Our Constructed Worlds: Media Environments
Teaching Guide - The Spaghetti Story
Length 02:33 min.
In 1957 the very proper BBC informed viewers that spaghetti grew on trees. Originally broadcast on BBC Panorama 1 April 1957.
Introduction
This video first appeared on BBC1, significantly, on the first of April in the late 1950s. As a travelogue or short documentary that presented the scenic and unique features of a particular place, in this case an unusually good spaghetti harvest in Switzerland, the form of this video was very familiar to audiences of that time. Using the credible devices of narration, folk music, and supporting images of peasants harvesting spaghetti, the video explains how spaghetti is grown, harvested, and celebrated. At the end of the item, the narrator, Britain’s most trusted BBC commentator, let the viewers in on the hoax and told them that spaghetti did not grow on trees, but came from Welsh mines.
Before Viewing
Do not tell students that this is a hoax.
1.What are the typical features of a documentary movie? Describe the typical sound of a documentary narrator’s voice.
2.What role does music play in many documentary movies?
3.What are the main purposes of a documentary movie? To educate? Persuade?
4.What makes documentary movies interesting?
5.Describe an exciting documentary you have seen.
6.What makes documentary movies believable?
Foci for Viewing
7.“The Spaghetti Story” uses acoustic mandolin, guitar, and strings in its soundtrack. How does this music help convince people of the authenticity of the movie?
8.At this point(s) do you think most people realize that they are watching a hoax? How does the movie remain believable before that point? Does it remain unbelievable after that point? Does it remain unbelievable after that point, or is it again credible from that point onward? Explain.
9.As you listen to the narration, discuss what it is about the voice that makes the hoax believable. Does the narrator’s voice ever sound exaggerated, or as though he is about to laugh? How effective is the voice as compared to the visuals at convincing viewers of the believability of the origins of spaghetti? Which scene seems most convincing? Which statement seems most convincing?
10.How important are the costumes in convincing viewers? How effectively does the narration guide the viewer’s perceptions? How effective is the use of black and white imagery in convincing viewers?
After Viewing
11.Examine the text of the narration (see question 12), and identify words, phrases, and sentences that help to make the hoax convincing. If the narrator’s British voice was replaced by an American or Canadian voice, which words or phrases would have to be re-written to match the new cultural environment? Explain.
12.The following text is the narration for “The Spaghetti Story”:
It isn’t only in Britain that spring this year has taken everyone by surprise. Here, on the Turcino, on the borders of Switzerland and Italy, the slopes overlooking LakeLugano have already burst into flower at least a fortnight earlier than ususal. But what, you may ask, has the early arrival of bees and blossoms have to do with food? Well, it’s simply that the past winter, one of the coldest in living memory, has had its effect in other ways as well. Most importantly, it has resulted in an exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop.
The last two weeks of March are an anxious time for the spaghetti farmer. There’s always a chance of a late frost which, while not entirely ruining the crop, generally impairs the flavour and makes it difficult for him to obtain top prices on world markets. But now those dangers are over and the harvest goes forth.
Spaghetti cultivation here is Switzerland is not, of course, anything like the tremendous scale of the Italian industry. Many of you, I am sure, will have seen pictures of the vast spaghetti plantations in the Po Valley. For the Swiss, however, it tends to be more of a family affair. Another reason why this may be a bumper year lies in the virtual disappearance of the spaghetti weevil, the tiny creature whose depredations have caused much concern in the past. After picking, the spaghetti is laid out to dry in the warm Alpine sun.
Many people are puzzled by the fact that spaghetti is produced at such uniform length, but this is the result of many years of patient endeavour by plant breeders who succeeded in producing the perfect spaghetti.
And now the harvest is marked by a traditional meal. Toasts are drunk from those boccolinos and the waiters enter, bearing the ceremonial dish. And it is, of course, spaghetti – picked earlier in the day, dried in the sun, and so brought from garden to table at the very peak of condition. For those who love this dish, there’s nothing like real homegrown spaghetti.
Where does the narration anticipate the viewer’s doubts or objections, and explain them away?
13.This movie was made in the 1950s and was first broadcast on April Fool’s Day. Both movie technology and documentary languages and styles have changed significantly since that time. Research some recent award-winning short documentary movies and note the documentary styles they use. If someone wanted to update “The Spaghetti Story” – to remake it for today’s audiences – how might they have to change the style and/or content of the movie? How might they have to change the language and style of the narration? Suggest and/or develop ideas for other April Food’s Day hoaxes: beer nuts, beef-steak mines, money growing on trees, streets paved with gold, boneless chickens, french fries, pork rinds, onion blossoms, elephant ears, beaver tails, tar babies, lady fingers, Froot Loops cereal, Honeycomb cereal, Joe Louis snack cakes, etc. How would you structure the movie? What images would you include? What narration would you write?
14.Watch another documentary hoax to see how well it uses the documentary structure and styles. Is it as good a hoax as “The Spaghetti Story”? Two good documentary hoaxes are In Search of the Edge and The Swamp Gas Factor, mock documentaries by Scott Barrie (McNabb & Connelly, 60 Briarwood Avenue, Mississauga, ON, CanadaL5G 3N6).
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