Hitchcock and Shakespeare

Children should be taught Hitchcock as well as Shakespeare, BFI chairman says

  

Film education should be part of the national curriculum, with Hitchcock given as much prominence in schools as Shakespeare, the chairman of the British Film Institute, Greg Dyke, 65, has claimed. He said it is “ridiculous” that schools are lagging behind in a world dominated by film and television.

The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme which aims to reach every child in schools across Britain in four years.

“People at the BFI argue all the time, and I think they’re right: isn’t it weird that we learn Shakespeare but we don’t learn Hitchcock?” Mr. Dyke, the former director general of the BBC, said. “It seems ridiculous to us that in a world where the moving image is the major means of communication, schools seem a long way behind. Alongside the after school education programme, the institute is hoping to train teachers and has launched a boot camp for teenagers who aspire to be the next Danny Boyle. In the long term they want film to become a part of the national curriculum.”

However, he added that he finds it “hard to believe” that the changes will be brought in by the Coalition, saying: “I think it’s possible if there was another government.” 

Over the past two decades there has been an “explosion” in the use of video as a means of communication and information, as it is demonstrated by the popularity of sites such as YouTube, Mr Dyke, noted. Video is now much more accessible due to advances in modern technology, such as smartphones, which allow anyone to become an amateur filmmaker.

As well as hoping to inspire the next generation of filmgoers and cinematographers, the institute wants to change a film industry that is” disproportionately male, white and in London”, Mr Dyke said.

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) The film education programme is only meant for school children.

b) The chairman of the BFI has never had any important position outside the institute.

c) The government is already willing to introduce the programme.

d) They want to broaden the film industry horizon.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Why does the BFI want to teach Hitchcock in schools?

b) What are their plans to modernize the curriculum?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a. relevance, significance (par. 1)            b. strange (par. 3)          c. want, try (par. 3)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme.

    A £ 26 million ______________________________________________________

b) “People at the BFI argue all the time, and I think they’re right” Mr. Dyke said

    Mr. Dyke said that __________________________________________________

c) Video is now much more accessible due to advances in modern technology.

    If there were ______________________________________________________

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Watching a film at home or going to the cinema. What do you prefer and why?