- Why do we watch movies?
- How do films influence the way we view the world?
- How are films made, and what decisions shape their content, style and impact?
- What is the unique power or nature of cinema?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of filmmakers?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of film critics?
- How can students use film or video to change the way we see?
- Investigate the making of Regarding Susan Sontag
- Understand Sontag’s key arguments about film and filmmaking
- Compare the content of films to their aesthetic styles and forms
- Apply Sontag’s ideas on film to 20th-century and contemporary films
- Recognize key features and themes of mid-century, science fiction, and documentary films
- Investigate the relationship between cinema as art and cinema as industry
- Consider the power of film and video in contemporary life
- Use film and writing to express complex ideas creatively
- High School Grades 11-12
- College or University
- Art and Culture
Medium > Visual Arts
Subject Matter > Art History
Subject Matter > Philosophy
- History and Social Studies
Themes > Culture
Themes > Globalization
Themes > History of Science and Technology
Themes > War and Foreign Policy
World > The Modern World
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Essay
Genre > Drama
Genre > Essay
Place > American
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Auditory analysis
- Compare and contrast
- Creative writing
- Critical analysis
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Evaluating arguments
- Expository writing
- Film editing
- Gathering, classifying, and interpreting written, oral, and visual information
- Historical analysis
- Interpretation
- Interview/survey skills
- Literary analysis
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Media analysis
- Musical analysis
- Oral analysis
- Oral communication
- Oral presentation skills
- Persuasive writing and speaking
- Report writing
- Representing ideas and information orally, graphically, and in writing
- Role-playing/Performance
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Technology
- Textual analysis
- Using primary sources
- Visual analysis
- Visual art analysis
- Visual art skills
- Visual presentation skills
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 1-7, 10
- ELA Writing: 1-6, 9-10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-6
- ELA Language: 4, 6
- HSS Reading: 1-10
- HSS Writing: 1-2, 4-7, 9-10
FILM UNIT
In addition to her well-known interest in photography, Susan Sontag was a passionate cineaste: someone deeply interested in the art of film. Having appeared briefly in a French New Wave film, she went on to champion the movement in the United States. Her many essays on film include examinations of important directors and their work, from Robert Bresson to Jack Smith, as well as encyclopedic pieces such as “The Imagination of Disaster,” her classic essay on 1950s and 1960s science fiction films, and a late essay, “A Century of Cinema.” Sontag also directed four films: three fictional works and one documentary. Although her films were not critical successes, they demonstrate her efforts to experiment with form, working with narrative in ways that were not possible in novels or essays.
This unit also explores the visual style of Regarding Susan Sontag itself, asking students to think about the decisions made by the filmmakers in crafting Sontag’s story. Students will have opportunities to write their own film reviews and criticism, or to create short films that engage with Sontag’s ideas about cinema. Above all, these lessons asks students to think about the art of film: how it shapes and reflects our views of the world, and how films are viewed, transmitted, shared, and created in the digital age.
- Watch Regarding Susan Sontag and reflect on its relevance to your students and subject area. For extracurricular organizations, community groups, and book clubs, consult our guide on adapting the curriculum.
- Review our curriculum units and lessons below, then choose the individual lesson(s) most aligned to your needs. See our interdisciplinary diagram for more help choosing an appropriate lesson and unit.
- Select the handout(s) and student activity you will use with each lesson.
- Begin the lesson by watching and discussing the lesson video module with Handout 1
- Continue the lesson with Handouts 2-4 to deepen learning (optional)
- Complete the lesson with a student activity: options include writing, presentation, and creative assignments as well as class projects or debates
- Download or print all related resources for your lesson at our resource center (video module, handouts, worksheets, teaching plans), and prepare for classroom use. Preview the lesson video module, familiarizing yourself with the content and any potential areas of sensitivity for your students (see viewing and discussing sensitive materials).
