This assignment is AWESOME for seniors in a Contemporary Issues (or CWP) or an American Government class! Students love this film (at least those who have seen it).

I use this with my senior classes right after we get done studying the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. It provides a good break between units and allows for a deeper discussion of how governments can be used to abuse the rights of it citizens if they let it. It also helps them to look at our modern society critically and make comparisons to their own world.

The alternative assignment is for those students who haven't gotten permission from their parents to view rated-R movies in class (see also my R-rated Movie Permission Slip in the store). This provides them with a choice in research projects that is easily completed in several days while the film is being watched in class.