lesson: The Hurt Locker, 2008

Plot Summary: 

US Army Sergeant First Class Will James, Sergeant JT Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge comprise the Bravo Company's bomb disposal unit currently stationed in Baghdad. James is the tech team leader. When James arrives on the scene, Bravo Company has thirty-nine days left on its current deployment. It will be a long thirty-nine days for Sanborn and Eldridge whose styles do not mesh with their new leader. James is a renegade for who the thrill of the dismantlement seems to be the ultimate goal regardless of the safety of his fellow team members, others on the scene or himself. On the other hand, Sanborn is by the books: he knows his place and duty and trusts others in the army to carry out theirs as well as he. And Eldridge is an insecure soldier who is constantly worried that an error or misjudgment on his part will lead to the death of an innocent civilian or a military colleague. While the three members face their own internal issues, they have to be aware of any person at the bomb sites, some of who may be bombers themselves. Written by Huggo.

Students will analyze the movie The Hurt Locker. This is the first film to win Best Picture for a female director, Kathryn Bigelow. The film takes a look at the Iraq invasion and the military copping with IED, improvised explosive devices, used to fight the American invasion in Baghdad. Film terminology will be presented as they are demonstrated in the exhibition of the motion picture. Students will be encouraged to read the enclosed story written by Mark Boal, which inspired the film.