"The Report" and "Official Secrets" - Worksheets

Exercise 1: Introduction to the Film "Official Secrets"

Subjects: English, German, History, Politics, Social Studies from 14 years and up, from 9th grade

Before going to the cinema:

a) Watch the Zum Inhalt: trailer to the film Zum externen Inhalt: "Official Secrets" (öffnet im neuen Tab). Then recount in your own words your impressions of the plot. Include the role of the media in your deliberations.

b) Discuss the meaning of the terms freedom of the press and freedom of information. Refer to the article on bpb.de entitled Zum externen Inhalt: Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen der Medien (öffnet im neuen Tab).

c) On your own, conduct research into the importance and role of what are known as whistleblowers. Collect some well-known examples and explore their motives together in class.

While at the cinema:

d) Split up into two groups, (A and B).

Group A focuses on how the character Katharine Gun gets her hands on the explosive information and what motivates her to publish it.

Group B focusses on the motives pursued by Katherine Gun – especially in relation to other protagonists – during and after the publication of the information.

Immediately after the screening, write down your impressions in the form of bullet points.

After going to the cinema:

e) Compare the results of your work in class. What concerns and doubts did you notice with regard to the publication of the information? Summarize the role ultimately played by the media.

f) Reflect on what may have motivated Katherine Gun to become a whistleblower. What cinematic means (for example, Zum Inhalt: sound design, Zum Inhalt: editing, Zum Inhalt: colour design) are used to illustrate this?

g) Present the result of your work in class. Explore how the cinematic means (for example, Zum Inhalt: camera angles and Zum Inhalt: perspectives) are used to bolster the portrayal of Katherine Gun and/or the investigative journalist Ed Vulliamy. Then discuss the extent to which other cinematic means, such as were used to illustrate the process of exposing the facts.

h) Watch the third part of the documentary Zum externen Inhalt: "Jagd auf die Whistleblower" (öffnet im neuen Tab) on bpb.de and note in bullet points what it shows about how whistleblowers are treated. What consequences do whistleblowers have to expect, for example? How did the affected secret services react to the publication?

i) Present the results of your work in class and discuss whether whistleblowers should rightly be considered civilian heroes by the public or whether their deliberate passing on of secret information can be considered a criminal act.

j) On your own, formulate a short commentary that illustrates how important it can be for citizens of states ruled by law to break that law. Then present your commentaries to each other in class.

Optional:

k) To get a greater understanding of the subject of secret services, it is worth comparing the film with another movie, THE REPORT. Watch both films and write a film review. Present the plots of both films. Then discuss the extent to which the films (may) justify the passing on of secret information. Then reflect, following on from exercise g) on the motives of the whistleblowers and explore what their stories have in common.

Exercise 2: Introduction to the Film "The Report"

Subjects: English, History, Politics from 16 years and up, from 11th grade

Before going to the cinema:

a) Discuss in class the fundamental responsibilities of the secret services and the powers available to them.

b) Reflect on your own about the special tasks that could be assumed by the secret services and how these can be separated from, e., the work of the police. Then compare the results of your work and list them on the board.

c) Watch the Zum Inhalt: trailer to the film Zum externen Inhalt: The report (öffnet im neuen Tab). Write down your impressions on torture and secret services in bullet points. Watch the trailer again. This time, pay attention to cinematic means such as Zum Inhalt: sound design, Zum Inhalt: camera angles, Zum Inhalt: montage and Zum Inhalt: color design. Then discuss how the film portrays the working methods of the secret services and how the main character’s perception is illustrated using cinematic devices.

While at the cinema:

d) Note at which stages of the film the cinematic means identified in exercise c) are put to use. Immediately after the screening, write down your impressions in the form of bullet points.

After going to the cinema:

e) Discuss the aspects of the film which you found particularly moving or surprising. Were your assumptions and expectations from exercises a) and b) fulfilled or changed?

f) The film frequently works with different time levels and Zum Inhalt: flashbacks. What information is imparted that way, especially through the character of Daniel Jones?

g) Refer to the results of your work on exercise e). To what extent has the personal stance of the main character, Daniel Jones, changed your attitude toward the work of the secret services?

h) Discuss the extent to which the behavior of the main character illustrates the limits of the work and powers of the secret services. Include in your discussions whether the scenes portraying the torture of prisoners support or undermine these limits.

i) Formulate a catalog of rules defining basic principles which the secret services may not contravene in a state ruled by law.

Optional:

j) To get a greater understanding of the subject of secret services, it is worth comparing the film with another movie, "Official Secrets" . Having watched both films, analyze what they have in common and/or what differentiates them in terms of cinematic means (for example, Zum Inhalt: sound or Zum Inhalt: color design). Then discuss the extent to which they contribute to the dramatization of the plot and how the various narrative perspectives are emphasized.