A project that evaluates powerful female characters in different futuristic settings and allows the girls to learn about and then create their own utopia or dystopia.
Learning Outcome: Use fictional women in futuristic settings to understand the leadership characteristics of female heroines.
Materials:
Access to the internet to show the girls clips from different utopias/dystopias
Poster-board or large pieces of paper
Art supplies
Project Run-Time: 1 Meeting
Step #1:
To begin, have a discussion with girls about what a dystopia and a utopia are. Once they feel comfortable with the distinction, introduce the girls to heroines in a variety of utopian and dystopian settings through online movie clips. The following are ones we used:
Dystopias:
Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3PJ3Du_zDc
Beatrice Prior (Tris) (Divergent): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klGMA7PHWhw
Teresa Agnes (The Maze Runner): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR5JeCpxR8c
Utopias:
Neytiri (Avatar): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ3kNVMLUi4
Rey (Star Wars): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE9KNM6DbWs
Eva (Wall-e): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnv-iFhdlqE
note: it can be hard to get a full-story/concept understanding from just the movie clips. The movie clips are more to introduce setting, so it can be beneficial to talk to the girls about the plot-lines of each story before introducing the clip.
After each clip, discuss it with the girls using the following questions:
What is the setting like in each of these movies? What does the world look like?
What are the female characters like in these settings? What features/personalities/characteristics do they have in common? How do they differ? Draw on your prior knowledge if you have any!
What aspects do you like about these settings? Dislike? What would you like to incorporate into your own futuristic stories?
Is this a setting you’d like to live in?
Step #2:
Have the girls create their own dystopia or utopia! In order to funnel their creations, we used the following guidelines for their creation:
A drawing of your futuristic city
Is it a Utopia or Dystopia? Explain what a utopia/dystopia is on your poster
Descriptions or drawings of the characters who live in your futuristic city
The type of food that is eaten in the future
The types of jobs people have in the future
The roles of women in your society- what do they do? Where do they work? How do they live?
What is the role of technology in your future?
Step #3:
Have the girls present their utopia or dystopia with the rest of the group.
