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The Shawshank Redemption on Charlie Rose

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

In-Class Writing: Who Am I?

Last term, we spent a lot of time talking about identity. In class today, you’re going to start working on the voice-over narration for the media project we talked about last term. In the end, you’ll be using Photo Story 3 to combine images, music, and your own voice to create a 3-5 minute presentation meant to convey your identity–who you are, how others see you, and how you see yourself.

Consider all the different angles on identity we discussed last term: the meaning of your name; where you’re from; what activities you participate in; what you watch, read, and listen to; what you buy; what subculture, if any, you consider yourself a part of. Remember too, we’re not assuming that you’re always the same all the time. We’re not assuming that you are the same person now that you’ve always been, or that this is the person you will always be. Think about all these aspects of your own identity when approaching this question: Who am I?

Take that question and just start writing in MS Word. Write it like you’re talking to your viewer, because eventually you’ll be recording it aloud. In the end you probably want about two or three double-spaced pages, but don’t worry about that right now. Jot down notes about images you want to include, or songs you might want to use. At the end of the hour, print it off, and we’ll talk about what you did on Tuesday.

If you get done with this, you can look for PhotoStory 3 under “all programs” (in my list, it’s just after MS Word), and play around with it a bit. But don’t come to class empty handed on Tuesday!

Vonnegut, The Shapes of Stories

In the short video posted below, author Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions) explains how stories can be charted according to the positive and negative events in the story. Watch his examples, and then do the same for A Long Way Gone. Though Ishmael Beah’s memoir recounts a number of tragic events, consider how they compare to one another when you are drawing the chart. What is the low point for Beah?

 

This Boy’s Life writing assignment, 10/17

Here was Monday’s writing assignment, if you missed class:

Perspectives – This Boy’s Life Activity

Toby’s/Jack’s identity constantly changes throughout the memoir.  Individually, go through the first 125 pages of the text and find two examples of where and how Toby’s identity changes.

For each example you find, write down a quote that embodies Toby’s behavior at this point in the memoir.  Write at least a paragraph for each example, answering the following:

• Provide some context for your quotation.
• Where is Toby in the memoir?
• How old is he?
• What city is he in?  Is he with his mother, Dwight?
• Describe how Toby presents himself in your example.
  Consider the following:
• How does he dress?
• How does he interact with his peers?  Does he buy into a certain identity in school?
• Who does he hang out with?
• How does he approach his mother?

After you found your two examples, compare them.
What changes about Toby in each example?
What stays the same?  Finally, answer the questions:

How would you describe Toby’s true identity? Is this identity hard to discover? Why or why not?

Friday Advertising Assignment

Here’s the link for what we did Friday, if you were gone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc

 

 

TV Research Website Rubric

Here is the updated rubric for your TV Research Website. For information on using in-text parenthetical citation–which is specifically asked for on the rubric–click here.

The American Family on TV (part 1)

This week, to begin our discussion of representations of the American family on television, we watched pieces of Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and Lassie. Assume that you will need to be familiar enough with these shows, and the way they portray the family, to be able to talk and write about them later on. If you missed any of them, find them on the TV Land website to watch.

We also started our group projects, analyzing a TV series to discuss where it fits into our discussion of the American Family on TV. Further details about the project will be available soon. If you forgot how to get to the site for building your website, it’s Wix.com.

Links for Le Guin’s “She Unnames Them”

T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, referenced in the story.

Life magazine’s “Eve Was Framed” cover.

 

Res Blues, Chapter Five

We’re starting this week by reviewing chapter five of Reservation Blues. Answer these questions on your own–bullet points are fine–to prepare for the next Forum Assignment, which will be given out tomorrow.

1. What conflicts between Coyote Springs and religion arise in chapter five? List as many as possible.

2. What history between Native Americans and pop culture might be relevant?

3. What history between Native Americans and Christianity might be relevant?

4. What history between Native Americans and the American Government might be relevant?

5. What do “The Reservation’s Ten Commandments” have to do with anything (pp. 154-5)?