Lindsay Lombardi's Page

Lindsay:
It's so funny, but when I was researching for Reel World in 04-05 (I call it "research" for tax purposes and for getting out of doing the dishes, but it really just meant watching a whole bunch of films) I jokingly started a chapter titled, "Why conservatives don't make documentaries." I was trying so hard to be sure that the book had political and ideological balance that I spent a lot of time trying to find films with a conservative viewpoint, and it was HARD! At first, I thought the films weren't out there b/c of a lack of distribution, bias of film buyers at festivals, crazy left-wing PBS and HBO..., but in 04-05, I think that people on the right just weren't making many documentaries for reasons that never quite added up to a full chapter (or so that crazy left-wing NCTE thought!!).
ANYWAY, I did find a few and even some that kind of get at the Iraq War by attacking Michael Moore and praising George Bush: Celsius 41.11(streams on googlevideo at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5613757524554114657#), Fahrenhype 911 (streams at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9087291936502859172#).
And in addition to limiting the discussion only to pro/con about the war, I have done another activity with my students about multiple perspectives on the war, including those of Iraqi filmmakers. The focus of my lesson is on how editing choices in documentary film affect audience reaction to the subject. The lesson is too long to post here, but I'll put it somewhere else and link to it: http://mcpopmb.ning.com/group/teachwmovies/forum/topics/perspectives-of-the-iraq-war?xg_source=activity

hi lindsay!

thanks for the email! your unit sounds AWESOME!!! i think the idea of the superhero (or the definition of a "super" hero) has really changed as a result of two modern events. 1. 9/11 is the flag date i see as changing us into a visual culture, and 2. graphic novel sales have skyrocketed post 9/11.

that said, something else i think you are getting at in your email is the evolution of the idea of the superhero, from greek mythology onwards. it might be really cool to take greek mythology and apply it to a superhero graphic novel/comic book from the 50s and 60s. and then compare and contrast the idea of the superhero with a superhero graphic novel post 9/11.

what do you think??? i think you are onto something brilliant here! please keep in touch.

in terms of my book, chapter 1 offers basic reading graphic novel terminology. and all the other chapters offer reading strategies aligned to common ELA standards....i wanted it to be really teacher-friendly, so there are tons of handouts and strategies you xerox. :)

best wishes, and keep in touch! :) katie