Film still from Señorita Extraviada
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TEACHING MODULE:
Global Perspectives II

This series of films and videos offers viewers a glimpse into a diverse array of cultures and traditions, including a group of six films entitled "Girls Around the World". Honestly and intelligibly, they address a number important issues facing teens today - such as gang violence, religion and orthodoxy, gender roles, violence against women and sex discrimination - and offers insight into the socio-economic challenges that shape, and sometimes limit, many young women's goals for the future.

MODULE STUDY GUIDE: For Grades 6-8 and 9-12

QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES: GRADES 6-8


Pre-viewing questions:
  1. Define what it means to be "American"? What are some of the different cultures that make up our identity?
  2. How are Americans different from one another? How are they the same?
  3. What is unique about being an American girl?
  4. What do you imagine life is like for girls living outside of the U.S.?
Post-viewing questions:
  1. After viewing these films, do you think life in the U.S. is easier, more difficult or the same? Explain why.
  2. Do young women from other countries face the same struggles and challenges as you do?
  3. Are their lifestyles, friendships and customs similar or different from your own?
Activities:
  1. Design a collage with photographs of girls from around the world taken from magazines and newspapers. Try to find as many different depictions of geography, class, ethnicity, and lifestyle as possible. When complete, compare your collage with those of your classmates. How are they the same? Different? What did you learn from this exercise?
  2. Select a country represented in one of the films that you know nothing about. Next, conduct research online or in the library for information on the country's geography, customs, religions, and gender roles. Summarize your findings in a short newspaper-style article. (Remember to include the Who, What, Why, When, Where and How.) When you're done, submit your story to the school newspaper or one of the organizations listed on the back of this guide for possible publication in their newsletter.

QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES: GRADES 9-12


Pre-viewing questions:
  1. What comes to mind when you hear the word "globalization"?
  2. Do you know the expressions "First World" and "Third World"? Explain the difference between the two.
  3. How does media affect how you view girls from different countries?
Post-viewing questions:
  1. What role does class and economic opportunity play in your life? How do these issues effect the young women in the films?
  2. Are girls/women safer in this country than in other countries? Why or why not?
  3. What role does education play in the lives of young women in these countries? How important is it? How accessible? Is it different from your experience in the US?
  4. How have the young women in these films shown leadership skills? Provide specific examples.
Activities:
  1. Look at the daily newspaper. What countries are written about? What articles are about women? How are women represented? How and where are they placed in the headlines? Are there photos? Dissect the layout of the paper.
  2. Select a country represented in one of the films that you know nothing about. Next, conduct research online or in the library for information on the country's geography, customs, religions, and gender roles. Summarize your findings in a short newspaper-style article. (Remember to include the Who, What, Why, When, Where and How.) When you're done, submit your story to the school newspaper or one of the organizations listed on the back of this guide for possible publication in their newsletter.
  3. Pick a topic addressed in one of these films that is of interest to you (such as, violence against women, globalization, homelessness, religious freedom, or women's rights.) Research how this particular issue affects young women in the US and compare how it's addressed in other countries. Present your research using photos, statistics, magazine and video clippings to prove your point and support your perspective.


 
© Women Make Movies, 2003
Women Make Movies is a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization which facilitiates the production, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and about women.contact us