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Monday, February 15, 1999

INTRODUCTION

Leonardo speaks out

After the events of the past few months, I'll bet there are very few people in Thailand who haven't heard of Maya Beach. The reason, of course, is that Maya Beach was one of the primary locations for screen idol Leonardo DiCaprio's latest movie.

Mr DiCaprio generates a lot of attention wherever he goes, but this time much of it was both unpleasant and unwanted. Environmentalists accused Mr DiCaprio and 20th Century Fox, the Hollywood company making the film, of endangering the fragile ecosystem surrounding the idyllic beach. As you know, there were numerous protests and even an unsuccessful attempt to get a court to stop the filming.

The filming did take place, however, and recently Mr DiCaprio, himself, made a strong defence of the filming process, claiming that the paradise island has escaped undamaged. That statement is the subject of this week's story from Bangkok Post.

screen idol	very popular movie star
fragile	easily damaged
ecosystem	the plants, animals and people living in an area together with their surroundings
idyllic	happy, peaceful and free of problems
paradise	a place where everything is perfect

Making a defence

There are many ways to defend yourself against criticism. Below are some examples.

Look through them and decide which ones Leonardo DiCaprio most likely used in his defence. Since the criticisms came from environmentalists over the destruction of Maya Beach, I have based my examples on that issue.

He could say that every effort was made to protect the beach.
He could say that he, himself, saw no evidence of environmental damage.
He could criticise his critics for lacking the correct information.
He could attack his critics for being dishonest.
He could say that the beach had already been largely destroyed by tourists.
He could say that the environment at the beach had actually been improved as a result of the film company's efforts to be environmentally friendly.
He could say that by planting trees, the film company has made the beach more beautiful.
He could say that the movie has made Maya Beach more famous and it will therefore be possible to attract more tourists to the area.
He could say that he is an environmentalist too and he would never do anything to harm the environment.

Now read the story for yourself and see if you were able to correctly guess what Mr DiCaprio actually said.

You will also notice that the story contains much more information than simply the statements of Mr DiCaprio. As is typical of good news stories, it gives background for readers who might not be familiar with the story and it is careful to give the viewpoints of the environmentalists as well.

There are likely to be a number of unfamiliar words in the story, but I think you will be able to guess the meanings of many of them. I have designed a post-reading exercise to help you. Meanwhile, here are a few words to get you started:

natural heritage	the original environment
foliage	leaves of plants and trees
it is beyond me	I am unable to understand
gain access	to be able to enter and use an area
exemplary	showing a good example; excellent
cult novel	a book of fiction that becomes extremely popular among a particular group of people

OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST

Movie star defends use of Maya site

Insists The Beach would boost tourism [garbage on Maya Beach]

Screen idol Leonardo DiCaprio yesterday issued a strong defence against the use of a Thai paradise island in his new movie, ruling out environmentalists' claims the project had destroyed an idyllic beach.

The Titanic star insisted producers would leave Maya beach in southern Phi Phi Island national park in a better state than before filming and said the film, The Beach, would boost tourism.

"I would never, by any means, intentionally go forth with a project that I believed would damage the environment of any country, or the image of Thailand," Mr DiCaprio said in a lengthy statement issued in Bangkok.

"From what I see with my own eyes, everything is OK. I have seen nothing that had been destroyed or damaged in any way.

"I cannot tell you the reasons why people have been saying the opposite, it is beyond me."

Mr DiCaprio said producers 20th Century Fox had taken "meticulous" care to safeguard the island's natural heritage and had cleared tonnes of garbage off the beach.

Local environmentalists opposed to the film claim the beach's fragile ecosystem has been ruined by alterations designed to paint Maya beach as Hollywood's idea of a paradise island.

Coconut palms have been planted on the beach and activists claim dunes have been shifted and natural foliage ripped up.

But Mr DiCaprio, describing himself as an environmentalist, said Fox had shown nothing but respect for the island and said Thailand would benefit from the project.

"I think the release of a film like this will encourage young people to see the beauty of Thailand, and encourage more young backpackers to come here."

The company said on Wednesday they had started work to restore the beach to its natural state.

Filming is continuing in other parts of Thailand but the row over the project is rumbling on.

Environmentalists claim Fox offered a US$111,000 bribe to the Forestry Department to gain access to the national park.

Fox has denied the allegations.

Two requests for court injunctions to stop filming at Maya Bay were rejected last month and the film giant has already shelled out for a five-million-baht (138,800-dollar) bond against ecological damage.

A second statement, released apparently through Mr DiCaprio's media consultants, Reef Check, an independent non-profit group, praised Fox for "exemplary" efforts to avoid damaging corals in the area and said the beach was in its best shape in years.

The row over the film brewed for months before shooting began in January and has involved protests, sit-ins and a letter campaign in Thai newspapers.

The Beach, based on Alex Garland's cult novel of the same name, tells the story of a traveller whose infatuation with Thailand leads him to a remote island inhabited by a community of displaced westerners.

Mr DiCaprio's co-stars in the Danny Boyle-directed picture are Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, and Guillaume Canet. — AFP

February 6, 1999

FOLLOW-UP

Guessing meanings

Now let's see if you were able to guess the meanings of some of the less familiar words in this story. The words from the story are in the left column. Match each of them with the most appropriate meaning (i.e., the meaning used in the story) in the right column. You will not use all the meanings in the right column.

1. _____ boost	a. an official order to stop doing something
2. _____ meticulous	b. a strong disagreement or dispute
3. _____ alteration	c. very careful and thorough
4. _____ dune	d. a number of things in a line
5. _____ row	e. to increase
6. _____ bribe	f. far away
7. _____ injunction	g. to slowly increase in strength
8. _____ infatuation	h. an illegal payment to influence a decision
9. _____ remote	i. a change
10. _____ brew	j. a hill of sand
	k. a very strong love or attraction for something

What did he say?

Try to summarise what Leonardo DiCaprio said in defence of the film company's actions at Maya Beach. Notice that many of his statements were given in direct speech. You will have to change them to indirect speech. To make your summary more interesting, consider using other words besides "said". You might, for example, use words like "claimed," "contended" or "declared" or "maintained".

Just for fun, you might illustrate your summary. Use your imagination.

TEACHER'S NOTE

I thought this would be a good lesson for this time of the school year. You are undoubtedly busy hurrying to finish your course in time for exams and this lesson will take very little effort. I'm sure many of your students will be very interested in the Maya Beach controversy and this lesson gives them a chance to hear from Leonardo DiCaprio himself.

Once again, I have included a pre-reading exercise to get the students in the right frame of mind for reading the story. Notice there are no right or wrong answers. Your students simply read each point and decide whether or not they think it would be something that Leonardo might use in making his defence. This would be very good for small groups.

I felt a "vocabulary from context" exercise was appropriate because the story itself -- the context -- is so familiar that your students should have a good chance of figuring out the meanings of the targeted words. Such exercises can be almost impossible if the story is difficult, however, so be careful when you use this technique.

Finally, news stories are especially good for exercises involving direct and indirect speech. Since newswriters generally depend on sources for their information, news stories tend to be filled with examples of both direct and indirect speech.

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