The Scarlet Letter 2003
Distributed by Discovery Channel School
Produced by Discovery Channel School
Director n/a
DVD, color, 60 min.
Jr. High - Sr. High
Literature, Drama, Writing, Ethics
Date Entered: 05/21/2004
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Ph.D., Head, Web and Digitization Services, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las VegasThis DVD video is an overview of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story The Scarlet Letter. It is geared toward the secondary school market (6-12 grades). On the main menu after loading, there are five submenus. "Play Video" is a 52 minute narrated discussion and dramatization of The Scarlet Letter, that attempts to place the events and meaning of the story into some type of meaning for contemporary students. "Video Index" has 4 parts totaling 14 minutes, that summarizes Homer's The Odyssey and The Iliad, relating Homer's characters with those in "The Scarlet Letter." "Thematic Units" has six sections totaling 55 minutes, dividing up the video portion for study in the classroom. "Slide Show" is a quick, seven-slide show that provides a brief summary of the outline of the story. Finally, "Teacher Resources" basically directs teachers to an online lesson plan at the Discovery Channel School website.
While this is an interesting video adaptation of this story, it is mainly meant to be a replacement for reading the story itself (kind of like a Cliff Notes in video). There is very little content for teachers to use, even though there is a Teacher Resources section. There is a small guide to the DVD video included with the disc, which provides teachers with questions to ask students as they watch the video in class. This DVD video is good as a quick look at this story, but for real discussion, it is best to read the story itself rather than listen to an interpretation or adaptation of its content.