-nominated performance), this is one of Kurosawa's many acclaimed social dramas. Takashi Shimura gives one of the greatest performances in cinema as a bland, no-nonsense businessman suddenly faced with terminal cancer. Ikiru is a thought-provoking look at the meaning of life, priorities, and Japanese society.

Seven Samurai (1954). What can be said about this iconic and wildly entertaining adventure classic that hasn't already been said? Even if you haven't seen it, you've seen its children in many permutations across film and TV and literature. This samurai action movie still holds up and features another great lead performance from Toshiro Mifune. 

I Live in Fear (1955). Toshiro Mifune once again demonstrates his versatility as he plays an elderly patriarch suffering from a form of PTSD that resulted from the dropping of the A-bombs on Japan in 1945. One of only three films in Kurosawa's body of work (the other two he would not make until the 1990s) to deal directly with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. I Live in Fear is a biting satire of modern priorities in post-bomb Japan.

Throne of Blood (1957). This samurai-retelling of Macbeth is the first of three Shakespeare plays that Kurosawa would adapt (Hamlet and King Lear being the other two). Mifune seems born for the role of the paranoid general-turned-king, named here as Washizu. It's possibly my favourite screen version of Macbeth; the supernatural elements feel extra creepy and the feudal setting is very effective. 

The Lower Depths (1957). An adaptation of Maxim Gorky's 1902 play of the same name, Kurosawa's static look at the desperate dregs of society is slow and lacks the energy of French director Jean Renoir's superior 1936 version. The Lower Depths has some good performances and a memorable ending but it's ultimately just a little too plodding and insular. 

The Hidden Fortress (1958). A key influence on the first Star Wars film (feisty princess, story told from the point of view of two lowly characters, a samurai 'knight' character) and also a great action-adventure film in its own right. 

The Bad Sleep Well (1960). Kurosawa transposes Hamlet into the ruthless world of postwar corporate Japan, creating a memorable thriller and taut character study. The opening wedding scene served as inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Kurosawa's film has a weak ending but is overall a mesmerising modern reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy.

Yojimbo (1961). A wry samurai retelling of Dashiell Hammett's classic 1930s American gangster novel Red Harvest. Kurosawa's use of Western tropes and Mifune's humorous anti-hero characterisation served as inspiration for the 1964 star-making Clint Eastwood remake A Fistful of Dollars. 

Sanjuro (1962). Such was the popularity of Kurosawa's previous film that this samurai adventure was hastily rewritten to act as a sequel to Yojimbo, with Mifune reprising his role as the laconic and streetwise swordsman. Not as great as Yojimbo but still a good film.

High and Low (1963). Starting as a devastatingly cynical commentary on class, this kidnap-and-ransom thriller segues into a highly-engaging police procedural drama. One of the first films of its kind, and another influential cinematic classic. Its power can be felt decades later in meticulous police procedurals such as the Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder and David Fincher's Zodiac.

Kurosawa's source material for High and Low was an American pulp crime novel by Ed McBain. As you may have noticed from his filmography, Kurosawa was quite happy to draw upon European sources - often taking the core of a narrative (and its universal drama) and using this to explore Japanese society and themes. 

Red Beard (1965). An arrogant young 19th century doctor is upset at being placed in a highly disadvantaged community and finds himself clashing with his mentor, 'Red Beard' (Toshiro Mifune). Kurosawa worked so hard at achieving a certain kind of historical authenticity in this epic drama that it permanently broke his relationship with lead actor Mifune and they would never work together again. Red Beard is a fine film that has attained critical acclaim in the years since but, at the time, it demonstrated a faltering step in Kurosawa's career. It would be his last black and white film. 

Dodes'kaden(1970). Kurosawa offsets his vibrant first-time use of colour with a depressing/hopeful ensemble story about the poor and the desperate trying to survive in their garbage dump community. The film features some indelible imagery but can feel a little unfocused at times. The title is an onomatopoeic Japanese representation of the sound of a train (say it aloud a couple of times in a row).

Sadly, even though Dodes'kaden has come to be critically re-appraised as a worthy film, its lack of success in 1970 led Kurosawa to almost give up on cinema altogether. The critical and commercial failure of Dodes'kaden (and his unsuccessful attempt to collaborate on the international war film Tora! Tora! Tora!) was so devastating to the director that he attempted to take his own life. He would only make one other film over the next 10 years.

Dersu Uzala (1975). This is a grand yet delicate examination of an unlikely true life friendship between a Russian explorer and an indigenous Nanai hunter from northern China. It was evidently the soothing nature-centric balm for the soul that Kurosawa needed. Dersu Uzala is a beautiful film that brims with genuine wisdom.  

Kagemusha (1980). A petty criminal is set up as a look-alike stand-in for a dying feudal lord. It's a sweet deal for the thief... until war comes calling! Kagemusha is a visually spectacular epic that helped to rejuvenate Kurosawa's career on the international stage. As if paying Kurosawa back for his stylistic influence on Star Wars, George Lucas helped finance this film alongside Francis Ford Coppola (who had also drawn upon the work of Kurosawa for his own hit films). Kagemusha was a triumphant comeback for the Japanese director. This film and its distinctive use of the colour red would go on to influence Star Wars again, with director Rian Johnson borrowing its visuals for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). 

Ran (1985). For some this samurai retelling of King Lear is Kurosawa's last true masterpiece. Epic in every sense, perfectly performed, and a nuanced statement from a master director at the height of his powers - Ran (meaning 'chaos') is one of the greatest Shakespeare adaptations.

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990). It might be the most indulgent film in Kurosawa's oeuvre but this collection of short films is well-earned and feels essential to his filmography. Dreams is full of memorable images and moments that could only exist in the fantasy realm of the dreamscape. Look out for Martin Scorsese in a rare acting role as Vincent Van Gogh (pictured above).

Rhapsody in August (1991). An elderly matriarch is begged by her grandchildren to travel overseas to see her dying brother one last time. For me, this is probably the only Kurosawa film that feels contemporary to my own lifetime - it's a mature and introspective work that reflects on the legacy of the Nagasaki bombing but also features characters who very much reflect the early '90s. It's also the only Kurosawa film to feature an American movie star, with Richard Gere appearing in a supporting role. 

Madadayo (1993). Translating as 'not yet', the resounding cry of 'madadayo' is heard numerous times throughout this tale of an ageing teacher who forges a new identity for himself during retirement. Art imitates life for Kurosawa in his irreverent and reflective final film. 

Akira Kurosawa worked right up until his death - his dream was to die while directing a film but this wasn't to be. He had an accident in 1995 that left him in a wheelchair, which made it too difficult for him to direct again. Undaunted by this, he still kept working and wrote two more screenplays before his death in 1998. 

He was a true giant of cinema.