"The United States of America" – exercise sheet

Before the screening:

a) Watch the Zum Inhalt: Trailer for "The United States of America" . What category of film – documentary or feature film – (Glossar: Zum Inhalt: Dokumentarfilm/ Zum Inhalt: Spielfilm) and film Zum Inhalt: genre do you expect?

b) Two US federal states are depicted in the trailer. Summarize what the camera angles (Glossar: Zum Inhalt: Einstellungsgrößen) and Zum Inhalt: mise-en-scène portray.

c) Which other U.S. states do you know? Working with a partner, write them down and list the associations evoked in you by the respective states. Form small groups and discuss what camera perspectives you would use to portray the different states.

d) Present the results of your work to the class.

During the screening

e) Take note of both picture and sound in the film. What places are shown? Why does the director of the film perceive these places as representative of the respective state? What sounds (Glossar: Zum Inhalt: Tongestaltung/Sound Design) und/oder Zum Inhalt: music are underlaid in the scene?

After the screening

f) What impressions did the film make on you? Exchange views and opinions, referring back to your notes.

g) To what category and genre does the film belong? Were your initial suspicions from exercise a) confirmed? Discuss in class. Explore possible reasons for deviations from your expectations.

h) Watch the final credits together. We learn that the entire film was shot in California, which means that the purported shots from different federal states were fictitious. Discuss the effects of this break from an ostensibly documentary style.

i) Discuss examples from your own lives of how apparently real-life pictures are used to document our lives (for example, Instagram-Stories or Snapchat). Discuss also what role fiction plays in the portrayal of private lives.

j) Research the songs from the soundtrack of the film and consider what meaning or significance they could have.

Project work:

k) Take a stroll through your neighborhood and observe it closely.

l) Create a map of the area. You are free to choose how formally or artistically you design it. Enter street names and make notes, draw sketches, or describe other impressions and observations that are of special interest to you.

m) Mark at least three places on the map and create three scenes, based on the style of Zum Inhalt: The United States of America. Try to identify places that seem cinematically interesting to you. Select a certain scenery, camera angle and, where applicable, a suitable musical soundtrack.

n) Bring your recordings together in a Zum Inhalt: montage.

o) Present the maps and montages you have created in class and give each other feedback.