Saint Elizabeth High School

1530 34th Avenue Oakland, CA 94601-3024

Telephone: 510.532.8947
FAX:
510.532.9754

Parental Permission Form

Dear Parents and Guardians:
I am very excited to be teaching your students this year! In order to bridge the gap
between what students experience on an everyday basis with what they are learning in
their classes, there are some media pieces and content I would like to share with them.
This Film and Literature course allows students to build their critical thinking and
analytical skills by studying films as a form of literature-a form of visual expression
meant to reveal different aspects of society and raise awareness of various racial, political
and socioeconomic issues.
This course will study the many issues in our society through the lens of films and related
written texts. The various movies will address social, historical, economic, political, and
artistic issues that are relevant to students lives in modern America.
***In keeping with the Catholic Social Teachings, I will not show rated R movies
in their entirety. I will only show certain clips which have educational value related
to a central theme discussed in class.
The following is a list of movies that I will choose from throughout the year. Potential
movies include:
1. Hoop Dreams
11. Groundhog Day
21. Bend It Like Beckham
2. The Truman Show
12. Stranger Than Fiction
22. The Help
3. Coach Carter
13. Up
23. Big
4. Gridiron Gang
14. Wag The Dog*
24. Gattaca
5. Shawshank Redemption* 15. Footloose
25. Amexicano
6. Great Debaters
16. The Green Mile
26. A Better Life
7. Remember the Titans
17. The Pursuit of Happyness 27. Norma Rae
8. Finding Forrester
18. The Blind Side
28. Harlan County, USA
9. Life is Beautiful
19. Glory Road
29. Blood Diamond*
10. The Matrix
20. Star Wars Trilogy
30. The Brave One*
*Indicates an R rated movie
Should a parent/guardian disapprove of any of the listed movies and would like to have
their child exempt from the film, an alternate movie and corresponding lesson will be

Secondary Form Revised August 2014

Saint Elizabeth High School

1530 34th Avenue Oakland, CA 94601-3024

Telephone: 510.532.8947
FAX:
510.532.9754

provided for the student. An alternate movie that is not Rated R will be chosen from the
list.

These materials, movies and/or YouTube clips have educational value and have been
selected for viewing by the class because:

They bring up issues of free speech and race relations in modern times. They are
global and local issues (gender issues, racism, classism, homophobia, poverty)
that connect students to other cultures and communities.
They offer lessons on how to recognize satire/irony in society so as to provoke
thoughtfulness about the culture in which we live.
Some adult language, images of mild violence and some adult content are
included (issues of immigration, media bias, educational inequality, social
structures).

Movie Rating Descriptions:

R = Restricted These films contain some adult material. They get an R rating because
of the films use of language, theme, or violence.
PG-13 = Parents Strongly Cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children
under 13 years old.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding this
issue (jrollolazo@stliz-hs.org).
This document must be signed by the parent/guardian before a student can view any
of the material in Film and Literature class by Monday, August 15th, 2016.
Alternative lessons will be given to students whose parents disallow their child from
viewing the content.
I, ______________________________________, give my permission for
(Parent/Guardian Name)
________________________________________ to watch the movies listed on this
form (Students Name)
_________________________________________________________ _________
(Signature)
(Date)
Secondary Form Revised August 2014