IB Spotlight: Pre-IB Freshmen Partake in a Film Analysis
By Trishala Joshi
As all freshman classes became Pre-IB, they also incorporated different types of media into classrooms such as movies. “I do think we should watch more movies in class because movies are fun and it’s a nice way to relax after a long day in school. Whether it’s the start of the class or the end of the period,” said, freshman, Bentley Williams. Last week, IB ELA classes watched Coraline to bridge their "Hero’s Journey" and the "Allure of Fear" units together. The 9th Grade team selected Coraline. “The ninth grade team got together and we really wanted to find films that we thought could maybe tie or two units together from the previous unit into the new one. So, for example, we just finished journeys of transformation to the Odyssey, so we decided to use Coraline as our bridge into our fear unit because it had aspects of transformations, journeys and a little bit of fear,” said Mrs. Jamie Reynolds.
Some students feel like Coraline helps connect to the Odyssey, while others don’t. Freshman, Joli Ferry, said “Kind of, because, like, it has like, similar ways that it does things like the Odyssey.” Freshman, Cadence Skeen, also saw similarities. "I feel like they relate to each other because both of the main characters are/were faced with a problem, and even though they were scared,” said Cadence Skeen, “they both put a brave face on and pushed through, and got the prize they both were striving for.” On the other hand, “To be honest I don't really see a correlation between the two, but I love the movie Coraline, so it's chill,” said freshman, Ciya Puppala.
Coraline was well liked among the students and many felt like it was a good way to end/begin their units. Though it was intended to be scary, freshman, Brenna Barlow, felt that “It’s more creepy than scary,” she said while freshman, Alaina McFee, said “The guy turning into rats was gross and the woman being born again was gross too. The other mother was also a bit creepy.” This helped them have a good movie that everyone would enjoy along with something where there’s just enough fear to get the gist of the unit and help figure out what about fear makes people keep watching. “Adrenaline is addicting, they (people) like to feel more ‘alive’,” said McFee. She meant that people like the surge of adrenaline that occurs when scared and it brings people back to get scared again and again.
Incorporating different types of media, namely movies, into ninth grade curriculum was an overall positive experience. Barlow felt like “Pre-IB is more real world stuff then just reading,” she said. This helps students stay more engaged and also ready for life after high school a little bit more. Coraline helped bridge the Hero’s Journey and the Allure of Fear. Skeen also said that “I feel like it [movies] gives us a break from some of the day’s stress and we can decompress.”