1. ASSIGNED READINGS

1) Critical Essay on the Film The Class

2) The Intouchables racist – French people don’t think so and here’s why – Slate

3) Untouchable- How did a French comedy about disability become global hit. The Guardian

2. VIEW/ STREAM ONLINE

• To stream online the French films: 

1. The Intouchables.

2. The Class.

Requirements of Homework:

1. Discussion:

Share TWO posts on the discussion forum designed for Module 3, in response to ALL of the following questions.  Two posts must be individual contributions:

1. Your assigned readings show that the French film Intouchables was received with mixed reactions nationally and internationally.  Discuss this idea using examples from your readings to explain why this was the case.
2. Discuss and compare how social conflict is represented in both The Intouchables and The Class by answering the following questions:
   • 1). How does the film The Intouchables signal differences that exist between the two main characters? How do those differences reflect social realities and biased social perceptions of difference in France? How does the film portray the ways both characters come to form meaningful connections, affirming self-perceptions (to counter biased social perceptions of their difference) and bonding experiences despite their differences?
   • 2). What kinds of struggles do students face at school in the film The Class as a direct result of class and racial differences? What are the consequences of those struggles? What challenges do teachers face? What factors contribute to those challenges?  How do they attempt to resolve them?

2. Assignment:

Question/Prompt:

Please answer ALL of the following 3 questions:

1. Summarize what you learned from this week’s three assigned readings, by indicating how they help us understand the setting, themes and social issues explored in the films The Intouchables and The Class. Illustrate your points by using specific examples directly from the assigned readings.
2. In the film The Class, how is the figure of the teacher portrayed in this film? How does he respond to the struggles faced by the students? How does the school experience of the students shape their sense of identity? Choose one character from the film and offer an analysis of his/her dilemmas/struggles and their school experience and how it mirrors larger social issues that affect contemporary French society.
3. In the film The Intouchables, what do you consider to be a strength and/or a weakness in the film’s character portrayal and the social issues it explores (immigration, disability, class relations, race relations)? Does the film advance our understanding of these realities in France? If so, how does it do so? Give specific examples directly from the film to illustrate your points.