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What comes to mind when

you hear the term Folklore?

What is Folklore?
The term folklore is normally used to refer to the unwritten traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and
practices of cultures and other groups, which have been shared and preserved overtime.

A fairytale is a story that includes fairies, goblins or other mythical

We know that folklore includes various beliefs, but
how do we know the difference between a myth

Fairytale

creatures or events. Fairytales are often created to entertain children,

and most traditionally have a happy ending.

and a tale? How can we tell a legend apart from a

A legend is a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as

fairytale? What about the difference between an

urban legend, and a normal legend? The
definitions on this page will tell you how to set

Legend

historical; however the events within the legend are often

unverified.

these terms apart from each other

A myth, similar to the legend, is a traditional story, typically ancient,

Urban legend

Myth

dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes. Myths often

revolve around explaining ideas of the natural world, or outlining the
psychology, customs or ideals of society.

An urban legend is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been
believed by their tellers to be true. Urban legends do not necessarily originate from an urban area.
Rather, the term is used to differentiate modern legend from traditional folklore.

Tale

A tale is a narrative, true or fictional, or a story. Tales are often imaginative.

A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true or

factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events.

Four things tall tales all have in common

The main character of most tall tales is seen as a hero,
who is a regular, every-day person except for the fact
that he or she can go about their daily duties with
amazing speed, strength or talent.
The character has a problem or issue that he or she
solves in a unique, often unbelievable way.
Details of the tall tale are so exaggerated that
there is no way possible that they could have
really happened.

Did you know?

Tall tales were first told in America by settlers who
made their homes in the American wilderness. During

The hero (or main character) uses the same everyday

these times, the settlers did not have access to

language and acts just like his or her commoner

entertainment such as television or film, so they were

friends, family or acquaintances.

responsible for entertaining themselves, often

through story-telling.

Find one article from the newspaper that interests you, and take some time to read and understand
the article. Once you have done this, use the space below to make this article into a tall tale. Try to be
creative, and let your imagination run wild. You never know what you might come up with.

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Use the space below to write down some of your observations about the film.
Try to write down the tall tales that are occurring, and also attempt to take
some notes on the events that actually happened. After the movie, we will
work together to build and elaborate on this.

Tall Tale

Reality

The following pages will be focused on the profiles of the main characters in
the film. We will begin to fill out these profiles together, but you will also
have chance to expand on them as you think about the significance of each
individuals role in the film.

Edward Bloom

William Bloom

Sandra Bloom

Josephine Bloom

The witch

Jenny

Norther Winslow

Karl (the giant)

Don Price

Your task is to choose two characters from the film big fish. When you have chosen, you are to construct a character profile for
each of the characters. You may provide illustrations, quotes describing them, or interesting facts about them. This is your
chance to be creative!
Possible formats you could present your character profiles as:

A mock Facebook profile

An about me section on a blog

A poster

A collage

A newspaper page

A wanted sign

Anything else that is interesting and imaginative

Time limit:
30 minutes

Although the big fish technically isnt seen as its own character in the film, his presence has a significant role. During the
following activity, we will work to explore how significant the big fish is in the film, and discuss why this may be. On each of the
coloured strips below, write a word/phrase or sentence to summarise what you believe is the significance of the Big Fish in the
film. There are no wrong answers to this, because there are so many reasons why the fish could be an important presence.

Use the space below to take notes on the class discussion about the significance
of the Big Fish in the film. Are your ideas about this topic similar to the people
around you?

The biggest fish in the lake gets that way by never getting caught.
You are a big fish in a small pond, but this here is the ocean.
Ive been thirsty my whole life.
I was dried out.
You become what you always were a very big fish.
The common goldfish Kept in a small bowl, the goldfish will remain small With
more space, the fish will grow double, triple or quadruple its size.
And that was the lesson I learned that day The day my son was born. Sometimes
the only way to catch an unwatchable woman is to offer her a wedding ring.
Its not a woman Its a fish no one ever catches her the fish looks different to
different people

Many people believe that Edward Bloom is a hero, because he saved all of the people he came across at
some point of their lives in the film. In the next phase of the unit, we are going to talk about heroes, and
determine whether or not we believe that Edward Bloom is a hero in his own right. Use the space below to
write down some ideas and opinions you may have about Edward Bloom. Is he a hero, or is he just a normal
man whose life is based on tall tales?

Guiding Questions

What is a hero?

Who could be seen as a hero in Big Fish?

What qualities does Edward Bloom have that could show him to be a hero?
If Edward never knew what his fate would be, do you think he would still be a hero? Please explain
Are there any other characters in Big Fish who we could consider a hero? Why/why not?

Hero or not? That is the question

In small groups, you are to decide whether or not you believe Edward Bloom is a hero based on the discussions we have had in
previous activities about his character.
On an A3 piece of paper, you need to list:

5 reasons justifying your decision

At the end of the activity, you will share your reasons with your class members, and a vote will be held to determine whether or
not Edward Bloom deserves to be named a hero.
You are encouraged to think creatively during this activity.
You may even choose to use some language techniques: alliteration, metaphors, emotive language, etc.

Time limit:
20 minutes

We are now going to watch the film again. This time, use the space
below to take notes of the important or notable events that occur in the
film. You may write down some important quotes from the film, events,
character motifs, or anything you can think of that may be significant to
the sequence of events.

Think about Spectre, the small town in the film that Edward visits in his
journeys as a young man. What is interesting or unique about this town, and
what happens in the film to make it change so drastically if we compare
Spectre at the beginning and end of the film?

Describe Spectre at the beginning of the film? What was the atmosphere like? Think about the colouring, the lighting, and sound. How did it
make you feel? Do you think that there was a reason for the way Spectre was shown at this point in the film?
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Now, think about Spectre towards the end of the film when Edward returns to the town. What has changed? Why do you think it changed so
drastically? Do you think there was an underlying message to this change?

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Think about the Spectre at the end of the film, and the witchs house at the beginning of the film. Do you think that these two settings created
by the film makers of Big Fish did this for a reason? What significance could this similarity have? How so?
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Did you enjoy the film? Why/why not?

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What were some of the themes in the film? Explain their significance
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Think about the structure of the film, and the sequence of events. Do you think Tim Burton structured it to bring about certain emotions or
audience response? If so, please explain
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Did you identify with any of the characters in the film? If so, who did you identify with and why do you think you did? Do you think that Tim
Burton wanted you to identify with this character more than other characters in the film?
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Do you think there was an underlying moral to the story, or message that was trying to be expressed to the audience? If so, please explain
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