BIOPICS

What is it?

" To what extent do biopics portray reality? "

BIOPICS

2016

2010

2011

2012

2013

2018

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

mARILYN

LINCOLN

PEAKY BLINDERS

NINA

FIRST MAN

Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

In 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook.

A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

The film focuses on the final months of Lincoln's life, including the passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the surrender of the Confederacy and his assassination.

A gangster family epic set in 1900s England, centering on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby.

By Mrs Foxy

MARK ZUCKERBERG ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK

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Read the text.

Document

05:00

What does Mark Zuckerberg think of his own biopic ?

Negative arguments

Positive arguments

Mark Zuckerberg owns all the T-shirts his character wears in the film.

There are hugely basic things that they (the filmmakers) got wrong. He did not build Facebook to get girls. He had his girlfriend before starting Facebook.

Conclusion: Is this biopic close to reality ?

Homework

Winnie Mandela on Winnie (2011) Winnie Mandela […] had a point when she complained to CNN that she felt it was irresponsible of the filmmakers to not consult her on the project. “I have absolutely nothing against Jennifer [Hudson], but I have everything against the movie itself,” she said. “I was not consulted. I am still alive. And I think that it is total disrespect to come to South Africa, make a movie about my struggle, and call that movie some translation of ‘The Romantic Life of Winnie Mandela.’ I think it is an insult. I don’t know what would be romantic in our bitter4 struggle.” Madonna on the Blond Ambition project (2017) As the old saying goes, “You’re not really famous until you have to contest a biopic about you.” So is the case for Empress of Pop […] Following the news that Universal was developing the project, titled Blond Ambition, Madonna wrote on Instagram: “Nobody knows what I know and what I have seen. Only I can tell my story. Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool. Looking for instant gratification without doing the work. This is a disease in our society.” Jennifer M. Wood, mentalfloss.com, 2017

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the celebrities' comment. a) Find what they have in common. b) List their arguments.

Marilyn Monroe

Anticipation: Who was he ? Instructions: Compare the film poster with the real photos of Marilyn Monroe.

27

About Abraham Lincoln

PART 1: a) Watch the trailer. b) Find the following information about this film. c) How is Lincoln portrayed? Share your impressions and justify.

Id Card

Film director:

Central character:

His function:

His main actions:

The extras :

Well done !

Try again

The main topic:

check

About Abraham Lincoln

PART 2: a) Do some researches on the internet about the real Lincoln and read some reviews about this film. b) Compare what you found with the trailer. What conclusion(s) can you draw ? Is this biopic close to the reality ?

REVIEWS

Search

27

TV Series peaky blinders

05:00

Global Comprehension:

Introduce this document (type, author, source, date, main topic).

This document is a press article written by Mike Hale in 2014, published in the New York Times. It presents the TV series entitled "Peaky Blinders".

Find the creator of this series and where Peaky Blinders was broadcast.

The creator is Steve Knight. The TV series was broadcast on : * BBC1 * Netflix.

Explain the origins of the term "Peaky Blinders".

The term referred to peaked caps worn by gang members that had razor blades sewn into the seams.

TV Series peaky blinders

10:00

Detailed Comprehension:

Pick out information about the setting :

The action is set in the early-20th-century; Birmingham, England after the First World War.

Pick out information about the setting :

The show includes references to real-life people or events (the famous gang members, the Irish Republican Army, Communist union organizers) but also includes fictionalized elements (gang warfare, the protagonist Tommy Shelby and his opponent Campbell).

Give the author's opinion about the TV series:

The author thinks that the show is thematically rich (“he overstuffs ‘Peaky Blinders’”; “There’s lots of plot”) & that the story is compelling (“beautiful moodiness”) thanks to the interpretation of the actor C. Murphy in the role of the main protagonist Tommy Shelby.

TV Series peaky blinders

Iconographic document

Look at the picture and compare the way the gangster is represented in the TV series with the real Peaky Blinders.

The gangster wears the classic Peaky Blinder outfit which indicates that the series may portray them accurately. The peaked hat is part of this outfit. However, the real Peaky Blinders do not have any weapons and seems to have been part of the working-class while the protagonist Thomas Shelby embodies the upper-class.

TV Series peaky blinders

Audio recording: Peaky Blinders, reality v. fiction

Listen to the audio and take notes.

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Listen again and play the game.

about nina

Instructions: Listen to the audio and answer the questions.

List the stressed words.

casting – actresses – make-up – love – role – legend - revolutionary – African Americans – passion – honoring

Pick out the question asked by the journalist.

What are your true thoughts about the casting for Nina Simone role?

Find the opinion of the 2 actresses about Nina Simone. Tick the correct answers & write their arguments.

First actress

Second actress

positive opinion

We don't know, she avoids the question.

negative opinion

Well done

She was not the best choice because the make-up was visible. It was fake.

What is important is to remember who Nina Simone was and what she did.

No

CHECK

first man

Anticipation: Look at the film poster and guess whose biopic it is.

27

Test: first man

Listening comprehension: Watch the video & sum up what you understood in your own words.

27

Watch the video again and complete the worksheet.

type of document ? > main theme ? > Who ? How many people ? > setting: where ? when ? > information, events, facts ? > target ? > message, goal = purpose ?

Conclusion

Answer the key question of this unit by using the documents studied in class.

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Revisions

What do you remember about ?

Final PRoject

METHODOLOGY

Write a critical review about one of the biopics seen in class. (300 words)

Before starting: Do some researches about the real person.

Steps: 1) Sum up the plot in a few words. 2) Comment upon this screen adaptation: is it faithful / close to reality ? Use the specific expresions > 3) Give your personal opinion. 4) Conclude.

United States

1809-1865

Republican

1861-1865

Civil War

Emancipation Proclamation (1863) / End of the war

A slavery supporter shot Lincoln in the head.

"I was very pleased with Daniel Day-Lewis' depiction of Lincoln. He does a delicate balance between the homely Lincoln — the homespun Lincoln — and the high Lincoln of the second inaugural address. He walks like Lincoln, the way he puts his feet down one at a time. He talks like Lincoln — not the baritone voice of Disneyland, but the high tenor voice. Daniel Day-Lewis studied Lincoln intensely, and what comes out is a very accurate depiction of the spirit of the man." https://www.npr.org/2012/11/22/165671751/we-ask-a-historian-just-how-accurate-is-lincoln