Reach! Teach!

Integrating Media into the Classroom

2006-12-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

Integrating film and media studies in the classroom can emphasize a classroom topic, theme, and even help better engage students into the instruction. If, for example you taught high school literature and were specifically working on To Kill a Mockingbird, one could easily incorporate media into the classroom to emphasize the topic and themes in the literature.

With permission, your students could view clips from the movie Crash to emphasize the themes and topic of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. Not only would this help bring out these issues in a different form, it would also help students better relate to an older text. Crash is a recent movie set in modern day America, where as To Kill a Mockingbird takes place earlier in the 20^th century. Integrating this media into the classroom would help students better identify with the literature in the classroom.

One could also show the movie production of To Kill a Mockingbird and discuss the different ways the two forms of book and media attempt to create the same story. This could be done through comparing and contrasting and by recognizing the unique characteristics of both forms of the narrative. All these issues could be discovered in the classroom through small group and class discussions and/or through worksheets that help guide students in figuring out the separate values of media and text.

Fantastic Folk Music

2006-11-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

I love the genre of folk music. There are two types of folk music, traditional and popular. Traditional folk music was played by people in villages for people in those villages. It was music by the common people for the common people. In today’s society folk music refers to popular music that was influenced by that traditional folk music. Today’s folk music genre has many cultural influences descending from many different cultures.

I love both traditional and popular folk music, as they both have incredible value:

Traditional folk music attracts me because it is authentic, coming straight from the soul. Folk music originated as a community event, it was music created to provoke emotions among the people, not to orchestrate according to musical rules on staffs. Folk musicians played what their hands and heart told them to play, instead of reading music. Traditional folk music also had voice accompaniment that told a story of the community’s culture.

Popular folk music, combines today’s society with the traditional folk customs. Today, there are popular folk musicians who infuse a lot of traditional folk techniques with the modern style of music. Some use modern instruments to play traditional folk songs, others weave in modern stories to traditional folk music tones, others cater to the needs of following written music, but add additional soulful twists led by the heart and hand.

I have an example song for each both types of folk music:

For traditional folk music, I love the song Meadowlands. I have heard this traditional Russian song played by St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra, and its’ accompaniment consists of vocal, accordion, balalaika, and domra talents. Each instrument does it’s own rhythmic pattern and melody that does not follow the music. Its instruments and vocals tell the story of old Russia and is often played in local areas by the people of NE Minneapolis for the people of NE Minneapolis.

For popular folk music, I love Bob Dylan’s revival folk music! It’s very hard for me to choose a favorite, but North Country Blues is always a good choice. The music and vocals work together in this song to tell a sad local story.

Balalaika Documentary

2006-11-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of a balalaika? Many people in this country think of a Greek pastry when they hear this word instead of its true definition. In the Twin Cities area, however, there is a growing population of people who are learning what that word means. It is a Russian musical instrument that is often found playing traditional folk and gypsy music. I think it would be very interesting to make a documentary on a local group that started in NE Minneapolis, St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra, which plays at several events around the Twin cities.

The main point of the balalaika orchestra documentary would be to create awareness of the strong cultural heritage pride in NE Minneapolis and to introduce the passion of folk music to the film’s audience. The film would make strong emphasis on why keeping traditions alive is important in our modern society.

I would interview several people of all ages, beginning with the members of the St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra asking them how they started playing with the group, and why they became and are interested in it. I would then ask audience members why they come to see the group’s performances, what keeps them coming? Why is it important to them? After interviewing the performers and the audience, I would also interview the founders of the group and ask for their opinions on the importance and interest in the music.

St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra has many activities and practices that I could also select to add to my documentary. I would video them during their practice sessions, meetings, and at a variety of performance events including the local Kramarczuk’s Ukrainian Deli, weddings, festival of nations, museums, etc. I would also make a point to film them when they are having a balalaika party, where they value their social time with good drink and food.

Creating an authentic, realistic portrayal of St. Mary’s Balalaika Orchestra should be fairly easy. It may, however, be confusing to find out the history behind the orchestra as there may be several variations on the oral story. I would have to make sure to interview key people who know the exact history and compare others’ responses to it.

Politics, Politics, Politics

2006-11-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

I watched the 10 o'clock channel 5 news last night (Wednesday). As expected, the first 20 minutes were devoted strictly to the political races. It focused on who won against who, and why so and so didn't win. It told of the other votes, including the newly passed transportation amendment, and how the vote for school funding did not pass.

The news cast spent half of the political time on how Governor Pawlenty had a well-scheduled night during the political race and how he visited several locations while Hatch kept a low profile. I thought it was biased in the way that during that section, they only interviewed Pawlenty and his supporters while neglecting to hear Hatch's side. The media made Hatch look disrespectful, unproductive, and uncaring. It appears that CBS had a politically biased presentation of the situation. If they would have interviewed people on Hatch's side, it could have been a more neutral newscast.

After the politics were over, CBS added in a quick blurb of local events including a woman dead in a fire, ten police officers in the hospital, and the case of a drunk driver who killed someone. These broadcasts together totaled approximately five minutes. It was interesting, because in usual everyday news, these events would most likely take up five minutes a piece, but CBS did balance their news yesterday in order to fit in the political campaign.

The next five minutes were focused on upcoming traffic and weather (did you know it's supposed to snow tonight) and Roseville's new skating arena-the largest refrigerated ice area in North America.

Finally, the last ten minutes were focused on SPORTS! We heard about upcoming high school state tournaments, the Gophers and Viking's latest results and upcoming games, and they interviewed various athletes.

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2006-11-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

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Clearly Popular

2006-11-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

“Clean, and Clear, and under Control,” broadcasts one adolescent female on a commercial during one of WB23’s teen flicks, One Tree Hill. After she states her overheard line, she and her friends start to giggle and fall on top of each other in a ‘sisterly’ sort of way.

The girls in the commercial are BEAUTIFUL! That is, beautiful according to society’s definitions-beautiful because they have clean and clear skin. Their faces are magically free of all blemish, scar, and pimples, even though they are in the stage of their lives when they are most susceptible to acne-an impressive defeat. Why does our culture make the impossible beautiful?

The ads for Johnson & Johnson’s ‘Clean & Clear’ are seen constantly during commercials airing when popular teenage shows are playing on television. Clean & Clear ads also appear in nearly all adolescent female magazines. The setting is usually a bathroom in front of a mirror or a bedroom. Whichever setting the ad takes place, it usually shows a clear light-blue backdrop making the setting automatically look clean. Our connection from blue to clean from a semiotic analysis occurs because blue is a culturally made ‘clean’ color in our society due to the many blue cleaning products.

All of the Clean & Clear ads have women models. Notice the plural form women. It is interesting to note that the women are hardly seen alone in these ads. They have a popular image when they are modeled with others, they appear to be well liked and have close friends because of their clear skin.

The Clean & Clear ads are definitely targeting young adolescent females as the product is modeled by beautiful young adolescent females who give the object a subjective appeal. The product subconsciously appeals to the audience’s yearning for popularity. Young adolescent females may begin to believe that if they use this product, they will become beautiful and popular.

My Big Fat Greek Genre

2006-10-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Genres…Classifying films….I love romance. I love comedy. Therefore, I shall write about Romantic Comedy.

One of my favorite Romantic Comedy movies is ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’. Like several other romantic comedies, this movie also involves a wedding plot. Other such movies include ‘Runaway Bride’ and ‘My Best Friends Wedding’. Romantic comedies often have the same basic general plot line: girl likes guy, girl overcomes obstacles to get the guy, guy and girl overcome obstacles together, and guy and girl live happily ever after…This is exactly what happens in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” as the main female character works in a Greek restaurant run by her family. The ‘guy’ walks in and does not notice her because she is not attractive, but of course, the ‘girl’ notices him. The ‘girl’ must go through the obstacle of changing her appearance to get the guy. The girl gets the guy, but now they must humorously struggle with the girl’s family and their interesting religion. Eventually, the couple settles and lives happily ever after.

That is just one example of this type of genre. I just find it very interesting how there are so many films that have such a similar plot! Can’t we as a society be more creative and original in our films? None-the-less, I enjoy each and every one of them. Why is that? Branston and Stafford’s textbook ‘The Media Student’s Book’ says that “Audiences seek pleasure in the familiar. We enjoy the ritual and reassurance involved in knowing broadly what might happen in a particular media text”. Thus the variations of characters, but the same typical character traits keep us coming back for more.

Media Ethnography

2006-10-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

According to Richard Beach’s upcoming book teachingmedialiteracy.com, “Media ethnographers study how audiences have become active performers through participation with the media”. Knowing that my mom often expresses visible reactions when watching sappy films, I decided to observe her watching the infamous 1983 made-for-television movie Anne of Green Gables starring Megan Follows. In doing this activity and interviewing my mom with questions about her viewing, I discovered how and why she has become an active performer through participation with the media. The following shows excerpts from my observations and interview:

Example Observations:

While watching the movie, my mom formed an attachment to the father character in the show, Mathew Cuthbert. This attachment became apparent when Mathew died of a heart attack in the fields, because my mom started crying tears that continued coming for the next half hour during the movie.
When the character Anne Shirley tries to show off to the other students in her school by walking on the ridge on the roof of a house, my mom gasped and tensed her body, clutching the cushion on the couch as Anne fell off the roof and sprained her ankle.

Example Interview Questions
How many times have you seen this film?

Probably between ten and twenty times, I used to watch it with my daughter often when she was little.

When you decide to watch Anne of Green Gables, when is a typical time you would watch it?

I used to put it on for my daughter when she was little, but now I put it in when I’m too tired or sick to do any more work around the house or related to my job. It helps me to zone out and put my cares elsewhere for the day.

Why did you cry when the character Mathew Cuthbert died in the movie?

Mathew reminded me of my father who also passed away and had heart attacks. Both Mathew and my dad were quiet, humble, and spiritual people who made their daughters (adopted daughters in Anne’s case) feel special. At that part, I felt an attraction to Anne because we had a lot in common-both loosing a father.

Why did you gasp and tense up when you saw the character Anne Shirley fall off the roof top?

As a mother, I have built up a safety, concern, and worry for youth. I started to get inwardly nervous when she started her show-off business, but then the fear came out outwardly when she actually fell. On a related note, initially I had a hard time warming up to Marilla Cuthbert, but when Anne sprained her ankle in the woods and was late in coming home, I sympathized with Marilla when Anne hurt herself, because I knew how worried Marilla would be. Seeing Marilla concerned was the beginning of my liking of her character.

What is your favorite aspect of this movie?

I am a sucker for romance; therefore I enjoyed the interaction between Gilbert and Anne. Also, when my daughter was young I used to enjoy discussing the character Anne with her and talking about her independent spirit.

Conclusion:

My mom became an active performer through participation in the media. She formed social connections to the characters in the film, such as Anne Shirley when her father died, and worrying about Anne’s safety. My mom also confessed to be that she spent many of her days at her grandmothers’ farm, suggesting that she identified with the media through class and gender identity.

Everything my mom identified with or was attracted to in the movie, such as the mother and daughter relationships and the romances between Gilbert and Anne, are examples of traditional female attractions in films. Society attracts females to this film through our society-constructed-accepted women gender values. Women, according to society are supposed to like romance and strong female-dominant characters. My mom fulfils the role of the feminine audience becoming an active performer through participation with media designed to attract a female audience.

My mom also showed the importance this media had on a social communication level. This movie helped her discuss topics of independence and death with me as a child. It became an opportunity for social viewing to discuss societal ways.

The Matriarchal Einstein

2006-10-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

Check out these images! Why is it that when looking up teachers in Google images, the majority of teachers portrayed are female? Surely you all remember having male teachers during your childhood, right?

This exemplifies the Media Representation of teachers in America. Look closely at the pictures. Some show teachers standing in front of the classroom appearing to instruct in a traditional style, where the teacher lectures and the students are passive learners.

The fact that Einstein also appears and because teachers are often portrayed holding a book in their hands suggests the idea that teachers are all-knowledgeable, that no students can effectively challenge the teacher -- What a stereotypical image! Are teachers that unapproachable?

I also find the picture with words beneath it of interest, because it stereotypes teachers into liberal political views.

The media's repetition of these stereotypical images of a teacher has shaped society's views on what a teacher should be and what a teacher should look like -- a matriarchal Einstein.

This image is incorrect as many teachers actively engage their students in the classroom, sit in a circle with students, are indeed males, and are learning from the students rather than knowing everything from the start. More images should reject these stereotypes by diversifying images to change societal view of teachers.

Lost is Back!

2006-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

The infamous Lost came back last night to start off a new season. While watching this season premier, I realized that the show’s plot challenges modernist views of time and human improvement. Using a postmodern analysis approach to critically analyze this text, I realized that the use of flashbacks throughout the shows blend the characters' past and present into one element. The fact that many of the characters knowingly or unknowingly encountered each other in their “past” life also contributes to the possible blending of the two worlds of the past and present. This challenges the modernist view of time moving in a linear direction.

Lost also confuses our knowledge of good and evil. The ‘others’ in the film claim to be very good, contrasted to the main characters they have recently captured, who they believe and proclaim to be bad. This, however, confuses the audience who had met the main characters and learned about their goodness and struggles before they met the ‘others’. In fact, the ‘others’ were thought to be bad because they were trying to capture the main characters. This confuses the whole modernist notion of human improvement; the audience doesn’t know what to believe…

I also find it very interesting to use a semiotic analysis approach to critically analyze the film. Lost uses the audiences’ knowledge of signs to build suspense and confusion in the movie. In last night’s episode, for example, Sawyer was imprisoned in a cage with a machine that had the symbol of a knife and fork on it. That knife and fork for westerners universally means food, so naturally Sawyer pressed it. Instead of receiving food, however, Sawyer received an electric shock. The Lost series plays with our recognition of signs, such as these throughout the TV series, giving the audience suspense and unsuspected responses.

I also found it interesting last night when Kate was asked to take a shower. After her shower, her clothes were taken and she was given a rather sexy dress to wear to dinner with an ‘other’. When she asked him why she had to wear it and why she was given dinner, he responded “I gave you the dress so you’d feel like a lady…I gave you a knife so you could feel civilized”. I thought this interestingly reflects our ‘cultural standards’. From a feminist analysis approach, is this telling the audience that they need to wear a sexy dress to be a lady? Why is it that women need to wear a dress to feel like a lady? This scene definitely reflected our cultural constructions of gender and what it means to be a civilized human being.

Storybook Love

2006-09-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am in love with the movie Ella Enchanted. And I took note of how narration occurs through editing in the scene where Ella is forced (because of her spell) to sing a song in front of the giants. Most of the scene is taken with high angles to further emphasize the smallness of Ella and Charmont in comparison to the large giants. It is also a scene where we really begin to see that Ella and Prince Charmont are falling in love because of some close-ups of Ella looking at Charmont and visa versa. There are also switch-scenes, in which the first one will show Ella and the next will show Charmont, both smiling happily. Through the editing of the film we see the connection forming between the two love birds. There is also another connection forming between an elf and a giantess. Every time the giantess is shown in the film it is through a low angle shot to emphasize her height and the elf is shown at a high angle shot. Again we see close-ups of the two looking at each other, providing more narration within the editing of the scene. Some over-the shoulder shots involve camera angles looking over the giants’ shoulders towards the performance of Ella on the table, again emphasizing the height difference between the two species. All of these elements work together to create a love story, very sweet…

Through a Child's Eye

2006-09-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

I was watching Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski’s documentary film, Born into Brothels and was amazed at the wide variety of film techniques in only the first few minutes of the film! The different uses of camera shots, lighting, and music all worked together to portray the meaning of relationships and narrative development that summarizes what the entire film was about. There was no speaking during those first few minutes but the images and music alone could tell the story.

After watching the whole movie, I found the movie to be about a woman who went into Calcutta’s red light district to live with them and learn about their life styles. While she was there, she formed a special attachment to the children, and became interested in how they saw the world. She taught them how to use a camera and the children took pictures depicting their lifestyles in very artistic views. Realizing, however, the children’s dreams of becoming doctors and the like, the woman took it upon herself to try to find a way for the children to go to school away from the life that would lead them into the business of brothels.

Those first few minutes of the film used a variety of camera angles beginning with an extreme close up of a child’s eyes. From there, the film shows a high angle shot looking down on ally ways in the red light district of Calcutta. We go to medium zooms into those ally ways during the night and see women lined up on the streets waiting for men. Again, we see an extreme close-up of another child’s eyes, leading us into a camera that shows us Calcutta from a child’s level. The point of view shots leads us to look up through low angle shots into the faces of the women and men on the streets; we see their waists rapidly pass the center of the screen before our eyes. The music in the background is native music of India that begins with a slow, sad tune as we see images of the brothels in Calcutta. It picks up speed as the camera does tracking shots following people in the streets. We see how busy the streets of this district become at night; we see alcohol poured, people smoking, and hundreds of people walking in the streets. We see children at an eye-to-eye level playing in the passageways and working in their homes. Finally, the very last clip in the first three minutes of the film brings us back to an extreme close up of a child’s eyes. In them there is a light reflecting like a sparkle as the head tilts down in a way that resembles a sorrowful expression.

These film clips together work together in unity to tell a story, to narrate how the children see their surroundings and relationships to what is happening around them. As children, they look up to their elders, but their eyes show the sorrow that dreams of another way. These techniques work together to form a larger purpose directed towards the audience. A purpose of raising awareness of what these children go through, and a purpose of evoking a reaction to do something for these children, such as providing them with hope of a better life. I would highly recommend this film to everyone! It is put together in such a beautiful way with not only unique film angles that create beautiful art, but also to see the art the children create and how the two medias work together to create an inspiring documentary.

Adolescent Literature

2006-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since most of us had to read this adolescent-level book, lets rate it! Give me some comments!

Keeping Media in the Classroom

2006-09-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

Because of our school district’s recent low test scores in reading and writing, our curriculum removed all classes involving media studies to return its focus to “basic skills” in reading and writing. The school board decided that involving medias such as weblogs and films in classrooms influence students negatively because they do not consider the language of media as literature. They believe that involving students in internet language takes away from their chance of improving basic writing and reading skills.

This is very unfortunate because although it is important for students to know basic skills in reading and writing, it is also important for them to understand media literacy skills for success in a world of increasing amounts of technology. The district should consider the fact that teaching basic skills in reading and writing could be enhanced through media. Many teachers at the school use films to fulfill the state media standards, but in their curriculum, the film is used only as a re-enforcer.

Take into consideration the numerous possibilities in the ways teachers can use media to enhance a students learning of basic reading and writing skills while at the same time preparing them for the new literacies in a changing world! Introducing media within the classroom can increase participation and active learning! Take in consideration the example of introducing basic literature through a traditionally canonized high school text such as Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The teacher could enhance students’ comprehensions of the text by creating a webblog where students could use technology to form online discussions of the text. This would also give students who do not like to talk in class a chance to voice their opinions. A class weblog could also provide links to other websites that have information on the topics the students are studying in relation to “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The teacher could also use media to connect the outdated story to present times by showing a contemporary movie with similar themes, such as “Crash”. In this way students can form a deeper meaning with the text by relating it to the film and modern society. While introducing these forms of media as a learning resource, students can also demonstrate and improve their basic writing skills by writing papers to connect various themes between what they learned in the textbook and additional information from their media sources.

As high school is often a place to prepare students for the after world of college and other post-educational experiences, the school board of our district should understand the importance of replacing media into our curriculum. The world is populated by many forms of media that is only increasing, and students will need media skills to succeed in their future jobs that often use media devices such as weblogs, wikipedias, etc. Please re-instate media into our curriculum to use as instructional devices that can enhance our students’ education of basic reading and writing skills.

Reach! Teach!

2006-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Check out this website: www.prangstgrup.com It is an improv group that likes to take the seriousness out of life by performing unsuspected musicals in unsuspected locations. One of them, my favorite, could inspire some of you teachers out there, Reach! Teach!