Eat the Rich: Tragedy and Satire as Social Commentary
13ENGR Course DescriptionTeacher in Charge: Mrs N. Banwell.
Recommended Prior LearningTo thrive in this course, you need to be ready for a challenge. This isn't a casual class; it's an in-depth exploration that demands dedication and a high level of literacy.
You must have successfully completed Level 2 English or a similar literacy-rich subject. This background is essential for handling the advanced reading, complex texts, and analytical writing that the course requires.
This is a fast-paced course with a required reading list. Strong time management skills are not just helpful; they're a requirement. You will need to keep up with all assigned readings and be prepared to engage in critical discussions based on them.
If you're serious about deepening your understanding of storytelling and sharpening your critical thinking, and if you're prepared to put in the work, you'll find this course incredibly rewarding.
From grand mansions to grimy basements, from laughter to heartbreak- this course explores how storytellers use tragedy and satire to critique social systems and expose the absurdities and injustices of wealth and power. Students will examine a range of texts across time and medium to explore how inequality is dramatised, mocked, and challenged. Expect dark humour, devastating reversals, and characters who rise and fall at the mercy of class.
Students will:
Analyse the use of tragedy and satire as tools for social critique
Explore how themes of class, wealth, and injustice are developed across a range of texts
Write a critical analysis of how visual and written language features shape meaning and audience response
Present a persuasive argument about the consequences of injustice and inequality in storytelling.
Course Overview
Term 1
We begin by exploring how film exposes the hidden structures of wealth and power. Students will examine how tragedy and satire reveal inequality on screen, asking questions like: Who benefits? Who suffers? Whose voices are silenced? Alongside this, we’ll be introduced to different critical lenses (such as feminist, Marxist, or psychoanalytical approaches) to deepen our analysis and broaden perspectives. This term lays the foundation for making strong intertextual connections across a range of texts.
Standards covered:
AS91475: Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops,
sustains, and structures ideas
Credits: 6
AS91479: Develop an informed understanding of literature and/or language using critical texts
Credits: 4
AS91479: Respond critically to significant connections across texts, supported by evidence
Credits: 4
Term 2
This term focuses on writing as a form of resistance. Through the Writing Folio, students will experiment with voice and style to respond to themes of injustice, privilege, and survival. Alongside this creative work, we will continue to study texts that challenge the social order, building a repertoire of connections across stories that mock, mourn, and question class divides.
Standards covered:
AS91475: Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops,
sustains, and structures ideas
Credits: 6
AS91479: Respond critically to significant connections across texts, supported by evidence
Credits: 4
Term 3
This term is about bringing ideas to completion. Students will finalise and submit their Writing Folio and complete the Connections assessment, which asks them to make insightful links across a variety of texts. With these internals completed, attention turns towards preparing for the external standards. We will begin practising extended responses, and revisiting key written and visual texts in detail.
Standard covered:
AS91479: Respond critically to significant connections across texts, supported by evidence
Credits: 4
AS91475: Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops,
sustains, and structures ideas
Credits: 6
Term 4
In the final term, students will refine their ability to respond to texts under pressure. Revisiting the stories studied, they will ask: What is the cost of injustice? Can satire change minds? Why do we still turn to tragedy to understand suffering? The focus is on honing exam skills while also reflecting on the wider role of storytelling in exposing – and perhaps transforming – society.
Exam Preparation
AS91473: Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence
Credits: 4
OR
AS91472: Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence
Credits: 4
Career Pathways
Actor, Copywriter, Author, Journalist, Interpreter, Musician, Technical Writer, Editor, Early Childhood Teacher, Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Primary School Teacher, Kaiwhakaako Māori, Translator, Tertiary Lecturer, Private Teacher/Tutor, Youth Worker, Real Estate Agent, Secondary School Teacher, Teacher Aide, Security Analyst
Contributions and Equipment/StationeryThere are no course fees; however, the opportunity for voluntary English course-related trips will be offered.