Appendix C:

CINE 388 Sample Class Activities

The following is a selection of typical questions and activities that students would discuss in small groups or partners before continuing our discussion as a class.


Topic: All About Spanish Mothers

Feature Film: All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999)

Do you agree?

  1. All About My Mother is Almodóvar’s gayest film (Garlinger 105–06)
  2. Agrado’s monologue is her most “authentic” moment (Acevedo 35; Garlinger 104)
  3. Almodóvar’s film reunites the “body of Spain” (Acevedo 30)
  4. The strengthening of motherly relations only contributes to more pressing issues, such as mending the father/son relations (Acevedo 38)


Topic: Experimental Cinema and New Trends in Spanish Film

Feature Film: Die Stille vor Bach (Pere Portabella, 2007)
  1. Does Die Stille vor Bach tell a story? What is it about?
  2. How does the opening configure your expectations?
  3. How does this film relate to our course?
  4. How would you describe “Portabella’s aesthetics?”


Topic: The Spanish Civil War

Feature Film: Soldiers of Salamina (David Trueba, 2003)
  1. What are the conflicts that Lola hopes to resolve in the film?
  2. What stance does this film take on the Civil War and its legacy?
  3. Choose one secondary character (not Lola) and explain how s/he tells her/his own story that dialogues with the other stories of the film.


Go back to Appendix B: Sample Lesson Plan

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