Permission Slip for Viewing The Lion in Winter:
Dear Parents,
As an enrichment for our current history and literature material we will be viewing the movie, The Lion in Winter. I have used this film for many years and feel it lets my students come to a realistic understanding of the struggle for power between European nobility during the Middle Ages. The characters, major historical personalities, also occur in our current novel, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver and in the pages of their history book. We will be viewing this film in parts (beginning Tues.) to allow students time for questions and to recopy their notes.
This movie is unrated yet it contains suggestions that two of the male characters are "a little more than just friends". Historically, this relationship has never been proven beyond supposition. Many historians attribute this belief to a serious ignorance of the period and its social customs. This scene and its supposition is brief.
From the view point of a teacher and a father, I believe the film's historic and literary value far outweigh the drawback feature mentioned above. Overall, this film gives us an accurately crafted picture of power during the Middle Ages. The turbulent Twelfth Century and its most memorable characters and themes are skillfully recreated by Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins. Students will witness one memorable Christmas with Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their children as they plot, scheme, betray each other, and vie for the prize, power over Henry's Empire.
Please weigh this matter carefully and decide. All students that view this film will be taking careful notes (as this is hist./lit. enrichment) and will participate in class discussions and assignments based upon current studies. Students who do not see the film will be given the opportunity to work in a different classroom on structured research covering this period. They will then be able to discuss and work with the students who did view the film. PLEASE NOTE: I have very limited space for students not viewing this film. If too many choose not to view the film, the entire class will not see this film and will work on an alternate assignment. Thank you for taking the time to review this with your child. Students who do not return this signed and dated slip by the deadline will choose to be doing the individual research in a separate classroom.
Sincerely,
Brother Wulfnoth/Mr. Sykes
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Copy this form (below), sign and return to Mr. Sykes no later than Wed., 03/13/13.
I choose to have my student watch The Lion in Winter. ______________________________.(name and date)
I choose to have my child do outside research rather than watch the film. __________________________. (name and date)