The film Carrie takes place in an unspecified town in the United States in the 1970s. It depicts Carrie White, an outsider high school girl with telekinetic powers, who is bullied by her classmates until she unleashes her powers at her senior prom. The plot differs from the story in the novel in that some events are shown out of chronological order or not shown at all. Key visual motifs of showering, blood, and religious imagery throughout the film reinforce its central theme of oppression and bullying.

1. What is the setting (time & place) of
CARRIE?
PLACE: Purposefully unclear – while shot in
CA, the filmmakers deliberately omitted
anything that would overtly identify it as
California. They wanted it to feel like it could
be happening anywhere in the United States.
TIME: The 1970’s – clothes, dress, cars,
attitudes
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

2. Based on your textbook reading, how does
the PLOT of CARRIE differ from the STORY
of CARRIE? Remember that PLOT differs
from story in that it only consists of the story
material as it has been STRUCTURED and
ARRANGED by the storyteller on screen.
STORY = WHAT HAPPENS IN THE
COMPLETE FILM WHETHER THE
AUDIENCE SEES IT OR NOT
PLOT = WHAT WE ARE SHOWN IN THE
FILM AND IN WHAT ORDER WE ARE
SHOWN IT
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

3. Did anything of note/importance in the story
happen off-screen in the plot of CARRIE?
Was anything shown out of chronological
sequence?
Carrie’s conception/birth
Carrie as a small child
Carrie’s father in any capacity
Was anything shown out of
chronological sequence?
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

4. Also based on a book so there’s the question about
what was left out of the book and not put into the film –
for instance, at the end of the novel, CARRIE, most of
the entire town is destroyed by the scorned prom queen
as she blasts out a telepathic message.
She also leaves the gym entirely before using her
powers to lock the doors and kill everyone inside.
In another change, in the book Carrie’s mother,
Margaret, was raped by Carrie’s father and that
resulted in her daughter’s birth.
In the book, Carrie is also described as 'chunky', 'a
hog', 'a frog among swans' and, rather cruelly, 'a fat,
whiny bag of lard.'
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

5. In the book Sue Snell suspects she’s pregnant with
Tommy’s baby.
Carrie kills her mother by stopping her heart after her
mother stabs her.
Carrie kills Billy and Chris after killing her mother. Sue
finds Carrie lying by the wrecked car driven by Billy
Nolan and Chris Hargensen, near death from being
stabbed by her mother. She and Carrie have a brief
telepathic conversation in which she convinces Carrie
she had no part in Chris's plan. Carrie cries out for
her mother and dies, every detail of her death
witnessed by a horrified Sue, who later identifies
Carrie's body for the official records. As Sue flees the
scene, her period begins, insinuating that the trauma
of the night has caused her to miscarry.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

6. Based on your textbook reading, who are the
CHARACTERS of CARRIE?
Carrie White
Margaret White
Miss Collins
Sue Snell
Chris Hargensen
Tommy Ross
Billy Nolan
Mr. Morton
Various other students and teachers
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

7. Who is the PROTAGONIST and who is the
ANTAGONIST of CARRIE?
PROTAGONIST = the main character of the story,
the character around whom the action revolves and
with whom the audience typically identifies
ANTAGONIST = The character who opposes the
protagonist
PROTAGONIST = Carrie White
ANTAGONIST = Margaret White? Chris Hargensen?
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

8. Based on your textbook reading, what is the
narrative structure of CARRIE? Be sure to identify
elements of its Exposition, Rising Action, Climax,
Falling Action, & Resolution.
Exposition = Carrie is unpopular, Carrie has
powers, Carrie’s mother is crazy
Rising Action = Carrie fights with her mother and
gets bullied, Carrie’s powers seem to grow stronger
Climax = Bucket of Blood – once this happens, the
cycle of Carrie keeping control under duress is
broken and she snaps completely – an ending is
now determined; it won’t be the same cycle
anymore
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

9. Based on your textbook reading, what is the
narrative structure of CARRIE? Be sure to identify
elements of its Exposition, Rising Action, Climax,
Falling Action, & Resolution.
Falling Action = Carrie destroys the prom, kills
Chris, John, and her mother and then destroys their
house and herself.
Resolution = Carrie is gone…but Sue Snell is
haunted (because Carrie thinks it’s her fault?)
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

10. Consider the Diagetic & Non-Diagetic
Sound/Music of CARRIE and list at
least one example of each:
DIAGETIC = Theme From 'Carrie' “I Never
Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love
Someone Like Me” and “Born To Have It
All” – both heard at the prom and written
especially for the film
They provide subtext and insight into
Carrie’s mind
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

11. Young girls
Some were born to dance
Born to take a chance
Others sleep at home
And they dance alone
No one even knows
But you
You were born to touch
Born to want too much
Let the bodies fall
You were born to have it all
Born to have it all
And if you could cry
It would only be for more
Born to be the girl in the
mirror
And the others want to be
her
“BORN TO HAVE IT ALL” Lyrics
If a girl could wish
It would only be to be a girl like this
Oh, 'cause she has it all
And for all they know
That is all there is
Young girls
Some were born to dance
Born to take a chance
Others sleep at home
And they sleep alone
No one even knows

12. Could it be
That the lady is me
In the photograph
I'm afraid
'Cause it feels too good
That I want it so bad
It's just not true
Couldn't ask for anymore than you
Because you look at me
As though I'm beautiful
Could it be that you want me
I never dreamed someone like you
Could want someone like me
I'm not sure
But the more that it's real
The more it's right
Hoo-ooh, what night
It's as though we've been lovers
All of our lives
“I NEVER DREAMED SOMEONE LIKE YOU
COULD LOVE SOMEONE LIKE ME” Lyrics
There must be a God
Could it be
That He has heard me at last
Because you look at me
As though I'm beautiful
Could it be
The lady is me
I never dreamed someone like you
Could want someone like me
All the pain
And the pleasure's the same
It goes so fast
I'm the girl
With the strawberry hair
In the photograph
So, c'mon let's dance
Let me have it
While I have the chance
'Cause there's another world
Where there are other girls
But tonight there's only me
I never dreamed someone like you
Could love someone like me

13. Consider the Diagetic & Non-Diagetic
Sound/Music of CARRIE and list at
least one example of each:
NON-DIAGETIC = Some of the music cues
(@ 17:45 for example) are a direct
reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s famous
thriller, PSYCHO
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

14. Consider the Diagetic & Non-Diagetic
Sound/Music of CARRIE and list at
least one example of each:
NON-DIAGETIC = The film’s last scare
uses NON-DIAGETIC music to great effect
This scene is often credited as setting the
trend for the last minute scare in horror
films
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

15. Give at least two examples of
memorable/interesting/unique
cinematography used in CARRIE – be
sure to note the time code of where this
example can be found (HH:MM:SS) and
to detail the camera distance, angle,
and movements used.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

16. THE PROM DANCE
(01:03:08 – 01:05:29)
DISTANCE: Close-Up Shot – 2-shot
ANGLE: Low Shot (looking up)
MOVEMENT: Tracking shot around them as
they spin in the opposite direction
EFFECT:
A romantic scene that turns dangerous and
veering close to going out of control
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

17. THE SPLIT-SCREEN DESTRUCTION:
(01:17:32 – 01:20:50)
DISTANCE: Varies depending on side of screen
ANGLE: Varies depending on side of screen
MOVEMENT: Varies depending on side of screen
EFFECT:
Immediate visualization of cause and effect
Able to show more simultaneous action without
cutting/editing
Carrie’s mind has literally split open on screen
via visual language/symbolism
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

18. CARRIE: Split Screen Composition
THE SPLIT-SCREEN DESTRUCTION:
Compositional Foreshadowing
Examples

19. What visual motifs did you notice were
repeated throughout CARRIE?
Remember a MOTIF is a recurring
visual pattern. When related images
repeat to enhance or bring attention to
an idea/theme, you know you’ve most
likely identified the story’s motif. It’s
typically not considered to be a “motif” if
doesn’t have symbolic or thematic
significance in the film.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

20. Showering/Water/Cleaning
Blood (Massacre/Splattering)
Religion/Religious Iconography
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

21. CARRIE: Showering/Water/Cleaning

22. CARRIE: Blood (Massacre/Splattering)

23. CARRIE: Religion/Religious Iconography

24. What is the theme of
CARRIE?
Remember THEME = the
film’s central topic or subject,
a main idea that runs like a
thread through the story and
ties together its various
elements.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

25. In other words, what is the visual
language telling us CARRIE is about?
For example, in addition to a theme of
redemption conveyed with Christian imagery,
ON THE WATERFRONT had a theme about
being trapped running through it via visual
motifs (cages and bars)
THE GRADUATE had a theme about
loneliness/isolation running through it via its
visual motifs (water)
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

26. A smart way to approach
assessing “THEME” is by looking
for VISUAL MOTIFS and then
considering what those images
symbolically MEAN to us/others
in our world and culture.
Let’s look at the VISUAL
MOTIFS we just identified in
CARRIE…
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

27. VISUAL MOTIF of Showering/Water/Cleaning
WHAT DO THESE THINGS TYPICALLY
MEAN TO US & OTHERS? WHAT DO THEY
MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT?
FORGIVENESS
BEING BORN AGAIN
BEING PURE
REMOVING DIRT AND FILTH
THOSE ARE THE POSSIBLE
THEMES!
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

28. VISUAL MOTIF of
Blood/Massacre/Splattering
WHAT DO THESE THINGS TYPICALLY MEAN
TO US & OTHERS? WHAT DO THEY MAKE
YOU THINK ABOUT?
PERSONAL/MASS VIOLENCE
BLOOD AS CLEANSING (religion)
PAIN & HURT
LIFE ITSELF
THOSE ARE THE POSSIBLE
THEMES!
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

29. VISUAL MOTIF of Religion/Religious
Iconography
WHAT DO THESE THINGS TYPICALLY MEAN
TO US & OTHERS? WHAT DO THEY MAKE
YOU THINK ABOUT?
FAITH
REDEMPTION
BULLYING
OPPRESSION
THOSE ARE THE POSSIBLE
THEMES!
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

30. What is the message of CARRIE?
Remember MESSAGE = an opinion or
point of view put forward by a film; while
a film’s THEME is general and value-
neutral (NO JUDGMENT), a film’s
MESSAGE is what the film is “trying to
say” and/or a lesson it’s trying to impart
upon the audience.
A MESSAGE IS A JUDGMENT!
What should we “learn” from CARRIE?
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

31. No one deserves to be bullied.
You never know what people are going
through - Carrie was seen as "weird" in
her school, but the other students
probably had no idea what she had to
endure at home (abusive mother,
religious brainwashing).
Always think before you speak or act
because your words and actions can
severally affect someone else.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES

32. Be careful of who you bully…if
your victim snaps, you never
really know what they're
capable of doing until it’s too
late.
Don’t judge a book by its
cover.
Religion can really mess you
up.
CARRIE: SCREENING NOTES