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Online Teacher's Guide to Almost a Woman On September 15, 2002, EXXONMOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE'S AMERICAN COLLECTION proudly presents its last, and perhaps the most challenging ALT production, Almost a Woman.
The film, the first Hispanic story ever to air on MASTERPIECE THEATRE, has won the SOL Award of Excellence this year at the CineSol Festival held annually in Brownsville, Texas. Producer Anne Hopkins and director Betty
Kaplan went to Brownsville to receive the award. The story, unlike the other four selections in the Collection, is non-fiction, a memoir of Puerto Rican immigrant, Esmeralda Santiago. The outer frame of
the story is a common one: A young girl comes to America and copes with assimilating into her new environment. The memoir and film both focus on Santiago's struggles with adapting to her new home, the language, the
people, and finding a balance between her Puerto Rican home culture and the American culture she experiences in New York. Equally as important, the story revolves around the theme of Negi, as her family calls her,
becoming "Almost a Woman." Newcomer Ana Maria Lagasca as a young Negi was flanked on either side by seasoned actors Wanda De Jesus and Miriam Colón, who play her mother and her grandmother, respectively. Santiago wrote
the screenplay of her memoir, and was on hand for much of the filming. She wanted to make sure that her story "would be authentic and not be 'Hollywood-ized.'" Ms. Santiago goes into detail about her perceptions of
making her memoir into a film in an exclusive interview for the site. More production links are offered below. Teacher Ann Gann encapsulates the film's intent in her review:
Almost A Woman
is clearly a story of personal triumph: a Puerto Rican teenager successfully transitions into a new environment and to young adulthood. Santiago's memoir of her time in New York City is emotionally charged. The conflicts of two cultures, family trials, and inner turmoil as well as the bond of a close family - all surge through Negi. Yet it is the struggle with these conflicts and the support of family that mold within Negi the strength to become her own person. The audience is swept from one scene to the next as Negi wrestles to find a balance between her past and her present. The emotional pull of Puerto Rico and her father creates a double-edged sword: a wish to return to her innocence and a source of strength and inspiration. The challenges of a new language and life style juxtaposed with the opportunity for a better life through education. Authenticity is found throughout the movie: the Latino cast, speaking Spanish/English with a Puerto Rican accent, the sixties style of clothes and apartments, and the family obligation and love. While
Almost A Woman is the story of Esmeralda Santiago, a Puerto Rican, we cannot ignore the universal theme of coming of age. Teenagers of all times and all races endure hardships of varying
degrees. The power of this movie is found in the discovery of self and the dominance of the human spirit. Young people will identify with Negi as she is torn between two worlds and as she seeks to find her
true voice amid the confusion. Negi's story is one that offers hope to those on the arduous journey of self-discovery. --Ann Gann, English teacher, Clinton High School, Clinton, TN |
The following links will guide you through the resources available on the site, many of which are also offered in Spanish.
Production Information The production section offers information on the creative process of turning this memoir into a movie
unique to this site. There are several interviews with key members of the production that lend insight into the film process in general, and this film's production in particular.
Producers Marian Rees and Ann Hopkins
discuss the production process of this non-fiction selection in the ALT film series. Leading an almost entirely Hispanic production staff, critically acclaimed Latina film director,
Betty Kaplan offers her interpretation of the themes in Almost a Woman,
and defines her goals as the director in bringing Santiago's story to life on film. Art director Linda Berger
worked with Santiago to make sure that the sets were as authentic as possible. Ana Maria Lagasca, in her first lead role, talks candidly about the
auditioning, the rehearsing, her interaction with Santiago, and the experience as a whole. Because the film ends with Santiago's high school graduation, teachers can use the film as a supplement to the reading of
the memoir, and/or a springboard for discussion on creative choices made by the screenwriter, producers, directors. In keeping with the producers' choice to have the film predominantly in Spanish with English
subtitles, all of these interviews are also offered online in Spanish and in pdf format.Background Materials Teachers can print out the Introduction to Esmeralda Santiago essay by teacher Dr. Margaret Ellington
either in English or Spanish as a good starting point before reading the memoir or viewing the film. Also visit the web sites in the gateway or visit Santiago's "official" web site at esmeraldasantiago.com
to get current information on her public appearances and how to obtain her published work. The image gallery has images of the cast of Almost a Woman
that teachers can put up in their classes as they begin to read the novel, or as they watch the film. Prior to watching the film, teachers should make sure to download Susan Thurman's Viewing Guide, which,
among other things, offers pre-viewing and post-viewing discussion questions for all aspects of the memoir and film, an extensive vocabulary list for both English and Spanish words used in the memoir, and a
resource guide for more information. Lesson Plans The film begins when Negi is thirteen and ends before she leaves home as a young adult, which allows
both middle and high school students access to this wonderful coming of age story. Teachers can introduce the genre of the memoir with teacher Ellen Rawson's lesson. In both the memoir and the film,
Santiago brings forth the impact of poetry in young Negi's life. As a bridge from her past and her future, Santiago weaves her internal struggle into the plot line of her life in both the script and the memoir through
her use of poetry. Read an extensive background essay on Puerto Rican poetry in English or Spanish, then select from several lessons offered on poetry:
Decima Poetry
The Corrido Poetry
The Poetry Slam
The themes in Almost a Woman are universal: growing up, parent-child relationships, alienation, and
assimilation of cultures. Several lesson plans focus on these and can be used in conjunction with the memoir or the film. In the essay, Emeralda's Dream, teacher Sue Huetteman illuminates many of the themes
common to Santiago's work, pulling quotes from several of her writings. In the companion lesson, students learn to extract themes from Santiago's work, and begin to create their own memoirs. The Thematic Threads lesson
shows students how to use the close reading model to extract key language from the memoir to create a thematic microcosm of Santiago's work. The Mother/Daughter Relationships lesson asks students
to examine this key relationship in the memoir, between Mami and Negi. Looking at the differences in Mami's words and actions, students then attempt to gain perspective into their own relationships. Finally, the Santiago and Rodriguez: Different Stories, Common Ground lesson offers teachers a bridge for teaching Almost a Woman along with the widely taught autobiography, Richard Rodriguez' Hunger of Memory.
Teachers can have students compare their reactions to the film with the student submissions in the online literary magazine, Between the Lines
. This magazine, entirely run, programmed and written by students has put up their last issue for this film, appropriately themed, "Two Worlds, One Life." Kudos to these
students for creating such amazing work for all the ALT films. |
