English Studies - Film Study

On The Road Module

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 2013 American adventure comedy-drama film
directed, co-produced by and starring Ben Stiller and written by Steve Conrad. The
film also stars Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean
Penn. This is the second film adaptation of James Thurber's 1939 short story "The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, following the 1947 version.
Who is Walter Mitty?
1. What does each element of the mise-en-scene say about Walter as a person? (Use the
boxes to explain.)
2. If you wanted to make Walter into a completely different character, what would you
change in this shot to achieve this?
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Analysing shots from the film

THINK ABOUT:

● Angle of camera
● How realistic the shot is
● What the shot establishes
about who Walter wants to
be

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 THINK ABOUT:

•Background
•Foreground
•Setting
•Light and shadow
•What this shot says about
Walter’s job

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THINK ABOUT:

● What this shot says about

the relationship between
Walter and Ted
● How emotion is shown
● Body language and costume

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THINK ABOUT:

● Why Walter is imagining this

● What the ‘board’ relates to
in Walter’s life
● Why Walter would be in the
centre of the shot

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THINK ABOUT:

● Background
● Foreground
● Placement of each character
● The direction Cheryl is facing

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THINK ABOUT:

● Background
● Foreground
● Where the camera is
focused and why
● The size and placement of
the magazine cover

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 THINK ABOUT:

● The direction Walter is looking

in
● Where the camera has been
placed and why
● The contrast between Walter
and the photo

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THINK ABOUT:

● The size of the shot and why it

is this size
● Walter’s placement in the shot
● Why and how is this shot
funny?

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THINK ABOUT:

● How this shot establishes

where Walter is
● The difference between this
environment and where Walter
is from
● The size of the shot
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THINK ABOUT:

● Background
● Foreground
● Facial expression
● The direction Walter is looking
and how this affects the
audience

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THINK ABOUT:

● Where the camera is focused

● Where the camera is placed
● How a connection is
established between these two
characters

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 THINK ABOUT:

● Camera angle
● Walter’s facial expression
● Movement and action
● Where the camera is placed

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THINK ABOUT:

● Camera angle
● Cheryl’s body language
● What can and can’t be seen in
the background, and what this
might symbolise

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THINK ABOUT:

● Camera angle
● Shot size
● Movement and action
● How danger has been visually
depicted
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THINK ABOUT:

● What does this shot establish

about the new location
● What does the lens flare/light
symbolise
● Shot size

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THINK ABOUT:

● Shot size
● What is featured in this shot
and why
● Symbolism of the map

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 THINK ABOUT:

● Where Walter has been placed

in the shot and why
● Background
● What the road might symbolise
or say about the themes

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THINK ABOUT:

● How the environment differs

from Walter’s home
● Walter’s body language and
placement in the shot
● How action is suggested

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THINK ABOUT:

● Foreground
● Background
● Where the camera has been
placed – whose point of view is
this?
● Midground
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THINK ABOUT:

● Foreground
● Background
● Where things have been placed
in the shot
● How action is suggested

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THINK ABOUT:

● The use of writing on the

screen
● Contrast between cake and
weapon
● Facial expression
● Background

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 THINK ABOUT:

● The use of writing on the

screen
● Walter’s placement and actions
● Shot size
● The placement of the other
characters

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THINK ABOUT:

● The use of writing on the

screen
● Walter’s facial expression
● The use of props to establish
weather conditions

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THINK ABOUT:

● The use of writing on the

screen – why have the words
moved apart like this?
● Walter’s placement in the shot
● Background
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THINK ABOUT:

● Shot size
● Camera angle
● Walter’s placement and size in
the shot
● Environment

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THINK ABOUT:

● Comparison of Walter to Sean

in costume and body language
● Props used to establish the sort
of person Sean is

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 THINK ABOUT:

● How costuming, body language

and facial expression has been
used to show Walter’s
transformation

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THINK ABOUT:

● Shot size.
● Light and shadow.
● Symbolism of the setting sun.
● How movement is shown?

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 THINK ABOUT:

● How costuming, body language

and facial expression has been
used to show Walter’s
transformation?
● Where Walter is looking and
why?

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THINK ABOUT:

● How this shot compares to the

shot at the beginning that
shows Walter on his computer
in the apartment
● The presence of other people
● The different location

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 THINK ABOUT:

● Facial expression and body

language
● The way they lean in towards
each other
● Shot size
● What’s in focus and what isn’t

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THINK ABOUT:

● The symbolism of this cover

● What this shot says about
Walter
● Shot size
● Camera angle
● Arrangement of the magazines

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Walter Mitty’s Journeys

Plot Walter’s
journeys on
the map
•New York, United
States of America
•Nuuk, Greenland
•Eyjafjallajokull,
Iceland
•New York, United
States of America
•Yemen (unseen in
film but referred to)
•Himalayas,
Afghanistan
•Los Angeles, United
States of America
•New York, United
States of America
 JOURNEYS DETAILS

Physical

Mental

Emotional

Spiritual

Imaginative

Some challenges Walter Mitty faces include:

● Agonising over whether he should send an online ‘wink’ to Cheryl.
● Getting on board the helicopter with a drunken pilot in Greenland.
● Jumping into the boat from the helicopter and potentially facing
sharks and freezing temperatures.
● Running for the bike before the ‘horny Chileans’ can get to it first.
● Braving a volcano so that he can find Sean.
● Travelling into a restricted country (Ungoverned Afghanistan) where
there are warlords and dangerous mountains.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
CONCEPT OF TRAVEL CHALLENGES OR OBSTACLES FACED BY WALTER MITTY OUTCOME

Travel can have a profound

impact on an individual’s life.
Walter Mitty’s Transformation
WALTER MITTY BEFORE HIS TRAVELS

WALTER MITTY DURING HIS FIRST INITIAL TRAVELS

WALTER MITTY DURING HIS SECOND LEG OF TRAVELS

DESCRIBE WALTER MITTY’S OVERALL TRANSFORMATION DUE TO HIS TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AND THE VARIOUS
JOURNEYS HE UNDERTOOK

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“What separates the people we are from the people we want to

be?”
‘Things’ that prevent Walter
The person Walter Mitty is Who Walter Mitty wants to
Mitty from being who he
(initially in the film) be (daydream persona)
wants to be
Reflection questions:
Is there a stark contrast between who Walter Mitty is initially, and who he wants to be (the
type of person he is in his daydreams)? Why do you think this is?
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Is there a significant difference between who you want to be and who you would like to be?
Why or why not?

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What do you need to do to overcome these obstacles? Do you think this will lead you to
undertake a journey of your own? What type of journey?
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Describe your initial understanding of the concept of travel and how it has transformed since
viewing “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”.

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David Bowie – A Space Oddity
Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God's love be with you
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Lift off
This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you...
Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Drawing connections
Line, word, or idea from song Connection to film What made you think this?

Assessment: Interview with your teacher

YOU MAY USE THIS SCAFFOLD TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR ONE ON ONE INTERVIEW WITH YOUR TEACHER . DOT
POINTS ONLY SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN THE TABLE NEXT TO EACH QUESTION.
Questions Dot points
In the beginning of the film, why do
you think that Walter Mitty did not
consider himself as having done
anything noteworthy or
mentionable (e-Harmony
questions)?

What challenges or obstacles does

Walter Mitty have to overcome
throughout the film?

Describe the transformation that

Walter Mitty undergoes during this
film.

When Walter Mitty returns home

from his journeys, what is the
overall outcome? Do you believe
that the overall
outcome/transformation has been a
positive one or a negative one?

What do you believe to be the most

transformative type of journey that
Walter Mitty undertook and why?

Overall, the film poses the question:

what separates the people we are
from the people we want to be?
How does this question relate to
your understanding of the concept
of travel?

How has this unit shaped your

understanding of the concept of
travel and what role, if any, did this
film play in developing that
understanding?