Regular U. S. History                                                                                                                                                                Dr. VA

 

                                                                               

 

VA’S FAR OUT 1ST QUARTER EXTRA CREDIT BARGAIN BONANZA

 

 

            Now here’s a REAL deal!  All of this is entirely optional, meaning that you don’t have to do any of it if you don’t want to, but, for a whole 2 points each (to be added to your 1st quarter total of earned quiz/test points), you may select any or all of the following:

 

 

            The Mission (With Jeremy Irons and Robert Di Niro.  Courageous Jesuits in Latin America versus corrupt Spanish landowners and their allies in the Catholic Church hierarchy.  Moving music, towering scenery, riveting drama.  Not to be missed.)  Due by mid-quarter.

 

            The Last of the Mohicans (Yes indeed.  All the romance of James Fenimore Cooper’s famous story, combined with the scenery and music of modern Hollywood filmmaking.  And Daniel Day Lewis to boot!)  Due by mid-quarter.

 

            Mary Silliman’s War (Coming soon to a VA theater near you.  The true story of a Fairfield County, Connecticut, lady who struggled to preserve her family without abandoning her principles during the American Revolutionary War.)  Due by the end of the quarter.

 

            1776 (OK, OK. . . .  I know its sounds ridiculous—a musical about the Declaration of Independence.  But this one [the Broadway version of which was actually a Tony-award-winning show] provides some early-American history lessons as well as an entertaining time.  Assuming that you are responsible history students, I will leave it up to you to distinguish the differences between the authentic and the show-biz.)  Due by the end of the quarter.

 

 

            For credit in regular U. S. History, the reviews have to be no less than 300 words.  That would about two well-written, word-processed pages, double-spaced.  You may not write a word until you have watched the whole movie at least once.  (There will be a possible BONUS film available to anyone who completes all FOUR of the above.)

 

Please, be sure to analyze each film—its strengths and weaknesses.  Don’t just summarize it.  A summary isn’t a review.  Please, do not hunt up reviews on the internet—or some other place—and simply use those.  Some students have tried that in the past and have lived to regret it (VA knows how to find things on the internet, too!).  Also, do not get hold of another student’s review and just change the words around (VA is smart enough to detect that, too!).  Either of these improper methods would, of course, be cheating offenses—very bad for you and very disappointing for me.  Be original.  Let it be your review, not just a cut and paste job based on anyone else’s thoughts.