Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
History Film Assignment
59
Green Book
Summary
“Green Book” follows the story of an unlikely friendship between Dr Donald Shirley, an African American piano prodigy and Tony Vallelonga, a middle-wage Italian, in 1962 segregated America. Donald hires Tony as a chauffeur and a bodyguard for his tour down South.
As they drive further South, a friendship forms as Tony is exposed to the racism of segregated America and begins to develop sympathy for Dr Shirley.
Summary
Historical Accuracy
Historical Accuracy
Accepted Fact
- The Green Book was a real guide
- The letters Tony wrote to his wife were based on fact
- Don Shirley was a highly successful piano prodigy
- The experience changed the way Tony treated African Americans
- The events displayed in the film, would occur to African Americans (ie denied access to certain restaurants, roads etc.)
Accepted Fact
Inventions
Inventions
- Don Shirley’s isolation with his race and family
- emphasizes his sadness, loneliness and key message of “money does not bring happiness”
- Length of trip
- In the movie the tour was 2 months long
- The tour was actually 6 months
- Changed for a more obvious development of friendship
- Showcase the individual character growth
- Emphasizes Tony's changed attitude towards African Americans
Acceptable Degree of Invention
Acceptable Degree of Invention
- Goal as a film producer is to entertain an audience while portraying their interpretation of a historical event
- This sometime leads to addition of inventions and reduced historical accuracy for the purpose of dramatizing the event
Evaluation
Evaluation
Is Acceptable:
- any inventions that adds depth and emphasis to key messages to the story is acceptable
- e.g. length change of music tour
Isn't Acceptable:
- any change that is disrespectful to people involved in the event and/or mislead the audience from the true story
- e.g. How in the film Don Shirley is disowned by family but in reality he still remained close with his relatives.
Key Messages
Discrimination against race
Discrimination against race
- One of the main aspects portrayed in “Green Book” was the racial discrimination
- Constantly reminded of the stigma toward African Americans in the US
Alabama performance
Jail Scene
- Dr. Shirley was innocent but still jailed because of being on the wrong road after sundown
On the
Road
Alabama Performance
- Don Shirley is refused access to dining room even though he is the guest of honor at his music concert
- Guided to his changing room which was a storage room
Wealth doesn't always bring happiness
Wealth doesn't necessarily bring happiness
- Message depicted through the scenes as we see the two worlds of the contrasting characters.
- Don Shirley's extravagant riches
- Contrasted with Tony’s middle-class background.
Positives and Negatives of Wealth
- Tony arrives at Don Shirley's house for job interview and sees all the luxuries in the room, but completely empty of other family members.
- African-American's were considered to have jobs on farms
Job Interview
Indulgence of Alcohol
Don. Shirley constantly indulges in alcohol to cope with the discrimination
Indulgence on Alcohol
Arriving Home
- Tony has a small apartment but filled with happiness and joy,
- Donald grand house piled with rich goods but lacks exuberance
Christmas Dinner
Accepting People and their Differences
Accepting people and their differences
Main idea portrays acceptance of everyone, regardless of race, culture and wealth.
- In the beginning, Tony has a negative connotation towards African Americans
- Begins to sympathies with them when he realizes how mistreated they are after he develops a friendship with Dr Shirley
Tony's growth to accepting African-Americans
Beginning of the Film:
Tony throws away the glasses that 2 African Americans use when visiting his apartment
Throwing away glasses to standing up to discrimination
End of the Film:
Standing up to Donald after he was asked to leave the dining room due to his race.
Context of the Filmmaker
Temporal Aspects
Temporal
- Now, there is more harmony and less discrimination between the races
- However still relates to today’s society as discrimination hasn’t vanished completely
- Film re-addresses the forgotten discriminatory behavior in 1960s US
- Important for the new generations to remember
- People are now questioning whether the racial discrimination was so bad
- The portrayal of a friendship between the two races allows more modern audience to relate to the movie
Personal Aspects
- Nick Vallelonga, Tony’s son, is the co-writer of “Green Book”
- Movie written off of Tony’s memory and perspective
- Nick may be slightly biased
- focused more on Tony’s journey and growth rather than Don Shirley
- Director and co-writer Peter Farrell
- This is Farrelly’s first historical movie, but he was interested as soon as he heard about the story
Personal
“This story, when I heard it, gave me hope,” Farrelly said when he was summing up the philosophy behind the film. “- I wanted to share that hope with you. Because we’re still living in divided times, maybe more so than ever, and that’s who this movie’s for: It’s for everybody. If Don Shirley and Tony Vallelonga can find common ground, we all can. All we have to do is talk, and to not judge people by their differences but to look for what we have in common.”
Quote
Historiographical Aspects
There have been many previous films made about racism during the 1960s, one of them being "Black Like Me."
Similarities:
- both from perspective of white male
- both portray how black people are denied access to certain places
Differences:
"Black Like Me" shows more black stereotypes
"Green Book" has more personal approach
Historiographical
vs
Do we recommend this film?
Recommendation
- If used to study the friendship of Don Shirley and Tony specifically, we would not recommend it
However...
- Overall, we would recommend “The Green Book,”
- Presents information in an entertaining way (easy to process)
- Events were real situations that African Americans encountered regularly
- Helps us empathise with the characters
- understand severity of the situation
Bibliography
Bibliography
Abdubarraf, H. (2019). Why I Walked Out of 'Green Book'. [online] Pacific Standard. Available at: https://psmag.com/ideas/why-i-walked-out-of-green-book [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].
Greenspan, R. (2019). http://time.com. [online] Time. Available at: http://time.com/5453443/true-story-behind-green-book-movie/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].
Keeny, Q. (2019). Were the Real Tony Lip and Don Shirley Actually Friends?. [online] POPSUGAR Australia Entertainment. Available at: https://www.popsugar.com.au/entertainment/photo-gallery/45516984/image/45516980/Were-Real-Tony-Lip-Don-Shirley-Actually-Friends?utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=US:AU&utm_source=www.google.com [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].
Sharf, Z. (2019). ‘Green Book’ Character’s Family Condemns Film’s ‘Hurtful’ Lies, Mahershala Ali Apologizes. [online] IndieWire. Available at: https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/green-book-controversy-shirley-family-lies-mahershala-ali-apology-1202028687/ [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].
Telusma, B. (2019). Get your story straight! 5 things ‘Green Book’ got wrong despite Oscar win - theGrio. [online] theGrio. Available at: https://thegrio.com/2019/02/25/green-book-oscar-5-things-donald-shirley/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2019].
Wilson, A. (2019). Green Book builds a feel-good comedy atop an artifact of shameful segregation. Yikes.. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/2018/11/16/18069756/green-book-review-racism-schomburg-segregation-golden-globes [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019].