OPENINGS
BEN GOLDSTEIN*
Uni e si a In e nacional de Ca alunya, Ba celona, Spain
ABSTRACT
This pape will analyse he openings o ex s and ilms as bo h a gen e
and co ne s one o a uni e si y li e a u e cou se. I iden i ies ce ain ypes o
opening, he c i e ia o analysing hem and discusses he ask ypes app o-
p ia e o ackling such a gen e in class. I shows how hese asks can be
applied o bo h w i en and isual ex s o de elop a ex ual/ isual li e acy.
The di e en s a egies used by lea ne s o analyse such ex s a e also dis-
cussed, we will see how he laye ing o g adually mo e demanding asks can
enable lea ne s o disco e hei own mul iple meanings.
We will hen look a wo p ac ical ac i i ies based on openings: he i s
on “The Ca che in he Rye” shows how asks a e buil up in complexi y, in-
ishing wi h he lea ne s’ own c ea i e w i en wo k. The second, “Two Ci ies”
e eals how analysis o ex and isual image can be s udied in a comple-
men a y way, examining ques ions o gen e and adop ing a o malis app oach,
by in oducing lea ne s o cinema og aphic e ms o es ablish his isual li e -
acy. These examples a e p esen ed as a new way o acking he ex / ideo
in e ace and as an al e na i e o using “ he ilm s. he book” app oach, con-
en ionally adop ed o s udying li e a u e and ilm in class.
KEY WORDS
Openings, ideo, sc eenplay, gen e-based cou se, ex -image in e ace,
mul i-modali y.
RESUMEN
Es e abajo se p opone analiza el comienzo de ex os y películas en
cuan o géne o y en cuan o ema básico en un cu so uni e si a io de li e a u-
CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 417-431 417
* Ben Golds ein has wo ked in English Language Teaching in Spain o en yea s,
i s ly a he Cen o de Lenguas Mode nas o he Uni e sidad de G anada and cu en ly
in he P og ama d’Ensenyamen d’Idiomes a he Uni e si a Pompeu Fab a in
Ba celona. He is coo dina ing and w i ing an English language cou se book se ies o
Richmond/San illana o be published in 2003/4. His main in e es lies in he use o ilm
and sc eenplays in he class oom, abou which he has gi en nume ous wo kshops,
alks and semina s h oughou Spain. He is esea ching in o his doc o al hesis, also a
he UPF, unde he i le “The Sc eenplay: In e ex uali y and Me hodology in he Teach-
ing o English as a Fo eign Language”.
BEN GOLDSTEIN
418
a. Se iden i ican dis in os ipos de comienzo y los c i e ios pa a analiza los,
y se discu e el ipo de a eas más ap opiadas pa a abo da en clase un géne-
o de es e ipo. Se mues a de qué o ma pueden aplica se es as a eas a ex-
os an o esc i os como isuales, pa a desa olla una compe encia en la in e -
p e ación ex ual/ isual. También se discu en las di e en es es a egias que
u ilizan los alumnos pa a analiza es e ipo de ex os; descub i emos cómo una
secuenciación g adual de a eas cada ez más di íciles puede ayuda a que
los alumnos descub an sus p opios signi icados múl iples.
A con inuación conside a emos dos ac i idades p ác icas basadas en comien-
zos: la p ime a, sob e “The Ca che in he Rye”, mues a cómo las ac i idades
se es uc u an según su complejidad, pa a inaliza con el p opio abajo c ea-
i o de los alumnos. La segunda, “Two Ci ies”, e ela cómo pueden es udia -
se de mane a complemen a ia el análisis de ex os y el de imágenes isuales,
conside ando cues iones de géne o y adop ando un en oque o malis a, in o-
duciendo a los alumnos a la e minología cinema og á ica pa a es ablece su
compe encia isual. Es os ejemplos se p esen an como una nue a o ma de
en oca la in e elación ex o/ ídeo y como al e na i a al en oque que se plan-
ea la u ilización de “película en e a lib o”, con encionalmen e adop ado pa a
el es udio en clase de li e a u a y películas.
PALABRAS CLAVES
Comienzos, ídeo, guión cinema og á ico, cu so basado en géne o, in e-
elación ex o-imagen, mul i-modalidad.
RÉSUMÉ
Ce a ail se p opose d’analyse le débu de ex es e de ilms quan au
gen e e quan à suje basique dans un année uni e si ai e de li é a u e. On
y iden i ie di e ses so es de débu s e les c i è es pou les analyse , e l’on
discu e la so e de âches les plus app op iées pou en ame en classe un
gen e de ce e so e. On mon e de quelle açon peu en s’applique ces âch-
es an à des ex es éc i s qu’à des ex es isuels, a in de dé eloppe une com-
pé ence dans l’in e p é a ion ex uelle/ isuelle. On discu e aussi les di é en es
s a égies don les élè es se se en pou analyse ce gen e de ex es; nous
décou i ons commen une séquen ia ion g aduelle de âches de plus en plus
di iciles peu aide à ce que les élè es décou en leu s p op es signi ica ions
mul iples.
Ensui e nous examine ons deux ac i i és p a iques basées en débu s: la
p emiè e, su “The Ca che in he Rye”, mon e commen les ac i i és se s uc-
u en d’ap ès leu complexi é pou ini a ec le p op e a ail c éa i des élè es
lui-même. La deuxième, “Two Ci ies”, é èle commen peu -on é udie de açon
complémen ai e, l’analyse de ex es e celle d’images isuelles, en é udian des
ques ions de gen e e en adop an une op ique o malis e, en in oduisan les
élè es à la e minologie cinéma og aphique pou é abli leu compé ence isuelle.
Ces exemples son p ésen és comme une nou elle açon d’en isage l’in e e-
la ion ex e/ idéo e comme una al e na i e à l’op ique qui se pose l’emploi
OPENINGS
419
de “le ilm s le li e”, adop é con en ionnellemen pou l’e ude en classe de
li é a u e e de ilms.
MOTS-CLÉ
Débu s, idéo, scéna io cinéma og aphique, cou s basé en gen e, in e e-
la ion ex e-image, mul i-modali é.
INTRODUCTION
The eaching con ex
We we e asked o design an English li e a u e cou se o 2nd yea
Humani ies s uden s a a Spanish p i a e uni e si y. Ha ing unde ak-
en an ini ial placemen es and ques ionnai e, we disco e ed ha he
a e age linguis ic compe ence le el o s uden s was app oxima ely p e-
in e media e and ha he majo i y had had li le o no expe ience o
eading li e a y ex s in English. The e o e, a he han choosing a pu e-
ly co pus o skills-d i en app oach, i was decided ha ex ac s om a
wide ange o li e a y gen es should o m he basis o a cou se designed
o de elop a c i ical awa eness when eading. Ins ead o highligh ing
any speci ic g amma ical o lexical s uc u es in an explici way, he
cou se would encou age lea ne s o make in e ences and hypo hesise
abou a gi en ex . To his end, i was hough bes o adop a “lan-
guage h ough li e a u e” o “pedagogic s ylis ics” app oach, keeping
me alanguage o a minimum. The cou se was he e o e designed in
gene ic modules: sho s o ies, poe y, plays and no els. Howe e along
wi h hese es ablished gen es, o he mo e “expe imen al” modules we e
included such as sc eenplays, compa a i e ex s (no el/sc eenplay) and
openings. I is he las ca ego y –openings– which will o m he basis
o his pape . The p ac ical ac i i ies shown below o med pa o a 15
hou module on “openings o li e a y ex s and ilms”, indeed i is he
in e ace be ween ex and ideo ha o med a cen al pa o he
cou se.
TEXTS AND TASKS
Why choose openings?
Clea ly, one o he g ea us a ions el by s uden s in class is he
endency o s udy ex ex ac s and cu -up ideo sequences, momen s
isola ed om hei ue con ex . As eache s, we ha e ou inge s pe -
BEN GOLDSTEIN
420
pe ually on he pause bu on, cu ing and pas ing a places which make
pe ec sense o us bu may p o e puzzlingly abs ac o some lea n-
e s. As John McRae poin s ou , “How much o (an ex ac ’s) ele ance
o he ex ha o iginally su ounded i has been los o be ayed in
he p ocess o ex apola ion?” (McRae, 1991, p. 54). Ve y o en, he ex
has been selec ed as “sui able o class oom use” because o an ag eed
eaching agenda which has cons an ly o be “made appa en ”, in his
way he lea ne s a e o en p e en ed om disco e ing hei own
meanings.
So, how can we a oid his bu s ill use ex s o a “manageable
leng h” in class? One ad an age o using openings is ha “ hey a e he
leas des uc i e o m o abs ac ion” (Cook, 1986, p. 152) and a e as
such logical poin s o en y in o a ex . Pe haps mo e impo an ly, hey
place he lea ne s on an equal oo ing wi h a na i e speake . This has
been nea ly pu by Alan Du an , choosing beginnings o him is ben-
e icial because “ eade s in he class oom a e aced wi h a si ua ion anal-
ogous o ha o “ eal” eade s, inasmuch as he e is no p esupposed
in o ma ion om ea lie in he wo k ha would be a ailable o gene -
al eade s bu ha which is denied o s uden s ca ying ou he ac i -
i y” (Du an , 1996, p. 73).
Ano he g ea bene i ob ained om using openings is ha hey
p o ide ideal ehicles o in e ing and hypo hesis, wo o he key skills
ha we wan ed o de elop in ou cou se. The opening will necessa -
ily p o oke a se ies o ques ions ha may o may no be answe ed by
u he eading. In his way, s udying he openings o ex s may ac as
a mo i a ion, encou aging lea ne s o ead on ou side he class. They
a e, like all ex ac s, closed agmen s o ex bu in a sense hey a e
closed on one side only. Fo his eason, mo e han o he ex s hey
au oma ically beg he ques ion: wha ollows?, wha comes nex ?
Wha ype o ask?
The dange o a “language h ough li e a u e” app oach is ha he
la ge numbe o hese open-ended ques ions in wo kshops may p o-
duce a g ea deal o analysis and deba e, bu ha pedagogic goals can
become blu ed and s uden s may no al oge he know o wha ends
hey a e unde aking his analysis. Fo his eason, in bo h he ac i i-
ies desc ibed below, I wan ed o make su e ha he s uden s hem-
sel es p oduced some wo k as a esul o he asks. In his way, aside
om analysing ex s, his e y analysis could lead o a de e mina e end-
OPENINGS
421
poin (in hese cases, a piece o w i en wo k), which could no o h-
e wise ha e been unde aken.
In bo h ac i i ies, I ook he s ep o build up om simple mo e
speci ic ques ions o mo e open-ended asks. This g ading o asks was
planned so ha he ini ial asks could guide weake s uden s and hus
in o m he mo e demanding asks o come, aking he lea ne each ime
a s ep deepe in o he ex . In he case o “The Ca che in he Rye”
ac i i y, p e-wa ching asks in ol e a mul iple choice, ollowed by
open-ended ques ions enabling lea ne s o jus i y hei choices, and
hen an ex ended analysis. In he case o “Two Ci ies”, p e-wa ching
includes a di e en ia ion ac i i y, ollowed by a gap- ill and open-end-
ed ques ions. A e wa ching he ilm, a mo e in-dep h in e p e a ion is
encou aged, including wo k on o malis , cinema og aphic issues. Like
in he i s ac i i y, lea ne s a e inally asked o p oduce hei w i en
wo k.
Types o openings
Be o e p esen ing he lea ne s wi h hese ac i i ies, I el a mini-
mum o me alanguage was necessa y o guide ou s udy o openings
in gene al. In his way, a numbe o di e en openings we e p esen -
ed each o which exhibi ed di e en s a egies (es ablished echniques
which we e eco ded in a lis ) o a ac he a en ion and cu iosi y o
he eade . Bea ing in mind he open-discussion s yle asks adop ed, I
el ha such ca ego ies would ocus he lea ne s and allow hem o
hold on o ce ain key concep s. I also wan ed he class o become
amilia wi h hese e ms, as hey would la e see how hey can be
used equally o s udying li e a u e o he cinema. Fu he mo e, gi en
ha he cou se would analyse a wide a ie y o gen es, i p o ided
lea ne s wi h use ul ools o make “b oad” compa isons be ween e y
di e en ex s and o g an hem an o e all imp ession o hese, a he
han ushing in o a ull analysis o a single passage.
The ollowing is a lis o 10 echniques, clea ly no an exhaus i e
one, which was used o pinpoin hese s a egies. (I am indeb ed o
Alan Pul e ness who in oduced me o his idea o ca ego ising open-
ings, indeed some o he ollowing echniques (ma ked *) we e coined
by him in a pape gi en in Dillingen in Ap il 1998.) A e he desc ip-
ion o each echnique, an example om a well-known wo k is gi en.

BEN GOLDSTEIN
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1. In a he deep end. The ex clea ly begins in he “middle”, wi h
clues gi en o wha has aken place be o e, hese may ha e o be g ad-
ually un a elled by he eade o ind ou wha is going on. In he
same way, he ex may appea o begin a he end -wi h, o example,
a a ewell- which closes one doo bu leads us h ough ano he . (eg.
“As I walked ou one midsumme mo ning”, Lau ie Lee.)
2. Di ec Add ess. The i s pe son “I” ansmi s immediacy and a
clea p o agonis wi h his/he own oice, i o en allows us o iden i y
wi h he speake . Bu his is o en accompanied by a di ec e e ence
o he eade “you”, his may sugges ha he na a o is in ol ing o
con iding in he eade o a g ea e deg ee. (“The Ca che in he Rye”,
J. D. Salinge .)
3. Flashback. The opening is a memo y o ecollec ion. The au ho
looks back on he signi icance now o wha happened hen. Many ilms
adop his echnique a he beginning and he end, in his way he s o-
y “comes ull ci cle”, and he whole mo ie ac s a lashback. (“One
Hund ed Yea s o Soli ude”, Gab iel Ga cía Má quez.)
4. * Se ing he scene. A oice in-o depic s he landscape o he
wea he , ichness o desc ip ion ha allows us o gain an idea o he
a mosphe e o he symbolism o place. (“The God o Small Things”,
A undha i Roy.)
5. An ai o de achmen . In con as o he i s pe son, a hi d pe -
son oice may be employed o allow a ce ain dis ance be ween i and
he cha ac e s he/she desc ibes. This may c ea e a sense o mys e y,
ha he e is some hing ha is being hidden o ha we ha e o sol e
as eade s. (“The Hea is a Lonely Hun e ”, Ca son McCulle s.)
6. * A sho , sha p shock. A sho , snappy sen ence desc ibing a
shocking e en could be all ha is needed o cap u e he eade ’s a en-
ion - a echnique equen ly used in he cinema as an al e na i e o
he adi ionally slow scene se ing which allows ime o he c edi s o
come up. (“The C ow Road”, Iain Banks.)
7. A decla a ion o in en ions. Some openings a e unmis akable in
ha hey e y sel -consciously ac as such, in oducing us in o a wo ld
in a “once upon a ime” s yle o by adop ing a clea ly es ablished gen e
like a dia y and hen sub e ing his. (“B idge Jones’ Dia y”, Helen
Fielding.)
8. * Ac ion! Au ho s ha e again adop ed cinema ic echniques o
open a ex wi h as mo ing ac ion o desc ip ion, his e y o en o e -
laps wi h “in a he deep end”. (“How la e i was, how la e”, James Kel-
man.)
OPENINGS
423
9. * A ime and a place. Ano he mo e adi ional echnique is o
quickly es ablish he loca ion and he momen . The e is no ambigui y,
o mys e y. Such p ecision is com o ing o he eade , allowing him
o quickly imme se himsel in o he wo ld o he ex . (“Los in T ans-
la ion”, E a Ho man.)
10. A one-line . A sho message ha may c ea e a sense o mys-
e y. In his echnique, his one-line is o en quali ied by ano he which
makes sense o i o immedia ely changes ou pe spec i e on e en s
o cha ac e s. Fo example, a quo a ion, a song ly ic, e c., may ac as
a symbolic message which may no be unde s ood a i s bu ha
echoes h oughou ou eading o he ex . (“Nigh T ain”, Ma in
Amis.)
PROCEDURE
A sample sc eenplay ex - “Ame ican Beau y”
The ollowing ex om he sc eenplay o “Ame ican Beau y” is a
good example o an opening in which a la ge numbe o he abo e
echniques can be ound. I was use ul o show his ex o s uden s
be o e unde aking he subsequen asks. I also es ablished, om he
ou se , ha w i en and isual ex s could be analysed in simila ways.
In o he wo ds, echniques could be spo ed in he ex i sel , by wa ch-
ing he ideo wi hou sound (cinema og aphic ea u es) and hen by
s udying he whole hing.
We’ e lying high abo e an uppe middle class subu b. The
wide s ee s a e lined wi h s a ely elms and sycamo es; he
homes a e adi ional and well-kep . Coming close o he
g ound, we pick ou a couple o male jogge s.
Suddenly, a man comes in o iew, lying Supe man-s yle abou
h ee ee abo e hei heads... his man is LESTER BURNHAM,
Ca olyn’s husband and Jane’s a he . He’s o y- wo, wi h a wide
boyish ace ha ’s jus beginning o d oop a ound he edges.
He si s up in bed and ubs his ace...
We’ e in a la ge, com o able bed oom ha ’s as e ully
deco a ed bu no o e done - i could be a sp ead om
Me opoli an Home. Les e ge s ou o he king-sized bed,
c osses o a bay window co e ed wi h s ylish wooden blinds,
li s one o he sla s wi h his inge and pee s h ough i .
BEN GOLDSTEIN
424
LESTER (V.O.)
My name is Les e Bu nham. I’m o y wo-yea s old.
In less han a yea , I’ll be dead.
We’ e in he showe wi h Les e . A wa e p oo RADIO plays
COUNTRY MUSIC. He s ands wi h his ace di ec ly in he ho
sp ay eyes shu .
LESTER (V.O.)
In a way, I’m dead al eady.
How many echniques can you spo ?
S uden s choose hei own ex s
Once amilia ised wi h hese e ms and gi en ex s which ep e-
sen ed each o hese echniques (including “Ame ican Beau y”), he lea n-
e s we e hen asked o ind an opening o hei choice and analyse
which o hese echniques (i any) could be ound in hei chosen ex s.
This was impo an , i s ly because i enabled he class o go back and
ein e p e an al eady amilia ex and secondly, because i p o ided
“an ini ial pe sonal ‘in es men ’ o ‘s ake’ in he ma e ials being ead
and discussed” (Du an , 1996, p. 70) –an impo an dimension o an
“ex ended eading” cou se whe e choice o ex s could be deemed a bi-
a y by some s uden s.
Gene al c i e ia o analysing openings
The s uden s we e hen in oduced o key c i e ia, which would
unde pin ou analysis o o he openings. I was es ablished ha a
“good” opening, an opening ha “wo ked” could be conside ed as i s -
ly, one ha a ac s ou a en ion and ha mo i a es us o go on eading
and secondly, one ha es ablishes he heme o one o he wo k as a
whole. The lea ne s we e asked o analyse hei chosen ex s again
acco ding o he abo e c i e ia. I was sugges ed ha o “ es ” he i s
c i e ion, s uden s could no e down he ques ions ha he opening p o-
okes in he eade , i was sugges ed ha he mo e ques ions a ex
p o okes, he mo e i may mo i a e us o go on wi h ou eading.
Ha ing hen in oduced he c i e ia o analysis and applied hem
o he lea ne s’ own ex s, I hen p oceeded o analyse openings o my
own choice in mo e de ail. Fi s ly, he class s udied he opening o no -
OPENINGS
425
el and hen he openings o wo mo ies. La e we would compa e he
echniques used in bo h media and compa e and con as hem.
ACTIVITY 1: Opening o J. D. Salinge ’s “The Ca che in he Rye”
I you eally wan o hea abou i , he i s hing you’ll p obably
wan o know is whe e I was bo n, and wha my lousy childhood was
like, and how my pa en s we e occupied and all be o e hey had me, and
all ha Da id Coppe ield kind o c ap, bu I don’ eel like going in o
i . In he i s place, ha s u bo es me, and in he second place, my pa -
en s would ha e abou wo haemo hages apiece i I old any hing pe -
sonal abou hem. They’ e qui e ouchy abou any hing like ha , espe-
cially my a he . They’ e nice and all –I’m no saying ha – bu hey’ e
also as ouchy as hell. Besides I’m no going o ell you my whole god-
dam au obiog aphy o any hing. I’ll jus ell you abou his madman s u
ha happened o me a ound las Ch is mas be o e I go p e y un-down
and had o come ou he e and ake i easy.
This is he opening o a no el. Answe he ollowing ques ions.
Fo each o he i s ques ions, choose one o he h ee op ions and iden-
i y a wo d om he ex which enabled you o make he choice.
a) How would you desc ibe he na a o ’s a i ude o one?
Nega i e
Posi i e
No one o he o he
Why?______________ (only one wo d is needed)
b) Wha would you say is he egis e o he ex ?
Fo mal
No mal
Con e sa ional
Why?______________
c) Wha do you hink is he w i e ’s ela ionship wi h his/he pa en s?
Good
Indi e en
Bad
Why?______________
d) Wha does he na a o say he is going o do?
Tell us all o his s o y
Tell us only pa o his s o y
Tell us no hing abou his s o y
Why?______________