Women of Color in Film – Halle Berry & Rita Moreno
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Introduction:
Halle Berry was the first African American to win the prestigious Academy Award for Best Actress. Latina entertainer, Rita Moreno was the very first performer to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. This activity introduces students to the amazing achievements of Berry and Moreno and then expands into an exploration of the accomplishments and hurdles faced by other women of color in Hollywood.
| OBJECTIVE: (aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy) |
ACTIVITIES: (project-based assessment included) |
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Vision Settings |
S.W.B.A.T. (Students Will Be Able To)Recognize the significance of Halle Berry’s Oscar win. Acknowledge the achievements of Rita Moreno and other minority actresses. Indentify the stereotypes and biases faced women of color in Hollywood. Appreciate the advances made by minorities in the film industry. |
Activity 1: Conduct web research on Berry’s life and work Activity 2: Watch videos detailing Berry’s and Moreno’s accomplishments Activity 3: Conduct further web research on the contributions of people of color in Hollywood Activity 4: Explore the life and work of Rita Moreno and discuss bias in casting Assessment: Conduct research on a minority actresses and present findings to the class |
| Materials: Overhead Projector , Internet Accessibility, Computers, Writing Utensils and Notebooks, Web Resources. |
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| Guiding Questions: Who is Halle Berry? What is the significance of her Academy Award win for Best Actress? Who is Rita Moreno? How was Moreno a trailblazer for Latinos in Hollywood? How did other women of color contribute to development of the film industry? How did racial bias and stereotypes effect casting opportunities for women of color? |
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Activity #1Conduct Web Research |
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| ACTIVITY #1
Students will access the Biography.com website to become familiar with the biographies of Halle Berry and Rita Moreno. Students will then conduct independent web research to gain additional knowledge of the background, upbringing and accomplishments of both actresses. |
MATERIALS
Online Resource(s): |
TEACHER ACTIONS
The instructor will first direct student to the information contained on the Biography.com webpage via the attached hyperlinks in the materials column.Instructor will then allow students time to find and peruse additional information from various other websites. The teacher will instruct the students to write down any important or interesting information they discover about Berry and Moreno. After students have completed their exploration, the teacher will direct students as they share their information with the class. The instructor should ask directing questions to make sure they understand the relevance of Rita Moreno’s work and the significance of Halle Berry’s Academy Award win for Best Actress. |
STUDENT ACTIONS
Students will research websites, take appropriate notes, and participate in group discussion. COMMON CORE: |
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Activity #2Videos and Classroom DiscussionHalle Berry and Rita Moreno both broke racial barriers in Hollywood. However, other women of color, such as Hattie McDaniel and Dorothy Dandridge, paved the way for their accomplishments. In this activity, Students will view videos on all four women and then explore the concept of Trailblazers and the phenomenon of Breaking Racial Barriers. |
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| ACTIVITY 2
Students will watch videos of Halle Berry’s and Hattie McDaniel’s Academy Award Acceptance speeches.Students will also view videos on how Rita Moreno and Dorothy Dandridge broke racial barriers in Hollywood. Students will then explore the concept of breaking racial barriers and discuss the importance of trailblazers and their relationship to the opportunities available to today’s generation. |
MATERIALS
Online Resource(s): Hattie McDaniel Oscar Acceptance Speech |
TEACHER ACTIONS
Instructor will set the stage for this lesson and garner student interest by having students watch videos of Halle Berry and Rita Moreno.Instructor will mediate all discussion and answer questions when necessary. |
STUDENT ACTIONS
Students will watch video footage take appropriate notes, and participate in group discussion. COMMON CORE: |
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Activity #3Explore African American Women and Latinas in FilmAfrican American women and Latinas, have graced the silver screen since the early days of Hollywood. However the parts offered to them were once limited stereotypical and often demeaning roles. In this activity, students will watch videos and conduct web research to explore the different ways African American women and Latinas were portrayed in the early days of Hollywood.
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| ACTIVITY 3
Students will conduct web research to explore the different ways African American women and Latinas have been portrayed in film. |
MATERIALS
Online Resource(s): |
TEACHER ACTIONS
Teacher will supervise students as they conduct web research on African American women and Latinas in Film.Instructor will direct the students first to web sources listed in the Materials column and then instruct students to use the web to search out additional data. Teacher will then guide the class as they share the information that they have just compiled. Be sure to ask the students: “In what various ways did the African American women and Latinas covered in this activity confront typecasting and bias during their careers?” |
STUDENT ACTIONS
Students will conduct web research, take appropriate notes, and participate in group discussion. COMMON CORE: |
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Activity #4Discuss Bias and StereotypesAfrican Americans, Asians, Latinas and women of various other minority groups have also often been typecast according to stereotypes. In this activity, students will read an article on Rita Moreno, explore the concept of ethnic and racial stereotypes in Hollywood and discover how these biases have limited roles for women of color.
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| ACTIVITY 4
Students will investigate bias in casting by looking at the stereotypical ways that how women of color are portrayed in Hollywood. |
MATERIALS
Online Resource(s): |
TEACHER ACTIONS
Teacher will have the class watch the video clips provided and instruct the students to read the information contained in the two web sources listed in the “Materials” column.Next, The instructor will lead the class in a discussion about the information they have just read. |
STUDENT ACTIONS
Students will read information contained in web sources, take appropriate notes, and participate in group discussion on the subject matter. COMMON CORE: |
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ASSESSMENTStudents will do research on a specific minority actress, either a current figure or one from history OR Students will research stereotypes in Hollywood. Students can choose to either conduct a class presentation or write a research paper on their findings.
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| ASSESSMENT
Students will research an actress of color or research the role of racial and ethnic Stereotypes in Hollywood films. Students will then either and present their findings to the class. OR Students can write a research paper on their findings. |
MATERIALS
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TEACHER ACTIONS
Teacher will guide students as they research a specific actress of color or Stereotypes in Hollywood and present their findings or write a research paper on the subject matter contained in the first four activities.Instructor may choose to break the class into groups for the presentations. |
STUDENT ACTIONS
Students will compose a well-written research paper or conduct presentations to the class on their research. COMMON CORE: |