Gothic in Film and Media

A sequence of 3-4 lessons for KS3 students on Gothic conventions in film, Frankenstein in film and other Gothic-influenced film characters.

The scheme of work begins with a re-introduction to the Gothic and its key conventions. The lesson moves on to look at stills from Beauty and the Beast, posters for Tim Burton films and clips from Coraline and The Corpse Bride, explaining why each is gothic.

Following this, the lesson moves on to re-examine the character of Frankenstein’s creature, first in an extract from the novel and then in clips from the original 1931 film and Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film. The aim here is to consider how our perception of Frankenstein’s monster is perhaps more influenced by media presentations of the character.

The third lesson features a carousal activity which allows students to create ‘files’ for different potentially gothic characters including Sparky from Frankenweenie, Lurch from The Adams Family, Edward Scissorhands and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. The lesson ends with a chance for a student to plan their own gothic character which they could they describe in the following lesson.