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.