raise a weathered thumb

Review of David Small's Stitches

2010-12-12T17:06:00.005-06:00

Annotated Bibliographies

2010-12-11T11:28:00.001-06:00

My four annotated bibliographies can be found by clicking here.

2010-12-07T05:31:00.000-06:00

It is not often that you can read a book and be impressed the entire way through just by its sheer uniqueness. The lack of words and almost cinematic feel of the “text” was at once old and new, completely strange and oddly familiar. Tan’s ability to create a gorgeous and broad cityscape, as well as the minutely beautiful created the feeling that I was watching a film, following the director’s artistic vision of what shots would be wide and what images would be zoomed in. Aside from his obvious creativity with visual art, Tan is also a provocative storyteller. I thought Tan did a masterful job of capturing the feeling of complete disorientation that comes with moving to a new and foreign place. The writing that is present means nothing to the reader and compliments perfectly the lost feeling the main character must be experiencing.

Shortly after finishing my undergraduate degree, I decided to move to Japan for a year and a half to teach English. I had never studied Japanese and knew next to nothing about Japanese culture so the first few months of living and working in the country were a whirlwind of new experiences. It was completely disconcerting to walk into a business and have no idea how to order. I relied, much like the main character in Tan’s text, heavily on the kindness of strangers (I can’t tell you how many times a kind Japanese person would literally take me by the hand to where I was attempting ask to go). Not being able to read, write or talk made me feel utterly alone. On the other hand, I learned nearly every day the amazing lesson that so much can be said without speaking a word. In a similar fashion, Tan proved in this book that so much can be written without typing a single letter.

From a critical perspective, Tan’s use of surrealism to create a sense of disorientation and awe is a dynamic metaphor for the notion of “foreign”. The city the man encounters upon his arrival is so massive and strange that it is completely overwhelming. After immigration, the man physically enters this new world by riding in a telephone booth-looking compartment attached to a giant weather balloon. This notion of coming out of the sky to a new land, of literally landing as an alien alone in a strange and new place, symbolizes the detachment and unease experienced by the protagonist. Another image that worked particularly well was the moment the protagonist moved into his new apartment. He carefully opens his suitcase on his bed. What magically appears for a single panel is his wife and daughter in miniature sitting around their table at home. For just a moment, he is able to be home again. Tan is almost taunting him with this bit of magical realism-where the man’s whole life is small enough to fit into his suitcase, but is still maddeningly out of reach.

A second artistic technique that Tan utilizes is the use of detailing to create a sense of familiarity and a deeper emotional connection with certain characters. When the protagonist is at the market and meets the other man and his son who later take him to their home, they are illustrated in emotive detail, their faces full of feeling and life. To contrast this, in other images, peoples’ faces are left intentionally abstract. Detailing is also used to create emotional intensity, the three immigration stories told to the protagonist are all graphically violent and are presented with a similar attention to crisp lines and facial expression. The surrealism and detailing work to create a world that is entirely believable yet entirely foreign. In the end, The Arrival is wonderfully successful at making the reader feel like a stranger in a strange land.

2010-12-07T05:28:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks after being hired by Champlin Park, I was invited to their staff breakfast in order to meet the department, get supplies for the upcoming school year and get situated in my new classroom. When I got home, I noticed that mixed within my textbooks was a brightly colored book that had all the signs of a comic. On the front page was a note that told me to read this over the summer because the author was coming to visit in the fall. I have to admit that in the craziness of those quick months, this text was all but forgotten. Almost as an after-thought I finally opened it in the week before school began. I had read only a couple of graphic novels up to this point and didn’t have the highest of expectations. To my surprise, this text asked profound questions of racial identity and did not provide easy answers.

Gene Yang’s visit was nothing short of awesome. A fantastic storyteller -he captured my students’ attention and held it for the entirety of his 85-minute presentation. However, they were already deeply intrigued by the book, as was I from the very beginning. The first vignette of the text, where the Monkey-King attempts entrance into a party in heaven and was denied based on the fact that he wasn’t wearing “shoes” unfortunately reminds me of a story my friend told be about a club in downtown Minneapolis. My friend is the bouncer and is in charge of who gets in and who is rejected. He told me that the job is much harder than kicking out drunk people because the club’s owner watches on the security cameras and will contact my friend with specific instructions. My friend will get reports like “don’t let them in, they’re Asian” or “Too many blacks man, slow it down” or “Our Indian Quota is all maxed out”. As a result, my friend will be forced to make up some innocuous reason to turn them away. Maybe he’ll say their shoes aren’t right even though the white person that just got in is wearing the same pair. The end message always being the same, “you are just not good enough the way you are”. This idea is masterfully explored in American Born Chinese.

From a critical perspective, American Born Chinese, directly speaks to the feeling of racial shame that plagues people of color in the United States. Forced to compete in a society that puts an inherent premium on whiteness, people of color are confronted with the notion that the only way to succeed is to deny their own identity and transform. The Monkey-King never noticed his monkey-ness until he was othered by the deities on the hilltop. The psychological turmoil of this experience of shaming disconnects the Monkey-King from his own community and nearly destroys him.

In a similar fashion, the protagonist Jin so strongly wants to rid himself from his racial identity that he is transformed to the popular, white, Danny. Of course this level of psychological tearing creates internal conflict. To this end, Yang creates Chin-Kee, the personification of the darkest Chinese stereotype in order to force Danny to confront his deepest fears and feelings of inadequacy. Chin-Kee, the caricature of the Chinese immigrant upholds all of America’s ignorant assumptions of asian culture and is in effect an example of Yellow-face. Like the Black-face that pervaded minstrel shows in the early 20th century, Chin-Kee reifies what is and what is not white and therefore what is and what is not rewarded. Traditionally used as a method of social oppression, Yang flips the script and reappropriates this stereotype as a way to make Danny understand exactly what he is and what he is not, as the Monkey-King explains, Chin-Kee is a “signpost to [Jin’s] soul”. Danny realizes the mask that Chin-Kee wears is the mask thrust upon him by American society.

Suzy says, “Today, when Timmy called me a chink, I realized . . . deep down inside . . . I kind of feel like that all the time.” As does the Monkey-King when he is sickened by the smell of monkey fur. As does Jin when he perms his hair and later transforms into Danny. Ultimately, In American Born Chinese Gene Yang asks us to consider the ways in which we are made to feel less than human.

2010-11-08T17:07:00.001-06:00

I think I was still in high school when my dad tossed me a copy of Endurance, another chronicle of Shackleton’s unbelievable journey. I devoured it and then tossed it to my brother. Not long after, an imax film came out with a lot of the original images, plus updated footage and a recreated trek through the mountains of South Georgia island. The three of us went as a family and were impressed again by the triumph of these men. Through every medium, the story of the Endurance and the men who survived is one of the most amazing in human history-certainly to my knowledge.

Having been an avid fan of this story, I wasn’t sure what an adolescent non-fiction text could possibly add. I was pleasantly mistaken. The imagery and design of this text combined with fantastic writing and excellent pacing forced me to stay up well past my bedtime on a school night. Armstrong unearthed wonderful details that added entire other dimensions to the story. On part that haunts me still was the moment that Hurley was forced to decide which of his photographs to keep. I could imagine his heartbreak and resolve as he chose which to save and immediately destroyed those he couldn’t to prevent regret or second-guessing.

At every turn, there was Shackleton. I truly believe that without his wit, patience and fortitude, the story of the lost Endurance would be nothing more than speculation. He is the reason the men lived to tell the tale. His integrity and ability to lead are especially apparent when he returns to Elephant island to rescue his crew and one man shouts, “We knew you’d come back”. The fact that Shackleton maintained that this was the highest compliment ever given to him is testimony to his absolute dedication to the lives of the men who followed him to the end of the earth.

From a critical perspective, this book was a beautiful success. It was impeccably designed, thoroughly researched and expertly written. The opening line of “just imagine” immediately invites the reader to put himself in the chillingly barren Arctic landscape and the harrowing narrative doesn’t let go until the very end. The collection of pictures that Armstrong selected was excellent, with every turn of the page, the reader was drawn further into the story, glimpsing for just a moment the elation of the crew’s midwinter party or the haunting image of the Endurance listing to its side.

Armstrong’s narrative combines primary source documentation with well-written story telling. A description of a crew-member that had fallen into the ocean in sub-zero temperatures highlight’s Armstrong’s attention to sensory detail. “Holness’s mates began walking him up and down to warm him, because there were no dry clothes into which he could change. Ice crackled off his clothes and fell tinkling onto the floe . . .” Armstrong’s words allow the reader to imagine the fear and the successes, the hope and the desperation of the men as they battled the impossible day after miserable day.

The end of the story also highlights Armstrong’s prowess as a storyteller. After covering the tragic end of Shackleton, the narrative ends with the words of a children’s song, “ . . .here’s to the merry heart that reckons/ The rough with the smooth and never swerves”. These lines that encourage and celebrate exploration, daring, and unerring resolve are a fitting reflection on a truly remarkable life.

The Graveyard Book

2010-10-25T20:17:00.002-05:00

I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. A couple of years ago, I started reading his Sandman graphic novel series and subsequently explored Coraline, Anastasi Boys and last summer (and again this term), The Graveyard Book. Gaiman is one of those authors that is able to speak to both young and adult audiences with equal sincerity. When I initially read this book, I thought that it read a bit younger than the other young adult literature that we have read for this course, the protagonist’s age for most of the text notwithstanding, the stories and the content didn’t hold the same amount of emotional weight as other texts. This is of course ironically countered by the fact that the entire story is based within dark and violent contexts.

I enjoyed Bod and his community of ghosts. Though I wasn’t as emotionally connected to the text, I was an eager participant in his adventures. I especially enjoyed the characters Gaiman created on the blank canvas of an ancient graveyard. The endearing love of the Owens family, the witty charm of Mrs. Lupescu, and the chilling tenacity of Mr. Frost all work together to provide Bod an exciting context to understand life from the dead. I was saddened at the end when Bod began to outgrow his childhood home, he gradually lost his ability to see in the dark and the once open graves were now hard as stone. Just like we all must travel away from the comforts of the known (no matter how strange that known may be) to seek fortune in the broader world, Bod leaves his graveyard to find Life. Bod’s is a unique coming-of-age story about learning what is most important in life from those already dead.

From a critical perspective, keeping in mind Gaiman’s deep history with graphic novels, it is fascinating to examine his use of imagery in prose. There is a macabre elegance to his language throughout the text. The beginning of the book opens with a dark description of the man Jack murdering Bod’s family. “The street door was still open, just a little, where the knife and the man who held it had slipped in, and wisps of nighttime mist slithered and twined into the house through the open door”. While there are slight illustrations to provide visual depth to the beginning of each chapter, Gaiman is masterful in his attention to detail. The narrative brings to life dark underworlds, benevolent ghosts and evils buried long ago.

Later in the story, when ghouls capture Bod, Gaiman paints a terrific picture of a dead city. “It was a city that had been built just to be abandoned, in which all the fears and madnesses and revulsions of the creatures who built it were made into stone”. The reader can imagine the terrible feeling this place oozes out like clotting blood. Because Gaiman is creating pure fantasy, his must provide his readers with enough textual details to understand and appreciate his vision. Near the end of the book, Gaiman finally reveals the hidden sleer, “The faces were covered in purple patterns, tattooed in swirls of indigo, turning the dead faces into strange, expressive monstrous things”. This evokes the type of terrifying fascination with the truly strange that colors all of Gaiman’s writing. Adults have been lucky to have an author like Neil Gaiman who is both able to imagine these twisted places and bring them to life in such vivid detail for long enough, it is fantastic that he is sharing his talents with a younger audience.

Going Bovine

2010-10-25T20:14:00.001-05:00

It is hard to fully express the subtle beauty of this text. I thought the characterization was brilliant, the plot dynamic and the end message of seize life by the gnome hairs was pure. In fact, this book was the first of the lot to bring tears to my eyes, I liked Cameron so much that it hurt knowing behind the scenes that he was going to die.

The book reminded me of Douglas Adams in its predisposition toward the absurd, Haruki Murakami in its ability to make that absurdity beautiful and Jack Kerouac in its homage to the Great American road trip. Unlike Adams and Murakami, I initially read it (and this might be off-base here) not as a fantasy novel, but as a work of fiction bent on plumbing the distressed adolescent mind. I appreciated the complicated plot structure for its ability to allow for gnomes, fire giants, and punk-rock faeries as a manifestation of an imagination forced to retreat into itself for survival, for it isn’t until Cameron’s diagnosis of death that he becomes bent on living. However, this forced me to consider the fates of Balder, Gonzo and the other vividly detailed characters. If they were only figments of a fevered dream, they would be diminished somehow. Perhaps this asks the most important question of fantasy, what is real anyway? Or, isn’t the suppression of belief the reason we read fantasy anyway?

Ultimately, I feel like I need to reread this book several more times to fully appreciate the breadth of details. I kept on getting the feeling that the book was somehow structured like The Usual Suspects where the seemingly inane minutiae of a sergeant’s bulletin board are weaved into the narrative. Like that film, this book had layers upon layers of meaning and the twists and turns of the plot melted, separated and collected again. This is definitely a tale worth getting to know on a deeper level.

From a critical perspective, Going Bovine was a great retelling of the classic epic saga (Bray conveniently spells it out with the references to Quixote and Star Wars). Like Odysseus or Gilgamesh (or Harry Potter), Cameron (granted a far less likely hero) is charged with an impossible quest where he must face certain death to return triumphant. Breaking down the story into familiar archetypes allows for a deeper understanding of the text as a representation of Joseph Campbell’s notion of the Monomyth.

Campbell claims that the Monomyth teaches us to, “how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances”. Cameron’s “departure” on his quest certainly imbues him the skills necessary to truly live, regardless of whether or not he actually left his hospital bed. He stopped caring about nothing and began to live for others, his love for Balder, Gonzo and Dulcie and willingness to sacrifice himself for them is indicative of a profound shift in character. Campbell writes, “when we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness”. This heroic transformation allows Cameron to see for the first time what is truly important. According to Campbell, the hero’s greatest task is understanding his own mortality. This does not necessarily suggest that the hero must understand death, but he or she must “acquiesce to death”.

Contrasting the hero to the archetype of the villan (the wonderfully named Wizard of Reckoning, the darkness in us all) shows that the hero’s knowledge of his own mortality provided by the villan is the ultimate power. Cameron plays a b flat on Junior Webster’s trumpet while staring death in the face, it is this moment that he faces and defeats his greatest foe, the fear of dying. The hero’s journey is one of finding a deeper understanding of self in the world. Cameron’s coming of age narrative tragically ends with his own end, but his epic journey reinforced in us the lessons that have been told and retold by humans forever.

Luna

2010-10-18T21:03:00.002-05:00

I had initial misgivings about Luna, not because of the subject matter, but I was skeptical about Julie Peters’ ability to portray Luna in a three-dimensional light. I was concerned that the gap in adolescent literature that addresses transgender teens and gender identity was going to be filled by a book of clichés and stereotypes. In retrospect, I found Peters’ narrative style as well as Regan and Luna’s characters effective and purposeful. While Luna did occasionally approach stereotypical behavior, I felt that Peters successfully wrote into Liam’s character such a strong desire to be a woman that his earnestness created an overwhelming desire to display a hidden self.

I was also intrigued by Peters’ decision not to narrate it from Liam/Luna’s perspective. I don’t know if by presenting Luna’s transformation through the eyes of her sister Regan makes the book somehow more accessible or acceptable to readers. It is clear that Regan’s family and community aren’t ready for Luna. When they eat at Taco Bell, Regan describes the look on a strangers face when he sees Luna as “Disgust. Loathing”. Their father’s defeat and mother’s retreat also relay a complete lack of acceptance. I think Luna leaves in the end because unfortunately Peters couldn’t realistically portray a high school that would allow for Luna to exist. I can only hope that Luna’s departure towards a new freedom speaks directly to our society’s own inevitable transformation to something much more open to issues of gender and sexuality. It is clear from countless news stories of late that for youth this is literally life or death.

From a critical perspective, Peters creates multiple characters who are split between what they truly want and the way society dictates their lives. A pivotal point in the narrative is when the mother yells, “I’ve had it with you and these kids and my life. It isn’t enough I keep telling you that, but you won’t listen. I’m dying inside. I just want out!” Before she began working outside of being a mother, Regan’s mother felt that familial and social pressures to conform into a domestic caretaker were robbing her of the life she actually wanted. This negation of a “normal” future was jeopardized the moment she rescued Liam from the scissors and Regan is forced to consider whether or not her mother was actively trying to kill her brother. In the end, it is not resolved whether or not the mother is a killer or an innocent, regardless she is a victim of self versus social expectations.

Somewhat ironically, Luna’s struggle to create an identity had a direct, negative correlation on Regan’s ability to live her life. Regan laments, “My brother was a black hole in my universe. He was sucking the life right out of me. It seemed as if I was being pulled into this crater by a force I couldn’t fight.” Though Regan is for the most part an unfailing source of support for her brother, this text reveals the difficulties faced by even those on the periphery. At the end of the book, as she is waving goodbye to her brother, Regan thinks, “Hello Regan”.

Langston Hughes proposes that a dream too long deferred does not dry up, but rather builds pressure until it explodes. This text reinforces this statement through multiple characters forced to contain identities and desires. In this light, Luna represents not only the courage of a teen redefining her gender in the face of a critical society, but the fundamental importance of self-actualization on all levels.

The People Could Fly Reflection

2010-10-04T21:42:00.002-05:00

This collection of folktales is unlike anything I have ever read. Hamilton’s preservation of voice, the sometimes amusing-sometimes violently gruesome subject matter, and the enormity of the context make this an extremely valuable text. Reading through, I was immediately struck by the contrast between these stories and other watered down fairy-tales most often deemed appropriate for young people. The stories in The People often didn’t fit into the paradigm of morality tales that I am most familiar with, though a quick comparison of Little-Red-Riding-Hood versions in class highlights how much even these have been paired away from original versions.

I also enjoyed the way these stories displayed the African-American oral tradition. Stories would start with, “Heard tell about” or “Don’t know some animal tells. Hear um but forget um”. It wasn’t hard to imagine sitting and listening as the tales unfold from the storyteller. In this respect, the most difficult, but in many ways the most interesting story for me was “Bruh Alligator Meets Trouble”, because it was translated from Gullah dialect. When reading a passage like, “He tippin right pontop and ‘e shum he yeye”, I had to repeatedly consult the glossary at the end of the chapter. I thought about conversations I had in my pre-service classes about the pitfalls an educator can potentially face when students speak and write in vernacular. Too often, we assume that “standard” English is synonymous with “correct” English. This and several of the other tales in the collection story provided authenticity to a language that is full and vibrant but that isn’t necessarily the “power-language” of the time.

From a critical perspective, the use of metaphor and symbolism in these stories weave a rich fabric of moral lessons, and social critique. One story that displays an interesting use of metaphor is The Two Johns. Big John, in a constant desire to one-up Little John, kills his own prized horses, the other man’s grandmother and eventually himself. Little John proudly (though minus the grandma) marches away with his baskets of money. While it is initially difficult to figure out the moral of the story, Hamilton’s explanation that a message lies in the fact that the little man is smart and the big man is foolish, allows for a deeper understanding. In this tale and several others, size matters less than intelligence and wit. In other words, the quick slave could best the powerful master. This dynamic of the powerless overcoming the powerful speaks directly to the dreams of African slaves, forced into abominable conditions, but escaping through story and imagination.

This sentiment was echoed when Wiley outsmarts the Hairy Man, when Manuel overcomes the king, and in the “Got Free” stories where a slave would get the better of his master. However, the most beautiful use of this metaphor occurs in the last story of the collection. In “The People Could Fly”, slaves return to the magic of their African heritage and fly away from the whips and chains of their oppressors. In this story, the powerless transcend the physical constraints of their servitude and escape to freedom, “The ones flyin were black and whining sticks, wheelin above the head of the Overseer”. This story and the entire collection is testimony to the atrocities that plagued the lives of slaves and to the necessity of story for humans to make sense of our lives.

Visual Literacy

2008-03-06T05:48:00.003-06:00

I chose to examine themes surrounding the divisive and unifying events of Richard Wright's Black Boy. I wanted to show Wright's personal experiences through a visual display of moments in time, song, and artwork. Together, these images reflect the social powers that directly challenged Wright's sense of individuality. He is labeled a "Nigger" in the South and a "Trotskyite" in the North; nowhere is he free to define himself as a free and independent thinker.

Visual Impact
"Strange Fruit" is a terribly visceral piece, combined with the subsequent images of "separate but equal", the first half of the essay illustrates the racial hatred of the South. The last two images portray the unifying forces behind the Communist Party, Wright's words add to the impact. In a longer piece, I would show his eventual disillusionment.

Visual Coherence
I used solely black and white images, partly because of the time period and partly because of the visual effect.

Visual Organization
I used Wright's experiences as a means to chronicle the images. He flees the Jim Crow South for northern opportunity. In Chicago, he faces disaster during the depression and for various reasons falls in with the Communist Party.

I hope that my students would be able to construct a similar project in order to achieve a visual understanding of a work's historical/social context. I believe these images are every bit as powerful as a piece of writing and should be interwoven with the text, not regarded as auxiliary information.

2008-02-26T10:26:00.003-06:00

"Whether it be children on a playground acting out and deciphering the complex universe of Pokemón, or Orville Wright pretending to be a buzzard gliding over sand dunes, or Einstein imagining himself to be a photon speeding over the earth, role playing enables us to envision and collaboratively theorize about manipulating entirely new worlds" (Jenkins 30). While this point has been echoed in previous classes (i.e. "Play Fighting" duet in Rodgerson's class) the opportunity for students to try on another identity is paramount in my conception of the importance of the Language Arts classroom.

Adolescence is a period for exploration and gross confusion of identity. I remember deciding to grow my hair out long in the last days of 6th grade and forgoing gel for the first time in over two years (my infatuation with Courtney Smith had required that I pay particular attention to the angle and rigidness of my bang curl). When I returned to 7th grade, I had triumphantly buzzed the sides of my head but kept the top long in a "punk" style because I was now a skater. Never mind that I lived on a dirt road and couldn't ollie to save my life. A year later, my board was gathering dust in the rafters of my garage and I was wearing only plain, mono-colored shirts and black jeans because any logo whatsoever was too "trendy". I relished in the fact that Courtney wouldn't even glance in my direction. I was trying on and collecting identities like half price Dockers gear at a pre-student teaching sale at Kohl's, eventually settling on the "anti-identity". Each stage was an important stepping stone towards to the cohesive, grounded coolness I presently exude. Imagine all of the time and energy I could have saved if I only had an avitar . . .3rd life anyone?

I also was taken with the concept of appropriation and how students, "learn how to capture the voice of a character by trying to mix borrowed dialog with their own words. Mapping their emotional issues onto pre-existing characters allows young writers to reflect on their own lives from a certain critical distance" (32). This concept resonates with multi-genre writing by allowing for student choice and by providing a built-in scaffold around which students can build their messages. Something as outwardly simple as the "Found Poem" can completely transcend its original meaning through a student reinvention. As a teacher, I will have to take care to explain to students that re-organizing a Spark Notes essay on Gatsby doesn't cut it, but analyzing the themes of the text through hip-hop certainly would. Appropriation and Collective Intelligence reminds us that it is not necessary to constantly re-invent the wheel, rather our energy would be better spent encouraging our students to know how to access and process information as a jumping-off point for their own explorations.

From the Revolution website:
John Lamb has lived all his life in Williamsburg. His father was a carpenter, and John followed in his footsteps. John, however, had more interests beyond mere carpentry, and quickly gained a knack for other manners of woodworking, such as cabinet-making, barrel-making, basket-making, and wheel-making. He has therefore gained a reputation as a sort of jack-of-all-trades in woodwork. His mother recently passed away of smallpox, a long and arduous experience that left he and his father in a dismal depression. John’s father took up drinking, and spends most of his time at the local tavern. John on the other hand threw himself into his work and is now feeling better by keeping busy. He has also spent much of his time attending rebel meetings, as he tends to side with the politics of colonial patriots. This is something his loyalist father does not approve of, causing tension between them.

Hmmm. . .John's father an alcoholic loyalist and John a hardworking patriot-lets get our game on!!

We real cool

2008-02-20T15:17:00.006-06:00

THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

I love this poem, the undeniable energy, the mood it invokes, the voice. "The Pool Players" also speaks directly to the importance of vernacular dialect in written language. Yesterday, we talked about the need to let our students in on the "game" of Standard English. Going one step further in her essay, Christenson argues that we should make the power structures that influence society explicit, thereby empowering our students with socially mobility, but also with the context necessary to critique the system. Knowing the rules is one thing, understanding how to change the rules is another. I certainly hope to spark this meta-awareness in my students in regards to dialect and manners of speaking, but also in terms of their education as a whole. I see great promise in letting my students in on the "game" of the rubric and assessment. As Dornan et al. suggest, "Before they begin each new assignment, the class might talk about the categories that should be included in evaluating it and how to distribute the assignment's points with the appropriate emphases" (195).

Listen to Gwendolyn Brooks recite "The Pool Players" at poets.org. I love her reference to the scandalous element of "Jazz" and her jab at the anthologies that represent each author as the sum of only one or two selections, but most of all I love how she reads. Her poem becomes a song, a sharp staccato note punctuating the end of each line, the first words stretched into a melody. . . Even with the form of poetry encouraging the reader to linger here, or speed up there, reading silently does little when compared to hearing Brooks' recitation. As Adger et al. explain, "the fact that writing is received visually means that the kind of information that can be conveyed orally through vocal shifts in stress and intonation has to be provided in another way" (114). Form can go a long way, but there is still an undeniable power in the authenticity of voice.

On writing and mud pie

2008-02-13T13:56:00.007-06:00

I am currently reading Richard Wright's Black Boy and came upon this passage yesterday on his philosophy of writing early in his career:

"My purpose was to capture a physical state or movement that carried a strong subjective impression, an accomplishment which seemed supremely worth struggling for. If I could fasten the mind of the reader upon words so firmly that he would forget words and be conscious only of his response, I felt that I would be in sight of knowing how to write narrative. I strove to master words, to make them disappear, to make them important by making them new, to make them melt into a rising spiral of emotional stimuli, each greater than the other, each feeding and reinforcing the other, and all ending in an emotional climax that would drench the reader with a sense of a new world. That was the single aim of my living."

Leaving Wright alone for a moment and considering the readings for this week, each author presents real-world activities for teaching voice and organization. While I generally find myself in agreement with Dornan et al., one of their proposals for the classroom left me scratching my head . . .They suggest, "projecting a paper on the overhead and inviting students on an 'error hunt' to produce an error-free final draft in Standard Edited English." Hmm . . .they also said that this activity would be "fun" and noted that students, "kept inching their moveable desks further and further forward to make sure they caught everything and engaged in some good-natured arguing about spelling." Really Dornan? Did that really happen? Where you able to captivate a middle school classroom with an projection of a paper and an erasable marker? Okay, okay, they continue with activities that I plan on adopting in the future.

The standout reading for me this week was Harper's "The Writer's Toolbox". I was excited to read about the "tools" she designed with her students so they would not only have a shared language, but concrete strategies to apply to their writing. Her methods break the writing process down into manageable structures that when applied breathes life into what is otherwise uninspired writing. Her Snapshots and Exploding a Moment ideas will make students excited about writing, reading and editing
. . .though probably not as much as an 'error hunt'.

For Wright, writing consumed his very being. His words ceased to be individual patterns of thought and became a powerful vehicle to convey understanding. How do we get our students there, where writing is not work, but a salve to be spread on the wounds of injustice, a tool for change, a window to the fundamental elements of their subjective realities? Culham, Harper and Dornan all have their theories on voice and organization, but until writing becomes a visceral enterprise, full of guts and passion, we are just putting frosting on mud pie.

My Link is to Paul Shambroom's website. Currently on display at the Weismann, Shambroom's work explores the dynamics of power in present day America. Some pretty chilling snapshots . . .

Multigenre writing

2008-02-06T13:42:00.000-06:00

Gillespie’s article on multigenre responses to literature reinforces what I imagine will be an excellent resource for the classroom. Let’s face it, we will be working in an educational environment that has to compete with i-pods, IMs, i-friends and yes even cell phones (though David has a pragmatic solution to the latter). In this context, educators can choose to adhere to the antiquated FPT, or can open the door to student creativity. It boils down to our philosophies as educators. If we truly believe students are constructors of knowledge, then loosening our strangle-hold on rigid, formulaic organization will produce magnificently unanticipated results. Multigenre projects will be more difficult to grade(how do I grade a map anyway?), but Gillespies’ experience illustrates the importance of letting students direct their learning on an individual level.

Students constructing . . .
multigenre responses
have captured their minds

Does this mean that the five paragraph essay is completely irrelevant, or that explicit instruction on organization should be disregarded? The answer of course is a resounding "no". On both sides of the white board, the FTP works well. Students have an effective tool with which to organize thought, the teacher has a concrete method to teach and a rubric to grade objectively. The pitfall lies in students misunderstanding the uses of the FTP. In the classroom, this format should be used as a starting point with which to build from, not an absolute to be turned to at every opportunity. I agree with Wesley in that the teacher should be focusing on the fundamental structure of expository writing, the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The FTP is merely one variation of this structure.

Educator's Podcast Network From the site: The Education Podcast Network is an effort to bring together into one place, the wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

Writing Process

2008-01-29T21:48:00.001-06:00

Seamus Heaney's writing room.

After reading about the writing process in the Dornan et. al selection, I was initially struck with how familiar it all sounded. In high school and college, my creative writing teachers employed what is more or less the "process" (prewriting, writing, post-writing etc.). It made a lot of sense then as it does now reading the passage. The main element missing in my experience, and one could surely argue that it is the most important, is the structured peer-review time. My high school teacher, Mr. Beckman would sooner have shaved his famously thick and bushy sideburns than let us actually converse about our writing. When the door closed, he was in charge, the sole possessor of good taste and style. However, he provided us with opportunities to prewrite in a number of ways, I actually remember doing the bubble exercise where we connected different concepts together for future writing exercises. We also learned a good deal of editing techniques. On the other hand, I realize how much I missed by not sharing my work with my peers and look forward to future classroom experiences where I can experience the strikes and gutters of writing with my students.

I really liked this article in the Guardian that featured writing rooms of famous writers. Be sure to check out Jonathan Safran Foer.

Mockumentary . . .Grading Criteria

2007-12-17T09:25:00.000-06:00

Of course it would depend largely upon the specific assignment (podcast, video, newspaper), but the over-arching criteria that I would evaluate my students' performance on are:

-What is the message?
-Does the piece succeed as a parody (or is it just mocking for mocking sake)?
-Does the student successively employ 'documentary style' (loosely scripted dialog, hand-held camera shots, authoratative manner)?
-Does the student examine the subject matter critically?
-After project completion, does the student reflect on the creative process?

I would want to be flexible and grade more specific criteria on a project-by-project basis.

Media Influence

2007-12-07T10:30:00.000-06:00

In any given week, I engage with media primarily through the internet (provided so generously by Comcast . . .I lied, they're not generous at all) and radio. I spend a lot of time listening to MPR and the Current (I was so proud to become a member this February-after years of freeloading I was finally able to give back). I have found through years of listening, that in 30 minutes of MPR, I can gain the same amount of news that 2 or 3 hours of watching CNN would provide. Granted there aren't any scrolling headlines and Carl Castle replaces Anderson Cooper, but I like it better that way.

In our post-9/11 society, so many of our sources of media have resorted to scare tactics to attract and retain viewers. I must admit that my political consciousness has come to maturity really only in the last 7 years or so and I don't remember which way news leaned throughout the 90's or before, but its amazing how formulaic it all is. "Organic Toothpaste: Environmentally friendly or poison?" Turns out its not poison. I have made an unconscious boycott of network news, no matter which way they alledgedly spin their 'fair and balanced material', instead I prefer perpectives of NPR, the BBC or CBC. They present the news as it happens, without the over dramatized sound effects and pundit ranting. They don't cater to sponsors, so the content is much less filtered. I like to think that it is the purest source of news available . . .not to mention the level of intelligence broadcasted when you start a conversation with, "I heard on MPR the other day . . ."

The fact that the Current is a Minnesota-based initiative gives me almost as much state pride as Kirby Puckett.

The Avett Brothers

2007-12-07T08:49:00.000-06:00

While perusing a quarterly DVD that used to come with my favorite music magazine, Paste, I came across a foot-stomping-scream-at-the-top-your-lungs-to-the-sound-of-banjos-upright bass-and-acoustic-guitars live performance. There was a fantastic emotional intensity that I generally associate with a punk, not a bluegrass band. At the time, I thought that the guys looked pretty great to see live, but didn't think much about the quality of the music. Almost a half year later, again while flipping through Paste, I came across a four star review of the Avett Brother's new album, Emotionalism. The review read:

"With a kick-drum thump and a wild-man scream, these 14 stunning songs carve into your chest and settle in, stitching up the gaping flesh with shredded banjo strings-only to rip free again while the wound is still fresh, leaving you bloody, gasping and desperate for more. A true breakthrough from this hard-working band."

Wow.

I bought the album, threw it into the stereo, sat back in the recliner and didn't get up again until I had listened to the whole thing twice through. I can't remember the last time a single cd has made such an impact on me. Each song is wonderfully constructed, mixing elements of bluegrass, rock and punk. I read that they got their start playing punk and moved later into the American roots of their North Carolina heritage. Their songs are beautiful lamentations of love lost, the paranoia of incessent touring, the comfort of home.

I was lucky enough to catch them last summer at the Fine Line. The raw energy that I has seen earlier on the DVD was immediately apparent from the moment Seth and Scott walked onstage. Together with their bassist, they put on the best live show I have ever been too, easily.

Definitely check them out:

The Avett Brothers

The Shining?

2007-12-06T22:42:00.001-06:00

An amazing reinvention of the Shining, I believe this won an award for best redesign of a movie into a new genre.

Bamboozled

2007-12-06T19:02:00.000-06:00

One of the most powerful movies that I have watched in recent history and one that could be used very effectively in the high school classroom is Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. The film’s website describes the film as, “a blistering satire of network television's pitfalls and prejudices, a humorous look at how race, ratings and the pursuit of power lead to a television writer's stunning rise and tragic downfall”.

There are myriad possibilities for using this film in the classroom. It focuses on the powers at play within the media, so students could analyze how bias and money affect what appears on their television screens. This movie is also very racially charged, students could debate the effectiveness of satire in this context as well as "The Chappelle Show" or "Mind of Mancia". Discussion topics could include intended audience, intended reception, does it work as social commentary or perpetuate stereotypes. Regardless of the direction, the movie is sure to incite a passionate discussion and make students think critically. Because of the film's content, the teacher would have to focus on creating a safe space in the classroom, where students are able to repectfully and thoughtfully speak their minds. .

Mockumentary

2007-11-29T09:37:00.000-06:00

Weeks ago, my blog partner and I did a presentation on Mockumentaries, now I bring you the blog post!

We chose Mockumentary because of the wonderful humor and satire that surrounds the television shows and movies that belong to the genre. Both of us have seen several films characterized as Mockumentary and are avid viewers of The Office. This genre is so appealing because it is accessible and for the most part everyday. Viewers can easily connect to the themes, or at least find a connection to one of the characters. This results in humor that is wonderfully personal. Who hasn't had a nutter-bar co-worker like Dwight, or wondered about the lives of dog-show folk?

Mockumentary is defined by dictionary.com as "A film or television program that is shot like a documentary but is fictitious and usually satirical".

Christopher Guest, the undisputed king of the genre actually doesn't subscribe to the label, "I am interested in the notion that people can become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people. They're so earnest about it.”

Regardless of the name, the genre spans themes from the everyday mundane (The Office, Waiting For Guffman) to the wonderfully eccentric (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind). It features characters who know they are on camera and often use this knowledge to add to humor by communicating directly to the audience, confessional-style.

The themes largely revolve around the inherent humor in seemingly everyday lives. There are no bad guys, or undue amounts of violence, rather the genre analyzes what makes us what we are-how seriously we take ourselves and the boring things we do in a light that makes them a little less boring and a little more funny.

Some of the value assumptions we discovered:

Life is funny.
Humor can be created anywhere out of anything.
People, for all of their weirdness, can learn to live together.
Eccentricity is mocked and celebrated.

Ultimately, this genre is extremely accessible-check it out for yourself:

Documentary idea

2007-11-13T14:42:00.001-06:00

The entire time I was over there, I thought about how fun it would be to make a documentary about teaching English in Japan. There is an entire expatriate sub-culture crawling around the streets of Tokyo and Osaka in suits eager to teach the English language for a few thousand Yen. Daily, I would be reminded of how strange this really was. Some beautiful scenes from my own experience that I would love to have on film were the Christmas party where I dressed up like Santa Clause and had little kids climbing all over me like squirrels and the time I made peanut butter cookies as a lesson-flour and p.b. everywhere.

My students were constantly saying things that coming through the language barrier ended up being hilarious or as often as not, extraordinarily profound.

I suppose the intended message would be the humor that is generated across language and cultural barriers. The documentary would also focus on how much we can communicate with each other outside of a shared, spoken language.

I would interview the American staff about their experiences with Japanese culture both in and out of the classroom. I would also interview the students to add their take on the proceedings. Most of the movie or show would be filmed in the classroom or following the American teacher outside of school.

The difficulties that I anticipate in a project like this are mainly capturing authentic exchanges on film. I also would have to be careful to maintain student dignity. If the documentary is intended for an American audience, mistakes in spoken English could result in the Japanese students being objects of ridicule. The documentary would have to be very sensitive in this regard.

Podcast

2007-11-08T10:01:00.001-06:00

My favorite podcast and one that I spend a significant amount of time listening to each week is "All Songs Considered" hosted by Bob Boilen. Apparently, he had received so much positive feedback for the music he had inserted in between segments of the radio show, "All Things Considered", he felt the need to create his own music show. Every week he listens to hundreds of records and reviews his favorites. He also invites artists in to Guest DJ for a show. At least twice a month, the show is a live concert recorded in its entirety. Recent artists include Okkervil River, Animal Collective, Nick Lowe and Arcade Fire. Its a great way to keep up on new music and to listen to some of your favorite bands live-for free!!!!!!!

Check it out

Channel 5

2007-11-08T10:00:00.001-06:00

Media Study

Channel 5 Eyewitness News

Introduction . . .

Oil prices-What’s the Bottom Line?

Developing story . . .

Construction worker found dead. Investigators are trying to find out why-unclear circumstances, fell from bridge OSHA is on the scene and police are investigating the death. St. Louis Park (1-2 min)

News

Oil

Filling up the car and heating your home. Oil barrels will hit $100 mark, prices at the pump will get higher at a time when gas generally goes down. A young couple is interviewed and explain that their heat is expensive and will increase.

Center point explaining the hikes in heating cost

3.50 a gallon in the near future

4.00 by the summer

Experts say brace yourself for higher prices

KSTP.com for how to save (2 minutes)

Stock Prices

stock prices down (10 seconds)

Education Levies

Levies denied in 30 plus school districts Robbinsdale (footage of kids) school district fails. A new school in Delano passes (1 minute)

Misc.

Youth basketball coach confesses to kidnapping and molestation (30 seconds)

Vikings will be making a pitch for a new stadium. They thought they were close, but then 35W bridge collapse made the pitch disappear.

Say that they cannot make any revenue and want the state to at least think about designating some funds for the new stadium

Gary smith (Rochester resident) has second thoughts 1-2 min

Blaine city council will hear a proposal for Sportstown USA with hotels and waterslide (15 seconds)

Flu-like sickness outbreak at a school in Ramsey county (5 seconds)

Mrs. Obama visits Minnesota (10 seconds)

Puppy Mill Rescue

Puppy mill rescue-arc animal shelter, just a few of 75 found at a central Minnesota Puppy mill. They don’t know how to walk on a leash the operator might be actually operating in line with legal standards. Arc animal shelter is actually full and need some foster homes-more at 6 (2 minutes)

“Grabbers”

As temperatures drop, what should you remove from the garage?
Foreclosures nationwide
Forecast
Skiers

Commercial break 4 minutes

Space Shuttle

The space shuttle discovery lands safely today (30 seconds)

Chemicals in the Garage

Cooler weather moving in-some household chemicals will freeze. Interviews Kent (an old guy) who doesn’t bring in chemicals inside in the winter. Don’t throw chemicals away-return them to a safe facility (1 min)

Fuel Finder

Gas prices in the metro (deals)
Web poll what price would you start making a change in your driving habit 30 %-no change (30 seconds)

Misc.

Minneapolis C plus in personal debt (5 seconds)

Wild mountain is open for skiing today (5 seconds)

Weather

November snow storm (average date of snow cover November 18) some flurries in the Southern part of the state. Cloudy skies will clear and clear skies will create much cooler temperatures. (2 minutes)

Misc.

The Eagles will appear on the CMA music awards (30 seconds) (airing at seven)

Commercial break 4 minutes

Ahead at news at 6

Misc.

South Minneapolis movie-theater is back in business and will be showing love in the time of cholera (30 seconds)

Return to weather

As a person who likes to consider himself informed, I can’t say when the last time I watched TV for my daily dose of news was. I generally listen to MPR or read bbc.uk at work to catch up on current events. So it was odd to sit on the couch last night and click on the Channel 5 Eyewitness News.

The thirty minutes went by in an incredibly fast and action-packed collection of . . .well . . .um . . .news? Amid tales of the mundane and obvious (now folks, don’t throw chemicals into the garbage and did you notice? gas prices are rising) there was plenty of local fluff- (the Vikings are vying for a new stadium). The most time was devoted by far to rising gas prices and the toll it will take on the American consumer-great, but isn’t this something we all are painfully aware of. How can we save money? Or, more pointedly, how can we all work together to help the environment? Poor us, we are dependant on a depleting non-renewable resource . . .prices are increasing? Duh!

Hmm . . .is there a war in Iraq? How’s everything fairing in Pakistan? Are there other states besides Minnesota? At least I know that this Saturday will be partly cloudy and damn-rain on Veteran’s day!

The 30 minutes was edited to be extremely fast and narrow focused with a tendency for the overly dramatic. A rise of a cent per gallon in gas costs spawns close-ups of pump prices and a grim voice-over informing the increase in heating bills this winter. One moment that I particularly enjoyed was the mention of a flu-like epidemic at an undisclosed school district in Ramsey county-how’s that for grabbing the viewer’s attention? Just before commercial breaks, they include 30 seconds of the important stories they will be covering when the show returns. Before the last commercial break, they tell you about all the ‘important’ news coming up at 6:00.

To be fair, Channel 5 Eyewitness news is followed by a “world news” show-I didn’t stick around to check it out, but the lack of any real news at 5:00 could be due at least in some part to the fact that they have installments at 6:00, 7:00, and 10:00. Maybe if I devoted three hours a night, I could put together some semblance of what in the hell is going on in the world. Or, I suppose I could listen to a half-hour of NPR or peruse the BBC website for ten minutes.

2007-10-30T23:13:00.000-05:00

I created an ideological advertisement based on those ubiquitous motivational posters you see hanging up in doctor's offices and classrooms. Usually the message contains an image that conveys some sort of inspirational action or situation. The one I referred to as a model used a picture of several runners at dawn chugging up a sun-licked stretch of asphalt and read: "WINNERS While most people are dreaming of success, winners wake-up and work hard to achieve it". I think this example and the many others in the genre are successful in conveying their message. I also think this would make an excellent platform upon which to place some social commentary. The current political climate operates to stifle the voices of dissent. This advertisement seeks to do the exact opposite by combining imagry of embittered protestors with a powerful message from Martin Luther King Jr. Ideally the format is familiar enough to engage the audience who are the sections of the American public hungry for change. The message is simple; we are furious with the status quo, the lies, the violence, the blatant disregard for human rights, we stand together.

Desperate . . .

2007-10-16T10:55:00.000-05:00

So a friend of mine is addicted to this completely trashy, morally bankrupt television series. My friend starts to get excited every Sunday night at the clock approaches 8:00, eager to see the melodramatic hijinks of Wisteria Lane unfold in an hour of over-the-top drama. Oh yeah, and its a soap opera. And oh yeah, my "friend" is me. Okay, okay I'll admit it, I watch Desperate Housewives-are you happy now?

It all started when I came back from Japan and lived with my folks for a couple of months. On one particular Sunday night, I was hanging out with the 'rents when my mom reached for the remote at 8:00 p.m. I watched as my father in silent protest lifted up his hands in defeat and left the room while my mom clicked the TV over to abc. I must interject that my father is by no means the epitome of good taste, on any given evening you could probably find him enjoying any movie that has things that explode in it.

At any rate, I was intrigued as the show started. As my mom caught me up on the story, I of course reminded her how devoid of substance the show was. She shushed me and an hour later, I was hooked. At the same time, my girlfriend was watching the show with her sister. When we moved in together, we found that we shared the same dirty secret and have been watching ever since.

Last Sunday was no different, but my friend Angela was over. She had heard of the show of course, but had never seen it before and was willing to succumb to peer pressure. Johanna and I introduced her to the plot as best we could and the show started. We sat in my living room and talked about the unfolding events during the commercial breaks. After the show was finished, we talked a little more about what we thought would happen the next week.

This type of show creates, quite intentionally, a community of "addicted" viewers through the use of cliff hangers and mystery. At the end of every show, the viewer is left with a curiosity of subsequent events. People watch this show precisely because it is devoid of any larger social relevance. It is simply an hour of rich men and women getting into trouble (maybe having sex with each other, maybe killing each other). You simply want to know what happens next. Without intending to, Angela chanced upon a community of viewers and shared in a social event that happened to revolve around a particular show. I suppose that some people watch this show to connect with other viewers, I try to keep my addiction a secret as much as possible. Angela liked the show, but I think that she would be able to kick the habit easily enough. I on the other hand am a lost cause, a devoted junkie that will lie cheat and steal before getting clean. Don't weep for me, I did this to myself.

My movie

2007-10-11T14:38:00.001-05:00

I made my movie about my commute from North Minneapolis to the U. I had to speed it up a little bit so hold on :)

Media Representation

2007-10-11T10:38:00.000-05:00

Sabotage!!!

2007-10-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

I accidentally did this week's assignment last week so this is last week's assignment this week . . .weekitty week week . . . there.

If I could be a part of any music video in the history of music videos, I would definitely dance with the little bee girl in Blind Melon's "No Rain".

Failing that, I would be one of the hip cops in the Beastie Boys "Sabotage". From the first time I saw this, I thought it was awesome. The music, the fake mustaches, the sweet car-everything about it. The premise, or so I surmise, is a spoof on the old 70's and 80's cop shows. The music is hard, catchy and driving-full of barely contained energy. subsequently the video is edited to convey a sort of tongue-in-cheek schizophrenic mania.

The scene opens with the ubiquitous single red cherry flashing on top of a police car. This editing technique has been used in at least one series and I think the "Naked Gun" movies adopted it as well. It serves to place the subsequent events within a genre.

And then boom! The music drops and a car is blasting through some boxes.

The next shot is of one of the Beasties running as fast as he can down the hall straight toward the camera. He is getting closer and closer and the camera stays in the same place. The editing from this point on is focused on making half-blurry jerky shots, like the viewer is traveling along in the pursuit because we now know that it's . . .

Sabotage!

The Beasties dress up like hotel staff and begin chasing a "bad guy". The editing is jerky and follows the guys around like a home movie. The footage bumps around a lot and gives the impression of actually running along with the characters. It has a "raw" or unedited feel, like it is purposefully unpolished.

The music slows and so does the action accordingly. The bouncing from one shot to the next slows a little as the cops enjoy their coffee and donuts.

Of course, the music starts up again and this time the director wants to convey a sense of suspense and fear by zooming into the image of a man gagged with his eyes pleading to the camera for help.

The camera then zooms out to focus on the foreground where we now can see the source of his worry-a bomb!

The last scene shows the boys walking down the street together in slow motion. Real slow and real cool.

The ultimate goal of the video is to show how the Beasties can make some great music without taking themselves too seriously. It certainly looks like Spike Jones (the director) enjoyed himself as well. Overall, the editing was very jerky and appears sloppy. Of course this was probably done with the utmost attention to detail, but the end product is a video that succeeds in drawing the viewer into the chase . . . as campy as it may be.

But you don't have to take my word for it:

2007-09-27T09:24:00.001-05:00

After surfing the cool waves of Youtube for a while, I stumbled upon this gem of a chewing gum commercial from India. At first glance, the "Hilarious India gum ad" was exactly that-highly original and admittedly quite funny. However, after watching it again through a critical lens, it was interesting to note the clear disparities in wealth between the characters. Additionally, after I Googled it, I found the commercial had been voted into the top ten on an American "funniest commercial" site. After the summary, I apply a Neo-Marxist and Postcolonial critique to the clip.

The scene opens with a young man riding across an old bridge in what we assume to be India. Half-way across, his bike breaks and he is left stranded. Of course to show us his frustration, he slaps himself.

He looks up to see a car approaching. We immediately notice that things are out of the ordinary when two men are riding prone on the front fenders, propped up like lions in front of a museum. He trys to hail a ride, but the driver or passenger isn't having any and pass him in a puff of dust.

The man is running now, not wanting to be late for whatever he must be late for. He runs past a dozen men, precariously balanced on top of poles. We have no idea what is going on, but there is a definite sense of urgency.

He passes by a tennis game between some finely dressed women. On his way through, again we see some fellows balancing on top of poles.

The camera briefly focuses on a doddering, decadently dressed old man.

Still the young man is running, he books it upstairs while a waiter is walking toward to "sultan" figure at the dining room table.

The camera zooms out briefly to give us a full view of the massive chandelier that hangs over the dining room table. We see (with a start) that it is full of people. . . people that are upset with this young man's tardiness.

The young man quickly joins his place in the chandelier just as the sultan is getting his soup served. With not a moment to spare, the young man-whats this? Pops a piece of chewing gum into his mouth, chews for a moment and when he smiles, a million-candle-power halogen lantern is bursting forth from his mouth. And "oh" we exclaim as it all falls into place. The rest of the chandelier lights up . . .

. . .the men balancing on the poles are now street lamps . . .

and the fellows on the car? We should have known, headlights.

The last scene is of some finely dressed folks dancing at a party to the beat of a thousand flashing lights overhead. We now know the cause behind their revelry . . ."Happydent Gum" and its ability literally brighten up your smile.

Wow, so at first glance, great commercial right? I thought about this for a moment and came to the conclusion that this video is equally about gum and the purposeful social stratification present in India. I believe whole courses could be designed around the caste system and the unequal dispersant of wealth present in India, but this commercial does an excellent job of creating clear symbols for the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The workers are clothed only in a head wrap and shorts, while the rich folks are parading about in gold and finery. When the young man runs through the palace grounds, we see the lifestyles of the two classes. The poor workers are balanced uncomfortably on the tops of poles while rich women play tennis and swim. As soon as the young man finds his place in the chandelier and pops in a piece of Happydent, his job becomes smiling at the wealthy folks. Wow, the commercial shows us how a thousand poor workers doing painful, subhuman and monotonous work can "brighten" the day of the rich.

I wan intrigued about commentary found about the video on Youtube. Granted, you can never be sure about where a comment is comming from geographically, but I found this one a little disturbing, ". . .genius, that's what indians are for". I would argue that on top of the unintentional message this commercial contains about class in India, the viewing of the ad by Western cultures reinforces Said's notion of Orientalism. The West views this ad and sees the "other" dressed much differently, engaging in a lifestyle obviously removed from our own. It is exotic and percieved ignorantly as being somehow "less", prompting comments like the previous one. Others commented, "lol. i love how they say "chingum" a very crude indian way of saying chewing gum. hahaha". The spoken language of the commercial is even viewed as "crude" and substandard. The commercial was put on an American website as representative of the "top ten" funniest. On the internet, the add has taken up a new life as a reinforcement for stereotypes of the "other". Imagine, if the principle characters were changed to fit our own social "system". Perhaps the sultan is a wealthy white at a country club and the men in the chandelier are black . . .how would this change our perspective?

Michel Gondry video

2007-09-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

Legos-not crochet sorry

Ummmm earlier when I said all that about being the best thing, I meant this is the best-really

2007-09-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

She's a real hot dog.

Ummmm I'm basically sure that this is the best thing that has ever happened to me

2007-09-20T10:07:00.001-05:00

Snickers: Get Some Nuts

2007-09-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

Shot 1: Establishing shot of the soccer field where the commercial will be set.

Shot 2: Long-shot of a soccer player who has just been "fouled" writhing in pain and complaining to the ref. This establishes the player as a main character of the commercial. The foul was clearly almost nonexistent and the player is milking his "injury" for all its worth.

Shot 3: Medium shot of the player responding to an approaching rumbling. It is a deep, ominous sound and his reaction of ceasing to complain and look into the distance creates rising action for what is about to appear.

Shot 4: The frame changes over to the street outside of the park, the noise is louder than ever. Then, bursting over the parked cars is a tank going full speed. The cars explode in an awesome climax. This shot looks as if a wide-angle lens was used. Music starts here in great, sweeping tones, like the charge of the calvary.

Shot 5: In a medium shot, the tank approaches the player, the massive gun ends up pointing inches from his face. The player is now on his feet with no idea how to react to this predicament.

Shot 6: A medium shot of Mr. T as he opens the roof of the tank and exclaims, "Quit your jibber-jabber! You aint' hurt, your pathetic!" as he chucks a Snickers bar at the player's head.

Shot 7: A medium shot of the player being hit with the snickers, obviously shamed.

Shot 8: Return to the medium shot of Mr. T as he speaks some words of wisdom. "If I ever catch you acting like crazy fool again, you're gonna meet my friend, pain!" He lifts his fist in a menacing gesture.

Shot 9: A long shot of falling action with the tank exploding off of the soccer field with Mr T's image superimposed on the foreground within a "Snickers: Get Some Nuts" logo below him.

This commercial's use of over-the-top imagery, music, and language creates an overall effect of absurdity. The claim that a candy bar will make you more of a "man" as exemplified by the character of Mr. T is clearly ridiculous, but ultimately effective in creating humor. The pun on "nuts" of course adds to the overall ridiculousness. I actually found this piece on a "funniest commercials" website and later discovered that it had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on youtube. It is certainly speaking to the effectiveness of a commercial when people are actively seeking it out. While this commercial had little or nothing to do with reality, I can't deny the fact that I was left with a strong desire to eat a Snickers bar-go figure.

Vlog Post

2007-09-13T07:41:00.000-05:00

I went to the fireant website and found a vlog that looked interesting called "Pouring Down". It is maintained by Daniel Bliss, but the about section of his page only had a Wired Magazine review:

“Daniel Liss transforms his urban existence into a sort of visual poetry, full of thoughtful observations, wry wit, and seductive imagery.”

-Wired Magazine, May 2006

I was drawn to a portion of the vlog called "Seven Maps". Dan had a unique idea; he would take a week-long trip and everyday make a video based upon the restrictions outlined by participating subscribers to his vlog. The subtitle is: "Have money, will vlog". The videos are all well done, but the best part is reading the strict parameters that his viewers would place on each piece. For example, he had to make a film that was funny, but could only be comprised of wide shots. Another section was focused on what Dan was afraid of and restricted the use of his voice.

It’s hard to place exactly what the intended audience of this vlog would be. I was intrigued and judging from the comment sections following each piece, many others are as well. Anyone that is interested in experiencing another interpretation of the everyday would enjoy his perspectives. The vlog is designed to be cryptic, letting the viewer make up his or her mind about the symbolism and meaning. He combines still imagery, video, music and narration into a cohesive message. The video editing seems fairly complex and each video plays with different styles and content. I probably will spend a lot of time on the site in the end . . .

In addition to "Seven Maps", check out "Joyride"-an awesome music video with monkeys- and "theory:practice"-a discussion on the nature of vlogging itself.