World's Fastest Indian, The (ATOM Study Guide)

The World's Fastest Indian is an acclaimed 2005 feature film starring Anthony Hopkins, suitable for secondary students. It is the story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle – a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. The film is about the importance of living a dream and how you get there.

Roger Donaldson, the writer and director of The World's Fastest Indian first met Burt Munro in 1971 when he made a documentary about him. He was so inspired by Munro that he decided to make a feature film as a tribute to his courage, his creativity, his determination and his charm.

The study guide has been written for middle and senior secondary school English but is relevant to other curriculum areas. It has many detailed activities including writing and producing different texts; reviews, poems, creating a poster and a game based on the film as well as role playing, close analysis of scenes from the film and group discussions to encourage critical thinking about the script, characters and production style. Students are encouraged to compare and contrast other media depictions of motor cycle sports and to explore other modes of its representation including its website.

Curriculum Links:

• Media Studies – Representation of real life events, Media Industry, Feature Film Production
• English – Narrative in film, Film as Text, Media Literacy, Multiliteracies
• Social Education – Values in Film, Courage, Resilience
• SOSE / HSIE