1. Choose a moment in one of the following films that is centered on a particular character: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Smoke Signals, Do The Right Thing, Pan’s Labyrinth, or Medium Cool, and retell it from the perspective of a different character (for example: anything in Pan’s Labyrinthfrom the perspective of the fantasy creatures; the car accident in Smoke Signals from someone’s perspective other than Victor…). What would be the most significant stylistic changes with this new perspective (cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, editing)? How would this change affect the range and depth of story information? You may write this as a work of short fiction (but be sure to include audio-visual descriptions), as a pitch to a studio head, or as if you were writing about a scene that did in fact exist (the film cuts to a shot of Ofelia from the Toad’s POV…).

2. Choose one of the following films: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Smoke Signals, Do The Right Thing, Pan’s Labyrinth, or Medium Cool, and write about a scene for an event that is part of the story but not explicitly shown in the plot. As in question 1, you may handle this as a work of creative fiction, a pitch to a studio head, or as if you were writing about a scene that did in fact already exist. Again, make sure that you engage with the stylistic elements and questions of range of story information rather than simply reporting a series of events.

3. Discuss the representation of media and violence in Medium Cool. What types of violence does the film portray? How does the film’s use of self-reflexive and Brechtian techniques enable it to examine and critique the media’s approach to representing violence? How does the film distinguish state violence from other forms of violence?