EXPOSURE • Curriculum Guide by CAFILM

CURRICULUM GUIDE

GRADES: 7-12

TABLE OF CONTENTS Instructor Resources A Letter to Educators Discussion Questions Interpretive Essay Prompts Additional Resources Standards About CFI

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Student Handouts About the Film Contextual Information Viewing Activities Extension Activity

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Dear Educators, Thank you for attending the California Film Institute’s DocLands screening of Exposure. Our DocLands Education screenings focus on increasingly relevant issues of global empathy and active citizenship, and we believe this film will be a powerful and engaging text to use in your classroom. We know that this year is likely one of the most challenging of your professional career, and we hope that this film and study guide can support the incredible work you’re already doing. These curricular materials are designed to get students to engage deeply with film by the common-core aligned skills of developing an evidence-based interpretation of a text. The discussion questions on the following page offer a variety of options for fostering small-group or whole-class dialogue. If your students are already familiar with a process of writing evidence-based interpretive essays, consider using one of the suggested essay prompts for a short writing piece. Additionally, individual handouts for before, during, and after viewing are provided as stand-alone activities to be used individually or in sequence. Thank you so much for your tireless work! Sincerely, The CFI Education Team

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.

What are the central issues addressed in this documentary? What has changed between the start and the end?

What are some surprising facts you learned from this film? How do these facts shape your understanding of the central issue of the film?

Does this documentary feel objective and/or balanced in its presentation of the issues? Why or why not?

What did you see in this film that reminds you of other stories from your life or other stories you know?

Were there any perspectives relevant to the central issues of the documentary that were not included? How would those voices have changed the film?

What are some background details you noticed in this film? How do these details provide information about the time or place in which this film was made?

Consider other films you’ve seen. What makes this film unique or important? What are some connections between this film and other films?

Who do you think is the intended audience for this film? How could you tell?

What did the different personalities and backgrounds contribute to the expedition to make it unique?

10. What barriers did the women have to overcome to reach True North? 11. What unique production challenges did this film present to the filmmakers?

INTERPRETIVE ESSAY PROMPTS 1.

Throughout the expedition, did the participants face more internal barriers (such as physical and mindset limitations) or external barriers (such as environmental challenges)?

What was the most valuable or important outcome from this expedition to the north?

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Arctic Sea Ice Is the Thinnest and Youngest It’s Been in 60 Years https://youtu.be/eFFvJYpg4xk A video from NASA on the decline of sea ice in the Arctic and around the world. Five Facts to Help You Understand Sea Ice https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2021/five-facts-to-help-you-understand-sea-ice A NASA article on the characteristics and importance of sea ice. Encounters at the End of the World https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093824 A 2007 documentary on life at the other extreme of the globe: the South Pole.

STANDARDS CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. HS-ESS3-1 Earth and Human Activity Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity. HS-ESS3-5 Earth and Human Activity Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.

ABOUT CFI The nonprofit California Film Institute celebrates and promotes film as art and education through year-round programming at the independent Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, presentation of the acclaimed Mill Valley Film Festival and DocLands Documentary Film Festival, as well as cultivation of the next generation of filmmakers and audiences through CFI Education programs. Follow the California Film Institute on social media @cafilm @californiafilminstitute @cafilminstitute californiafilminstitute Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

Name:_________________________________________

ABOUT THE FILM Against all odds and polar advice, a mirthful Muslim chaplain, a shy French biologist, a defiant Qatari princess and eight other women from the Arab World and the West attempt to ski across the melting Arctic sea ice to the North Pole. Director Holly Morris and her crew capture the struggle of these audacious explorers, led by veteran polar explorer Felicity Aston, as they navigate everything from frostbite and polar bear threats, to sexism and self-doubt. Ultimately, Exposure is an intimate story of resilience, survival and global citizenry in what may be the last-ever over ice expedition to the North Pole. Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: HOLLY MORRIS

For two decades Holly Morris has told, and championed, pro-woman, cross-cultural stories on the global stage. She is an internationally known filmmaker, author, and presenter (Adventure Divas, Globe Trekker, Treks in a Wild World). Her last feature film, The Babushkas of Chernobyl (“Beautiful, affectionate and stirring”–The New York Times) premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, where it won the Jury Award for Directing, the first of nearly two dozen awards received before being broadcast world-wide. The film, based on her print journalism, is about a defiant community of women who live inside Ukraine’s radioactive “Exclusion Zone. ” The story is also the basis of her popular TED Talk.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: SEA ICE AND THE NORTH POLE

The North Pole is the northernmost point on the planet Earth. Located within the Arctic Ocean, it is not on any permanent land mass. Thus, all expeditions to the North Pole are excursions across frozen sea ice. The total area of the Arctic sea ice varies over time, making exploration difficult and sometimes unpredictable. NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado use satellites to observe sea ice extent. Over the past several decades, Arctic sea ice extent has been steeply declining year-round, especially in late summer when it reaches its minimum for the year. Sea ice forms in the cold winter months, when seawater freezes into massive blocks of floating ice, then partially melts away in the warm summer months. This cycle repeats every year. NASA began tracking sea ice levels in 1978, and though figures vary from year to year, the Arctic is losing sea ice year-round. This is a problem because sea ice plays an important role in reflecting sunlight back into space, regulating ocean and air temperature, circulating ocean water, and maintaining animal habitats. Unlike glacial melting, sea ice melt does not contribute greatly to sea level rise. Because it forms from the seawater it floats on, it behaves much like an ice cube in a glass of water. Melting land ice such as the Greenland and Antarctice ice sheets, do contribute to sea level rise.

A still image visualizing Arctic sea ice on Sept. 16, 2021, when the ice appeared to reach its yearly minimum extent. On this date, the extent of the ice was 4.72 million square miles (1.82 million square kilometers). Credits: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Adapted from “Five Facts to Help You Understand Sea Ice” (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2021/five-facts-to-help-you-understand-sea-ice)

Questions to Consider: 1.

What unique challenges would be present when attempting an expedition and film production to the North Pole?

Though it doesn’t contribute to sea level rise, how might changes to Arctic sea ice levels affect other parts of the globe?

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

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Consider: If you were to embark on a polar expedition, what skills would you bring to the team? What personal limitations or challenges would you need to overcome?

In your community/culture, are these traits associated with any particular gender identity? If so, which?

Why would this trait be important?

What skills and qualities would be most helpful on a polar expedition? List three.

Directions: Exposure follows a group of eleven women on an expedition to the North Pole. Before watching, fill out this anticipation guide to consider the demands of such a journey. After responding, discuss your responses with your peers.

EXPEDITION SKILLS ANTICIPATION GUIDE

BEFORE VIEWING:

CULTURAL

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

PERSONAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

Directions: 1. As you watch the film, use this notecatcher to track the various barriers that the women must overcome on their North Pole expedition. 2. Place each barrier into a category of either personal barriers (such as individual physical limitations or mental obstacles), cultural barriers (such as culturally reinforced gender roles/expectations) or environmental barriers (such as weather and climate conditions in the North Pole). 3. Note who faced this barrier (see reference for individual names) and describe what that barrier was.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS NOTECATCHER

DURING VIEWING:

NATAŠA BRIŠKI Slovenia

Oman

Russia

Cyprus

France

SUSAN GALLON

STEPHANIE SOLOMONIDES

Sweden

IDA OLSSON

OLGA RUMYANTSEVA

ANISA AL RAISSI

Manchester, U.K.

MISBA KHAN

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

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At the end of the film, reflect: Of the eleven women on the expedition, who reminded you the most of yourself? In what ways?

Kuwait

LAMEES NIJEM

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

ASMA AL THANI

MARIAM HAMIDADDIN

Expedition Team Leader

FELICITY ASTON

EXPEDITION MEMBERS

AFTER VIEWING:

RESPONSE QUESTIONS Directions: Respond to each question, referring to specific scenes, events, and dialogue from the film as evidence for your interpretation. 1. What ended up being the most important skills, traits, or attitudes for the success of the group? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How would this expedition (and film) have been different if the group had been a mix of genders? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What do you think the women gained by participating in the expedition? What other benefits arose? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What challenges arose during the expedition that resulted from or indicated the influence of climate change in the Arctic? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

AFTER VIEWING: FOUR C’S

Directions: Respond to each prompt in complete sentences, citing specific scenes, events, and dialogue from the film as evidence for your response.

CONNECTIONS

CHALLENGE

What connections do you draw between the film and your own life or your other learning?

What ideas, positions, or assumptions do you want to challenge or debate in the film?

CONCEPTS

CHANGES

What key concepts or ideas do you think are important and worth holding on to from the film?

What changes in attitudes, thinking, or action are suggested by the film, either for you or others?

Adapted from Harvard Project Zero’s Think Routine Toolbox: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/the-4-cs Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

EXTENSION ACTIVITY: WRITE A SEQUEL Directions: The events in Exposure represent a unique experience in the lives of the participants and also capture the Arctic at a pivotal moment in global climate history. This activity asks you to consider what will happen after these events, for both the women in the film and the world in general. Write an imagined “sequel” that takes place ten years after their 2018 expedition at a reunion between the women in the film. Things to consider: • • • • •

How will the women’s lives have unfolded after (and in response to) their trek to the North Pole? What events from the film would they be eager to reminisce about? What might this group do for a reunion? Would they attempt a second expedition? Where? How will the climate have changed in ten years? How would this affect the landscape and biodiversity? What changes will have taken place in international relations? Think of how international politics impacted their original expedition.

Write your sequel as either a short story, a play, or a film script. If you have time, consider performing your piece for your classmates or acting it out in a video.

Exposure Curriculum Guide | CFI Education

EXPOSURE • Curriculum Guide

Articles inside

Contextual Information

Extension Activity

About the Film