Question

In a short essay of 2-3 well-developed paragraphs, compare and contrast reading the story with watching the video.

First, evaluate the choice of costumes, set, and actors in the film compared with the text version. Why did the director make the choices he did, and what effect did they have on the story, plot, theme, and/or viewing experience?

Then, explain how the video changed or deepened your understanding of the story and its theme. Use specific evidence from the text of the story, as well as the video, to support your ideas and observations. (Make sure you explain specifically what the theme of the story is, too!)

Answer 1

What sets apart the short film from the story is the director's choice of details. The setting seemed to be made as normal as possible, a simple small town in America. He added foreshadowing by doing a close up of Tess Hutchinson's nervous, smiling face and the closeup of rocks in the boy's pocket. He had the benefit of using pauses to increase suspense, and the actress was free to express Tess's outrage at the lottery. The overall visual of the movie is more detailed because we see the expressions of seriousness and unease in each face.

There are plenty of similarities between the story and video as well. They are both heavily suspenseful, the atmosphere appears to be dark, like something doesn't feel right. The moment were the boys are gathering rocks, in both works it was a sign they were up to no good, but the audience was not aware why until the story progressed. Both were true to the simplistic lifestyle of the townspeople, and how casually they carried out this morbid tradition for agricultural purposes.

In conclusion, they both successful covered the themes of the story regarding mob psychology, following traditions blindly, scapegoating, and the reliance chance-based games.