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EVERYTHING IN SEPARATE DOCUMENTS. NO AI. I will give the students to reply to l
EVERYTHING IN SEPARATE DOCUMENTS. NO AI. I will give the students to reply to later on.
1. Crash (2004) is a great opener film to launch our study of Diversity in Film. This American dramatic film, was written and directed by Paul Haggis. When it won the Academy Award for best picture, the audience was shocked that it beat-out the very popular, critical success, Brokeback Mountain. It also received Oscar awards for Best Writing, Original Screenplay and Best Achievement in Film Editing. As you view this film, I’d like you to enjoy the story, and take in all aspects of what you might personally observe about a movie. It will be helpful to take notes about the various characters in this intertwined narrative.
DUE DATES & INSTRUCTIONS: This is the first of our tri-weekly Class Discussions. You will find discussion questions or prompts below that relate to both the module film and the module’s overall content. Each of these assignments has 2 due dates:
Reply to 2 of your classmates – with meaningful response discussions – . Be sure to include your classmate replies. This is a key aspect of this course. The goal is to replicate a classroom learning environment by exchanging ideas with your classmates. Full points will be allotted with that in mind. If, for example your response is a simple “Great idea” or something similar, the score will be low.
If you have not submitted your response by the due date, the submission window will be accepted up to Sunday, July 28th by 11:59pm – NO EXTENSIONS.
Points will be deducted for lateness (5% daily up to 50% of grade).
Note: This assignment is worth up to 25 points. You can find a grading rubric by going to the 3 dots at the top of the page.
Important Warning – This is a simple reminder that I will be checking for use of AI, ChatGPT or Googled excerpts. Use of plagiarized material amounts to cheating and will lead to a “0” grade and potentially being dropped from this course. It pains me to sound so negative, but it has become a major problem for educators. It is absolutely no fun to “police” student assignments.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:Here are questions to consider as you develop your film response & class discussion:
How does this film resonate with you regarding issues of diversity?
What are your emotional responses to the twists and turns in this film?
Characters (See pics below as a reminder of cast names) – Consider these questions in your response:What characters and storylines were most memorable? What are your impressions of them?
Did you change your views about any of the characters?
Were there contradictions in how the characters were portrayed?
Which characters or scenes raised questions about who was right or wrong?
TAKEAWAYS: Any other thoughts or reflections?Include a reflection about what you’ve learned this week. A takeaway can come from your readings, the course lecture, a classmate comment, the film or ANYthing that was significant enough to cause you to reflect or value a thought, learning, disturbing moment, idea, etc.
“Takeaway” will be included in each Class Discussion.
2. TEXTBOOK: AmericaonFilm:RepresentingRace,Class,Gender,andSexuality at the Movies, 3rd Edition
Authors: Harry M. Benshoff & Sean Griffin
ISBN 13: 9781118743652
BEFORE STARTING THIS CLASS DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT, BE SURE TO COMPLETE A COMPLETE REVIEW OF THIS MODULE & TEXTBOOK READINGS ON: “RACE & THE CONCEPT OF WHITENESS” – PAGES 55-68 & 80-
This week’s discussion is based on the concept of whiteness in American film. In relationship to this topic, we discussed the idea that in many traditional Hollywood films, “whiteness” (that is, white characters, white culture) is the presumed norm. (1) IDENTIFY AN EXAMPLE OF “WHITENESS”Find a commercial, tv show, film or video that depicts the traditional notion of whiteness as the accepted, “regular” central character and storyline. Upload a photo or screenshot from your choice that reflects the message of “whiteness” you discovered.
Discuss how the concept is depicted in the media you selected and how this fits the ideas that were presented.
How does your imagery fit with the ideas we discussed previously about hegemony, encoding and decoding, etc.?
(2) “PLEASANTVILLE” DISCUSSIONWhy is this film a good example of Whiteness in American film
Describe how concepts in this week’s readings apply to the film Pleasantville.Important Note: For nearly all assignments you will be asked to relate the topic and material covered to the selected film (in this case, Pleasantville). Be sure to include concepts, terms and specific examples from the film, textbook & module content in your response. The idea is to connect the dots between what we’re studying by describing how that relates to the film and/or topics discussed.
(3) TAKEAWAY – What stirred your thoughts this week? The idea is to consider anything you learned or discovered this week from any of the course materials that struck you as interesting, challenging, surprising, funny, horrible, helpful, odd, angering, memorable, inspiring or maybe something that made you want to research further, etc.Note: Please don’t even THINK about using AI or ChatGPT for any of these assignments. As you might be able to tell, I won’t tolerate this form of cheating and if detected (I do have detection software) you will be receive a zero grade and be dropped from this course.
3.BEFORE COMPLETING THE CLASS DISCUSSION, BE SURE TO (1) Watch the Film “FILM: IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK”
, and (2) Check out the Supplemental Materials that were added to enhance your discussion and understanding of the filmThis week’s we watched the unfolding of a beautiful love story in If Beale Street Could Talk. This film highlights the strength and significance of their strong family structure and pure love story despite the unfortunate encounter with the police and prison system that completely altered Fonny and Tish’s lives. There are well-known black stereotype that we didn’t explore earlier as it relates to black women on screen. These labels typically fall into 3 areas: (1) “Sapphire” – the “two snaps up,” hands on her hips imagery of a sassy back-talking woman; (2) Angry Black Woman – the gesture I envision is a black woman arguing, raising her voice and rolling her neck, and (3) the Over-Sexualized black woman – perceived as sex-driven, sexually permissive and/or literally cast as a whore or prostitute. Also for this discussion, I’d also like you to consider a comparison between the police assault scenes in Beale Street vs. Crash.Note: Please remember to paste in the questions next to your answers. Also, If you like, I think it’s not a bad idea to review the discussion questions before watching the film so you can have some specifics in mind as you’re viewing.
Respond to 2 of your classmates with thoughtful, engaging discussions.
If you have not submitted your response by the due date, the submission window will be closed by Sunday, July 28th @ 11:59pm – NO EXCEPTIONS. Points will be deducted for lateness (.5% daily up to 50% of grade).
You can earn up to 30 points for this Class Discussion + 15 possible Bonus Points (You will only see 30 points reflected on this page so that the 15 bonus points can count as Extra).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
JAMES BALDWIN as author:If you had to summarize the theme(s) of this film, what do you think author James Baldwin wanted to express in his novel?
Note: There is no “right” answer to this question. Just share what you think. Feel free to do some additional research if it might be helpful – but CITE YOUR SOURCES!
BEALE STREET VS. CRASH: Describe the difference in the police handling of the interrogation/assault scenes in Beale Street vs. Crash? What was the emotional impact? How were the black characters that were subject to these police stops depicted? Did any classic stereotypes (or NOT) apply to the characters in these scenes?
BLAXPLOITATION ERA: Name 2 up-sides (positives) and 2 down-sides (negatives) of the Blaxploitation Era.
TAKEAWAYS:What are your takeaways for this week? What surprised, humored, disgusted or amazed you and/or sparked your intellectual curiosity?
QUESTION:
[12:05]One of the most powerful scenes in the film was the conversation between Fonny and his friend Daniel (played by the amazing Brian Tyree Henry … who trust me is destined for an Oscar someday!). Respond to the following questions about this scene:What qualities and emotions were stirred by their exchange?
Why is this scene important to the story?
What cinematic techniques did Barry Jenkins use to achieve his goals for the scene? What were his goals?
What does this scene express about those characters as black men?
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