MediaThatMatters Film Festival - Making Curriculum Pop2024-03-28T16:39:54Zhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/forum/topics/mediathatmatters-film-festival?commentId=2665237%3AComment%3A5824&feed=yes&xn_auth=noMaia - make sure you announce…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-06-01:2665237:Comment:95242009-06-01T04:10:27.420ZRyan Goblehttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/RyanGoble
Maia - make sure you announce this in the NY teacher group:<br />
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<a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/nycmetroteachers">http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/nycmetroteachers</a>
Maia - make sure you announce this in the NY teacher group:<br />
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<a href="http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/nycmetroteachers">http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/nycmetroteachers</a> Hi all -- glad to see the con…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-05-12:2665237:Comment:86512009-05-12T14:38:44.228ZMaia Ermitahttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/MaiaErmita
Hi all -- glad to see the conversation has continued even after the workshop! One interesting thing to note is that we do get similar comments about "propaganda" and the lack of balance between some of the films that are part of Media That Matters. This recent article from the NYTimes also touches on a similar point (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/q8cr6h">http://tinyurl.com/q8cr6h</a>) - however, i think it can be most powerful when an educator can properly frame the issue by introducing a topic…
Hi all -- glad to see the conversation has continued even after the workshop! One interesting thing to note is that we do get similar comments about "propaganda" and the lack of balance between some of the films that are part of Media That Matters. This recent article from the NYTimes also touches on a similar point (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/q8cr6h">http://tinyurl.com/q8cr6h</a>) - however, i think it can be most powerful when an educator can properly frame the issue by introducing a topic with a film such as "Hammoudi" but also provide alternative sources (print or other media) as a fuller way to encourage students to take an objective stance towards all topics of conversation.<br />
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Would also like to invite all of you to our upconing ninth annual Media That Matters Film Festival coming up on June 3 here in New York at the Visual Arts Theater:<br />
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<a href="http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/news/world_premiere_of_the_ninth_annual_media_that_matters_film_festival">http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/news/world_premiere_of_the_ninth_annual_media_that_matters_film_festival</a><br />
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Please feel free to contact me at maia@artsengine.net for anything and everything. Take care! I teach extensively about the…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-05-05:2665237:Comment:73032009-05-05T05:21:54.785ZKate Burchhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/KateBurch
I teach extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so I was thinking about how to use the Media that Matters piece about the cluster bombs in Lebanon, through the story of one charming boy. I think the film is particularly effective because you first meet the boy and only part way into the piece realize that he has been maimed by a bomb. I also recommend the recent Israeli film about the 1982 war with Lebanon, <a href="http://waltzwithbashir.com/">Waltz with Bashir</a>, which is an…
I teach extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so I was thinking about how to use the Media that Matters piece about the cluster bombs in Lebanon, through the story of one charming boy. I think the film is particularly effective because you first meet the boy and only part way into the piece realize that he has been maimed by a bomb. I also recommend the recent Israeli film about the 1982 war with Lebanon, <a href="http://waltzwithbashir.com/">Waltz with Bashir</a>, which is an animated documentary. Leaving the theater, I heard one couple behind me announce "well, that was propaganda." I disagree, but I think it raises a productive question for the classroom about the usefulness of propaganda. Hi Ann, I really enjoyed read…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-05-04:2665237:Comment:72252009-05-04T15:35:49.120ZSean Owenshttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/SeanOwens
Hi Ann, I really enjoyed reading what you wrote. It conveyed enthusiasm and provided me with alot of links. I completely agree with you when you state that we must challenge students to critically analyze texts. I think by doing this it allows them to view the text from a different perspective and express their own beliefs. Teaching students to realize that everything they see may or may not be a truth is really important
Hi Ann, I really enjoyed reading what you wrote. It conveyed enthusiasm and provided me with alot of links. I completely agree with you when you state that we must challenge students to critically analyze texts. I think by doing this it allows them to view the text from a different perspective and express their own beliefs. Teaching students to realize that everything they see may or may not be a truth is really important Thinking about point of view…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-05-04:2665237:Comment:71582009-05-04T02:56:32.942ZVirginia Pourakishttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/VirginiaPourakis
Thinking about point of view in documentaries would connect well with the study of a variety of texts, not just those dubbed "persuasive writing," but even ones students often assume to be unbiased e.g. textbooks. This also brought to mind the controversies surrouding Dan Brown's novel <u>The DaVinci Code</u>. It would be interesting to analyze two documentaries about the "same" topic, each taking a different stance on the issue at hand. How does each achieve its goals?
Thinking about point of view in documentaries would connect well with the study of a variety of texts, not just those dubbed "persuasive writing," but even ones students often assume to be unbiased e.g. textbooks. This also brought to mind the controversies surrouding Dan Brown's novel <u>The DaVinci Code</u>. It would be interesting to analyze two documentaries about the "same" topic, each taking a different stance on the issue at hand. How does each achieve its goals? Hi Ann,
I really enjoyed read…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-05-03:2665237:Comment:70752009-05-03T17:23:26.267ZCindy Peattiehttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/CynthiaScalone
Hi Ann,<br />
I really enjoyed reading your post and thank you for sharing so many teaching resources and tools. It is important to note that our perspectives and reflections on the Media That Matters presentation were similar yet different in many ways. In my reflection paper, I discussed the two documentaries that inspired me the most, <i>Every Third Bite</i> and <i>Ashray</i>. Which documentaries did you find intriguing and fascinating? I agree with you that Ambika Samarthya's discussion was one…
Hi Ann,<br />
I really enjoyed reading your post and thank you for sharing so many teaching resources and tools. It is important to note that our perspectives and reflections on the Media That Matters presentation were similar yet different in many ways. In my reflection paper, I discussed the two documentaries that inspired me the most, <i>Every Third Bite</i> and <i>Ashray</i>. Which documentaries did you find intriguing and fascinating? I agree with you that Ambika Samarthya's discussion was one of the highlights of the Media That Matters presentation because she shared her personal experiences filming <i>Ashray</i> in Bombay. I like your idea of having children decipher whether or not a documentary is fictional or presents factual information. I think <i>Ashray</i> is an excellent example of a documentary film that supports Alan Teasley's core concepts of media literacy by presenting factual truths in a narrative form. I believe children are the most receptive and interested in films that are have both factual and fictional elements! Hey Ann,
I also thought the…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-04-27:2665237:Comment:64782009-04-27T01:40:00.388ZKate Rosenbloomhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/KateRosenbloom
Hey Ann,<br />
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I also thought the Media That Matters presentation was one of the most engaging parts of TTP09. Did you know that a lot of the films that screen in that festival are made by teenagers? They even give a Youth Voice Award every year. I think these youth produced works might be especially interesting to show in classrooms. One that was especially well done and enjoyable to watch is <a href="http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/films/america_for_dummies">America For Dummies</a> which looks…
Hey Ann,<br />
<br />
I also thought the Media That Matters presentation was one of the most engaging parts of TTP09. Did you know that a lot of the films that screen in that festival are made by teenagers? They even give a Youth Voice Award every year. I think these youth produced works might be especially interesting to show in classrooms. One that was especially well done and enjoyable to watch is <a href="http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/films/america_for_dummies">America For Dummies</a> which looks into how little it seems most American young people know about other countries and cultures.<br />
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Also, not sure if you know, but when Ken Burns put out his documentary on WWII he also started an oral history project to preserve the stories of WWII veterans. Its called the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/thewar.html">Veterans History Project</a> and they may still be taking submissions. Might be a fun project to have kids carry out and submit interviews.<br />
<br />
-Kate<br />
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-Kate Hi Ann,
Thanks for the great…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-04-26:2665237:Comment:64432009-04-26T23:38:14.099ZJenniferhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/JenSpence
Hi Ann,<br />
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Thanks for the great resources. I'm also a huge fan of Media That Matters. As for films that deal with critical literacy and media literacy in particular, check out this <a href="http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/films/hate_machine">Hate Machine</a> film on the MTM site. It's definitely an effective tool for teaching about bias in the media and the power of the sound bite. Also, have you checked out the <a href="http://www.medialit.org/">Center for Media Literacy</a> site? It's also…
Hi Ann,<br />
<br />
Thanks for the great resources. I'm also a huge fan of Media That Matters. As for films that deal with critical literacy and media literacy in particular, check out this <a href="http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/films/hate_machine">Hate Machine</a> film on the MTM site. It's definitely an effective tool for teaching about bias in the media and the power of the sound bite. Also, have you checked out the <a href="http://www.medialit.org/">Center for Media Literacy</a> site? It's also packed with resources.<br />
<br />
Jennifer This concept of teaching stud…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-04-24:2665237:Comment:61412009-04-24T11:17:05.471ZAnn Heilman Murphyhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/AnnHeilmanMurphy
This concept of teaching students (and ourselves) to be critical media viewers really interests me. Particularly today with the explosion of images and video created and disseminated on the web I think we all need to be conscious of the possibility that not all of what we see actually happened or is "true." I am thinking here of the possibility of these images and videos being altered. How do we teach students to be conscious of that when analyzing images and what tools can we give them to do…
This concept of teaching students (and ourselves) to be critical media viewers really interests me. Particularly today with the explosion of images and video created and disseminated on the web I think we all need to be conscious of the possibility that not all of what we see actually happened or is "true." I am thinking here of the possibility of these images and videos being altered. How do we teach students to be conscious of that when analyzing images and what tools can we give them to do so? One funny and provocative way to introduce the subject would be to view and discuss Woody Allen's classic film, Zelig, in which he inserted himself into numerous newsreel films and stock news photos. But does anyone know of any other more pedagogical tools to discussing this important topic? Ann (and Diane):
Interesting…tag:mcpopmb.ning.com,2009-04-22:2665237:Comment:60002009-04-22T03:00:46.039ZAlan Teasleyhttp://mcpopmb.ning.com/profile/AlanTeasley
Ann (and Diane):<br />
Interesting discussion! I think it certainly serves students to introduce the concepts of documentary film, fiction film, "true," "real," "factual," etc. John Golden (in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Reel-World-Documentaries-Nonfiction/dp/0814138756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240367629&sr=1-1">Reading in the Real World</a>) has a great activity to start off this discussion.<br />
<br />
The more I explore documentary films (and I've seen about a thousand over the…
Ann (and Diane):<br />
Interesting discussion! I think it certainly serves students to introduce the concepts of documentary film, fiction film, "true," "real," "factual," etc. John Golden (in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Reel-World-Documentaries-Nonfiction/dp/0814138756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240367629&sr=1-1">Reading in the Real World</a>) has a great activity to start off this discussion.<br />
<br />
The more I explore documentary films (and I've seen about a thousand over the past seven years of serving on the selection committee of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival), the more I think "nonfiction film" may be a more useful term, even though I hate describing something as what it isn't. Just as with the wide world of nonfiction books, documentary films encompass essays, advocacy pieces (clear arguments for one point of view over another, with no pretense of objectivity), biography, memoir, history, and so forth. None of these genres of nonfiction has a corner on The Truth, and we shouldn't hold documentary films to the standard of always being "true." However, the documentarian does have an obligation not to mislead the viewer. We should be clear about portions of a film that are reenactments or reconstructions (not primary documents, but potentially true), and a good documentarian will indicate whether he/she has attempted to include counter-arguments or balanced evidence or is even interested in objectivity. Some recent, well-reviewed docs have even included animation. Holy Moly!<br />
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So there are a rich array of vocabulary words for this unit: true, fact/factual, objective, subjective, narrative, argument, advocacy, document, documentary, nonfiction, fiction, point of view, reality, actuality, opinion, balance, fairness, transparency. . . .<br />
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Interestingly, the Native American series currently playing on PBS contains quite a variety of techniques. <i>Tecumseh's Vision</i> consists almost totally of re-enactments (there are no photos or paintings of Tecumseh made during his life). The first half hour or so (admittedly all I have seen of it) "reads" like a fiction film with an omniscient narrator. One of the last in the series, <i>Wounded Knee</i>, is more traditionally done with "talking heads" and primary footage from the period.<br />
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Attached is a handout I've used to describe some of the key analytical questions to explore with various types of documentaries. I hope you find it useful.