Suggested Before Viewing Questions and Activities


ALL ABOUT ORWELL

Distribute the materials on George Orwell, including the background, biography, and chronology. Have students discuss how the times in which Orwell lived might have influenced his writings. How do students think Orwell's broad life experience made him sensitive to the issues surrounding revolution? What might have made him sensitive to the plight of the downtrodden? What do they expect will be the message of Animal Farm?

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

1. Have students read the materials included in the historical backdrop and the timeline. (In addition, they can research the Russian Revolution in their textbook or in a good encyclopedia) Have them investigate the political philosophies of capitalism and communism. How are they different? Why might so many people have been disillusioned with capitalism at the turn of the century? What happened to the experiment of communism in Russia over the course of the first half of the century? As students read the historical background to ANIMAL FARM, they should try to imagine what it was like to live in the latter half of the 19^th Century and the first half of the 20^th. Ask: What would life be like as a German industrial worker or a Russian peasant? How would they respond to someone who promised a better way?
2. Have students make a list of the main players and symbols of the Revolution (i.e. Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin, propaganda, KGB, citizens, etc.) As they watch ANIMAL FARM, they should compare their list of historical participants with the list of characters/animals from the film. Have them try to figure who the main animals in the story represent.
3. Explain how the events of ANIMAL FARM are similar to what happened to Russia after the Revolution, considering how the Russian peoples' lives changed or did not change, and the ruthlessness of the government, which in some ways exceeded that of the original Czar.
4. Ask students: Have you ever taken an unpopular stand? What sorts of pressures did you face? How did you attempt to convince others of your rightness: by arguing, through action? Why do you think Orwell wrote this book as an animal fable and not a direct attack on Soviet Russia?

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LITERARY ELEMENTS

Introduce students to the major literary elements used in Orwell's Animal Farm: Fable, Allegory, Symbolism, Point of View, and Irony. As they watch the film ANIMAL FARM, have them consider how each is conveyed in the television medium as compared with the novel. Consider using some of the discussion questions to re-familiarize students with these elements.

Fable Questions:

1. Why do people like animal stories?
2. Why does the animal fable seem to be gaining in popularity recently? Think about movies such as A Bug's Life, Antz, and Babe.
3. If animal fables aren't about animals, what are they about? Take one example from the list above and explain what it has to say about human society.

Allegory Questions:

1. With what other allegories are you familiar? Do you know of them from school? From a religious setting? Again, Antz may be seen as an allegory for the conflict between communal and individualistic societies and ideal.
2. Why are allegories so useful for teaching and instruction?

Activity: Take a case where you've made a mistake and learned a lesson and re-tell it as an allegorical story. What human qualities do you represent in your story? What temptations do you face? What's the moral?

Symbolism Activity:

Have students make a list of the main players and symbols of the Russian Revolution (i.e. Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin, propaganda, KGB, citizens, etc.) As they watch ANIMAL FARM, they should compare their list of historical participants with the list of characters/animals from the film. Have them try to figure out who the main animals in the story represent. Also, have them consider why Orwell chose the animals he did - for example, Why do you think he chose to use sheep as a symbol? Why the pigs or the dogs? Etc.

Point of View Questions:

1. What techniques do writers use to convey point of view in books? What techniques do filmmakers use to convey point of view?
2. How do the techniques used affect how the audience experiences and interprets point of view?
3. How would the film and/or book be different if it were told through the eyes of an all-knowing narrator?

Activities:

1. Re-write one or two key scenes from the point of view of the pigs. How might they talk while putting together a newsreel? While planning an amendment to one of the commandments?
2. Re-write one or two key scenes from Jones's point of view. How does he feel about the rebellion?

Irony Questions:

1. What do you think is more powerful, irony or satire? Why? For what purposes? Can you give examples?
2. Why might Orwell have chosen irony as his primary technique? How does it serve his larger purpose? Think about the intended audience for Animal Farm in the 1940s.
3. Why does the TV version use more satire and less dramatic irony? Is satire better suited for TV? Why or why not? Do today's TV shows or films allow for subtle points?
4. How do the different mediums of print and TV help to dictate how dramatic irony and satire are used? What does the visual image of the animals enable filmmakers to do that writers cannot?

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THEMES of ANIMAL FARM

Considering the fact that Soviet communism as Orwell knew it is long gone, why do you think Animal Farm continues to be a staple in Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum? How do these themes appeal to a modern-day audience?

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NOVEL TO FILM: MEDIA LITERACY

• TNT's landmark original ANIMAL FARM is one interpretation of Orwell's novel. If students have already read the book or plan to read the book, have them compare TNT's version with the novel. How do they compare? Dialogue? Plot? Characters? Message? Perspective and Point of View? Students can use the chart that compares the film with the novel as a point of reference. How do they account for the differences?
• Have them evaluate the changes that were made - which version do they prefer? Explain.
• How does the medium of film influence how this story is told? What techniques do the filmmakers use to convey their interpretation? Are there certain elements that make this version of the story more "timely"?
• Discuss whether or not the fact that this film is created after the fall of Soviet communism has an impact on its editorial or directorial choices? Explain.

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