You're actually being a life saver in the mocks we just did, I got an Excellence for the film essay (albeit scraped, an E is still an E), so I do want to try my hardest for this paper...

Ah, I'm glad they're symbols - hands/feet is something that I really can't elaborate on, other than the link between the girls it shows, so I've got symbols like the gemstone and bath/ship scenes that I can talk about (as well as the creatures from the Fourth World/Borovnia that pop up throughout the film)... Unfortunately, last year had both a production technique question and a symbol question so it's not likely that I'll get one this year

You're actually being so bloody helpful, Kitty... You're making me realise there's little things I should've always picked up on

I never have had a Muse related name! but I was a Main Muser on a different site for a couple of months, very much so only because I had a Banter thread that wasn't meant to be a Banter thread

You are a rebel

I've got to admit, when I first started regularing here, I thought your name was a reference to Pokemon i.e. you were Darkshine Skitty

Nah, they don't come out until the 18th of January (supposedly). It's a bit of a bitch really, they enter all the marks by the 23rd of December!

That's true besides, everyone knows you as Kitty, you'd still be called that even if you told people

Although I don't really care what your name is (you'll always be Kitty to me, anyway), are you starting to feel a bit pressured by all the other Banter wankers asking for it?

Speaking Gibberish to me but I think that means you can take two majors? unf. That said, I still want to do my minor in biochemistry... Gives me more to teach I'll talk to the careers advisor, she knows more about the unis and courses than I do

Good to know that I can double major though

But you made me think and when I think, it usually pays off, it just takes a lot for me to think

It was the one with all the language techniques and all. Unfamiliar texts, the one you do all three of the years. My teacher said it was fine, as long as I got the main points

I'd only use my minor so that I could teach at least Year 11 English (seeing I'm going into teaching following my degrees). I'm not 100% sure what I want to major in yet for my BA... I'm thinking mathematics, but I feel like a BA in maths will be crap compared to a BSc in maths but my BSc major is geography, definitely. Pity I can't do double majors with a conjoint degree I could have 4 majors!

I know, I thought about it in the exam and realised you saved my exam the other questions couldn't be answered for Heavenly Creatures (well, the question about a hero/heroine could've, but that required thinking, I made quick decisions and stuck with them ). I'm sure I'll pass, yeah, but really, the Shakespeare one deserves a fail if we're looking at structure and unfamiliar prose and poetry was a lol, I scribbled down a few bullet points for each question and teacher agreed I would've got 3/4 right, and you need 3 to pass stoked about that!

If you asked me that last year, I would've laughed at you. I thought I was horrid at English last year, and I was only meant to do the internals this year. Now, though, it was one of the best decisions I ever made staying in English (I've done so bloody well this year compared to last year, where I nearly failed all my mocks!) and I'm considering perhaps doing a minor in English for my BA side of my degrees (seeing I'm doing a conjoint BA/BSc)... Doing the class really did change everything, I suppose I should tell my teacher that, she helped a lot

Shock horror, there wasn't a question on either production techniques OR symbols I don't think I wrote a terrible essay, but it was hardly 'good' (the question was about whether we agreed/disagreed that setting is an important concept in helping viewers respond to the film). I wrote about Christchurch, the Fourth World/Borovnia and the dock (ship scenes), so hopefully I pass

I wrote the worst essay I've ever written today though for Shakespeare - I stated things and then never spoke of it again, I poorly structured it, I repeated myself constantly... What's worse is I've already written an essay on the exact same topic before ohhhh well.

My Year 11 teacher used SEE because she's a very proper lady and a Christian, and she thought it was childish and rude... But we just used it as an excuse to constantly say 'SEX' in class, like the babyish Year 11's we were

Othello is actually quite easy, mainly because it's all focused around love and jealousy, and you can also pull out the old 'but was ___ really the innocent one?' so easily for Othello essays I said the wife of Othello was a terrible wife, even though she's the most innocent and kind person in the play

Anyway, I'm off now, thank you so much for your help! night!

Well, usually I just put my opinion in as 'this could be viewed by the audience as...', and the writer would normally take hint... I'm yet to put 'my viewpoint on this is...' like I saw in someone else's essay they do still teach SEX here, yes, but I haven't been told that since Year 11 fortunately, geography has taught me how to constantly give examples and explanations, seeing you're basically FORCED to do that in there

Churr for the website! I'll have a look now before bed.

It's not a very common novel at all, so it doesn't surprise me but it's very good for content, and it's not a half bad read either...

I don't even plan to read Shakespeare again after doing it this year

Ah, true, there is that... My teacher made us focus on more of the 'main' elements of the film though, as opposed to going really indepth about the setting and all, seeing, although it's important, it's not as important as something like the bath scenes and all that jazz. What you're talking about was in a few of her random rambles though, so at least I do follow what you're on about

Identifying contrasts and elaborating on them is something I really like to do, I also really like to shove my opinion into essays, something my teacher praised me for I really feel confident about my film essay now though, thanks to you

We did Fiela's Child, which is honestly the most bloody easy novel to write on... There's symbols galore, it's set during the times where there was black and white issues (the Anglo-Boer War), and it's in South Africa too. There's sooooo much to write on - character advancement, symbols, strong theme, there's contrasts galore... I'm happy we got that novel

And we did Othello, which also ain't too bad - love/jealousy is always easy to write about

I've got a handout about the post-murder/release events. No-one has seen Pauline for years, other than the suspicions that she's in Auckland. Even back in the diary entries though, they always said they'd both be authors

I called it "Lavomia" in my essay my sister said that Heavenly Creatures is ridiculously easy to analyse (seeing she did it too) compared to other movies we could've done...

Thanks! I managed to sneak the questions for the mock exams out of the teacher too

Oh, I mean, seeing it's based on a true story, the setting is insignificant and there's no real theme to the story, so it's really hard to write an essay on those two things, right?

I know sound/music are really important, particularly the Madame Butterfly and La Boheme pieces (if we're looking at individual ones), seeing they're kind of like the 'turning points' of the film.

And yeah, reality vs. fantasy is probably the only real theme in the film (I never thought of that! YOU ARE AWESOME), so talking about ship/bath scenes, symbols like the gemstone indicating the confusion between the worlds, Fourth World/Borovnia stuff appearing at Ilam, sex scene... You could make a decent essay out of reality vs. fantasy, I never thought of this, and it even mixes in with production techniques and all!

I think you just potentially gave me a brilliant essay god, I hope there's a theme topic in there now... Thank you so much! My question asking and your reply indirectly gave me a theme that I never thought of

I'm lucky for novel - no other school does our novel, so I could lie about what happens in the novel and the marker probably wouldn't know and Shakespeare is...Shakespeare, I'll just wing that one

Sorry, mind my babbling... I go into a weird mode during exams

Also, sorry for asking all these questions... But the ship scenes do count as symbols, right? Same with the bath scenes in a way (in my eyes, the bath scenes contrast the differences between Juliet and Pauline - Pauline is the 'evil' one and always looks dark, Juliet is the 'good' one and although she's crying in the last bath scene, she always looks 'bright').

Oh, and I've looked at ship scenes, of course (that's probably the second most important bit of the film ).

Seeing my sister and her boyfriend distracted me from study, I have only managed to start now, and shock horror, I've forgotten stuff and can't seem to find it

Pauline was Charles and Juliet was Deborah, right?

You can't write an essay on setting and/or theme for Heavenly Creatures too, right?

I keep thinking I'm missing something important I've studied production techniques and symbols... Anything else important in the film?

I don't like any of those three and I'd get killed in a Rammstein moshpit

Although I probably wasn't going to go anyway, now I'm definitely not going. The only act there I'm really gutted I'll miss out on are Crystal Castles, but I'm sure I'll live

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

That is a terrible lineup.

Maybe...after exams

But it's so long and Fiela's Child was the first book I've read in the last 4 years

I've only read the first quarter or so of the book, but from what I read, it was alright I just carried on writing notes about a dull book instead

When I suggested it to my teacher, she just said, "why would you want to do that?! That book is absolutely boring..." SUCH STRONG THEMES THOUGH.

I find it odd how they managed to get on with their lives. As horrible as it sounds, once I came into realisation about what happened, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself... I'm glad that they've both done something positive with their lives

With an easy movie though, comes a hard novel... We're doing Fiela's Child, and although it's not a bad book, I don't think it's that great for writing an essay on. I wanted to do 1984