Why teach literature?
Why study literature?
These questions have provoked a variety of answers in different times and places. Certainly they still prompt us to think and give our own answer, since we're here, together in this class.
We value literature, literary texts, books, because ...
* They shows us the world again, under a new light, so that we see it with renewed eyes.
* They may teach us what we want -or what we don't- want to be.
* They make us experience adventures, feelings, moments and whole lives that would be inaccessible to us in the "real" world.
* They may lead us to be better persons.
* They bring to us languages, cultures, authors, people and characters that we are not likely to meet otherwise.
Can you add your own reasons?
If you can't think of any others, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" may help you. It was awarded the 2012 Oscar to the best animated movie, and it reflects many of the things we have been talking about. To watch it, click on the title on the right hand side of the screen.
Activity n° 1
After you watch the movie, write a list of the things books do for people, according to the director. Post it in the comments section below.
As the name of the movie suggests, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”, books may make people fly away to other places, other worlds. They can take readers to worlds of fantasy, love, music, magic, etc. There are many reasons why people should read books and some of them are very well illustrated in this short film, for example:
ResponderEliminar• Books can bring hope when there is chaos, despair, fear, loneliness, etc.
• Books can bring light and colors to the world.
• There is a reciprocal relationship between books and people. They need readers to become alive, and readers need them to survive as well. When the main character of the story loses his inner light, books bring him back to life, to the colors of life. He gets his joy and hopes back thanks to the magic of books, to its words that invite him into their world of fantasy where everything seems to be possible. At the same time, when the ancient book on the upper shelf falls off the shelf and collapses on the floor, it is only after Mr. Morris Lessmore reads it that it becomes alive. Therefore, there seems to be a mutual relationship between books and readers where booth need each other to survive.
• Books can bring joy, love, passion, music, adventures and knowledge of all shades and colors.
• Books can become readers’ best confidants, listeners and loyal friends.
• There may be a perfect book suitable for every situation in a person´s life.
• Books can be stored in a person’s mind till death and beyond.
• A book can be a person’s legacy, a testimony of his/ her life, a new source of knowledge, joy and happiness for those who remain.
These are some of the things books do for people according to the director of this short movie.
“The fantastic flying books of Mr Morris Lessmore” directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg is just a piece of art. For those who love, enjoy and profit from the magic world of Literature this amazing short is a jewel that represents what literature means for all of us. It shows how readers and writers’ inner world enriches as soon as literature touches their lives. Though words most writers are able to free themselves and create magic worlds, changing the lives of characters, building up setting in time and place, creating conflicts and possible solutions. But in this mute and so expressive short the author shows how books can positively impact on people’s lives: enlightening their inner worlds, filling them with hopes, happiness or sadness, helping them out in times of uncertainties, changing their outlook on life but most importantly showing them how books can change people's life, how writers’ experiences, their perceptions of the world or their real life proficiencies can be a light of hope to others. Once books are read they become alive and at the same time readers’ minds and hearts are moved by a huricane of feelings, knowledge and hopes. Books were meant to be read and people were meant to improve, change and to teach others what they have learn through this long way called "life". There is a mutual need between literature and men. Is up to all of us to let Literature change our lives. I loved the short no doubt The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morries Lessmore is food for thought.
ResponderEliminarAccording to the director William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg in the movie “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”, books have the capacity to open new and different worlds to the readers. Some of the reasons why people should read books can be seen in this short film, for example:
ResponderEliminar• Books can help people express themselves openly;
• Books are a way by which writers can cultivate knowledge;
• The knowledge and entertainment in books can be preserved from generation to generation since they are written works;
• Books can bring joy, life, happiness and color into one´s lives;
• Books can provide hope and a new insight in moments where there is chaos or loneliness;
• Books can serve as confidents in one´s lives;
• Books can help people discover different worlds such as fantasy.
It seems that both books and people need each other. They provide each other life, joy, entertainment and company even when hard times seem to have won over. This is very clearly seen when the main character had thought he had lost everything after the storm and books invite him to build up a new life full of hope.
The short movie "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris" directed by William Joyce shows the real meaning of books in people's lives. Those people who are able to face a book and immerse in them, will enjoy and perfectly understand what this film wants to reflect. The books make people fly and go beyond reality. They are there for everyone, during every moment in life; when people are sad, happy, anxious, angry, or worried. Also, they are suitable for every person. This can be seen when the boy takes the book and immediately, his face changes and he becomes incredibly cheerful because that book is certainly for him. They accompany people so they do not feel lonely; in the case of the old woman who looks for one of them and they walk together. They also make people feel younger. I think that the director wanted to transmit that when someone reaches the top, the reader can fly. This short recovers books’ invaluable power in everyone’s daily life.
ResponderEliminarAfter watching "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", I think the director wanted to transmit us the significance of books for the world and the benefits reading can bring to our lives. These are some of the conclusions I draw from this short film:
ResponderEliminar*Books are a treasure in themselves, but they become valuable the moment we open and start reading them.
*Books provide us with a new sense of hope, order and direction in life after a period of bewilderment, chaos, disorder, and even plagues and wars.
*Books help us uncover and understand many of the obscure corners of the world and of our own lives and even minds.
*Books have the power of transporting us to new worlds, filling us with the pleasure of reading and enriching our souls.
*By reading we learn about ourselves, about others and about the world in which we live. Books provide us with new insights and multiple perspectives. They become our mentors and accompany us throughout our whole lives, till the very moment of our death, proving to be the most important wealth we can amass.
*We can find in books the support and guidance we may not find somewhere else.
*The knowledge, ideas, truths present in books go beyond time, that is why books can be passed on through generations and always serve a purpose.
*Books can, as Mr Morris Lessmore writes, “turn many of long held opinions into work”.
*Our job is to preserve the habit of reading, not only to acquire knowledge but for the mere pleasure of it. Again, if we don’t read, books lose their value.
I would like to quote Lucy McCormick Calkins, who, in her book The Art of Teaching Reading, says:
"Books are a lantern, helping us find our path in life. They give us heroes, and they give us mentors in the real work of being human, of dealing with delight, loss, anger, hope, passion, jealousy, and mystery. For many of us reading is not a way to kill time; instead reading is a way to make a life".
I think she cannot summarize what books do for us in a better way.
In “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”, the director emphasizes the idea that books are a synonym of happiness and that books can save our lives and make us immortal. Through reading books we can understand real life in a way that makes us overcome difficulties and inner crisis. We can develop our creativity to live in our own world and to live our own life in spite of adversity.
EliminarBooks can make us transcend time and space because when we read we dream and we can transport ourselves to the place and time we desire. We can be forever young because in our dreams we feel, and do what makes us happy.
William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg also reflect upon the fact that when we borrow a book or we give a book to somebody we are giving him happiness, life, wisdom and in sum, a piece of soul; because we are giving him a chance to dream and feel happiness.
In addition, through writing books we can create new worlds that function according to our own laws, and we can live forever in the minds and hearts of people that read our words and feelings, and that understand what we have inside.
Celina Casanova
In William Joyce's and Brandon Oldenburg's awarded animated movie "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" we can see that the role of books is that of opening the doors to the infinite world of immagination. They function as the linkers to a better world.What remains of others can be read and remember by others. Books are the highest expression of someone else's feelings, experiences, stories. Even when you think everything is sad and no one experienced the same as you, through a book you may discover that someone else was in your shoes. In many cases books can be the reason why you do not give up.All in all, a world without books is a world without memory.
ResponderEliminarBrenda Guardatti
According to the director of the movie "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" there are several things books do for people.
ResponderEliminar.They can be the perfect company in moments of despair, they bring colour and happiness to our lives.
.Thy can take us to different realities, different worlds and at the same time make us understand our own reality.
.Books can teach us lots of things and make us feel in diffeerent ways all in the same story.
.books can accompany a person his/her entire life
It seems to be a relation of mutual dependence between books and people, books need people to read them in order to exist, people need books in order to feel the joy of life, that is, to feel alive.
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", William Joyce's and Brandon Oldenburg's awarded animated movie, highlights some fundamental aspects of the relationship between books and people.
ResponderEliminar*Books make us aware of different ideas that may either challenge or enrich our own, widening our point of view on a variety of topics. They help us discover truths about the world and about ourselves.
*Books can instil curiosity in us and inspire us to look for answers. They can be the starting point as well as the final product of somebody’s search.
*Books make it possible to share our ideas, feelings or findings, not only with contemporary readers but also with other generations. They help us transcend time and space and leave a legacy.
*Books bring enjoyment to our lives. They can take us to the fictional world created by the author and arouse feelings in us. They also help us see the real world under a new light.
Finally, the film also suggests that books and people need each other. People need books to find (and share) enjoyment and knowledge, while books need a reader for the world created by the authors to come to life.
According to the director, books give people life when everything around them seems to be dead. It’s interesting to see how the director makes use of colours and shades of black and white in order to accomplish this. As we can see, in the film, all the people are in black and white as if dead until they are given a book, which gives them life and they start to glow with colour. The director does the same thing, in order to show that the world is kept alive through books, the world including knowledge, history, culture and education. We can see this when Mr. Morris arrives to a knew land which is full of colour, which is different from the world he was in , with no colour and everything appears to be dead and where all the people seem to be lost, desperate and without any direction in life. Also the author shows how books can besides giving life to people can in away grant everlasting or eternal life, as if we could forever go on living through books. Furthermore, it’s interesting to see, that at the same time that books grant people everlasting life, they also need people in order to stay alive. If books aren’t read by people in a way they end up dying and are only truly alive when read.
ResponderEliminaraccording to "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", books make people go through a zillion esperriences. they make readers experience joy, sadness, sorrow, fear, etc. Regarding this film, books also make people travel to different, unknown, fantastic and unimaginable places. the character of the film goes around an unkown place discovering a new landscape and wonderfull things. Similarly, each reader goes through the same experience whenever he starts to read a book. Books also make our lives wonderful and colorful by making us live wonderfull stories. Indeed, it is so amusing that after we read books it fills our imagination in sucha wya that we ourselves desire to write books on our own. It makes us imaguiine a new world for ourselves and makes us create new worlds for others to read and experience.
ResponderEliminar