Heroes & monsters: An introduction

Heroes and Monsters: Introduction to Collection 10

1. When you think of a hero, what qualities come to mind?

2. Which of these traits does Shrek share with heroes; how is Shrek a hero?

3. What are traits of monsters and evil villians you see recurring in TV, movies and literature?

4. Do traits of heroes ever overlap with monsters? Do the good guys ever share characteristics with the bad guys?

5. Did Shrek cross this line - moving back and forth between a hero and a monster?

6. Go ahead and google "characteristics of epic hero." List five traits of an epic hero.

7. What's an epic poem?

8. Who is Homer? Not Homer Simpson, but Homer who is credited with writing The Odyssey. Was he a real person? Was he a "he?"

9. What is a muse?

Cashing in on corruption

1. "Shattered Glass" has given us a lot to think about; one question is what Stephen Glass is up to now. This is harder to uncover than I suspected - so see if you can help find out what he's doing, or has done, since his public fall from grace.

2. One person who has not vanished after a fall from grace is former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who we met in a previous blog entry. Now he's doing guest spots on Fox News, appearing as an "expert" on corruption - and discussing the health care bill and possible issues of corruption with that huge piece of legislation.

You don't need to watch the video of him on Fox to answer this question: Does his appearance on Fox News weaken that network's credibility in your eyes as a serious news organization? Why or why not?

3. Some call journalism our culture's noblest profession, because it protects our most precious freedoms. What is meant by this statement?

4. What's the relationship between good character and good journalism?

5. After you watched this movie, has your opinion of the credibility of journalists shifted or changed in any way?

Writing good editorials & opinions

Editorials & opinions

Editorials are a newspaper's position on an issue; opinion columns are personality driven.

There are four basic types of editorials:

• Explanation
• Critique
• Praise
• Persuade

Entertaining is a fifth function - often used in opinion columns.

Purpose of an editorial

An editorial is designed to convince other people that you are correct. Be confident in your stance - passion is key to a powerful editorial or opinion.

Good editorials are based on research and facts. Have your facts in order before you take your stance and write! I repeat, get all of your facts in line before you put your fingers to the keys.

Timeliness: Good editorials typically tie in with the issues of the day, and have a compelling news angle embedded inside.

Structure:

Intro - Just as with our reviews, we want a strong catchy intro where you state your thesis, and take your position. Remember the six Ws.

Body - In the following short paragraphs, back up your opinion and thesis with clear and well-argued points.

Consider mentioning the other side of the argument - and shooting down that argument before continuing on with your main points. That's an effective editorial technique: Bring up the opponent's best point and crush it.

Conclusion - Wrap up by repeating your main point, and making a strong call to action; give the reader something to really think about.

note: Unlike our previous reviews, editorials and opinions typically don't use "I."

Examples:

Here's a NY Times editorial on the benefits of taxing soda and other sweetened beverages.

Here is an opinion in the Beacon Journal that uses a very effective technique when arguing that Obama is not overly apologetic.

This Washington Times editorial uses a very effective intro as well: There's no mistaking the thesis and black and white delivery of facts in this piece on Obama energy policy.

So, let's get started with our first of three opinion pieces: Our local angle. Remember, research forms the basis of good opinions.

Writing Workshop II: Differences in Media

The way different news media treats the same event can be radically different. First we are going to take a look at a local news broadcast's handling of a recent Sea World employee's death.

This event made a national media splash, after a killer whale grabbed an employee (a whale trainer) and dragged her under the water until she drowned.

Note the TV news caster's emotional tone in his voice, his dramatic body language, and the way he repeatedly tells us that "children witnessed this!" The video is here.

That's one huge difference between TV and the Net: Time. The TV news clip has just seconds to grab our attention and deliver to us the news. But the Internet media consumer has more time to slow down, read, click, listen, etc.

So if you want the news basics in a hurry, TV news works. If you want more in-depth coverage, the Net may be the way to go - as we are about to see.

Next we are contrasting the TV news treatment with a story found on NPR's website. NPR's analysis is much more thorough, and also includes a video clip - which is comparatively more calm and rational in its tone and approach. (NPR's clip found here).

In addition to the video clip the NPR story offers significant background material, including a statement from the Humane Society, and a report from the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

As more information became known about this event, we can see the NPR report was updated: Starting at the bottom of the page and scrolling to the top, the story was updated four times as more information came in.

Finally, an interesting aspect of online news media is the additional perspective that comment sections can offer to stories. Oftentimes, the comment section sheds new light on a story, or brings out diverse ethical, legal and political issues that enrich a story's event coverage.

Of course comments can sometimes be just plain ridiculous, but most commenters appear serious in these social forums. The NPR story is found here.

So ... Take out your Venn Diagram worksheets (pg 34) and fill in the news event box.

Then fill in the styles, techniques, methods, layout, structure, etc. that the TV and the Internet news stories use to tell this killer whale tale. The middle circle is where they overlap - similarities the two stories share.

One similarity is the topic itself. One difference is TV uses emotion. Another difference - Internet stories have comment sections.

Cheat Sheet: (Don't read this)

What's the big deal about a thesis statement anyway: It's just your main point.

Same for summary/last paragraph: Just restate your main point, but try to do it in a slightly different way, or add a new fact or point.

Our main point seems to be shaping up along the lines of:

"Different types of media can cover the same event in different ways. TV does X. The Internet offers readers Y." Yeah, it's that simple.

Our story outline follows block format we already know:

• Intro
• TV
• Internet
• Summary

Just connect your paragraphs using sentences with transition words!

Freshman Lit: Comparing news coverage

Imagine that the events in "The Sniper" really happened - and you saw media coverage of this event from two sources.

First you saw a TV report, on the local evening news. Next, you went online and read a report from a news website.

1. How do you think these two stories would differ in their coverage? Be specific: First talk about the TV report and what it would feature.

Next, discuss how you think the Internet would approach the story - what would differences between the two sources be?

2. Would you rather watch TV news or read about it? Why? Be specific.

3. What are the common elements of any good news story? What qualities to good news stories share?

4. Why do different media present news so differently?

5. If you were a news reporter, what question would you ask the sniper if you had the chance to interview him?

6. Transitional words and phrases are the glue holding together good stories. They help you move from paragraph to paragraph - and from idea to idea. They help you kick things off, and sum things up.

To Do:
List ten transitional words and phrases:

Chipmunks can be quite dramatic ...

Viral Videos are a media-related cultural phenomenon worth examining: They are a marketer's dream, and ... oh, who am I kidding? They are fun to watch, as we take a break before we get back into writing editorials and opinions.




(19 milion views)



(35 million views)

Famous for being famous?

1. Go ahead and finish up our Truman Webquest from yesterday ... then take a look below.

2. There's no question the impact of reality TV on our culture has been huge; before we move on, let's take a last look at reality TV in this Time Magazine article.

The writer's stance is pretty clear: Please read this article and summarize it in a short essay; take this opportunity to summarize your own thoughts on reality television and its impact on our culture.

3. As budding journalists and keen observers of culture, let's take a look at a phenomenon closely related to the whole reality TV explosion: Being famous for being famous!

This is a serious cultural phenomenon worthy of examination: A quick Google search for the term: famous for being famous produces 53 million search results. That's significant.

As a comparison, searching for ice cream produces 59 million results; A search for santa claus returns 15 million results.

Question: What do the popularity of these people say about our culture? What do you feel about celebrity being achieved - without any actual or substantial achievement involved?

Which celebrities do you personally feel are the most overrated, or have achieved fame without any actual accomplishment?

4. Take a moment and get to know Rod Blagojevich.

Years ago this man would have been banished from public life; now, following a serious scandal, Rod found a home on Trump's reality TV show "Celebrity Apprentice."

Question: Again, put on your cultural observer cap. Does this bother you - the fact this disgraced politician found a home in our living rooms instead of disappearing into the dustbin of history?

Why or why not? It's okay to be opinionated, as we are about to move into examining newspaper editorials and opinions.

Last question: What's the difference between editorials and opinion columns, anyway?

Celebrities say the darndest things!

(1:30 - 2:16) Here is actor Sean Penn suggesting that journalists who criticize Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should go to jail.




Here's the E-Trade commercial that aired during the SuperBowl ... and angered Linday Lohan. She's now suing the investment company for $100 Million dollars.

Truman Show Thinkquest

Reflecting on the above videos ...

1. As budding journalists, how might you explain to Mr. Penn that jailing journalists for criticizing leaders is a bad thing? Use the First Amendment in your answer.

2. If you take a moment to learn about Mr. Chavez and the charges of a state-controlled media and jailed dissenting journalists, why is Penn's statement deeply ironic?

3. When you first watched the E*Trade video above, did you think they were referring to Lindsay Lohan? Do you feel there is validity to her lawsuit?


Back to Truman ...

The Truman Show raises many deep questions about society, media and culture directly related to our previous and upcoming discussions and projects.

So before we move on, let's take a closer look at this film. Please answer each question thoroughly and thoughtfully: Use Word or paper - your choice. This assignment is due Wednesday March 10 at the start of class.

1. This movie has been called prophetic, in terms of predicting the rise and impact of reality TV on our culture. Do you agree?

2. Is reality TV real? To what extent?

3. When did The Real World first air? How has reality TV changed since this show's debut?

The quotes of the show's producer, Christof, bring up some intense ethical issues. I'm paraphrasing these as closely as possible:

4. "Truman prefers this world; yours is the sick world."

What does this quote tell you about Christof?

5. When asked how Truman has believed his false reality so long, Cristof replies, "People accept the reality with which they are presented."

Do you believe this is the case?

6. How do you feel toward Christof? Why?

7. What do you feel this film is saying about the concept of free will?

8. When Truman reaches the wall, at the end of his traumatic boat ride, he pounds on the wall and weeps. What do you think he is feeling at this moment?

Monday March 8: Frenemies, Immigrants and Liberty

1. Use a thesaurus to find two (2) synonyms for each word:

elect
hyperactive
distracted
putrid
admonitions
clenched
inconsolable

2. Meet the author: Who is Julia Alvarez? (born in 1950)

Write 1 paragraph about her background.

3. Sometimes the title of a work gives big clues to its theme. Think Night.

What do you think a fictional work by Alvarez titled "Liberty" might be about?

What about a poem titled "Exile?"

4. Imagine you are forced to leave home suddenly.

What are the top three things you would want to bring with you and why?

What will you miss most about your home?

5. Genre refers to the kind, or type, of literature.

What tools and techniques do you think the writer of a short story uses to convey the message of theme?

What about a poem: What tools and techniques would be used to convey theme here?

And nonfiction (like a newspaper article): How would theme be conveyed in a factual article?

6. Many of you are using the term "frenemies" to describe the theme of Unit 4. Define this term.

7. What challenges might immigrants face when coming to this country? Use the concept of "frenemies" in your answer.

8. Draw a picture of what liberty means to you. Try and capture this theme in a piece of art you create. See Mr. Bank for crayons.

9. When you are finished, read Liberty on page 296, and answer the six questions on page 303.

Freshman Lit: Mini Quest: Troubles in Ireland

Before reading the nonfiction items in our text ...

> A Country Divided pg. 282

> Lives in the Crossfire pg. 286

> Internment pg. 289

> Peace Isn't Impossible pg. 290

... take a moment and complete this mini webquest.

1. What is a primary source? Give an example

2. What is a secondary source? Give an example

Use the following words in an original sentence:

3. intolerance

4.negotiations

5. designate

6. absorb

7. reunification

8. divergent

9. coerced

10. abhor

11. optimist

12. condone

13. Answer this question thoughtfully and in detail:

Why is there fighting in Northern Ireland?

When did this conflict start, and why?

Who is fighting who?

What role does religion play in the conflict?

Freshman Writing Workshop: Theme (3.3.10)

Background: Universal Themes

There are universal concerns and experiences that tie us together as humans - across time, place and culture. These themes find expression in the artwork and literature of various cultures.

One of the themes we are studying in Collection 4 is the often-blurred line between Friends and Enemies: Frienimies, as you guys have taken to calling it.

From Irish snipers on rooftops, to soldiers in the 1950s Korean conflict, loyalties become divided between duty and honor, and family and friendships.

Writing Workshop Part 1: Pre-Write

Use the graphic organizer I've handed out (or print out this one) and fill out the following informational chart (add two rows at the bottom - add rows E and F).

Fill it out with this information:

The Sniper . Cranes

Main Character:
Character's Conflict:
Character's Motives:
What Character Learns:
How Conflict is Resolved:
Statement of Theme:


Fill in your organizer, and show me your work before continuing.


Writing Workshop Part 2: Comparing Themes Across Different Works

Now it's time to compare and contrast the themes of Sniper and Cranes.

Step 1: Gather information. Done! We just did this with our graphic organizer. Nice ...

Step 2: Meet the Block Method. This is where you first write a paragraph about one story, then write a second paragraph about the second story. The paragraphs sit on top of each other, like blocks. You build your essay like you are building a story out of Legos.

So your essay will follow this format:

Introduction: First tell the reader what works you are comparing - title, author, background info, etc. Also, start out with your thesis statement in this first intro paragraph.

Body: Write on The Sniper (block 1), then write on Cranes (block 2). Use your guide! Each "block" should contain:

Main Character
Character's Conflict
Character's Motives
What Character Learns
How Conflict is Resolved
Statement of Theme

**note on theme - you need a full sentence: themes can't be summed up adequately with a single word.

Conclusion: Sum up your major points, and introduce a new thought.

Tips: Provide examples, details and quotations to support your thesis.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

look! look! pay attention here!

Story should be structured like:

Intro

Sniper block

Cranes block

Conclusion

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Editing Process: When you are done writing, turn in your paper and begin the peer editing process. We are going to swap papers with each other, and grade according to our checklists.

Turn in your work: Once our final paper is written, turn in three things to me:

Your 1. graphic organizer
2. edited copy
3. final copy - all stapled together.


(all ideas taken from your Holt textbook; see page 260 and 280 for clarification/magnification).