Lesson plan

Gremlins

Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Frank Welker providing the voice of the titular imp-like monsters' leader and main antagonist, Stripe, and Howie Mandel providing the voice of their progenitor, mogwai Gizmo. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows Billy Peltzer, who receives Gizmo as a pet, who then spawns more of his kind that evolve into the titular monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during Christmas Eve. The film was accompanied by a large merchandising campaign and juxtaposes comedy horror with a Christmas time setting. Steven Spielberg was the executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell. Gremlins was theatrically released on June 8, 1984, by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) revise its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating.…

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Article summary

Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Frank Welker providing the voice of the titular imp-like monsters' leader and main antagonist, Stripe, and Howie Mandel providing the voice of their progenitor, mogwai Gizmo. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows Billy Peltzer, who receives Gizmo as a pet, who then spawns more of his kind that evolve into the titular monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during Christmas Eve. The film was accompanied by a large merchandising campaign and juxtaposes comedy horror with a Christmas time setting. Steven Spielberg was the executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell. Gremlins was theatrically released on June 8, 1984, by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) revise its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating.…

Key claims

  1. release date: 1984-06-08 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. release date: 2028-10-06 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the release date is "1984-06-08". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the release date is "2028-10-06". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.