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.