Create something -- a piece of writing, art, music, a game, etc. Plot Concept : After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. This lesson is designed to align with the CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning as well as various Thinking Routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero. Why does his grandma telling him he's a "strong boy" contradict the identity he's used to? It feels so authentic and deeply personal, but also universal in a way that many can see themselves and their family in one or all of these characters. But I kept thinking about how Minari is being marketed and wondered, Is this really a story about the American dream? Why do you think big events -- like birth, illness, death, a pandemic, etc. Minari is a leafy green vegetable ( sometimes called water celery or water dropwort) popular in Korean cooking. They study film and television and are interesting in directing. Due to his heart problems, he is discouraged from physical exertion. Create something that gives this person a proper shout out. (1:02:06-1:03:57), Clip #11: After David gets hurt, Grandma emphasizes how strong he is. NY 10036. Importantly, theyll return to this after the movie and reflect on it. Importantly, theyll return to this after the movie and reflect on it. This movie is set in the '80s. The plot changes gears following the introduction of Monicas mother Soon-ja and her limitless optimism. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR USE WITH ANY FILM THAT IS A WORK OF FICTION Select the questions that will work best with your students and promote your educational goals. But the desire to be seen onscreen is such an important part of our identity, the question we all asked ourselves was: Will any story do? Minari movie is now available on PVOD and there has been much talked about this one being nominated for some awards this year. Social & Emotional Learning. Both Jacob and Monica have to work sexing chicks in order to provide for the family while they wait for that dream to come to fruition. (1:23:41-1:24:58), Clip #14: Jacob takes his box of produce to the appointment with the doctor, which upsets Monica. And who is even included in this fantasy of America? Jacob hires a dowser to find water. The film willresonate particularly with students whose households have deep connections to countries other than the one in which they reside. Minari ( Korean: [minai], transl. Minari can be put in kimchi, put in stew, put in soup. Jacob is the oldest son of his family, and the responsibility of taking care of his relatives back home fell squarely on his shoulders, as it often does in conservative societies. Complex characters. Christine is also a writer, primarily of fiction and essays, and loves to read all manner of books. In the meantime, I am sharing some of the best and most heartwarming quotes from the film. Edit Details To ask other readers questions about Minari please sign up . Anne is a quiet force in the movie, taking care of David and trying to make things easier for her parents. Why or why not? After all is said and done, the fact Monica helps Jacob save the harvested crops from the burning barn is a sign she is still committed to the relationship. Identify a time in your life when you had to work hard and overcome challenges but didn't give up. This also ties with the idea of the healing powers of minari, a plant that purifies the creek water. Yes, on both counts. Synopsis #1: Define goals, research questions and hypotheses with stakeholders. Soon-ja repeatedly tells her daughter to let David be a normal child. Grandma sees David as an American kid and Monica asserts that he's a Korean kid. However, water is also used in a positive way in Minari, but only the creek water. Recognize situational demands and opportunities. She embraces her new life with a certain childlike wonder that is absent even in Jacob. The Times is committed . Chung based the film on what he remembers . For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. When the kids on the bus make fun of Paul because he doesn't have water at his house, David realizes that's true about his family, too. You might also want to discuss some of the learning objectives or the concept of active viewing. David wakes up thinking he's wet the bed, but it was Soonja this time because she's had a stroke. The kids go to church so they can call their mother. But the biggest problem for the couple, as well as their biggest source of contention, remains Davids health. Jacob and Monica fight as the kids make paper airplanes with the message "Don't fight!" Content warning: There are a few scenes to be aware of before you show the movie. "Minari" 's style is a disheartening example of the gravitational pull that such conventions exert on the cinema at large. What do you think is the significance of Jacob hiring a dowser? You can use all of the questions and activities or pick and choose, depending on how much time you have. Lets deep dive into the Minari ending. Why? They eventually give up and Monica breaks down as they watch the barn burn. (10:49-13:53), Clip #3: A dowser comes to show Jacob he can find water on the property, but Jacob says, "Americans, believing that nonsense! The disconnect which all of them start to feel in their ramshackle trailer in the middle of nowhere continues to fester within Monica throughout the film. What are Jacob's priorities? This event has passed. (1:12:32-1:18:35), Clip #13: Monica tells Anne she's so grown up, taking care of everyone. You can use all of the questions and activities or pick and choose, depending on how much time you have. Minari also symbolizes the Yis story. Instead, she plays cards and swears. Create a "farm" that represents the things that motivate you to learn and grow as a person. Jacob and Monica have long chased the American dream. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. He saw this as an overall analogy for the immigrant experience, which he shared in a Filmmaker Magazine interview: Later, you know, I started to see a lot of those connectionsto immigration itself, and to the stories of the people who came over and planted themselves in the worst soils and started to thrive and grow. The Oscars have a long history of diversity issues, including that they were dominated by white men. But Chung's brilliance is in how he adds depth and complexity to those foundational ideas - it's in the spaces in between that we find love, loss, hope,. Monica explains that her mom has no other family because her father died in the war. (35:37-37:58), Clip #8: The family goes to church, and people there react in various ways to them being Korean. Use this lesson to help students consider how they can: If you only want to show brief parts of the film and discuss them with students, use these helpful clips to get you started. Even if it doesnt represent the multiplicity of who we are? (7:56-9:40), Clip #2: A thunderstorm is in full swing, and everyone's scared. Digital Citizenship Resources for Families, Workshops for Middle and High School Families, CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning, thinking routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero, selected scenes and discussion questions listed earlier in this article, Inside Out and SEL: A Movie Guide and Lesson Plan for Your Classroom, Whale Rider and SEL: A Movie Guide and Lesson Plan for Your Classroom, Teachers' Essential Guide to Showing Movies and Videos in the Classroom. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. Minari Plot Synopsis Having spent a considerable portion of their early youths in California as chicken sexers, Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica Yi (Han Ye-ri) move their family of four to Arkansas' green pastures. Lee Isaac Chung 's "Minari" casts a spell from its opening moments, a Terrence Malick-like evocation of human beings trying to stay in harmony with the natural world. Common Sense Media. So anyone can pick and eat it. It features a Korean family in rural Arkansas, and it's already received major recognition, including a Golden Globe Award. Heres how it works. But the well he digs there soon runs dry, and he has no choice but to use county water, which means that the family now has to pay for another thing that they cant afford. How to Watch All Quiet on the Western Front. As the film comes to an end, Jacob and Monica decide to make the Arkansas farm their permanent home. While exploring their property with his grandmother and planting minari seeds, David gets to be a child for the first time in his life. -- can shift one's priorities? How do priorities seem to shift during the fire? It could be something that only happened inside of yourself. Richard Brody began writing for The New Yorker in 1999. You can also use these in conjunction with the longer lesson plan below. Here's a rundown of all those rich details that made the movie so moving: And by the way, it's possible that a few or a lot of these cultural elements aren't exclusive to the Korean community. Develop interests and a sense of purpose. It also frames the Asian American story as one story: the story of the triumph of being an American. People often fall into roles in families: The peacemaker, the comedian, the caretaker, etc. For example, the clash between David and his grandmotherDavid has to share his room with her and thinks she smells like Korea, and she entertains him by teaching him card games that have Korean swear wordsis a diverse representation of Asian/American identities: The grandmother is funny and quirky. It can be medicine if you are sick. Show the entire film with a more in-depth lesson plan and. Yet Minari is, in many ways, an optimistic movie about the American immigrant dream. One theme I take away from "Minari" is strength, specifically the perseverance people demonstrate in the face of hardship. This lesson is designed to align with the CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning as well as various thinking routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero. Meanwhile, grandma Soonja (Youn Yuh-jung) faces a trash fire that becomes uncontrollable. All rights reserved. The movie taps into common family dynamics that most students will connect with,while complicating those dynamics through a story of migration and cultural displacement. Korean people use their heads." (1:05:33-1:10:00), Clip #12: Soonja has a stroke. Use as few or as many clips as you see fit, but keep in mind that you may need to introduce the movie's overall plot and talk through some of what happens before or after each clip. Minari is a drama about a Korean family that chases after the American dream by moving to the Ozarks on the prospect of making money by filling a niche. She tries to convince Jacob to move the family closer to the Korean community in the nearby town. Beyond the tornado, why is she angry? When the kids on the bus make fun of Paul because he doesn't have water at his house, David realizes that's true about his family, too. It's accessible to 9th graders but can also sparkmore nuanced conversations for 12 graders. 68 talking about this. It stars Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Patton. Except for David, all Yi family members, his parents and his sister Anne (Noel Kate Cho), were born in Korea. Even after her mothers arrival, Monica continues to struggle with her new circumstances. Step 1: List out and order the main topics of your interview. But underlying all of that, its less the immigration but the heart and sentiments, the relationships of the people doing that. I guessed Lee Isaac Chung's Minari would be different to me from just about any other film I'd seen from how, even those two minutes, evoked my own memories in a . When Jacob gets the idea that he can move away from the fields of California to grow Korean vegetables to an increasing number of Korean immigrants living in America's Heartland, he . Yeri Han summed up in a Korea Times interview how the film resonates with audiences of many different backgrounds. Around 1:19:00, some kids use chewing tobacco. Help students reflect on what motivates who we become and how we grow. Once the movie is over, you can use all of the questions and activities or pick and choose, depending on how much time you have. Lists with This Book This book is not yet featured on Listopia. What are our options when our priorities are fundamentally different from a loved one's? (1:31:41-1:35:41), Clip #15: Soonja accidentally sets fire to the produce shed. Hand out the graphic organizer and give students a few minutes to complete the Before You Watch question. I'm not sure what to make of David's relationship with his mother and father. That. Identify diverse social norms, including unjust ones. So we have to push back on the idea that it is a universal immigrant story about the American dream. They save each other, and in the process, salvage their relationship. Can you identify a choice the filmmakers made about music, camera angles, etc. Running time: 115 min. The family flees Korea seeking a better life in the United States. Minari, which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, follows the story of an immigrant Korean family who move from California to Arkansas in hopes for a better life and land to call their own.Starring The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun alongside a . Her oncoming dementia plays into that. But we can discuss that further in Part 3: Characters. I do feel confident in this: Soonja is *definitely* a Trickster. (27:40-31:25), Clip #6: Grandma (Soonja) makes David a special tea, and he complains about a "Korea" smell in his room. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Why do you think big events -- like birth, illness, death, a pandemic, etc. Why? So we have to push back on the idea that it is a universal immigrant story about the American dream. Exhibit self-discipline and self-motivation. At 49:44, there's a scene where David tricks Soonja (Grandma) into drinking his urine. (34:04-35:56), Clip #7: Grandma can't bake, but she shows the kids what she can do by teaching them a card game. Its often used in cooking and as a medicine. Dowsing is a very old practice considered to be pseudoscience by some and legitimate folk wisdom by others. This is *exactly* the kind of movie I like. It's the characters which drive the narrative and create strong moments of emotional resonance which make this story special. When she's not putting on a spontaneous vaudeville show with her daughter, Christine loves nature,music, and almost any form of dark chocolate. Review: After an exhausting 2020, the gentle 'Minari' is the movie we need right now. Students will be writing down notes about one character's motivations. To show you how a discussion guide is constructed, i've broken down a two hour interview into a simple guide. Minari won the 2021 Academy Award for best Actress in Supporting Role.Young David and his family move from California to Arkansas to settle in a mobile home on vacant land, which the father hopes to farm. It is a Korean story, yes, but its also human storyand a very specific one. What unfolds from there may read like a normative immigrant tale of three generational differences, but it felt much more unique than that. If we look at the story with David as the Protagonist, there are a lot of Trickster dynamics at play. Why do you think the filmmakers linger on the shot of the smokestack at the end of this scene? Can you think of someone from your own life, from history, or from a piece of media that's like Anne -- a bit of an "unsung hero" who helps keep things going? Does she find it at church? Who's right? She says American kids don't like sharing their room and Monica says, "He's a Korean kid." Monica sends the children away and Jacob and her have a passionate confrontation. -- can shift one's priorities? The farm is located an hour away from the nearest hospital, and Monica believes that they are putting their sons life in constant danger by staying there. Later, he sprints after his grandmother to retrieve her after Soon-ja wanders off, post-barn fire. A discussion guide is a set of questions/tasks/topics that you, the researcher, wish to walk a research participant through in order to reach your learning objectives. Christine Elgersma is Senior Editor, Learning Content, Strategy which means she manages the newsletter about learning, edits writing about learning, and loves to learn. Step 3: Write instructions for any user activities. Five acres is a hobby, he tells his reluctant and skeptical wife, explaining why he has acquired 50 acres of the best dirt in America. Soon-ja also serves as a link between Monica and Korea by bringing traditional medicines (for David) and native spices. * The fire: A major reversal, indeed, the destruction of what Jacob had worked so hard to build, the barn a symbol of what the farm *could* be. Jacob faces many challenges and setbacks as he tries to make the farm work, only to lose the crop in the fire. Minari is wonderful, wonderful!". that made it especially memorable? Throughout Minari, hes been telling his grandma to go, but hes finally embraced her and wants her around. For Jacob, the farm is his direct path to achieve the proverbial American dream, and he is industrious enough to make an earnest attempt at it. Much of the movie has subtitles, so if you have students that can benefit from ita simple transcriptand the full screenplay are both available. Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Minari.. Minari is a tender drama that follows the Korean-American Yi family as they try to pursue a slice of the American Dream. It speaks to the very human threads of hope, struggles, and perseverance. (27:40-31:25), Clip #6: Grandma (Soonja) makes David a special tea, and he complains about a "Korea" smell in his room. Show a few specific clips along with discussion questions. Plot summary: A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas. Just a few hours before, she'd been making him feel safe. Step 4: Write questions that invite reflection. A species of water dropwort, minari, also known as Korean watercress, water celery, water parsley, or Java water dropwort, is a vegetable found in temperate and tropical climes across Asia. This year also saw the highest number of nominations that went to women across the top . It describes a romanticized idea of living self-sustaining, tending the garden, caring for farm animals as well as baking and handcrafts. -- that illustrates this time. Directly to your inbox. CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning, Thinking Routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero, selected scenes and discussion questions listed earlier in this article. Minari is a story of the American Dream. When they're by the creek, Soonja says, "It's better to see [the snake] than have it hide. Despite these tragedies, the family comes out of it stronger than ever. Minari is a semi-autobiographical drama film about a Korean-American family growing up in rural Arkansas during the nineteen-eighties. Minari won the 2021 Academy Award for best Actress in Supporting Role. Monica being around also shows she is now actively supporting Jacobs dream and participating in the farm dream. For Part 4, to read the Themes discussion go here. But the main source of conflict is not the immigration from the native country but the relocation from California. Major kudos to Aditya Raute for doing this weeks scene-by-scene breakdown. The plant serves as a metaphor for the Yi familys struggles to adapt to their new life and the day-to-day challenges they encounter. Dan M. Jack K. Jean H; 8 attendees "Minari" Discussion Group Friday, July 16. I am a black woman who grew up poor on the Southside of Chicago, and I felt deeply moved and connected to this film because it made me see my parents' struggles in a different way, and thats one of the remarkable things about Minari. I suppose, too, the tiny subplot of the minari plants echoes this theme, how Soon-ja plants the seeds and despite everything that goes on, they grow in their spot by the river. He further explained in an interview on NPRs Reset how minari really was something that his grandmother grew, and some of his memories with her tie back to them. (1:31:41-1:35:41), Clip #15: Soonja accidentally sets fire to the produce shed. and our Have students complete the After You Watch Activities. that made it especially memorable? Do you agree with her? We also see Monica and Paul (Will Patton) with Jacob as he pays to find a new water well, something he was against in the beginning. Why do you think David does what he does, and why does Soonja defend him? It often evolves from a yearning to escape the daily grind and a feeling of nostalgia. What do you think is the significance of Jacob hiring a dowser? The plotline is very simple: The story of the farm. She doesnt know it yet, but the fire has proven to be a blessing in disguise; it has saved her family from what seemed like an unavoidable dissolution. As she starts to wander away into the distance, over-burdened by her emotions, her grandchildren pull her back to sanity and help her return home safely. Things that hide are more dangerous and scary." Why? The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. If I heard the premise without knowing anything about the movie, I would assume that dynamic would be a pretty significant narrative element, but at least as far as the script is concerned, it's pretty light. The book has little in the way of a conventional plot, but it still forms a cohesive whole. What are Jacob's priorities? When Monica asks Jacob which family the move was really for, what does she mean? This is a story that many can connect to because its the story of the American dream. A lot of the students said they couldnt relate to the film because of the wealth, the backdrop of Singapore, the fact that Crazy Rich Asians is a heterosexual Chinese American tale. And if you're looking to check it out, find out how to watch Minari streaming. Here are some useful distinctions: Research objectives: Sometimes called "research questions," research objectives represent the goals of the research. Also, he has faith, another quality Jacob's family needs. Is there a "right"? Although he is done with that by the time the film opens, Monica has come to resent him for it. This guide offers two different approaches to teaching Minari: Feel free to use either approach, or even combine the two into one lesson (or an entire unit) based around the movie. Is Soonja what you expected? Complex characters. Jacobs refusal to choose his family over the farm compels Monica to say that she wants separation. Follow More from Medium Bryan Ye in. Students will also reflect on howtheir ownsense of identity has developed within their family and community-- including the impacts of culture and ancestry. On the church bus, kids joke about Paul not having water. Older Post Students will rank certain character traits in order of how important they are to personal growth. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. Jacob refuses to hire a water dowser (people who seemingly find underground water through divination using a forked twig). The movie taps into common family dynamics that most students will connect with,while complicating those dynamics through a story of migration and cultural displacement.

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