Topics

What will you research to find an element of history/reality to adapt into a fictive

piece of fiction or drama?

You are encouraged to choose an event or person in which you are highly interested.

If you aren’t even sure where to begin, consider one of the suggestions on the

following slides.

DisastersExamples of nonfiction to fiction: • Sinking of the Titanic into love story of the movie Titanic

or The Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)• Columbine shootings inspired Nineteen Minutes by Jodi

Picoult• Civil War events into Gone with the Wind by Margaret

Mitchell• Chicago Fire: Oct 8-9, 1871

• Great Fire of London: 1666

• Black Death: 1348• Yellow Fever Outbreak

in Philadelphia: 1793• Cholera Outbreak in US

June-December 1832• Flu Pandemic 1918• Chernobyl: April 25-26,

1986• Hurricane Katrina

• Polio Outbreak in US-1950s

• Hindenburg Disaster: May 6, 1937

• Spaceship Columbia Disaster: Feb. 16, 2003

• Challenger Explosion: January 28, 1986

• Massacre at Tiananmen Square: June 1989

• Olympics in Munich: 1972

• 9/11

American TrialsExamples of nonfiction into fiction: • Salem Witch Trials into The Crucible by Arthur Miller• Scopes Monkey Trial/McCarthyism into Inherit the Wind

by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee

• Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and Trial (1911): a fire started in a factory that employed many young women. Doors were locked and there were no fire escapes. Lives were lost and the building owners were put on trial

• Black Sox Trial (1921): Deals

with the fixing of the 1919 World Series • Scopes Monkey Trial

(1925): Tennessee teacher taught evolution alongside Creationism and was put on trial

•  Hauptman (Lindbergh) Trial (1935): Charles Lindbergh’s child was kidnapped and killed. Hauptman was accused/found guilty, but defended his innocence.

• APD Trial (Rodney King beating) (1992): Police in LA pulled over speeding Rodney King, whom they had trouble subduing. Questions arose over use of force (was it too much) and racial issues (police were white, King was black) prompted riots over perceived unfair treatment

• Lizzie Borden (1893): Lizzie disliked her stepmother and subsequently resented her father for marrying the woman. When both turned up axed to death, Lizzie was put on trial for their gruesome murders.

• John Hinckley, Jr. (1982): He attempted an assassination of President Reagan. The Catcher in the Rye was found among his things (bad influence?) and he had been stalking actress Jodie Foster (was he trying to impress her?).

• Timothy McVeigh (1997): He was put on trial for the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma in 1995. It was the worst act of terrorism ever committed by a US citizen.

• Brown vs. Board of Education (1954): Case ruled against segregation in schools.

• Rosenberg Trial (1953): Immigrants Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of passing atomic secrets to Russia during the McCarthy Era. They were found guilty and electrocuted.

Ghost StoriesExamples of nonfiction into fiction: • Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King’s The Shining• Hull House inspired Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

• Banshees (local to Ireland)• Resurrection Mary (local to Chicago)• NJ Devil• Chupacabra• Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetery #1 in

New Orleans

Haunted Places

• Eastern State Penitentiary• Alcatraz• Tower of London• Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios building in

Chicago• Jane Addams’ Hull House (Chicago)• Lincoln Theater (local to Decatur, IL)• Gettysburg, PA• Waverly Hills Sanitorium, Louisville, KY• Winchester Mystery House, California

(partial inspiration for King’s Rose Red)• Gravity Hill, PA• Dark Hollow Road, PA• Fonthill Mansion, PA

PeopleIf you would like to research a person, but are not sure who, check out Time Magazine’s 100 Lists for suggestions of people who have had a significant influence on art, culture, politics, government, business, science and technology:

o The 2011 Time 100 List

o The 2012 Time 100 List

o The 2013 Time 100 List

Here are a few people included on these most recent Time 100 lists…

People - Politics

• Barack Obama – President

• Michelle Obama – First Lady

• Joe Biden – Vice President

• Prince William – British Royalty

• Princess Catherine – British Royalty (Pippa Middleton

too!)

• David Cameron – Britain’s Prime Minister

• Michelle Bachmann – Congresswoman

• Gabrielle Giffords – Congresswoman

• Chris Christie – Governor

• Hillary Clinton – Secretary of State

• General David Petraeus – Army Commander

• Mitt Romney – Presidential Candidate

People – Entertainment

• Amy Poehler – Actor

• Tom Ford – Fashion and Film Director

• Justin Bieber – Musician

• Blake Lively – Actor

• Oprah Winfrey – Television Pioneer

• John Lasseter – Filmmaker

• Chris Colfer – Actor

• Bruno Mars – Musician and Artist

• Sting – Musician

• Mark Wahlberg – Actor and Producer

• Shonda Rhimes – Writer and Producer

• Jay Z – Musician

People – Entertainment

• Viola Davis – Actor

• Rihanna – Performer

• Kristen Wiig – Actor

• Chelsea Handler – Comedian

• Harvey Weinstein – Film Producer

• Adele – Singer

• Matt Lauer – Today Show Host

• Claire Danes – Actor

• Stephen Colbert – Actor/Talk Show Host/Comedian

• Justin Timberlake – Musician

• Daniel Day-Lewis – Actor

• Beyoncé - Musician

People – Entertainment

• Jennifer Lawrence – Actor

• Christina Aguilera – Singer

• Steven Spielberg – Producer/Director/Screenwriter

• Mindy Kaling – Actor/Writer

• Bryan Cranston – Actor

• Jimmy Kimmel – Comedian/Talk Show Host

• Jimmy Fallon – Comedian/Talk Show Host

People – Athletes

• Jeremy Lin – NBA Player

• Tim Tebow – NFL Quarterback

• Novak Djokovic – Professional Tennis

Player

• Yani Tseng – Professional Golfer

• Kim Clijsters – Tennis Champion

• Lebron James – NBA Player

• Lindsey Vonn – Olympic Skier

People – Innovators

• Reed Hastings – Netflix CEO

• Michelle Rhee – School Reformer

• Geoffrey Canada – School Reformer

• Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook Founder

• Sarah Burton – Creative Director/Alexander

McQueen

• Warren Buffett – Businessman/Philanthropist

• Sara Blakely – Entrepreneur

• Malala Yousafzai – Education/Social Justice

Advocate

Where to Search

Read, Look, Watch and Listen to media

available in digital spaces such as the

following:

• Newspapers and Magazines Online (Time,

Newsweek, People, NPR)

• History Channel Online

• Newspaper Photo Galleries

o Philly.com Year in Review 2012