LSRHS: Media Arts

Here are a few examples of exceptional documentaries. There are hundreds to choose from.

Just as the accomplished musician listens to lots of music, so should the serious filmmaker watch as many films as they can. The objective of this assignment is to begin training your eye to be critical when watching films. Being able to both watch a film and analyze it, while still enjoying it, is an art in itself.  This makes it necessary to watch the movie that you are reviewing at least twice.  The first time you watch it you can keep a note pad and jot down some basic information.  While watching your selected film for the first time, you should mainly relax and enjoy the movie without thinking too hard about it.  You can think harder on the next and subsequent viewings. In order to really complete this assignment well, I suggest you watch the film at least twice. The first time, to let the experience “wash” over you–take in the big picture, take written notes here and there, take mental notes.  On the second (or third) viewing, pay more attention to details, take more detailed notes, pause, rewind, playback, analyze.  Many excellent films on DVD include a commentary track that you can turn on and listen to while watching the movie for the second time. The documentary “When The Levees Broke” is an example of a film that has a commentary by director Spike Lee.  The commentaries are spoken either by the director, principle actors, film critics, or a combination of the above.  While watching the film and listening to the commentary you’ll often find them very interesting in their discussion of film craft, acting, or directing.  When the commentary track is available, you are bound to get some useful information that you can include in your paper. If you do so, be sure to cite the DVD as a primary source in your bibliography. You should cite this anyway as the film is the primary source of your research.

Where to access the film you choose? http://netflix.com

over 40,000 titles to choose from

is a great resource, with over 40,000 titles available as DVD’s that can be mailed to your home or streamed online. There’s also the local library where you can check out DVD’s for free or very cheaply, or local stores such as Blockbuster or Video Signals.

Where can I conduct research? The best place to start is http://www.imdb.com/ the internet movie data base.

helpful data on films, directors, and actors

This is a marvelous search engine; where you can find director and actor biographies, story synopsis, full credit lists, and more. There are also many Wikipedia articles on films and film making, or just conduct a general Google search on your film.

What’s the difference between a REVIEW and an ANALYSIS? The primary difference is that a review is more of an opinion on whether the reviewer likes or doesn’t like a given film. While it is backed up by reasons, it does not usually go so deep as to look at technique and content. An ANALYSIS is deeper than a review and picks apart a film in greater detail, gives more examples from the film used in discussion, provides research into the making of the film, and may include interviews with directors, actors, producers or writers. While most analysis provide opinions, this is often secondary to an in-depth

analysis of a film.

Selecting a film to analyze: At the top of this blogpost is a collage made up of a few film posters along with logos or images from television documentary series.  Try Netflix or these sites: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ or this excellent blog listing 50 top documentaries with trailers! http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2010/01/05/the-documentary-blogs-top-25-documentaries-of-the-decade/

You can also ask me for ideas or suggestions, and you must speak with me about which documentary you plan to write about. When selecting your film to review, it does not matter if you have seen the film several times.  The more you watch a film that you like, the better, because you often notice more things on each viewing.

I do not want a detailed summary of the story, rather, the points you make when answering the questions below should allude to parts of the story with the assumption that the reader has seen the film.  Answer the following questions as best you can.  Write in complete, detailed sentences.  When giving your opinion, back that up with your reasoning, or use examples from the film you are reviewing.  Speak with your peers and/or with me if you do not understand everything I am asking of you.

Your paper should be TYPED and DOUBLE-SPACED. If you follow the directions below it will be between three and five pages.

State the name of the film, who directed it, the principal actors, and who edited it. This information can be found by going to either of these websites:  www.imdb.com

or www.netflix.com.

Topic: What is the main topic of the film? Describe in a few sentences who or what the film is about.

Acting: Are the characters, subjects believable?  Do they do a good job in conveying the story? Why or why not?

Story? What is the main story?  Was the topic a good choice? Why or why not? Do you think the director had a good focus or went too wide in telling the story? Is the film entertaining and informative? Is there something new and unique about this film, or is it banal?  Was the director trying to prove or disprove a thesis? Provide reasons and examples for your answers given above.

Direction: Do you think the director did a good job of drawing out the storytelling ability of the people interviewed or presenting?  Why or why not?  What do you think the director’s vision was? Do you think it could have been handled better?

Narration: Do you think the narration was interesting, funny, believable, or was it stilted, contrived, boring? Is the narration spoken on camera and by voice over by one person, or is it an assemblage of many voices?  Give examples.

Storytelling: What happens in the story?  How do the sequences within each scene advance the story?  How do the scenes advance the story? Is there an “arc” that the film follows within each scene and/or as the film advances through exposition, buildup of action, climax, and resolution? What is the climax?  How well do you think the ending works?  Could you think of a better ending?

Point of view: Is the point of view clearly stated, or do you think the film is more objective, leaving the audience to decide? Why do you think so?

Visual references: Did the director or editor use enough B-roll footage, news clips, charts, graphs, maps? Or was it too much talking heads? Give examples of what visual elements helped the story of if the documentary was lacking in a variety of visual elements.

Overall use of film elements: Did the director rely more heavily on one or more elements of film in telling the story?  Which elements and how?

To answer this question, select three of the film language terms (listed below) and answer the questions.  If the film you are reviewing does not make any outstanding use of any of these listed techniques, then pick three anyway and state your opinion as to why you think the film did not work.  Make specific references to points in the movie that you are speaking about.  In answering the questions give your reasons of why or why not!

Editing: Did the editor move you through time and space or did the movie drag?  Was time followed in a linear form, or was time followed in a non-sequential way?  Was there anything about the editing that was innovative, or was it too confusing?  Was the film too long, too short, or just right?  Does the sequencing make sense?  Is there anything remarkable about the visual rhythm of the editing?  Were the transitions effective?  Was cutting effective?  Were jumps in time or space acceptable, or not?  Give examples from the film in supporting your argument about whether or not the editing helps advance the story along an arc that builds to the climax.

Cinematography/camera angle: Were the shots well framed? Were there many different shots, or was the photography basic, banal?  Did shots serve a purpose, make a point about a character or situation?  Did they give the viewer a good sense of place and time? Were the shots and sequences notable or basic?  Does it matter?    Did the director and editor rely on long takes with little cutting or lots of cutting?  Would the film have been better or worse with lots of fancy angles and cutting?  Or is the story more important to not be distracted by lots of fancy angles and cutting?  In other words, in your opinion, what type of editing best serves the advancement of the story?  Give descriptive examples.

Audio: Were there examples of multilayered audio–sound effects, music, and ambient sound?  How were these elements used and to what effect?  Was the construction of the soundtrack an effective use of audio?  Was music used as a driving theme in the film, to make a point and underscore/emphasize a particular spot in the story, or was it more as filler, background?  Give examples.

Camera Movement: Was camera movement used for any purpose or effect?  Was this evident to the point of being distracting, or was it effectively used?  Give examples.

Social/Historical context: Is there anything significant about this film in terms of history, art, or society?  Does the film try to convince the audience of some point?  Is the film made more to entertain or to capture an essence of something?  Give reasons for why or why not.

You can insert film stills from the movie to help make your points.  Film stills can be found at the imdb site or through google images.

Finishing up: Be sure to write a concluding paragraph!  You’ve worked this hard to get this far, put the finishing touches on your work! Include a bibliography—cite the film you’ve reviewed and any Internet sources or magazine articles that you used for your research or images.  If citing web sources make note of the date that you accessed them.

As we near the end of our journey through Media Literacy, I would like you to think back on when you started the semester, and then forward through the many films, discussions and activities that we have experienced as a class.  Keep all of this in mind as you respond to the questions below. Some students find it easiest to paste the questions right into their browser and type their answers under each of the questions; others address the questions in the form of an essay.  In either event you are being graded for this assignment, the more detailed, thoughtful your answers,  the better your grade.  As you know I would never mark up or down if I agree or disagree with your point-of-view.  I am assessing your grade based upon effort extended, how well you write and present a well thought out point-of-view.  Back up your statements by citing examples from the class, compare and contrast, make an argument for or against a point-of-view that you have or that I or someone in the class has expressed.  You may wish to write your essay off-line and then log into the blog and post your answer.  Remember, the more time that you think, reflect, and write, the better your grade!  Your participation in this exercise is important and valuable to the class, future classes, and the area of Media Literacy Education. Thanks for your participation!

–P. Sarapas, January 2009

Questions and essay talking points:

1. Write a paragraph (6 to 10 sentences) that describes your attitudes and opinions concerning the media and how you consume it.  What is the difference between how you thought and felt when you started compared with the way you see things now?  Do you look at anything differently? Has the class helped or empowered you in any way?  How?  Why or why not?

2. The two sections of Media Literacy watched some films that were the same and some that were different.  The list below includes all of the films we screened but does not include the short films (5-10 minutes).  I would like you to select two from the list and then follow the directions after the list.

“Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”             “Raising Cane”

“Bowling For Columbine”          “Mickey Mouse Monopoly”

“News Hype” (20/20 examination of News reporting)

“The Merchants of Cool”                      “Life is Beautiful”

“Pleasantville”                                       “Inside Man”

“Juno”                                                   “Dr. Strangelove”

“Crash”

a. compare and contrast the two films in terms of content, style, approach.

b. explain, in your opinion, why I chose these films or went with the class request to screen them.  What do they have to do with media literacy?

c. in your opinion, were any films from the list a poor choice?  Why or why not?  You may give examples from some of the other films we watched as well.

d. should I have included more short films or less?  Why?

e. do you have any titles to suggest that would be useful to use in future classes?  Why do you think so?
3. Topics covered throughout the semester:

Below is a list of the areas covered in both classes; after the list is a set of questions to answer.

–media use journal            –the music industry

–corporate control and ownership of the media

–News Reporting

–Advertising and Marketing                 –gender roles/boys and girls

–Racial and Ethnic Stereotyping

a. do you think we should have covered other topics?  Why or why not?

b. do you think there were some topics that would have been better not covered?  Which one(s)?  Why?

c. which topics were the most useful to you?  Which topics helped you see things in a new way?  How?

All Good Things Must Come to an End…

and in order to get the most out of our last day we were up at 6 and made a quick breakfast of sandwiches, fruit, and cereal to bring with us.  We said our goodbyes to Vita and piled into the vans with all of our stuff. Meika led us in a three vehicle caravan back down the mountain and towards the coast.  She led us to the beach where we met our instructors Tupi and Wiley. 

Tupi started by giving us instruction on dry land, including a discussion  of safety and how he and his assistant would work with just six students at a time.  Although the area where they teach is about 200 yards from the shore, it’s in waist-deep water with a sandy bottom.  Just the right size waves for beginners break there and if you get tired you can just stand up.

Doing Yoga prior to surfing is very beneficial as it helps with balance.

Balance and the right size board are the key ingredients. Tupi explained that there is a three second grace period for standing up and finding the perfect balance, right along the stringer or center of the board.

The getting up and riding part is probably the easier part of surfing.  The hard part is the long paddle out to the surfing spot, but the work was worth it.  Several in our group succeeded in riding at least one wave.  Tupi  and Wiley were excellent teachers and encouraged even the older folks in our group to give it a try.  The feel of the ocean’s power rising and pushing that board along is nothing short of amazing.  Staying up, even for few moments, is quite an accomplishment and everyone who tried succeeded.  Watch for some video posting on our companion podcast.

Our Farewell Banquet

After a long and fun day at the beach we went to a nearby house that had been made available to us for showers and we all cleaned up.  Then we again got into the vans for our last long journey, a two and a half hour ride back to San Juan.

This time we had a nicer and more quiet hotel, which was good because we were very tired (but happy) after a ten day tour.  At dinner, paper was passed around and we all wrote what we appreciated about one another from our great adventure.  We made up awards to give out, including best cooks, best food shoppers, awards for our three student translators, student lifeguards, and best cliff jumpers, to name but a few.  We also gave out silly awards for things such as most likely to build a home in the jungle, student who brought the most useful stuff, best bio-luminescent fart, most likely to be hustled by an eleven year old and so on.

The banquet was a combination of great Cuban food and good fun and was a time for us to reflect and appreciate our newly formed relationships as well as friendships that were strengthened.  After dinner many of us went to Walgreen’s in San Juan which was a perfect place to buy those last minute soveniers to bring home to family or friends.

So that’s about all of it!  The next post is an important listing of acknowledgments to everyone who was a part of the trip, people we visited, or who were working the logisitics from Windsor Mountain.  Thanks for following our journey.  Watch for the video!

Next Post: Epilouge/Many Special Thanks…

We sadly said goodbye to our friends at Tropic Ventures

and boarded the vans for the next leg of our journey.  Our destination was the municipality of Utuado, located in the northwestern mountains.  We had spent the prior evening preparing for our visit to a grammar school where we had been invited to give presentations about recycling.  Our group of fifteen students broke into smaller groups and made plans for skits and presentations that we would give to the school kids in grades 2 through 6.  The students worked out songs, skits and lesson plans for the next day…

Unfortunately there are snafus…

We never made it on time.  We again had traveling issues and didn’t make it on time to the school, but flexibility is key to travel, teaching, learning and life.  Again we drove through winding, steep, mountain roads.  We headed into what looked like even more wilder terrain.  We could see that the area had just been hit with a storm as we snaked our way past knocked down trees and power lines, climbing higher into the steep hills.  Upon closer look we realized that it wasn’t tree branches but bamboo that had been blown down.

We had learned that bamboo is vital to holding back the soil in the mountains.  Although it grows higher than many trees, it’s actually a grass and grows as much as three feet a day.  Everything here is so green and lush with life.

When we arrived at Samnyasin/La Finca,

We were met by Vita, our host, who had hugs, kisses and warm greetings.

Meika Mohan Muriel

is one of several women in the hosting family.  Meika was our principle teacher and guide for this part of the trip. After we figured out where people would be bunking, we planned our activity for the next day.

Samynasin/La Finca 

sits on thirty acres and straddles a wild river which you can hear it roaring in the background.  A variety of fruits and flowers grow throughout the property.

It is a beautiful, peaceful and enchanting place.  While Meika worked with us planning for the next day, the teens used the yoga studio to practice dance steps and just relax. 

After breakfast

We had group meeting and planned our excursion to the river.    Our first stop was to check out a spring fed pool that family and friends had constructed.Next,  Meika brought us to a rock outcropping that had an ancient Taino petroglyph carved into it.  some of the kids made stone rubbings to take with them.

Meika said that some who visit the retreat claim they feel the energy of the ancient people in this spot.  We then moved back up the trail and stopped to dig up some purple clay.  She explained that a geologist who had visited determined the volcanic clay to be millions of years old. Meika said a treatment with the mineral rich clay cleansed the body and skin.  We were about to find that out!

Meika brought us to a waterfall and swimming hole where we jumped into the river pools, swam, and played in the waterfall. 

All you have to do with the clay is add a bit of clean river water and grind it into a paste. 

The paste dries on your skin in around ten minutes.  Several in our group said they could feel the clay working and tingling on their skin. I certainly did!  We lounged around and let the clay work its magic.  Then a rinse off in the river and we finished off by putting a little sesame oil on our skin.

We returned to the main house and had lunch, savoring the environment and feeling the warmth and relaxation from all that we had done that afternoon.  After some down time or naps and rest we met for a Yoga class. Since we all participated there are no photos of that to share with you, and like the bio-luminescent bay, you can’t photograph everything.

Everyone in the Mohan-Muriel family did so much for us, with the hospitality of the great food, lodging, love, work, laughter.  The beauty of their place reflects the motto of Puerto Rico, La Isla del Encanto.  Enchanting.

Next Post:  Surfing lesson, our Final Banquet

On the next morning we were told about how some of the local people use the river to swim and cool off, bring their families for picnics and so on.   Our project for the morning was to clean up a recreational area where people leave their trash as opposed to putting it into barrels or bringing it out.  It was also explained that a similar area upriver from where we would be cleaning was also as trashed as the one that we were about to clean up, and since a group similar to ours had cleaned it up, people got the idea and carried out their stuff as opposed to just throwing it on the ground.

We again put on work clothes and gloves, plenty of insect spray, and sunscreen and headed down the winding hills to the town below.

We saw a LOT of trash when we got there, but as they say, “many hands make light work” so everyone pitched in and picked up what looked like years of garbage left by the river.  Some of us crossed over to the other side and cleaned up a more remote spot.  In some cases we found bags already full and left behind, and some of the trash was pretty disgusting.  At the end of an hour or two of hard, hot work, we had all of the trash picked up and bagged.  We left it on the side of the road in a pile with assurances that the local municipality would come and get it to dispose of properly.

When we had completed our chore,

we headed to another spot further up the river and hiked in a short distance.  We had carried a picnic lunch and had also stopped along the way for some locally made fresh barbeque chicken on a stick (yummy.) This spot was the place Andreas had described to us as once being as trashed as the one we had cleaned up.  Now it was clean, so hopefully people got the idea that they could carry trash out with them instead of spoiling the beautiful environment.

NEXT POST: OUR VISIT TO SAMNYASIN/LA FINCA

coqui

We slept to the sound of millions of Coqui (Little Frogs) calling out to mate all night long.

After a hearty breakfast we put on work clothes and gloves and headed down the steep trail to the river running through the settlement.  We spent the morning moving large stones from the riverbed up the side of the trail and constructed stairs down to the river.  It was hard work but rewarding as we constructed what a student dubbed “the stairway to heaven.”  After a water break we finished up and returned to the homestead for lunch and to change out of our muddy work clothes.

After we got cleaned up and ate we had the choice of going back down to the river to swim or to visit a neighbor to pick avacados for dinner.  The land and surrounds were beautiful.  Down at the river the canopy was so thick it was like dusk.

At the end of the day we returned to the homestead for an art lesson with Marvin Rodriguez. Marvin is an art and history teacher who spent time teaching in New Jersey before returning to his native Puerto Rico and joining the staff at Tropic Ventures. Some of us just hung around and relaxed and after dinner everyone

settled in for a second night in the jungle letting the clamour of Coqui calls lull us to sleep.

NEXT POST: THE RIVER CLEANUP SERVICE PROJECT

Every trip has its snags and we hit one when we arrived back at the main island port of Fajardo.  Two of the trip leaders went to get our rented vans while the rest of us waited at the ferry terminal.  The wait was longer than expected because one of the vans was infested with ants and we had to wait for a better van.  The kids made good use of their time with several of the boys playing impromptu music.  It turned out that we had to spend a good part of the day in Fajardo, but it was fine–we had lunch and found the local beach and met some people who had lived on the U.S. mainland.  Finally an adequate van was delivered and we started off on the next leg of the journey.  Our destination was Patillas, located in the south central highlands.  The drive was a bit harrowing with winding narrow mountain roads and a truck driver that got too close while we were negotiating a curve.  That was scary with a 500 foot drop to our right, but fortunately our drivers stayed calm and so did the passengers!

The homestead of Tropic Ventures, Las Casas de la Selva

sits on the mountains above Patillas and covers 1000 acres.  The encampment has been there since 1983 and the residents and volunteers there have many on-going projects involved with the creation of wood products in the rain forest that can be used as sustainable crops.  In addition, the settlement uses composting of waste and septic to provide nutrient to the otherwise poor soil so that crops can be established.  When we arrived, we were given a tour of the facility and had a look at our  living quarters.  The boys slept in tents in an unfinished bunkhouse which actually had an egg-laying hen in it!  The girls slept in a finished bunkhouse.  That night we had a great meal of oven roasted chicken, vegetables, and potatoes. 

After dinner and clean up we played some music and just relaxed to get used to our new surroundings.  Everyone was pretty tired from the long day’s journey and we had to be up early the next day for our first day of service work and exploration.

Next Post:  Our First Day in the Rainforest

Vieques from the Air

We were all up and ready at 5:30 AM on the third day (Sunday) of our trip.  We drove for about an hour and a half to the port of Fujardo on the northeastern corner of the island.The ferry crossing was around ninety minutes and when we got to the island town of Isabella II we made our way to our guest house Casa La Lanchita to find coolers full of ice cold water and soda and two very nice caretakers.

After settling in to our rooms we made our way to town and lunch at a local restaurant.  Some of the kids went grocery shopping so they could make breakfast the following morning.  When we returned to our lodgings there was free time for swimming and snorkeling.

After that we got ready for a trip to the bio-luminescent bay.  We arrived at sunset and took a short van ride through the jungle to the bay.  We have no photos of this unique and magical experience– no photographer has yet been able to truly capture the image of ocean water lighting and glowing as you swim or paddle through it.  Some of the kids had never been on Kaayaks before and accepted the challenge of paddling out into Mosquito Bay, which is the most bio-luminescent bay in the world, according to our guide Abe.  The combination of trapped tidal waters and surrounding Mangrove Trees contributes to a concentration of microscopic plankton that literally lights up as you disturb the water around it. When we reached the middle of the bay, Abe tied all of our boats together, and those who wished to slipped into the water for an amazing swim.  There really is nothing else like it and if you are ever in Puerto Rico, it is a tour worth taking.  All of this plus a late night dinner was accomplished on our first day on this wonderful island.

On Monday morning the students cooked a breakfast of bacon, pancakes and eggs.  The students had won a bet with the adults the night before so the grown-ups got to do the dishes.  Then we split into groups with some students going to town to buy groceries for lunch and dinner, others staying behind at the guest house, and three of the chaperones visiting Vieques Museum of Art and History and the Vieques Historic Archives.  Even though the museum is closed Mondays, the director Robert Rabin was kind enough to allow us in for a private tour and lecture on the art and history of the island.

The museum sits on the highest hill overlooking the harbor of Isabella Segundo and was a prison used by the Spanish colonists and then Americans before being closed in the 1940′s.  We also learned about how the United States Navy had used the eastern portion of Vieques as a bombing range until the practice was stopped just a few years ago due to significant protest and civil disobedience.

When the others had finished grocery shopping, we were driven to a beach on the easternmost shore of the island for an afternoon of swimming, snorkeling, and just hanging out. There were a lot of fish and other things to see there and we all had a great time.  Our driver then gave us a full blown tour of the island and then we went back to our rooms for a dinner of cheeseburgers and salad.

.  After a good night’s sleep we were up and at it again for a

6:30 ferry ride back to the main island.

NEXT POST:  PART THREE, OUR VISIT TO THE RAINFOREST

From August 15th through the 25th 2008,

15 students from The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School METCO program had an adventurous and educational trip to Puerto Rico.  While there the students visited several locales, including Old San Juan, the island of Vieques, a sustainable tree farm in the rainforest, and a yoga center in the mountains.  The students met and interacted with locals from throughout the island, performed community service projects, and learned a lot about group living.  Read on to follow a log of our journey.

Tropical storm Fay had just passed through prior to our arrival in San Juan and while we were fortunate to have missed it, the humidity was visible in the night air.  The streets were filled with music and young people who celebrated all night long.  We stayed at the (in)famous Castro House, a guest house that probably hadn’t been updated since the 1940′s. We got out to the streets bright and early and after a nice breakfast made our way to the fort of Old San Juan where we found a shaded spot to have our group meeting.  We discussed and agreed upon the rules and expectations of everyone on our trip. Someone drew a picture of a person’s outline. Inside we wrote down those things we agreed upon and wanted to keep in the group. Outside of the outline we wrote the things that we agreed that we wanted to leave outside of the group.

Next we broke into smaller groups and set off on a scavenger hunt around Old San Juan.  We had to find answers to questions about Puerto Rico and San Juan and the only way to do that was by asking people questions and wandering around the area.  After lunch and some free time we headed out again for more wandering and group activity.  One of the things we saw was this amazing mural in a food court!  It was in many sections–this panel depicts the Taino natives who were indigenous to the island at the time of Columbus’ arrival.  Today the Taino make up only .04% of the island population.

NEXT POST: THE ISLAND OF VIEQUES!

On these pages you will find audio and video files of student work on a variety of subjects. As we add posts, feel free to log in and add your comments, answers to our questions, and thoughts.

Have a listen to this story on Internet Bullying by clicking on mp3–and then answer some questions while listening:
internet-bullying.mp3

–have you or anyone you know been bullied on the internet? If so, how?

–Is it easier to bully people online?

–do people ever get in trouble with the law?

–should there be penalties for internet bullying?

–do you know of any ways to protect yourself?