INT. ROOM 40. 12:10.
The bell goes. Students are leaving the classroom. The teacher is shuffling papers and saving files at the front of the class as the students leave the room.
A middle aged Japanese couple walk into the room.
ME (Internal dialogue)
Ah, they must be a couple of students for my 1 o'clock class. Great to see some members of the local community are taking this opportunity to come along to this open course.
The teacher finishes getting papers together and slowly leaves the room, expecting some kind of greeting from the couple. Or at least acknowledgement of his existence. There is none.
INT. The teachers room
A beautifully prepared lunch box sits on the table.
(fast motion)
Each of the succulent morsels in the the lunch box is taken out with a pair of chopsticks until the lunch box is empty.
INT. ROOM 40. 1pm
The bell goes. Around 40 students sit around the class. There are at least ten different nationalities. As well as the middle aged couple there are two other local citizens taking the class.
ME (Teacher's voice)
First I'd like to ask a few questions. Please get out your notebooks or some paper.
Powerpoint slides show the questions as the teachers asks them.
ME
First: Why are your here?
Students start writing.
ME
Next: What's your major?
...
Do you want to speak English in this class? Usually in my English lessons I want people to speak English, but this is not an English lesson, so it's up to you.
Teacher walks around.
CLOSE UP ON student's notebook showing that he's just copying the questions and not writing any answers.
ME (to class)
You're supposed to write the answers, not just the questions. I do the questions. You do the answers. OK?
Next. Do you want me to speak English?
Last question: What will happen in the next fifty years?
Writing activity peaks and then starts running out of steam.
ME
OK. Could you, err, make groups please, groups, yes, OK, with different majors, and different nationalities, and some gender diversity too. This class is about fifty-fifty male and female so I don't want all-girl groups or all boy groups.
But first, what language do you want to speak? Could you put your hand up if you want to speak English.
Almost all hands go up.
And if you want to speak Japanese.
One hand goes up, rather sheepishly.
Ah, OK. Well you're just going to have to make groups, and I'm sorry but you're probably going to have to speak English today.
Anyway, get into groups please. Four people. Different majors. Different nationalities. Mixed genders.
You know I really should spend time working out the best order to give these procedural instructions. And cut out a lot of the internal dialogue.
Students mingle and groups slowly start to form and they sit down together.
(to class)
When you have a group, could you briefly introduce yourselves to each other?
(to a group of four female students and a group of four male students)
Right so you four are all girls. And you four are all boys. And you're all Japanese.
KOREAN STUDENT
I'm Korean.
ME
Sorry! Anyway, could you two ... and you two ... swap places?
Two groups with diverse major, nationality and gender are formed.
Elsewhere in the classroom, the middle aged couple make a beeline for AKIRA, who a tall, 85 years old and fairly obviously a Shiminkaiho-sei - member of the public.
ME
So I don't want a group with just Shimin Kaiho.
The middle aged couple and Akira form into a group of three, then sit down immediately in front of the teacher's desk.
MIDDLE-AGED PERSON (putting on a foreign accent)
Eigo wakaranai [I can't speak English]
ME
So what the fuck are you doing here then?
INT. Return to reality
ME (after deep breath)
OK, you three talk to each other about these questions.
(Note to self)
If you want to know who wants to speak in Japanese, ask them in Japanese.
(to class, with powerpoint slides as back up).
Right, so here's the plan. We're going to choose a near-future movies each week, watch a scene or two, and discuss the themes. We're going to make predictions about the future.
Near-future Science Fiction is usually set 20-50 years in the future, it mostly uses existing technology, although usually the technology has been developed. It often shows a different society.
Here are some words and phrases that will be useful when we're talking about these movies: Plot ... Screenplay ... Subtext. Here are some meaning. Could you match the word with the meaning?
The three words appear on the left of the screen with the following definitions on the right:"A hidden and less obvious meaning". "The story", "A written version of a movie which the director and actors use for filming"
So does any know what "plot" means? ... Yes?
A STUDENT
Plot means the story
ME
Thank you. Very good.
A line appears on the screen linking "plot" and "story".
OK, please talk to each other about the meaning of the other two words.
More useful words appear on the screen:
"Dystopia", "Apocalypse", "Premise" with definitions to match: "A devastating event killing most of the people on the planet", "The idea behind a movie", "An imaginary place where everything is very bad"
And more movie jargon:
"Plot device", "Suspension of disbelief", "MacGuffin" and more definitions: " An idea in the movie that helps the story", "When we ignore something in a story that is obviously wrong", "An object in a movie with no real explanation, important to the characters and necessary for the plot"
ME
Alfred Hitchcock explained the MacGuffin with this dialogue from two people on a train:
'What's that package up there in the baggage rack?'
'Oh, that's a MacGuffin'
'What's a MacGuffin?'
'It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.'
'But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands,'
'Well then, that's no MacGuffin!'
Course Aims appear on the screen
So the aims of the class are for us to think about the future, to practice listening to English, to practice speaking English, and to enjoy movies!
Your grade will depend on weekly only quizzes and forums, and presentation in week 13 or 14.
This week's homework is to join the class online, to write about yourself in the forum and to answer the question in the quiz.
Now, let's get back to this question: What might happen in the next fifty years? Could you make a list of at least 10 ideas. You can also talk about how likely it is to happen, and what kind of issues we will face.
Students talk for five or ten minutes in their groups. Teacher patrols.
ME
How many ideas have you got?
A STUDENT
One
ME
One? Is that all? You need more than that.
ANOTHER STUDENT IN ANOTHER GROUP
Five
ME
Well that's better than one, but you still need more!
Later...
ME
OK, I'd like someone from each group to tell us one idea. Each group should tell us a different idea, so please listen carefully to the other people, and don't repeat their idea.
A STUDENT
There will be new energy sources
ME
Thank you, next?
ANOTHER STUDENT
The population will increase
ANOTHER STUDENT FROM ANOTHER GROUP
Mt Fuji will erupt
AND ANOTHER STUDENT
People will eat pills instead of food because of food shortage
STUDENT FROM THE FIFTH GROUP OUT OF TEN
A space elevator will be built
ME
Oh, could you explain that? Here's a pen, draw a picture.
Oh, could you explain that? Here's a pen, draw a picture.
With some help, the student draws a picture of the earth with a line going from it out into orbit, and a weight on the end. Teacher spins around a whistle on the end of a piece of string to demonstrate the principle.
ME
The string is a bit longer. Over forty thousand kilometres in fact.
STUDENT FROM SIXTH GROUP
Robots will do everything
AKIRA (representing the group of three members of the public)
There will be no prefecture governments in Japan. Just one for Hokkaido, one for Honshu, one for Kyushu, and so on.
STUDENT FROM EIGHTH GROUP
World War III
STUDENT FROM NINTH GROUP
People will live on Mars
STUDENT FROM LAST GROUP
There will be flying cars
Wonderful! We'll have to wait to find out then! See you next week.
AKIRA
Could you sign this paper to allow me to take your class?
ME
Yes, of course!
The middle-aged couple shuffle out of the classroom without saying anything to the teacher.
[Continues Next Week]
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