Integrating Media: Film, Literature, and Theatre

There are many reasons to integrate media into the classroom: student interest and engagement, diverse learning environment, and more. Of most concern for me, however, is that students begin to examine the ways in which the media sphere shapes information, presentation, and to some extent reality. By successfully integrating various media into the classroom, I hope to teach students to more effectively and critically navigate their mediasphere.
First, nearly all media presented in class should go through some sort of deconstruction process. The best way to accomplish this task is to provide the students with many variations of the same story. For example, although some schools have difficulty with 'R' rated movies, Troy is a movie version of The Iliad that definitely sets for a different agenda than Homer's classic. Viewing these two together would allow the students to analyze the movie's agenda and consider typical movie conventions. The activity could lead to a decent discussion as to what Hollywood thinks America needs for its movies. This deconstruction will allow students to more effectively resist media images and persuasions.
To understand the differences in experiences between text, film, and theatre, students should attempt to decipher the intended goals and audience of each medium. This activity would involve viewing several versions of the same story. For example, The Wizard of Oz is a good example of how book, film, and play (Wicked) attempt very different goals. The activity would have to begin by reading the book version, which is a sort of analysis of capitalism, American society, and the gold standard. After deciphering what key ideas the book set forth, the students would then compare the book with the original film version. They would see the slight differences, examining how those changes create a different meaning. Finally, the play Wicked would allow the students to view the story from a postmodern view, which in turn would all the students to see both the book and the film in a slightly different light.
In addition, televison and other media would have to be a critical part of the classroom. Creating an environment in which the students could learn to think critically about all the images and advertisements presented to them each day is extremely important for students in today's world. Students must begin to analyze the way in which advertising shapes their world and their lives. One example may be to simply list all the fast food restaurant slogans on the board and have the students identify which slogan goes with which restaurant. The students will likely accomplish this quite quickly. Then the students should compare that experience to matching important scientific finds to their discoverors. For example, Marie Curie's discovery of radiation. Examining the way in which important scientific finds are less likely to be recalled than some food joint's slogan could lead to an important discussion on American reality.
Creating an enviroment in which students can increase their skill at navigating the great media sphere is an important task for any teacher. By integrating media and technology, teachers can hopefully allow students to critically anayze their world and begin to resist or accept that reality more consciously.

Who Owns Me?

Television
My Name is Earl - NBC (GE)
The Office - NBC (GE)
Lost - ABC (Walt Disney)
The Dail Show - Comedy Central (Viacom)

Radio
NPR - NPR (NPR)
Drive 105 - 105.1 (Walt Disney)
Cities97 - 97.1 (Clear Channel)

Internet
Mediacom

I'm sure there's more to it than that, but those are the ones I really pay attention to. Ownership is a strange thing. I find it really odd that a corporation that sells ovens would own a TV station. I guess if it makes money then a corporation will buy it. This ownership is a large problem. First, censorship is an obvious problem. If a station is owned by GE, for example, then it's likely not going to air something that is negative to its owers, even if ovens are exploding all over the place. Worse, corporations, by their very nature, are more concerned with profit margin than anything else. That means that if something is bad for business, the customer won't have access to it. In fact, anti-trust suits are coming up all the time now with the fewer owners in today's political climate. My internet and cable provider is actually suing Sinclair for breach of anti-trust laws. The worst thing, however, is that this kind of influence is all very covert. You may think that you are getting a piece of information from a variety of sources but in fact it may all come from one source, a single corporation. For example, one may read in a magazine about how electrician unions are creating problems that are making the price of toasters go up. Now that may seem odd and at first you may simply pass it off. Then you see a similar story on NBC news. Then you hear it on the radio. Eventually you start believing that opinion because you think that it is coming from so many sources it must be true. In reality, the corporation may simply be telling its companies to run a certain story that will be good for the corporation's dealings with the electrician unions. I think the secrecy of it all is the worst part of all it.

Music Preference

Music is an interesting topic for me. I have a hard time narrowing down the type of music I like. I do not tend to enjoy the newer music. It all sounds very similar to me, and not in a good way. It's a discomforting similarity. Mainly I listen to The Pogues, Flogging Molly, and other less known bands. They're not unheard of bands, but not ones people necessarily readily know. I guess the genre would probably something like alternative, though what that means any more I have no idea.
The song that sticks out to me as one taht reflects my taste in music is "Fairy Tales of New York" by The Pogues. I guess I like how different the song is from what I had heard before. I like the incorporation of the storyline, which is almost deconstructionist in tone, and the Irish influence. I spent three months studying in Ireland, and that sound just kind of stuck with me. As one professor told me, he can always here Irish music when it's playing. He just knew the sound. It made a home in him. I guess that's what happened to me, too. The music just sort of stuck in me.

Collegeville Documentary

I would love to create a documentary about Saint John's University in Collegeville, MN. There are many things I would want the audience to learn about that culture. I found something very strange about a liberal arts college that basically catered to white, upper-middle class people and created a real secluded place to learn. The students even joked about how they were behind a "Pine Curtain." That, actually, would be a great name for the documentary. What I find so intriguing is the use of a euphamism reserved for Soviet Russia being used to describe the way in which these students are sheltered from the world, allowing only a filtered reality throught the treeline.
The main activity in the fall would have to be the Johnnie football games. There is a strange thing that happens there at that time. I find it hard to describe. It kind of reminded me of a high class party, a sort of balck tie affair where all the "in people" know everyone and the others do not belong. At least, that's the feeling I usually got from them. There's a real sense of connectedness, not only with other Johnnies but a sense of...I think what I'm looking for here is class structure. I was always well aware that my upbringing (farm boy, born and raised) did not fit with the class that attended that institution. I felt like I was sitting in at a secret society's meeting all the time.
Other activities would include the formal affairs such as the alum dinners and the senior dinner. Also, the mother/son dance would likely be a good place to get some insight into that world. I never attended that, but it seemed like a very "privileged" kind of activity. Something a cetain class of people would partake in.
The interviews would have to include students who were more than first generation Johnnies (of which there were many), varying social classes, professors, alums, and even the staff workers. I think with all those ideas and thoughts, one could create a decent view of that world.

Evening News

The news is not really news. Typically, the news is simply filled with advertisements and fluff that makes us all feel better, a sort of habit that many peopel just get into. What I've tpyically noticed about news programs is that they are obsessed with getting ratings rather that reporting meaningful news. There is always a type of slogan attached to every news clip (which are typically short and superficial). The slogan is usually some sort of threat or cliffhanger that instinctively makes one curious to know what that could be. "Something in your home is potentially deadly. That story coming up in just a moment." These types of statements drive me insane. I do not care what is coming up. Just read the news. I'll listen to the story about the deadly household product when it comes, no need to throw in enticement.
Weather and sports appears to be the most important elements of the news program. I guess that makes sense since the news is rather meaningless anyway. For the most part it's just something people watch either while their eating dinner or before they go to bed. It's a sort of habit really, something that makes people feel better about themselves, as if they are keeping abreast of the world and are in the loop. And even though the actual news clips are relatively meaningless, they usually help support the mainstream idea of reality. Nothing too outrageous. Just enought to feel like we are up-to-date with the usual stuff and that everything is ok in our part of the world. I mean, at least we're not like the Middle East or north Minneapolis.