Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Between the Film and the Novel: A Corpus-driven Study of Students’ Responses

Abstract

It is argued that films are valuable parts of our culture, that they facilitate students’ understanding of novels, that they make classes more interesting, and that they should be integrated into the course materials. In line with this contention, this article attempts to explore the significance of film as an educational tool from the students’ perspectives. Students have been given a question focusing on their impressions about the novel and the film. They have been also given a week’s reprieve to turn in their responses via e-mail so that they can maintain the necessary privacy and answer freely. In this way, they won’t be obligated to choose a given response similar to what occurs in a questionnaire. The discussion demonstrates that most students are not for watching films, and that their responses are indicative of their uncritical viewing of the film. Having no clear idea about cinematic techniques and directors’ treatment of texts and changing them into scripts, students are not in a position to evaluate films well.

Key words: Albinism (albino); Race; Blackness; Community; John Edgar Wideman