Today's class was spent down in the cafeteria snarfin' down popcorn watching Tim Burton's movie Big Fish. We discussed the importance of hyperbole and idiom in the movie as well as its layered plot. Students are supposed to go home and when their big brother claims to have "Stomped a 15 foot cliff", reply to your brother, "Awww, that's just a fish story -- you didn't stomp a 15 foot cliff -- you fell off of a three foot rock! "
In other words, 'telling a fish story' is an when a person uses exaggeration (hyperbole) when they tell a story; this was, of course, a central idea of the movie Big Fish.
Next day we'll do a post-viewing activity on Big Fish in groups, probably in the cafeteria again.
To read up on and learn more about the movie Big Fish click here
