TASK: WRITE A FINISHED REVIEW OF "THE POWER OF ONE"

Use your journal entries to compose a finished piece.

It could be analytical, imaginary, opinionative or personal response.

Information FROM "THE POWER OF ONE" FILM TO USE IN YOUR RESPONSE

Note: the film and the book differ significantly. These notes based on film only.

Film is based on Bryce Courtenay's novel

The boy PK is : Brendan Deary, youth PK: Guy Witcher, young man PK: Stephen Dorff

PK (Peter Phillip Kenneth) mother a child of England; me a child of Africa.

ostrich shell bracelet a gift from his mother who was given it by his father.

Afrikaners' hatred of the English; the preacher see Joshua 9:20 their covenant right.

96,000 in the concentration camps

PK a 'pisskopf'. nanny confided in Debulla Manzi the medicine man

facing fear: the cut away to the tusker elephant charge

the Michaelangleoesque hand to hand shake = trust, peace, reborn

When1939 war is declared, Afrikaners side with Hitler against England;

kids kill his chicken Rota Windi "Mother Courage". Now he has lost mother, chicken and nanny.

Boethe says "He will pay for the deaths of our grandfathers and grandmothers."

Met Doc and his donkey Beethoven

Doc = Professor von Vallenstein is a famous concert pianist trapped in South Africa at the outbreak of war. Scenes on his cactus farm; his own 7 yr old grandson killed in the Hitler progroms; "All that counts is good health and a good education";

Doc "made Africa my classroom." veldt collage scenes Music: Ladysmith Black Mambo?

Doc taught him to see things differently: "Everything in nature is in cooperation ."

"You will find the answer in nature; it is just to find the right question."

As an alien the British fear Doc and imprison him until the end of the war.

Scenes in the prison; "To have a brain and not to use it is a sin."

How to make a fuller response to this film text:

Identify the sources, the narrator, the setting, the time (1930-?), the scope. etc.

Refer to particular scenes/names/references/quotations to support your observations.

Refer to filming techniques: editing, pace, voice-overs, music, collage, etc.

What effect was used and was it effective?

Explain fully (6 lines) the overall impression TPO makes on you.

TOPICS FOR A TEXT RESPONSE ON "THE POWER OF ONE"

1. Discuss the title . Quote and explain the writing over the final sunset: "Changes can come from the power of many but only when the many come together will there be the power of one."

2. Draw a map of RSA and mark in the major cities, e.g., Pretoria and the black townships.

3. Music : Listen to the CD/tape/sound track again. Discuss the power of the African beat on your ears. Comment and quote the titles: (in order) The Rainmaker, Mother Africa (theme song), Of Death and Dying, Limpopo River Song, The Power of One, Woza Mfana, Southland Concerto, Senzenina, Penny Whistle Song, The Funeral Song, Wangal, Unozipho, Mother Africa Reprise.

Music: Hans Zimmer & Lebo M.; sung by Bulawayo Church choir.

4. On the CD sleeve notes Zimmer says: "My thanks to John G. Avildsen for never losing faith in the idea of the "voices from Africa" score and standing by me even when things didn't quite go the way we imagined them at first." Comment on the effectiveness of these vocals.

5. Assemble a collage of powerful images that struck you. Supply an organising idea in the middle with words, or quotations: ". . . to bring our country to a good tomorrow." "To have a brain and not to use it is a sin."

6. Review this film as you did with The Outsiders; see models this sheet.

7. Invent a diary of PK. "If I listened to the wind I would hear the voices of my life."

8. Present views about boxing and about how it won the hearts of viewers and crowds.

9. Is this film fiction ?

10. Violence in the cinema. Is this vicarious violence or realistic? What effect did it have on you?

11. Write character sketches of PK, Geel Piet, Maurie Gilbert, Gideon Mandoma (eye patch friend).

12. Write a newspaper promotional selling the film.

13. A director's diary of his task OR a shot/scene/incident list..

14. Locate PK socially and culturally in that society. How was it he able to mediate? Why was he called the Rainmaker ? "My mother was a child of England; me a child of Africa."

15. Prepare an original promotional poste r for the film.

16. Research the tribes of South Africa, e.g., Bantu, Zulu, Afrikaner, Indians, etc.

17. The language . Why is "kaffir" so derogatory?

18. Plot PK's grief : the loss of his mother, the chicken (Rota Windi "Mother Courage") , his nanny, and his girlfriend Marias.

19. Compose an interview with PK.

September 12, 1993

G. B. Smith

Other kinds of text responses :

*Discuss one of the (obviously selected) sayings in the voice-over narrative - its meaning, context and application.

*Imagine you are PK in one particular scene (e.g., the pisspot in the showers) and write your feelings/reactions/intentions/significance of this scene at this point.

* Detail the issues raised in this film. Identify, discuss and analyse them.

* How do you view to apartheid? Justify your view in an essay.

* Write PK's diary, as a boy, as a man , as a legend.

* Another task you negotiate with your teacher.

* Present a timeline of events in the life of PK.

Greasers Save The Day

by Aaron H 1993

Those who have seen the movie "The Outsiders" will know that a past reality can still be used in modern movies, as it has been in this film. In a number of movies, the theme is science fiction, with new hi-tech machines and robots starring as main characters. But in "The Outsiders" Francis Ford Coppola brings us all back to the reality of a group conflict between rich boys (the Socs) and the poor boys (the Greasers). The film is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965. . . .

Another sample ending from student work:

"Project X"

The apes in this movie were originally free inhabitants of the earth but they were captured by man and used life guinea pigs for military experiments. The "intelligence" of these animals has been portrayed brilliantly and when we realise what lies in store for them it is heartbreaking. The movie show how similar animals are to human beings, not only in their intelligence but also in their affections and feelings. The movie though serious is enthralling. The plot, photography, stunts and special effects are excellent and the music is very effective.

Matthew Brodericks's performance as Jimmy Garrett is impressive and the animals themselves perform brilliantly. The animals are endearing, the story is appealing and the director, Jonathan Kaplan, has excelled himself in illustrating this heart-rending story.

"Project X" is rated PGR and is not only educative but is also a brilliant demonstration of love. R. S 1992.

So it is very important that you write freely in your Writing Journal. Those first impressions about characters, key words from the script, names you hear or read or guesses about the plotline will be essential for an informed comprehensive result.

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Prepared by G. Smith 26/1/99 revised 11/6/06