As part of my job as editor at an educational magazine (for Czech students learning English), I have to create a lot of materials about the new film Submarine, directed by Richard Ayoade. I've already written two short articles describing the film and introducing the characters, and now I have to create a "teacher's file" full of summaries, culture points, and exercises for teachers to use with their classes.
I'm having a hard time with this, because I really don't like this film. I don't think it's appropriate for most of the readers of this magazine (many of whom are around 12-14), and certainly not for use in schools. The subjects here are too deep and heavy, and kids that age are not likely to understand a lot of the humor, references, or ideas.
What's more, the film is supposedly a comedy, but I don't find it funny at all. Every review I see of this film praises it as a work of comedic genius, but the thing makes me squirm from start to finish. I suppose it's intended to seem outlandish, extreme, and therefore funny, but to me, it's all too realistic. When I was growing up, I was surrounded by people like the ones in the film: dangerous psychopaths and calculating, manipulative people who did awful things to try to control me and each other. It's not a joke to me, and I genuinely can't understand why other people find it funny, no matter how hard I try to see the joke.
Has anyone here seen the film? Can you help me understand how it's *supposed* to come across? Because with my current impressions, I feel like I can't really write a good guide to using this in the classroom. I think I must be missing the point. Is there anyone else who doesn't find it funny? Can anyone explain the humor to me, and how this film can be entertaining to young teenagers? I can write plenty of exercises for students analyzing the terrible things happening in the film, but I know it's meant to be funny...
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Topic: Submarine (Film) Reactions (Read 692 times)