Fahrenheit 451 and Equalibrium

Integrating film into the class engages students and helps them put literature into context. For example, Fahrenheit 451 is a book that has great themes but can feel a little dated to students. When I teach Fahrenheit 451 I often start by having the students view the movie that was directed by Truffaut. A lot of the movie bores the pants off students but the part when the flying police cross the river always gets a huge laugh. We then read the book and then watch the Christian Bale movie Equalibrium. The students really get into the movie and draw great comparison between the movie and the book. I also think using film clips is a great way to make a connection with literature without using the time to view an entire movie. Students are very movie literate and often connect better to literature if they can relate it to something they know.

Gram Parsons RULES

Gram Parsons called his music "Cosmic American Music" because he incorporated, rock, country, and r&b. Many after him have called his music "country rock" (a term he hated) or "alternative country," but I just call it genius.

Parsons was a southern musician with big talent and big demons. His life was spent trying to come to terms with his religious beliefs and his addiction to drugs, alchohol, and the rock and roll lifestyle. Parsons' trademark was the Nudie suits he wore (cowboy-cut suits with intricate rhinestone designs)that had a cross emblazed across the back and poppy and marijuana plants on the rest of the suit. Parsons literally wore his struggle on his back.

His music tells stories of relationships, love, loss, and conflict. His signature album is Grievous Angel, which is a haunting must have cd for any music lover. My favorite song is "Hot Burrito #1," song about love and loss. Parsons' voice is vulnerable and the tune is so sweet. The chorus is: "I'm your toy/I'm your old boy/And I don't want no one but you to love me/ I wouldn't lie/You know I'm not that kind of guy. The song makes me feel sad for this person who has lost love but can't let it go. It's a gorgeous song.

Parsons recorded with The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Bros., solo, and with Emmy Lou Harris. He became friends with the Rolling Stones, in fact, Mick Jagger gave Parsons the song "Wild Horses" and Parsons recorded it before it became a Stones hit.

Gram Parsons died in 1973 from a drug overdose of morphine and tequila. After his death he has become a primary influence for many musicians across genres. However, he has been most influential in alternative country. Artists like Ryan Adams, Jeff Tweedy,and Lucnida Williams all pay homage to Parsons. A great tribute album is Return of the Grievous Angel, which I highly recommend.

I love southern rock and alternative country. I truly think it's because I grew up in Montana listening to classic country artists like Cash, Lynn, Robbins, Williams and I loved it. I also love rock and roll, especially southern rock like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, Drive By Truckers. Alternative Country pulls it all together; Great guitar riffs, country twang, smart lyrics.

Mocumentary - not documentary!

Kerry and I came up with a fantastic documentary and since our genre we are working on for our wiki chapter is mocumentaries, we figured we'd better make a mocumentary, not a documentary.

Our mocumentary is going to be about the year in the lives of the U of M English EdHD students and professors. Kerry is going to cover the mocumentary from the student's point of view and I am going to cover it from the professor's point of view. Together we think we might just have a pretty funny mocumentary on our hands!

I like the Christopher Guest mocumentaries because he gently pokes fun at his subjects but still makes them sympathetic and likeable. That is how I would like to depict the professors in our mocumentary. The main point that I would like to get across is that our professors are hard working teachers who also have the pressures of research and publication on their backs. These two very different jobs are at odds as they shepherd a cohort through the year. Publicaton deadlines and consulting jobs sometimes get in the way of teaching - and sometimes the students become the researchers or research subjects for the professors - with hilarious results! The main point of the documentary is that all of us are human, student and professor and we all have to forgive each other for our conflicting desires.

Interviewing the professors (of course the interviews would be loosely scripted, mocumentary style) would be a must. The interviews would be dead-pan, revealing, and funny. Our mocumentary will include shots of the teachers complaing about students, getting frustrated with students, teaching, and of course, touching moments with students. I think one of the main difficulties would be getting our professors to be a part of our mocumentary - wait! it's a mocumentary, we can hire actors!! The professors will be stereotypical and over the top, like the characters in Waiting for Guffman and A Mighty Wind.

Kerry's part of the mocumentary will be about the cohort itself - which will be even more scathing and funnier than the professor's part. Go to fnewstrom's blog to see what she's got in mind.

Viewing log and analysis for local news

KARE-11 News

10:00 PM Broadcast
Monday, November 7, 2006
Viewing Log

Top Story: Decision 2006. Pre election coverage. Opening 1 minute, Democrats 1:O0:30 minutes, Republicans 1 minute, Independents 30 seconds
10:00-10:04

Poll: Governor and Senate race poll. Dems lead slightly in gov and by a wide margin and senate race. Discuss national Congressional control
10:04-10:05

Local News Story: Man Falls 30 Stories - dies
10:05-10:05:30

Local News Story: Crash shuts down 169 for 3 hours
10:05:30-10:06

Local News Story: St. Paul man arrested for molesting a 12 year old in a park in broad daylight
10:06-10:06:30

Local News: Mechanic strike
10:06:30-10:07

Short promo for Extra

Political ads: Not one ad that was not for or against a politician
10:07-10:10

Extra: Investigation on affects of dumping estrogen in water on fish. Response from government has been slow
10:10-10:18

Weather: Election day forecast
10:18-10:20

Teaser: Sports
10:20 – 10:20:30

Political ads: Again, all political ads – I’m getting nauseous by this time!
10:20:30-10:24

Sports: Wolves, Vikings, Athletes of the week
TEASER: Perk at play – I am getting sick!
10:24-10:27

Ads: All political ads
10:27-10:31

Perk at Play: Mind numbing and stupid drivel
10:31-sign off

Analysis
This newscast was a little different from most because it was broadcast the day before the election. The time the station devoted to the election was 5 minutes. They covered the race for governor, Senate, Congress, and some local races. They profiled some high profile people who were in town campaigning for candidates. There was little substance in the reporting. The station then reported on current polls and the race to gain control over Congress. However, the station sold over 9 minutes of this newscast to political parties for political ads. Both parties bought about equal time for ads and the station covered the Democrats and Republicans equally with brief mention of the Independents. It was striking that the station provided so little coverage for the Independence Party. Clearly the station gets much more money from the major parties so gives them more coverage.
There was no national news covered on this broadcast but the station covered 4 local stories, 2 stories that occurred that day and 2 follow-up stories. All 4 of these stories were covered in 2 minutes. The stories were factual and not fluff.
Then the political ads began. They were fairly balanced by party. Some were negative but many were “feel good” ads. The big guns were called in this night. An ad featuring Bill Clinton aired twice endorsing Mike Hatch. The Clinton ads appealed to voters who were democrats who may have been turned off by Hatch the last few days of the election. This told me that the Democrats were worried about Hatch’s chances to win the governor’s seat, given the events of the last week.
The “Extra” piece was 8 minutes of “Investigative Reporting.” It was a story about male fish that have been found to have developed eggs. This is due to high levels of the hormone estrogen that is being dumped in local lakes and river. This is important because fish are gateway animals and we may see that these contaminants have negative effects on mammals too. The government has been slow to respond to this issue, but is now investigating. Congress has gotten involved and the EPA will continue to look at the issue. This story clearly had been produced earlier and was a fill in piece. I wondered why the station put this story on the air on the eve of an important election. I watched this story to see if there was overt criticism of the Congress or local politicians to see if they might be trying to sway people to or away certain candidates, but that was not the case. It was just a boring filler story. I can imagine many people clicking away from this story.
The rest of the newscast was devoted to weather, sports, and a personality I just can’t stand to watch – Perk.
The newscast was dominated by males, even though there is a female anchor and a female weather person. Rick Kupchella was the reporter in the Extra and the male anchor did the majority of the news casting. The female anchor’s role was to ask wrap up questions of the reporters and provide banter as transitions were made. The anchors are attractive and the entire news team seems very capable. This particular night, while the news was far from hard hitting, it did not have the soft stories that hardly qualify as news. That was refreshing.

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Kennedy's just Ridiculous

Hey Kerry, What's that nasty Mark Kennedy up to? According to Amy Klobuchar, his attacks against her are ridiculous and she tells us that in her campaign ad "Ridiculous." The backdrop of the ad is a courtroom. Amy appeals directly to the voter's common sense by stating that, "When somebody fabricated evidence, the judge can throw it out. That what I hope you'll do with the charges Mark Kennedy has fabricated against me. Rationing lipitor for seniors. That's ridiculous!" She then goes on to say that her mother takes lipitor as the camera cuts to a photo of Amy with her mother and her son. Her appeal is to the middle class and elderly, who she feels Kennedy has left behind. She is trying to take the edge off the Kennedy ad, which is also how she gets attention for the ad. It is not just any ad, it answers an opponents charge. She also appeals to the middle class by her clothing, hair style, and glasses. She is professional but careful to not be too fancy. She is folksy but smart. As the election approaches and the ads get nastier and nastier, I appreciate this style of ad that speaks directly to issues.

No Guff, Kerry and I like the Mockumentary

The genre that Kerry and I choose is the mockumentary - and it's what we are going to do our wiki chapter on. We have decided to focus our wiki chapter on recent movie and television comedic mockumentaries. Christopher Guest has made a series of mockumentary movies that have been quite popular, including A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, and Waiting for Guffman a. He was also in my favorite mockumentary, Rob Riener's This is Spinal Tap. Kerry is BBC's The Office freak and she also is into Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both are great examples of mockumentaries done on telelvision.

Most mockumentaries are meant to depict satire or parady and are unscripted. They typically depict lovable losers or people who take themselves too seriously. The story lines typically depict a character who is in too deep or thinks too much of himself, gets into a pickle, and ultimately resumes life - sometimes learning nothing from the lesson. Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiam makes the same mistakes over and over - it's just Larry. However, a characteristic of the mockumentary is that even though the main characters may be annoying or even pathetic, the audience sees them as human and has sympathy...even empathy for them. In these characters, we all see ourselves and our foibles.

Madden's just Mad

For my ethnography I interviewed two 15 year olds and an 11 year old about their gaming. All three of these kids like to play video games but are also involved in sports. One of the three has a job. All three prefer to play sports games. The games they play are almost exclusively sports games. Halo is the exception and they all three really like to play Halo. The reasons they like sports games are that they love sports and their mom won't let them buy war games. They might buy more war games if their mom didn't give them such a big hassle about them. They game an average of 5 to 15 hours a week, depending on whether or not their sport is in season. Two of the kids game in a room in their basement that is set up with a comfortable couch and television. They have the room to themselves and are allowed to have food and pop there. The other has a similar situation in his house where he can game seperate from the rest of the family. They all prefer to game with other people. They will play alone but it is much more fun for them to have people over to game.

Their favorite game right now is Madden Football 2007. However, they always like the latest versions of games best so when something new comes out the game will be their favorite and they'll play it almost exlusively. They like to play Madden because they can work together to draft their own team and then play a "season" against other teams. The commentator in the game gives them feedback on their draft picks and makes comments after the plays. They like to get feedback from the game. They love when one of them makes a player do something bad. They laugh really hard and give the person all kinds of grief, which in turn makes someone else flub up, which is cause for more hilarity. They are loud and raucus when they play as a group. They also will game for awhile and then go outside and try some of the plays they did during the game. When they get worn out from that they come back in and play some more.

These particular kids show a high level of engagement with Madden football because they take it from its intended use, gaming, and incorporate it into their lives, replicating "gaming" plays when they play football outside. Madden is marketed for males and to males and these males are attracted to what the marketers have offered them. There are no females in the game, and they thought it was a dumb question when asked if that bothered them. Part of the attraction of Madden to these kids is that they are trying on a different identity. In the game they are team builders, literally. They are powerful and skilled athletes, and they are in control. They have the power to make decisions beyond what they are allowed in their "real lives." When they go out to play football and mimic the game, they take their fantasy beyond the screen into the front yard. Gaming is a way they can live out the fantasy that all three have, that of becoming a pro athlete. Gaming is also a way for them to make social connections. With the game they all have something in common. Something to laugh about together, and to do together. Hierarchies do exist, with the best player as "top dog." As players become more skilled, the playing field, so to speak, becomes more level in terms of hierarchy. As the kids navagate growing maturity in their "real" lives, gaming allows them to try on being grown men without being grown men.

A different view of mother's milk

This is a very common image of a woman as a mother. She is a nurturer, she's loving, she's protective, and she is a caretaker. Her body language tells the viewer that she is all about her baby. She is completely wrapped up - almost literally in motherhood. As a mother, I identify with her but think the picture is not quite complete. If asked to define myself, being a mother would certainly be one of the first things I'd say, but I'm also a wife, student, friend, etc. I think it's dangerous for women to be defined only by and through their children because it perpetuates female stereotyping.

Mother's Milk

This is cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers album that represents a mother as both a nurturer and as a sexual being. The woman on the cover is cradling the band members in her arms, keeping them safe between her breasts and presumably nuturing her with her milk. She is also highly sexualized. Her breasts are bare and sexually depicted with the flower covering the nipple. She is looking down on a band member with an expression that is not entirely sexual, but not entirely maternal either. The juxtiposition of sexuality, rock and roll, and motherhood is jarring. I like this image because it challenges how we think about mothers. Mothers are typically depicted at nurturing and loving but never sexual. It is as if once you become a mother you lose your sexuality and sex appeal.

I chose the movie The Celebration, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, to look at through the lenses of postmodern analysis and critical discourse analysis: discourses of race.

Thomas Vinterberg along with director Lars VonTrier (Breaking the Waves, Dogville), are the founders of the Dogme 95 movement. Dogme's goal is "countering 'certain tendencies' in the cinema today" and is a "rescue action" of film and the film industry. Dogme 95 challenges the use of technology in film and by limiting technology challenge directors to rid themselves of "trickery" and "predictability." Because of the democratasation of cinema, Vinterberg and Von Trier contend, directors must preserve the avant-garde by taking a Vow of Chastity Dogme movies are shot on location, using only natural light and sound. The camera must be hand-held, the film must be in color, nothing can happen in the film that does not happen in front of the camera so no murders, and the director must not be credited.

The Celebration is the first Dogme movie and can be looked at with a post-modern lens because it challenges "progress" and "technology" in cinema. Vinterberg shoots this moving film over a 24 hour period, using only natural light and sound and a digital camera. This breaks all of the rules of "Hollywood" blockbusters that have special effects, unnatural lighting, and sound effects up the wazzoo. The action rises and falls with the sun. The constraints Vinterberg puts on himself to create the movie challenge every notion of modern movie making - and he succeeds in making a brilliant film.

The Celebration can also be looked at through the lens of discourse of race. One plot line in the movie is an interracial couple, the main characters sister and her black boyfriend. The film explores bourgeois, European racial attitudes towards blacks. Vinterberg clearly means to remind the viewer that the boyfriend is much more "civilized" and honorable than the bourgeois Europeans who populate the film. The boyfriend is accosted with racial slurs which is preposterous given the situation that is occurring in the main plot line.

Check out the Dogme web site and I highly recommend The Celebration. It's a powerfully crafted and powerful film.

The Godfather: "Baptism and Murder"

The Godfather has many exceptional scenes but none is better than “Baptism and Murder.” The Godfather has died of natural causes and at his funeral it is clear to Michael Corleone, the Godfather’s son, that the Barzini “family” plans to wage war and take power and influence away from the Corleones. The “Baptism and Murder” scene is the scene in which Michael settles family scores and establishes himself as the new Godfather and head of the “families.”
This scene uses montage editing which cuts between Michael Corleone at his nephew’s baptism and his men murdering his rivals. The camera remains stationary using close ups or mid shots for emphasis. Coppola’s use of editing between the holy and unholy shows the complexity of Michael’s character; that he is both evil and good.
The scene begins in a Catholic church where the baptism is being said in Latin. There are several sections where the priest shifts to English as he asks Michael questions of faith. The use of Latin and English highlights Michael’s consciousness of what he is saying in the church juxtaposed with the murderous “hits” his words set in motion. The baby’s crying also underscores the action and murder.
Coppola layers this rich scene with a Bach piece that reaches its climax as the priest asks Michael, in English, if he renounces the Satan. Michael says yes and the scene cuts to murder. It is a powerful use of music, language, visuals, and editing.
Coppola also juxtaposes the image of the innocent baby, washed clean of original sin and the brutality and sinfulness of the world Michael inhabits. Sophia Coppola, the directors daughter, is the baby in the baptism scene.
The scene has a readily identifiable story arch where there is rising action as the hit men prepare for the murders, the priest prepares the baby for baptism, then the climax as Michael renounces Satan and the murders begin and then the falling action as people leave the church and hit men leave the scene of their crimes.
Coppola got this scene pitch perfect. It sends chills down my spine every time I watch it.

I don't want his mother to see him this way

I’m a The Godfather nut so, of course, thought immediately of the toll booth scene where Sonny gets killed as a great example of filmmaking at its finest. Coppola’s title for this scene is “I don’t want his mother to see him this way.”
In this scene Sonny Corleone gets a call from his distraught sister who tells him her husband beat her up. Sonny, unable to contain his anger, gets in his car to drive to her home. The scene then shifts to an establishing shot where the camera tracks the car’s approach to a set of tollbooths. The camera is stationary, set up a little ahead of the tollbooth to the right. As the camera tracks the car it pans over a billboard that depicts a woman on a telephone saying, “Don’t worry, Mom,” one of the many brilliant details that makes this movie so rich. As Sonny approaches the other tollbooth a car pulls in front of him, goes through the toll and stops. The scene is framed so the viewer sees Sonny’s car and the tollbooth but can not see the second tollbooth. There is no music or sound to tip the viewer off to what is going to happen, the only sound is the tollbooth operators radio, which is broadcasting a horse race. Coppola does not tip the viewer off by setting a mood either; the scene takes place in the middle of a sunny day. At this point of the shot, we are simply observers of Sonny.
When Sonny pulls up to the toll, the camera cuts to inside the car and puts the viewer sitting beside Sonny, on the passenger side. Coppola uses the point-of-view shot, once Sonny pulls up to the toll, so the viewer experiences exactly what Sonny is experiencing. The viewer sits beside Sonny as he pays the toll operator, looks forward, and gets impatient with the car stopped in front of him. It is at this point in the scene that the camera starts to move quickly. The camera is in the car with Sonny as he sees the car in front of him back into him, we then see the toll operator close the door and duck. The viewer is sitting beside Sonny and watch a look of concern come over his face. All of this is done with close up shots so we can feel Sonny realize what is going on. The camera, still sitting in the passenger seat, then looks right to the other tollbooth and the viewer, with Sonny, watches mob guys rise up from the floor of the other booth with machine guns in hand. The camera looks forward, through the windshield to see mob guys get out of the other car with machine guns. The camera, still inside the car, in the passenger seat, puts the viewer with Sonny as the first shots break the windshield shatter glass. Coppola has ambushed Sonny and the viewer! The camera then shifts back and forth from Sonny getting hit and stumbling out of the car, to a close up of a machine gun, to Sonny, to mobsters shooting and kicking Sonny’s dead body, to a shot of the shot up tollbooth. Then, as the scene ends, the camera then rests where it started, in front of the second toll. The camera frames the car, Sonny’s dead body lying next to it, and the Corleone car that came after Sonny approaching. The viewer starts and ends the scene as an observer.
Coppola uses several techniques that make this scene so fabulous:
 He doesn’t us music or mood to tell us what’s coming. By doing this, he puts us in Sonny’s shoes.
 As Sonny begins to panic, the camera jumps around and creates panic in the viewer.
 By putting the camera in the car, Coppola puts the viewer in the car with Sonny.
 The viewer begins the scene as an observer, is then put right in the passenger seat next to Sonny, and then ends the scene as an observer.

Coppola’s use of extreme long shot and point of view help him tell this epic story of family and power.

School Board Blues

This is a fictional post! St. Louis Park has a forward thinking school board, superintendent, administration, and teaching staff.

St. Louis Park's typically liberal citizens have elected five new school board members who promise to "whip the schools" into shape by getting "back to basics." The first thing the five did was to topple the science curriculum by insisting it include intellegent design. That done, they decided to go after the sinners in the Language Arts department. A quick tour through the school illustrated to these illustrious board members that the teachers were using too many "new-fangled" devises like movies in school (many inappropriate for their children), the (gasp!) internet for research purposes, and blogs to connect students with others from all over the world. The first thing that had to go was Media Studies because it simply wasted time. Our fine school board members knew that the short amount of time students spent in Language Arts should be spent on basic skills in both reading and writing. What the school board members failed to keep in mind was that the St. Louis Park High School Language Arts Department was on the cutting edge of using technology to engage students to read and write. Students at SLPHS were fired up by the projects the Language Arts teachers came up with and actually were teaching the teachers a thing or two about technology.
The students, being smarter than we ever give them credit for, caught wind of the School Board's intentions and began to circulate a petition throughout the community. Soon, the good citizens of SLP were rethinking their school board vote and decided they had had enough, intellegent design was bad enough - but pull Media Studies??!! A special board meeting was called and a student from St. Louis Park Alternative High School, one of the petition drafters, was elected to make the arguement to the school board that Media Studies is a valueable, in fact necessary commponent of a quality Language Arts curriculum. Her arguement's main points were as follows:

Or is it Pike's Peak?