The Lottery

I saw this film in 7th or 8th grade Social Studies class some 25 years ago, and it still has the same impact when I even think about it. There was dead silence in the classroom when this film was over and probably 30 students saying to themselves, "Are they all insane?!" Quite possibly the characters were. But we learned something that day. Going along with the bunch may save your hide, but we reap what we sow. excellent film. A must see for all teenagers! The remake was too grandiose...short and sweet is all that is needed! Even the kids that were not particularly interested in the film when it started we mesmerized by the time we all realized what was going on. The image of that person handing "it" to the lady's child was just too much for any of us to comprehend. I won't spoil the "surprise" ending by mentioning what "it" was or anything, but suffice it to say that this film will stay with me forever. It ranks right up there with James Clavell's "The Children's Story." Put these two stories in every curriculum, is what I say.

I saw this movie when I was in high school. I didn't even know the name of it until just a few weeks ago when I began to search the web for anything that I thought might be this movie. I began asking friends if they had ever seen a movie about a small town in which a lottery is held, and the winner is, let's just say they are not your typical winner. It is some 30 years ago since I saw this movie. I would like to see it again. I would like to get a copy of it. If any body knows where I can find one please let me know. I would also like to thank my film appreciation teacher for allowing my classmates and I to view this short film. I will always remember that class, and the day I saw The Lottery.

It's been a very loooong time since I've seen this; 12 years or so, I think. It was screened in my very first real writing class in High School.

The actual name of the class was "Term Paper" I think, meaning by the end of the semester we were going to have to compile a seven page or so report on a topic of our choice, with annotated notes and references and what not. Now, even back then, I knew that reading and writing were my strong points as a student, but I still wasn't really looking forward to the final assignment. Now, looking back after college, I would KILL to write a paper as short as seven pages, but back then, that was quite a lot to a kid who was just about to get his driver's license.

Now, I can't remember the exact reason why the teacher showed us this one. It's possible it was just to give us a break, or maybe inspire us. For whatever reason, my initial reaction wasn't exactly thrilled. After all, it was awfully hot in those classrooms, and as I remember I was madly in love with the girl who sat three rows ahead of me, and one seat to the left (she always twitched her nose as she wrote), so needless to say, paying attention to some moldy, out of date, production of a short story that I had never heard of didn't exactly make me want to leap to attention.

The film was an adaptation of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, a story I'm going to assume you've read or at least know about if you've read this, so I won't really go into the plot.

But needless to day, I was drawn in instantly. And although we didn't know what was going to happen in the film, we could all sense that something wasn't right. Why were these people drawing paper from a box? Why didn't some people really look happy about it? What was with that scary old man talking about the "old days." Well, when the ending played out, we were pretty horrified, and rightly so. Like I said, I don't know what lesson teacher was trying to teach us besides the usual comments about the tyranny of tradition and the danger of mob mentality, but I always assumed that what she was trying to impress upon us was not to judge a story before it's been told, and that good writers can suck a reader in before laying in the killing blow.

Personally, as a writer, and as a just for fun critic of horror movies, I took from this adaptation the power of an image unexplained, of a tone of detachment from reality. What made this film so strong was how it just seemed so off kilter from common sense. Sure, growing up in the midwest, me and my fellow students all were very familiar with the images in this film; the fields, the friendly small town folk and their soft patter of "how ya doing" banter, the undercurrent of stab your neighbor in the back gossip, and the commonness of "do this because your dad and his dad did it too" tradition.

But yet, the film doesn't feel "familiar." Maybe it's because so much is left open and unexplained until the horrifying conclusion, but watching the town gather to participate in the lottery, the feeling is one of isolation. Not just from your fellow townsfolk, although I can understand this (sometimes it's just as easier to feel lonely in a small town as it is a big one), but from the outside world. As this film went on, and I started to realize the truth, I just couldn't help but wonder where this town was. Truth is, it may be the only town left on the planet for all I know, surrounded on all sides by endless fields of corn swaying in the breeze. I imagined what I would do if I were there. Could I get away? Could I duck behind a building, and take off running away from town square while everyone else was drawing slips from a box until i reached a road. Would I find anything else? What about the next town over? Is their yearly ritual even more hellish? It's those questions that haunted me most about the story and this presentation of it. I'm continually drawn to movies that take place in a world of their own where all you want to do as a viewer is escape what you see on the screen. Not because of gore of violence or anything so simplistic, but because you just can't bare to see a reality that's too harsh to believe, but too realistic to ignore completely.

I don't know if schools still show films like this anymore. It's possible though. All the thousands of educational films probably will be very slow to get DVD updates, and I'm sure that most school districts will be stuck with VCR's for a long time.

Heck, even as a senior in the mid-90's we were STILL seeing educational films on FILMSTRIPS (the ones where you turned the frames by HAND when you heard the beep), such as one we saw in economics class produced in the early 70's about a girl named LuLu who was learning to save her money to either buy a pink dune buggy, or to blow away on little things (like a KING CRIMSON album, I kid you not!).

So, I hope that somewhere out there this adaptation of The Lottery is still being shown. It captures the desolation, the strangeness, and the tragic sadness of life in a situation where reality becomes unhinged, and all you can do is scream at people to stop, even though they don't listen.

"The Lottery" (1969) is a short film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story of the same name. The film does a very good job portraying the short story, depicting a town's controversial lottery. The acting was fine for the 1960's, but the cinematography was sub-par. The camerawork seemed hastily done on a Saturday night, since the camera shakes a lot, detracting from the actual story. The movie also seems to also drag on for far too long. The story could have been the same, but in 10-15 minutes rather than the 18 minutes the film is depicted in. This could be seen as a positive though, since the films awkward length adds to the feeling of tension that the characters are feeling. The acting was not one of the highlights of the film, however, since Tessie Hutchinson, the one who is chosen in the lottery in both stories, is not very well acted, and is not who I expected to see representing her after reading the story. Old Man Warner, the grumpy old man of the actual story, however, was acted perfectly, in my opinion. The film has a certain charm to it, which I really enjoy. The feeling that you are there is very strong, but I would say that the "feeling" of being there is a bit too strong. Overall, while the movie is objectively a bad film, I would say it is not a bad adaptation of Shirley Jackson's short story. It does have it's flaws, but overall, one could surely do worse.

While the production quality of this short film is lacking, especially by today's standards, the impact lingers. I first saw this film in American Liturature class my Junior year of high school. I have never forgotten it. Thirty-eight years later, I am still wanting to know, "Why?"

Viewing it today, in 2015, I think of the personalities and reactions of the townspeople; as a member of one evangelical church and an employee of another, I relate these people to members of the church, and the impact their beliefs and decisions have on the rest of the congregation. As an individual, I question why I have hung on dearly to some traditions, and how selfish it can be to do so. Which doesn't mean that all tradition is bad - we just need to carefully examine why we do what we do.

Watch this film without critiquing the cinematography or getting caught up in the outdated fashion. Just get lost in the story - it's amazing how easy it is to do in just 17 minutes.