Adaptiations

I think all of the adaptations of Jane Austen novels could be used to study adaptation. Her narrators are often strongly omniscient and so translating her work into film is difficult and it is interesting to consider what kinds of choices filmmakers make in order to get the story across in a manner that honors the book, but is also good filmmaking. I also happen to love Jane Austen and most of the adaptations of her work are quite good.

I also think that watching adaptations of Shakespeare is helpful to students because his plays are often difficult for students, especially struggling students to follow. Additionally, a lot of the adaptations put the plays into contemporary times, so they become more relevant to contemporary students.

I also think that if an adaptation is well made and is true to the original, or at least respectful and doesn't cheapen it, it is valuable for students who struggle with reading, learn better visually, or are just an ordinary student in the 21st century who has been exposed, most likely, to far more movies than books.

In order to get students thinking about adaptations, I would use programs like VideoAnt (the way Jane and I did for our final project, for example), VoiceThread, iMovie, etc. First, I would have students reflect on the adaptations using VideoAnt and then have them construct their own adaptations using iMovie. In our Crosswinds unit, we had students work with script writing, storyboarding, and filming as a way to lead up to the final production. I thought this was a good progression because the students were able to consider all the little things that go into transforming words into pictures and vice versa.

My Music...

My favorite genre of music is rock and socially responsible hip hop. I am very partial to local music that was made in Minneapolis or the midwest in general. I really got interested in this style of music when I moved away from here. I developed a strong sense of hometown pride when I lived in New York. Listening to local music helped me feel connected to home. From there, I've generally gotten interested in indie, small label music. This is mainly from listening to the Current, which is another way that I've gotten interested in local, midwestern music. I like music. I think my preference for local and indie music reflects some of my core values that influence a variety of areas of my life.

Some of my favorite artists are:

Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Halloween, Alaska, Bon Iver, Bat for Lashes, The Shins, Sun Kil Moon, Kings of Leon, Mason Jennings, Mystery Palace, Ulrich Schnauss, and many more.

I genuinely cannot think of one song that illustrates all of my preferences, because I have many. Also, my "favorites" change as often as my mood does. I suppose if I HAD to pick one artists' body of work I'd bring with me to a desert island, I would pick Ani Difranco. I have a strong autobiographical connection to her music. Her music was hugely inspirational and eye-opening for me when I was in college in New York. Also, her style changes so much, you could find an album of hers to listen to that would go with almost any mood.

The Documentary "King Corn"

I watched the movie King Corn for this project. It is a low budget documentary about two recent college graduates who move to Iowa in order to grow one acre of corn and then follow it into the food market. This film was impressive in many ways. Since the film was pretty low budget, they had to improvise their animations and some of their research. For example, when they are explaining the history of the corn farm and the impact government subsidies have had on the corn industry, they use children's toys in stop-action animation. Also, they were not given access to the corn syrup manufacturing plants and, so, figured out how to make high fructose corn syrup in their kitchen from the internet, which was a particularly hilarious and impressive segment. They are also very consistent in their endeavor. It is their desire to be hands-on about every aspect of growing their acre of corn and their inability to do that in some cases is highlighted and reflected on. They are also very committed to their project. There is something refreshing about watching a documentary made on a low budget and with the very transparent imprint of the filmmakers on it. Because of the low budget quality and the relationships and connection the filmmakers make and the obvious commitment they have, the documentary has an authentic feel to it and gets the message across. There are fewer moments of bias in this film because you really sense that they are learning things as they go along, right along with the viewer. They present information rather than make commentary. It doesn't really have a "position" other than "there is stuff in your food that you don't know about and you are often eating something without realizing it" and, yes, it convinced me hugely.

The primary point of this documentary was to educate the viewer about what is in their food. Further, though, they wanted the viewer to also become aware of how what they eat is not just, literally, who and what you are, but also reflects your position on how the government treats farmers and the food industry, whether we are aware of it or not. Overall, I think that a documentary like this helps people understand that there really is more to the ordinary things in our daily lives than we think.

In order to help students think about ways to create their own documentaries or be able to critique the ones around them, I would probably show some docs side-by-side. For example, I would show this one along with Food, Inc, because that one was clearly higher budget and had more of an agenda. I would ask students to try and identify those things on their own and point out instances of bias in one and not in the other, etc. I would do the same thing with a Michael Moore doc, for example, alongside other, lower-budget productions about the same issues. I would eventually ask students to create their own doc about something relevant and important to them.

Who Owns My Media??

WCCO morning news broadcast:

The first story was about a man who was saved from a burning car by passersby. The story included two brief interviews and lasted about a minute.

The second story was a 30 second glimpse into a shooting that occurred in Lakeland Shores. It turns out it wasn't random.

Next was a 3-4 minute exclusive look at the private life of the man responsible for the Fort Hood shooting. Clips were played of the inside of his home and special attention was paid to his Muslim faith and there was an extended clip of some emails between him and a well-known imam.

Amy Klobuschar is working to help unemployed vets (30 seconds)

The search for St. Paul's new superintendent continues and the candidates are all local except for one (1-2 minutes)

Republican Jungbauer drops out the governor's race because of troubles raising funds in this difficult economy (2 minutes)

High-tech maps will be helping people in the river valley combat floods this season, thanks to a federal grant (2 minutes)

There is a poaching controversy in Cannon Falls. It seems a world-record sized buck was shot illegally, which brings up safety issues (2-3 minutes)

News was made up mostly of local stories that dealt with economy, crime, and public figures. The weather was glossed over fairly quickly and was exclusively local.

Sports news was very quick and dealt mainly with the nuts and bolts of sports, like the new Target field.

The ads featured were for Discover credit cards, flu vaccinations at Children's Hospital, a realty company, and Sony gadgets.

The most obvious thing about watching this news is the tone of the reporter or anchor's voice. Their tone reflects the attitude they expect you to take on the issues you're watching. Additionally, some of the stories included pictures and interviews, others were glossed over, despite the impression that they were relatively important. For example, the story about Senator Klobachar was a talking point, but the story about Jungbauer included a picture, quotes, and facts about him, even though the story was about him dropping out of the governor's race.

In a typical week, I get most of my news from NPR, which is community funded news. I also watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which is owned by Viacom. CNN, which is Time Warner. My internet access is via Comcast. I think the majority of the time I spend on the internet is on sites owned by Time Warner. I read mostly Harper's Magazine, which I believe is independently owned.

I don't think it's possible for a news organization to be truly unbiased. Who owns the station definitely effects the content of the station. An owner's political interests will be respected in the stories that are broadcast.

As an activity for students to critically analyze the news, I might have students create broadcasts about a book that we are reading. For example, a new broadcast about Romeo and Juliet, one from the side of the Capulets and the other from the side of the Montigues. From there, we could explore bias in the news, what it means for someone to "own" the news, how to tell if something is biased, and ways to fill in the gaps.

Ad Analysis

In the spirit of full disclosure, I hate this ad and that is why I chose it for this project. The target audience for this ad appears to be middle- to upper-middle class women who don't work and who are the sole housekeepers. The women are portrayed as silly and giggly. The ad implies that having cheap things is bad, but that this product, despite being cheap COSTING, could pass for something that is acceptable to have in the home. People who couldn't afford to go to France can buy this candle and might be able to convince people that they can afford things that are, in fact, out of their reach.

The ad is trying to sell their product, which is often identified as being cheap, maybe even tacky. However, they are trying to position their product as something that could pass for something else. The ad implies that faking having something - whether it be a lifestyle or a particular material object - is better than not having it at all.

Additionally, this ad implies that women are the ones who keep the home and talk of virtually nothing else. They also seem to have nothing to do during the day except socialize, bake pies, and make their home smell like a french one.

Glade Commercial

Ad Project

I made this "ad" as a way of critiquing modern solutions to obesity and general overweight-ness. Pills as answer to everything is becoming increasingly more prevalent and I believe it is a dangerous trend. When people think that there is a pill out there to solve any problem they might face, they fail to take personal responsibility for their choices. For example, a pill that helps you lose weight, but may, in fact, be unhealthy for you in a variety of ways, neglects the notion that losing weight is a means of getting healthy, not just skinny. The package may encourage users to eat right, exercise, and consult a doctor, etc, but again, the mere notion that a pill can cure all, and that one's weight and general appearance is more important that overall health is a dangerous one.

I think that having students create an ad or a parody of an ad and present them to their classmates is a great activity. Or students could be given ads along with supplemental readings and asked to re-write the the words, disclosures, or general messages that are in the ads. For example, students might be given a "Got Milk" ad that shows a half-naked woman with the milk mustache, along with a short article about treatment of dairy cows, antibiotics and other additives in milk. The student would then, using iMovie or ComicLife create thought bubbles for the ad, with the woman thinking "this is a milk ad? I thought I was doing a sports illustrated swim suit shoot. And, geez. My stomach hurts...," etc.

Film Noir Activity

Film Noir Activity:

In order to have students consider the elements and conventions of film noir, as well as engage with the stereotypes and limitations of it, groups of 3 or 4 students would receive a slip of paper with the title of a fairy tale or cartoon on it. The students would then adapt the story and present it as a film noir. Audience members would try and guess the story and take notes on the specific elements the other students used. Alternately, students could take scenes from film noir and translate them into other genres. These activities would help students become more aware of the elements that make up different types of film.

Film Noir PP by Molly and Laura

Film Noir Pp 1

Media Ethnography - Fantasy Sports Teams

I chose to focus my media ethnography on fantasy football leagues, because I know many people who are involved with them, including family members, but I know very little about them. Before I began observing people involved in these leagues, I made a few notes about the preconceived notions I had about them. I had noticed that the members were generally very enthusiastic about their leagues and their individual teams. I also noted that for many of the people I knew, they appeared to be more of a social institution than an athletic one.

One thing I really did NOT know about the leagues was the time, effort, and money people invest in keeping up with them. There seem to be about 3 different "types" of participants: the people who are in it to have fun, the ones who are in it

It turns out that many of my previous observations were supported by my ethnographic observations. I observed participants in two main environments. First, I interviewed people I knew who were involved with fantasy football leagues (even though I began this assignment interested in fantasy teams in general, I ended up only observing football participants) and then I "lurked" in on a few fantasy chat rooms.

The people I spoke to noted that their participation was generally for social reasons. They spoke of the parties and events that surround participation in the leagues. However, people in the chat rooms were involved more for the challenge maintaining their team presents. They were much more interested in talking about statistics, current news about players, and they appeared to take on a more challenging/aggressive tone with others.

It is important to note that the vast majority of people I observed and interviewed were men. The men commented on women that were in their leagues and often spoke of "luck" when women were brought up. So, generally, I interpret one main reason for why people to get involved with fantasy teams is to establish a manly/macho stance. Women typically get involved in order to be seen as "one of the guys." This is not something that they say, but comes from the From what I can tell, women who are involved for reasons other than that keep to themselves and have all women leagues and don't get as caught up in the competition online.

Another reason people seem to get involved is the reward they get out of it - money. I would contend that the "risk" this poses entices many participants. Socially acceptable gambling that can be turned into a social event seems to be attractive to men who otherwise struggle to find social opportunities to get together.

Buying Happiness??

Critical Lenses

Gender/Rhetorical Lens:

This is a smart and probably pretty successful commercial. In addition, it is an important message. Before one gets too immersed in critical lenses and begins to critique everything through them, it's worth remembering that sometimes, the message in a text or in media are important ones that have to be said.

Scrutinizing this ad through the critical lenses of gender and viewer response, gives it a different hue. The commercial appears to work because the subject is male. It's funny to watch a man be frustrated by his son, and even possibly regret having him. You get the sense that the child is behaving badly simply because he's a child, not because of parenting. I would argue that a woman in the same situation would not be as amusing to watch, because of the roles men and women are supposed to play in regards to their children.

It's implied that the parents aren't married and that if he had just used a condom, he would have been able to have responsibility-free sex, but the woman's decision to have the kid got in the way. Whether the subject were the mother or father, the implication is also that it's the woman's "fault." Men need to use condoms, not because it's a safe choice, but because it would free him from the "ball and chain."

Three friends set loose upon the wide, wide world...(imovie post)

In the summer of 2005, three friends set out to see the eastern side of the western side of the wide, wide world. These are their relics...

I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use this program. I've always been daunted by imovie, thinking it was far too advanced and complicated for me to learn, especially as someone who wasn't going to be making professional films for anyone beyond my friends, family, and students. However, learning this program has made me so much more confident in embracing other programs that may seem inaccessible to me. I am also much more confident that I can facilitate the use of this program in classroom in a meaningful and relevant way.

I can think of a variety of things students could do with this software. For example, I am really interested in young people's relationship with music and how it shapes their identity and the strong presence it plays in their lives. This program provides an opportunity for students to pair their visual thoughts about a text or theme with music they find important or meaningful. Whether students are aware of it or not, engaging with music is engaging with language and literacy - even if the music is purely instrumental. By stressing the way certain music can enhance and limit interpretation of the image it's paired with, I would hope to encourage students to think about how different mediums interact with and inform each other. Students can also benefit from a discussion about silence and how what isn't said can be as important as what is.

Additionally, this software provides opportunities for students to explore the mood elements of literature by adapting things we read into images for a movie. By adapting a dialogue-less scene into a movie, students are being asked to consider how a scene in a book is "seen" on camera. An exploration of this kind would also help students navigate other forms of media by being knowledgeable about what certain kinds of lighting "say" and the tightness of a camera angle can "reveal".

Overall, this technology is a wonderful way to invite students who struggle with traditional forms of assessment or who are interested in a variety of media to enter a dialogue about meaning and literacy and express themselves on their own turf. Imovie brings the visual elements of literature and the literary elements of music into the English classroom.

Using film/video in the classroom

How to creatively and meaningfully integrate film criticism into a Language Arts classroom:

When I was in school, movie day meant having a day off. Watching a movie in class was something we did when there was a substitute, or in between units to give us a "break". Watching movies was rarely used for direct instruction. We watched movies in Spanish in Spanish class, with the subtitles, presumably to give us practice listening to Spanish and to teach us about Spanish/Hispanic culture. We were always suspicious, though, that movies were used when the teacher simply did not want to come up with a lesson for the day. And this was probably true. The point, though, is that for me, thinking about movies as a mode of instruction is a little foreign. The more I consider it, though, the more I appreciate the opportunities using film in the classroom affords. Movies are a pervasive in our lives and it would be naive not to consider how bringing film into a classroom can effectively peak student's interest and get their attention. It is also archaic and elitist to assume that being a literate member of society is confined to being able to read and analyze books. Being able to read and analyze a movie requires skills similar to those needed to analyze literature. Next, I outline some ideas I have about how to integrate film criticism into a Language Arts classroom in a way that celebrates the traditional aspects of what such a classroom is meant to teach and also acknowledges and provides credibility to newer forms of "literature".

1.) (This activity would be used in a unit on script writing, "showing-not-telling" etc). Give each student a slip of paper with stage directions on it. For example, "it is night," "actor moves stage left and collapses," or "actors appear in a cramped, cold apartment". To begin, either in small groups or as a class, play a form of charades where the other students have to guess what the stage direction was. Then, ask students, in small groups, to write a literary scene in which this stage direction is employed, but not explicitly - they have to show the direction in their writing, not tell. Finally, show a scene in a movie and have students record what the stage directions might have looked like in the script. Then, in small groups, have students choose 3-4 directions they picked out and write a short story that the scene from the movie might have adapted. Discuss the elements of literature that filmmakers attend to in order to give life, or "seen" to the "scenes". From here, you could read passages from famous literature that has been adapted to a movie and talk about how this is done.

2.) Looking at film through critical lenses might be a good way to introduce those lenses to students. It's possible that students are more familiar with the medium of film and be more comfortable critiquing it than literature.

Annotation Nation!

CLICK HERE to see annotations on the wedding scene in Natural Born Killers.

I chose this scene to annotate because I particularly like this movie. People often think I'm a little crazy and sadistic when I reveal it as one of my favorite movies, but I enjoy it because there is SO much going on. This movie makes a heap of commentary on the media and it's tendency to sensationalize and superficially celebrate the macabre aspects of society and human nature. At the same time, it does not apologize for human nature and even suggests that what is unnatural and dangerous is to try and subdue it.

Reaction to MNartists: Art Shanty Project

I like this story because it is a quintessential Minnesota story. It's about Minnesotans taking their work and their fun outside, into the cold, and turning it into something unique and cultural. Contrary to an outsider's perspective, Minnesotans don't just hunker down in winter and do nothing. We bundle up and continue to live active and interesting lives, even when it's blustering out.

The audience for a vlog like this is active people who search for out of the ordinary experiences - young, old, male, female, artists, nonartists, and more. Minnesotans would like it because they'd be able to relate to the weather, the hilarity, and the whimsical side of it. Non-Minnesotans might like it because it would be something they'd want to experience; they'd see it as a uniquely Minnesota event. The story is accessible and has some humor, so people who aren't interested in art or even in participating in the show can still appreciate the message of having fun and having new experiences. One of the things that makes this so acceible, I think, is that it is narrated by the people who the story is about. Also, it is shot from the perspective of someone there, visiting the shanties, exploring the shanty community, and even being a part of the insider aspect of the community.

The shooting and editing aspects of the video are effective because it gives an intimate feel, like we're getting a close, personal look into something that would otherwise seem inaccessible or cliquish. It almost feels like an undercover camera getting an insiders peek, which makes the whole situation seem mysterious, but also inviting. That the people that are interviewed are enthusiastic, laughing, and not taking themselves too serisously adds to the impression that it is an inclusive and inviting community that you would want to visit. Also, because it is so obviously freezing, as a Minnesotan, you feel an instant bond, because we all know that it takes a hardcore Minnesotan to participate in something like that!

Molly's very first VLOG!