Assembly Objective:

When someone hurts us, how do we choose to respond? And if we choose revenge, do we end up hurting ourselves?  This assembly invites students to consider their responses when someone offends or hurts them. Through Jesus’ teaching on revenge, students will reflect on the challenge of forgiveness.

Film:

Cruella (Disney, 2021, cert 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

Matthew 5:38-45 (Jesus Christ)

Supporting Values Education:

• The value of Individual Liberty is based on the notion that we are free and responsible for our own actions.  As a result, we have freewill to choose how we respond to the actions of others, but are also subject to the consequences of our actions. This assembly encourages pupils to consider how to respond when they are treated badly.

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OPENING ACTIVITY

Paper Thrust and Tray Parry (game)

Invite two volunteers to come to the front of the assembly and give them each a rolled up newspaper and a plastic tray. Instruct them to balance the tray on the palm of their non-dominant hand, and hold the newspaper like a sword in their dominant hand. The aim of the game is to knock the tray off the hand of their opponent, keeping a one metre distance at all times. They may only use the newspaper, and they may not hit any other part of their opponent with it. On your signal, let the dual commence. After two or three bouts, interview both participants about how easy they found it to attack and defend simultaneously.

Make the point that attacking your opponent does not always mean you win, as sometimes it leaves you exposed and defenceless.

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FILM CLIP

Play the clip from Cruella (Disney, 2021, cert 12)

• Start time: 00:38:01 (beginning of chapter 7)
• End time: 00:44:32
• Clip length: 6 mins 31 sec

Estella (Emma Stone) has found her dream job, working for The Baroness (Emma Thompson), an eccentric and highly successful fashion designer. The clip begins with Estella sitting beside a fountain speaking to her late mother and telling her how well she’s doing at work. The next day she and The Baroness are discussing a design when Estella notices the Baroness’s necklace. She tells her it’s a family heirloom and that she nearly lost it when a servant tried to steal it from her but the servant fell off a cliff and died. Estella fights back her instinct to argue but is clearly upset. Later, on a bench in the park, she is joined by Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and she reveals that the woman in the story is her mother, and that the necklace is her’s, not the Baroness’s. The trio make plans to steal the necklace back. When Estella tells Jasper and Horace that she intends to make a scene at the black and white ball, Jasper points out that she will be recognised and lose her job. He suggests that she doesn’t need the necklace, and Estella responds that she wants it back. She then says that Estella can’t go to the ball, but she knows someone who can.

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TALK

Download the Cruella Assembly PowerPoint for use with this talk.

Scripted Talk

• [PowerPoint slide 1]
  • Today we’re going to think about revenge, getting your own back, paying someone back. We’re going to talk about how it feels when someone deliberately hurts us, and the choices we have when it happens.
• [PowerPoint slide 2]
  • • Before we watch a film clip, take a moment to think about a time when someone hurt you and you got your own back. Maybe someone at school called you a name or ganged up on you. Maybe you found out your friend was talking about you behind your back. Maybe your brother or sister let you take the blame for something you didn’t do. How did it make you feel? And what did you do to pay them back?
    • [If time, you could ask students to share some of their best revenge stories, or share a humorous story from your own childhood].
    • Stories like the ones we remember from primary school or even pre-school, are funny when we look back on them, and often it’s hard to remember why we felt so angry at the time. Maybe it’s hard to remember what it was the person said or did to offend us.
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • Revenge is serious, though, especially when we feel offended by something cruel someone has done to hurt us.
• [PowerPoint slide 4]
  • We’re going to watch a clip from the film Cruella. This is the original story of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the book and film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. When we first meet Cruella, she is called Estella. She has suffered a terrible tragedy in her life. As a child, her mother died by falling off a cliff, and since then Estella has had to take care of herself. She and her two friends, Jasper and Horace, survive by stealing things, and they live in an attic. Estella dreams of being a fashion designer and she has found a job working for The Baroness, a famous designer. The Baroness is a difficult character, and in the clip we’re going to watch, Estella discovers just how cruel she can be.
• [PowerPoint slide 5]
  • When Estella spotted the necklace in The Baroness’s office, it changed her life forever. All her life, she had felt sad about what had happened to her mother, and had believed that she had witnessed a terrible accident. Now, she discovered that the person responsible didn’t care about the hurt she had caused.
• [PowerPoint slide 6]
  • Estella felt furious about what The Baroness had done. Taking revenge seemed like an obvious response, didn’t it? Or did it? What do you think Estella wanted from The Baroness?
  • Perhaps she wanted to make her feel bad about what she had done. Perhaps she wanted The Baroness to feel as sad and angry as she did. Perhaps she thought that paying The Baroness back would make her feel better.
  • Perhaps she didn’t know what she wanted from The Baroness, but something inside her wanted to hurt her. She resented the fact that The Baroness had everything she wanted, and had not been punished for causing her mother’s death and stealing the necklace.
• [PowerPoint slide 7]
  • As human beings we make choices all the time. Sometimes the choices we make are simple and don’t affect anyone else. Deciding what to have for lunch doesn’t make much difference to anyone else, unless you get the last portion of chips and the person behind you in the queue has to miss out. Other choices we make have a big impact on others. For example, persuading your friend to get drunk at a party and then do something dangerous could change both of your lives forever. All of us have choices, and often our choices have an impact on people around us.
• [PowerPoint slide 8]
  • Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa, but before that he was imprisoned for 27 years. He grew up under the system called apartheid, which separated white people from black people and other people of colour.
• [PowerPoint slide 9]
  • When he was a young man, Mandela fought against this system and was arrested and imprisoned. Imagine the unfairness of spending 27 years of your life locked up for fighting against injustice. Imagine the hurt and anger that Nelson Mandela must have felt. Imagine having all that time to plot your revenge on the people who hurt you. Imagine how resentful you might become.
  • In 1990 he was released from prison, and rather than taking revenge, Nelson Mandela worked for justice and reconciliation for the rest of his life. He became president, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and he is remembered as the ‘Father of the Nation’ of South Africa. He also said something interesting about resentment:
• [PowerPoint slide 10]
  • ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies’.
  • In other words, revenge may make us feel good to begin with, but in the end it will hurt us more than it hurts the other person. Taking revenge on someone, or resenting them, will not make us feel any better. In fact we can end up feeling worse.
• [PowerPoint slide 11]
  • Jesus also said something about revenge. He grew up in a Jewish tradition, and he would have been very familiar with the idea of paying someone back when they hurt you. The law of the Old Testament said that if someone did something to you, you had the right to do the same thing back to them. So, if you lost an eye in a fight with someone, you had the right to poke out their eye. If someone punched you and you lost a tooth, you had the right to punch them back so they lost a tooth. You might even have heard the expression, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. The law was meant to limit revenge to an equal response, but the trouble with human beings is that we often want to take it further.
• [PowerPoint slide 12]
  • When Jesus talked about resentment and revenge, he said something completely astonishing.
  • ‘You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.’’
  • You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’
• [PowerPoint slide 13]
  • In other words, says Jesus, don’t take revenge, but forgive people who hurt you. Don’t hate your enemies, love your enemies by not taking revenge or feeling resentful. Be kind to them, pray for them and love them, even if it costs you to do it.
• [PowerPoint slide 14]
  • That’s very difficult. In the film, Estella made the choice to take revenge on The Baroness. She planned and schemed and eventually made her pay for what she’d done. It makes for a good film – it’s funny and, as an audience member, you want to cheer when she triumphs. But remember, this is an original story of a villain. Cruella de Vil is a cruel character who makes everyone around her unhappy. Taking revenge on The Baroness doesn’t end the unhappiness. It doesn’t bring back her mother. It doesn’t actually give Cruella any peace.
• [PowerPoint slide 15]
  • In 1990 Nelson Mandela made the choice to be a man of peace. He understood that seeking revenge would not set him free, and would not make him feel any better. He chose to work for the good of his country and to let go of any resentment he might have felt towards the people who had imprisoned him for 27 years. He was a man who is remembered as someone who brought peace to his nation and to the world.
• [PowerPoint slide 16]
  • Jesus lived out his own words. When he was arrested and killed on a cross he didn’t fight back or look for a way to take revenge, and the Bible says that his death brings peace between human beings and God.
• [PowerPoint slide 17]
  • We all have a choice when someone offends or hurts us. We can feel resentful and take revenge, or we can choose to be people who bring peace. The choice is up to us.

Headings and Bullets

Download the Cruella Assembly PowerPoint for use with this talk.

• [PowerPoint slide 1]
  • Revenge, getting your own back, paying someone back.
  • Talking about how it feels when someone deliberately hurts us, and the choices we have when it happens.
• [PowerPoint slide 2]
  • Think about a time when someone hurt you and you got your own back.
  • How did it make you feel?
  • And what did you do to pay them back?
  • Stories like the ones we remember from primary school or even pre-school, are funny when we look back on them, and often it’s hard to remember why we felt so angry at the time.
• [PowerPoint slide 3]
  • Revenge is serious, especially when we feel offended by something cruel someone has done to hurt us.
• [PowerPoint slide 4]
  • Introduce the film.
  • Original story of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the book and film One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
  • When we first meet Cruella, she is called Estella.
  • She has suffered a terrible tragedy in her life.
  • Her mother died by falling off a cliff.
  • Estella is left to take care of herself.
  • She and her two friends, Jasper and Horace, survive by stealing things.
  • Estella dreams of being a fashion designer.
  • She has found a job working for The Baroness, a famous designer.
  • The Baroness is a difficult character.
• [PowerPoint slide 5]
  • Watch the clip and talk about the film.
  • When Estella spotted the necklace, it changed her life forever.
  • All her life, she had felt sad about what had happened to her mother.
  • She believed that she had witnessed a terrible accident.
  • Now, she discovered that the person responsible didn’t care about the hurt she had caused.
  • Estella felt furious about what The Baroness had done.
• [PowerPoint slide 6]
  • Taking revenge seemed like an obvious response.
  • What did Estella want from The Baroness?
  • Perhaps she wanted to make her feel bad about what she had done.
  • Perhaps she wanted The Baroness to feel as sad and angry as she did.
  • Perhaps she thought that paying The Baroness back would make her feel better.
  • Perhaps she didn’t know what she wanted from The Baroness, but something inside her wanted to hurt her.
  • She resented the fact that The Baroness had everything she wanted, and had not been punished for causing her mother’s death and stealing the necklace.
• [PowerPoint slide 7]
  • As human beings we make choices all the time.
  • Sometimes the choices we make are simple and don’t affect anyone else.
  • E.g. what to have for lunch.
  • Other choices we make have a big impact on others.
  • E.g. persuading your friend to get drunk at a party and then do something dangerous.
  • All of us have choices, and often our choices have an impact on people around us.
• [PowerPoint slide 8]
  • Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa, but before that he was imprisoned for 27 years.
  • Grew up under the system called apartheid, which separated white people from black people and other people of colour.
• [PowerPoint slide 9]
  • Mandela fought against this system and was arrested and imprisoned.
  • Imagine the unfairness of spending 27 years of your life locked up for fighting against injustice.
  • Imagine the hurt and anger that Nelson Mandela must have felt.
  • Imagine how resentful you might become.
  • In 1990 he was released from prison, and rather than taking revenge, Nelson Mandela worked for justice and reconciliation for the rest of his life.
  • President.
  • Nobel Peace Prizewinner.
  • Father of the Nation.
• [PowerPoint slide 10]
  • ‘Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.’
  • Revenge may make us feel good to begin with.
  • In the end it will hurt us more than it hurts the other person.
  • Taking revenge on someone, or resenting them, will not make us feel any better.
• [PowerPoint slide 11]
  • Jesus’ words about revenge.
  • Jewish tradition taught that if someone did something to you, you had the right to do the same thing back to them.
  • If you lost an eye in a fight with someone, you had the right to poke out their eye.
  • If someone punched you and you lost a tooth, you had the right to punch them back so they lost a tooth.
  • Familiar expression, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’.
  • The law was meant to limit revenge, but human beings often want to take it further.
• [PowerPoint slide 12]
  • Matthew 5:38-45 (Jesus Christ)
  • ‘You have heard that it was said, ”Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ”Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’
• [PowerPoint slide 13]
  • Jesus says don’t take revenge, but forgive people who hurt you.
  • Don’t hate your enemies, love your enemies by not taking revenge or feeling resentful.
  • Be kind to them, pray for them and love them, even if it costs you to do it.
• [PowerPoint slide 14]
  • Estella made the choice to take revenge on The Baroness.
  • It makes for a good film.
  • But it is the original story of a villain.
  • Cruella de Vil is a cruel character who makes everyone around her unhappy.
  • Taking revenge on The Baroness doesn’t end the unhappiness.
  • It doesn’t bring back her mother.
  • It doesn’t actually give Cruella any peace.
• [PowerPoint slide 15]
  • In 1990 Nelson Mandela made the choice to be a man of peace.
  • He understood that seeking revenge would not set him free, and would not make him feel any better.
  • He chose to work for the good of his country and to let go of his resentment.
  • He was a man who is remembered as someone who brought peace to his nation and to the world.
• [PowerPoint slide 16]
  • Jesus lived out his own words.
  • When he was arrested and killed on a cross he didn’t fight back or look for a way to take revenge.
  • The Bible says that his death brings peace between human beings and God.
• [PowerPoint slide 17]
  • We all have a choice when someone offends or hurts us.
  • We can feel resentful and take revenge, or we can choose to be people who bring peace.
  • The choice is up to us.
    

Photo copyright for Cruella Powerpoint: Slide 1 Disney  Slide 2 Pixabay.com Slide 3 Freeimages.com Slide 4 Disney Slide 5 Disney Slide 6 Disney Slide 7 Pixabay.com Slide 8 © copyright John Mathew Smith 2001 Slide 9 © Moheen Reeyad / Wikimedia Commons / “Maximum Security Prison, Robben Island (02)” Slide 10 Pixabay.com Slide 11 eye by “Petr Novák, Wikipedia”  teeth Public domain Slide 12 Freeimages.com Slide 13 Pixabay.com Slide 14 Disney Slide 15 and 19 South Africa The Good News / www.sagoodnews.co.za Slide 16 image 8 www.LumoProject.com Slide 17 Pixabay.com Slide 18 Pixabay.com

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RESPOND

Prayer

• [PowerPoint slide 18]

There is a famous prayer written by St Francis of Assisi that speaks about bringing peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me bring love.

Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.

Where there is discord, let me bring union.

Where there is error, let me bring truth.

Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.

Where there is despair, let me bring hope.

Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.

Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

O Master, let me not seek as much

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love,

for it is in giving that one receives,

it is in self-forgetting that one finds,

it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,

it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

Reflection

• [PowerPoint slide 19]
  • Play some reflective music and show the quote from Nelson Mandela again. Invite pupils to think about situations where they have felt hurt or offended, and ask them to imagine what it might feel like to forgive the offender, and let go of the hurt.

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YOU WILL NEED:

1. A copy of Cruella (Disney, 2021, cert 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.
2. Cruella Assembly PowerPoint.
3. Two rolled up newspapers and two trays for Opening Activity.