Short reflection on the movie Wag The Dog

What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?

The message that is trying to be expressed in the movie is that manipulating the focus of people is incredibly powerful, and it draws attention to potential ethical and moral problems that can arise. I think the movie is also attempting to make a point about the abuse of power in politics.

Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?

I don’t think the director’s background played much of a role in his decision making when directing the film. Not to take anything away from comedies, but a lot of them are shot in a similar manner (in my opinion).

What the movie added to your visual literacy?

The film really drove home the potential for visual literacy skills to be misused, and the amount of responsibility of the people with those skills have. I enjoyed watching the scene where some film was being shot and seeing the purposeful editing. I know this was just a movie, but it makes me wonder how much of what people are presented with every day is accurate/unbiased.

Reflection on the movie Nightcrawler

1.   What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?  Support your answer with examples.

1.   When watching this movie, the message I got was about ethics and integrity in journalism. While the movie was an extreme example (it needs to keep people entertained), I think it showed audiences potential problems in the field of news and journalism. Without giving too much away to anyone who reads this blog and hasn’t seen the movie, the issues revolve mostly around the desire to be the first with the information. If you know a crime will be committed, are you obligated to report it?

2.   If applicable, discuss if you think this movie has accurate depictions of minorities or if they are situational. Why or why not? Could certain groups of people be offended or misinterpret this movie? Why?

1.   Certain parts of the movie could be seen as offensive, but more in the way that violence is offensive than any racial or ethnic problems. I didn’t notice any overly stereotypical characters, and most people throughout the film could be substituted for someone from a different racial or ethnic group without any story changes. I feel that the whole thing is driven mostly by story and very little by character development.

3.   Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?

1.   Director Dan Gilroy said he came up with the idea for the film after reading a book that contained a collection of photos of people in New York City at night. He later noticed the huge amount of violence on the news, and put some thought into “the idea that it must be a powerful force for a TV station, when they realize their ratings go through the roof when they show something with the potential for violence, like a police chase". These factors led him to the creation and direction of the film.

4.   What the movie added to your visual literacy?

1.   This film was actually brought up when I was giving a presentation early in the semester that dealt with ethics and media. This movie is a good visual example of a lot of potential ethical and moral issues that can face a journalist, photographer, etc. It allowed me to think in more concrete ways about where the line between right and wrong is, and how the fact that people need money influences where that line is for people.

5.   What kind of artistic and/or visual means did the director use in the movie to focus our attention?

1.   A majority of the movie was dark and had an eerie and almost uncomfortable feel. Something about the main character feels off, and the viewer isn’t quite able to put their finger on it. The facial expressions he makes, the way he conducts himself, etc. all look very natural and still have that “slightly sociopathic” quality and I’m sure that was a deliberate choice to convey his state of mind without directly saying it. The film doesn’t overuse any gory or violent imagery, though there are some intense visuals that influence the emotion of the viewer.

Reflection on the movie Crash

1. What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?  Support your answer with examples.
1. I believe the director was trying to portray relations between various racial groups in the city. The movie follows the stories of a small group of people, nearly all belonging to different racial or ethnic groups. Wikipedia’s entry on the director (Paul Haggis) states that “Haggis said that he wrote Crash to ‘bust liberals’, arguing that his fellow liberals were not honest with themselves about the nature of race and racism because they believed that most racial problems had already been resolved in American society.”
2. If applicable, discuss if you think this movie has accurate depictions of minorities or if they are situational. Why or why not? Could certain groups of people be offended or misinterpret this movie? Why?
1. I feel like the movie portrayed the different groups in a somewhat stereotypical way, but in a weirdly fair way as each group was stereotyped roughly equally. That being said, just because it was done fairly doesn’t mean I think it was done well. I feel that people (of all races) that are easily offended may find problems here, but I don’t think there is anything overtly offensive in the movie. The film examines race relations, and naturally there will be some uncomfortable moments that come from that, but uncomfortable is different than offended.
3. Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?
1. Paul Haggis lives in California, and said that the movie was partially inspired by an experience he had having his car stolen. I don’t believe that his background played much of a role in his direction of the film. After reading a little bit about him it sounds like it was just a story he came up with and really fell in love with.
4. What kind of artistic and/or visual means did the director use in the movie to focus our attention?
1. Close up shots on important moments (ex: purchasing a gun), manipulation of music, and the locations of characters on the screen in some parts are different things I noticed throughout the film.

The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women - Jean Kilbourne

The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women - Jean Kilbourne

I likely never would have thought to click on this video had it not been part of an assignment for class, but after watching it I would recommend that everyone who has the opportunity watch it for themselves. While the video addresses the topic well, to me it served more as a springboard into the topic. What this video did very well was make me want to learn more, and dig deeper into the subject myself.

The video has many different and impactful things to say, but the portion that dealt with the sexualization of children was the most impactful part of the video for me. There aren’t any reasons to be producing high-heels for babies or padded bras for eight and nine-year-old children. 

Just because you CAN sell something to someone does not mean that you SHOULD. 

As a future teacher and hopefully parent, things like that just amaze me (and not in a good way). While the issues discussed are causing harm to people, they aren’t doing it in easily visible ways. Instead of causing harm directly to someone, trends in media and advertising are slowly chipping away at self-esteem and autonomy.

The issues discussed in the video clip apply to men as well, both directly and indirectly. Men are made to look larger or more masculine instead of thinner or more petite, but the idea is similar. In addition to that, I really liked the point brought up around the six-minute mark of the video. In addition to girls and women measuring themselves against increasingly unrealistic standards, men and boys view of the women in their lives is warped and distorted. This distortion of expectations (both physical and emotional) will potentially cause issues in relationships throughout the course of life.

Kinetic Typography

Kinetic typography is quite simply the combination of text and movement. The video embedded above is a great example of what kinetic typography is and some of the techniques used.

I'm sure that you've heard "a picture is worth a thousand words" in your life in some form or another. A picture speaks in such a powerful way because the image is presented to us in a more engaging manner than a block of text, and the human brain is able to process images nearly 60,000 times more quickly than text. To describe an image in a way that it could be reproduced based just on your written description could take thousands of words per picture, and sometimes a message needs to be communicated more quickly.

Kinetic typography uses movement and different organizations of letters and spacing to bridge the gap between text and images, making certain words/phrases more powerful through various techniques. Text can be flashed over music, slowly fade in/out, grow larger or darker, or any number of other techniques can be used to try and elicit an emotional response from the audience.

The following links contain the sources I used for background on this post and the video I used:
Images Speak Louder Than Words
General Information
Kinetic Typography Video Examples

How To Build a Personal Learning Network (Video)

Embedded above is a video I found on TeacherTube covering the subject of personal learning networks. This video is just an example of the MANY that can be found on this website and accessed by other educators for free! Some videos are better than others, but there is no shortage of useful videos! Borrowing videos and printable lesson plans throughout the school year is a good way to keep the classroom fresh and exciting, and it gives students access to different viewpoints that they might not have been exposed to if you had designed everything that the class did throughout the year.

Technology: Helping Teachers Help Teachers

The internet is a unique platform that allows people from many different places to all collaborate and share ideas. This has helped advance the teaching profession by opening students up to new ideas and viewpoints they might not have ever been exposed to if they had been isolated in their community. While the internet as a whole is a useful tool, some sources are definitely more reliable than others. Below I have listed two websites that I have found and believe will be helpful throughout my career, and my hope is that you find them helpful as well!

TeacherTube

TeacherTube is like the website YouTube, minus all the cat videos and other distractions. This website is a platform that makes it easy for teachers to share all sorts of things with other educators. The site is filled with video lessons and demonstrations, and even includes worksheet and study sheet links! This website can be a "one stop shop" for almost any subject you can think of!

Edutopia

Edutopia is a website that I found while exploring Twitter for an earlier assignment in this class. I followed their Twitter account, and then found out that they have an entire website full of resources. The website includes information about technology and teaching, the impact of social media on students and learning, and even conflict management and resolution in schools. Both the T
witter account and website are helpful, and I would definitely recommend checking them both out!