Voices of 165 was a collection of insightful first draft student work submitted for publication with each student’s permission. It’s purpose was to amplify the student’s voice at my first teaching job in a small, rural district in mid-Michigan. Enjoy!
Directly after Deadpool hit the big screen last month, students in English 7 requested an Article of the Week about the controversial movie. After a little bit of navigating for an age appropriate article, I found one discussing the amount of money the movie earned at the box office from the Associated Press.
Students read the article, and then analyzed, discussed, and reflected with the following prompts:
- Did you and your family/friends go to the movies over Mid-Winter Break? If so, what movie did you see? Why? Did you like it? If not, what movie would you have wanted to see? Why?
- What do you think about Deadpool‘s material and R-rating? Do you think the writers/directors should have toned it down to make it more accessible to a wider audience? Why or why not?
- The article mentions the movie numbers are feeling like “summer in February.” Do you think this has something to do specifically with Deadpool or the movie industry in general? Why?
These varied reflection prompts allowed all students to participate in the discussion and reflection process whether or not they had seen the movie.
Here are a few of the seventh graders’ student reflections from the Article of the Week assignment.
“I think that the producers did what they did because of the type of superhero Deadpool is. Deadpool is nothing like the other Marvel characters, so they were trying to capture what he’s like in the comics and how they see him. I feel they could have toned it down, but as the article said, Deadpool earned $135 million. Even though it was a highly inappropriate movie a lot of people watched it. So it must have attracted a large audience.
Even though Deadpool had a higher rating it was a highly grossing film. I feel the producers of Deadpool knew that they would make a pretty large amount of money even if their film had a R rating. That is what I think about Deadpool’s rating.”
“I don’t think Deadpool’s R rating is too much. I also don’t think they should tone it down or anything. This isn’t the usual movie for kids like Spiderman! It’s a more realistic, grownup, superhero movie.
The writers did a good job! If they toned it down it might not even be popular and it would be more for little kids. Also when the movie comes out on Blu-ray or DVD, a lot more kids will watch it anyway.
If the movie has bad material, I don’t think it would be really good in theaters. These are the main reasons I think Deadpool is not too bad and the directors should not tone it down.”
“I think the writers and directors of Deadpool should have made it more accessible to a wider audience because more people would be able to watch the movie. I think it should be able to be seen by a wider audience. Even though Deadpool has made a ton of money, I think toning down the violence and bad words could have made the movie more enjoyable to other people who aren’t allowed to watch the movie. Maybe if they did this, they might have made more money than they already have.”
I often find student requested Article of the Week’s to be the most rewarding ones because I’m validating their interests and prior knowledge in the classroom with assignments.
What do you think about Deadpool‘s rated R content and box office success?