Projects; Pop Culture; Inspiration
Lab: Period 1
Lab reading/comment TASK: For participation credit today! Please read the information about pop & trash culture here at this link this morning. In the COMMENT section of this blog post, please complete the following questions:
Portfolio requirements for MP3:
research your time period in order to:
1. Present some of your findings to the class (not everything you research is necessary to include in your presentation to the class!)
2. Set a fictional script, story, or creative non-fiction piece in your decade (as historical fiction, for example) or use your research to inform your creative genius to combine details in flavorful ways.
Classroom: (period 2)
Some More Vocabulary (& discussion):
Jennifer Government: Discussion of Parts One, Two, & Three. How's it going with the book? Questions? Observations? Connections?
HOMEWORK: Complete part four of Jennifer Government for Thursday. Prepare your portfolio.
Lab reading/comment TASK: Since this website is blocked by our district, please read the information about pop & trash culture here at this link at home. In the COMMENT section of this blog post, please complete the following questions:
Lab reading/comment TASK: For participation credit today! Please read the information about pop & trash culture here at this link this morning. In the COMMENT section of this blog post, please complete the following questions:
A. Explain how our mass media (#3) has promoted "trash culture" (#2) in our society. Find an example from mass media of trash culture and explain what might be a problem or problems you might have promoting this sort of culture to a mass audience (or personal audience--like your family. I.E., think: would it be good for your children or younger siblings, if you had any...?)
B. Read #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8. Choose one to comment on. Do you agree with the websites indication regarding these points? Explain your thinking.Workshop option: If you have a piece ready for perusal, please share your piece (probably through Google docs) to up to 3 other classmates. Fill out one of the workshop forms and turn this in at the end of the session. This option will be available through next week as well. You may select me if you wish as one of your reviewers. See below for details.
Peer Writer: If you select a peer to help you revise and workshop a piece, please be clear about what kind of feedback you are seeking. Share our piece with this person or people in Google Docs. Please note that peers are not required to give you feedback, but if they do, it acts as credit for them. Keep track of your drafts. You will need to show how you improved a piece by printing out the workshopped draft (or early drafts) and the revised draft. This is easy to do in Google docs. If you don't know how to access your document's history, please ask me.
Peer Reviewer: If you have been selected to review a peer's work, please insert comments into the google document. You will get credit for the reviewing that you do that is at 12th grade Creative Writing level. In other words, we expect you to give some insightful commentary on any peer's work if requested. You have up to a week to provide your feedback for credit. You may alert the peer writer whose work you are reviewing that you are currently writing something yourself, and will get back to them as time permits.Writing Option: Please continue working on your writing projects. See previous posts for details.
Portfolio requirements for MP3:
- Critical Evaluation essay draft (of Brave New World or A Clockwork Orange)
- A draft of your dystopian short story (script, etc.)
- A synthesis creative nonfiction draft involving The Manchurian Candidate & other sources (this can also be a fiction draft inspired by the sources you read if you wish)
- Any other drafts you have been writing/revising
- NOTE: a works cited page is necessary for any essay that uses online or text source material!
- All newer drafts should be placed on top of older drafts when collecting work in the portfolio. It is best if the old draft is the one I commented on or a peer has commented on.
research your time period in order to:
1. Present some of your findings to the class (not everything you research is necessary to include in your presentation to the class!)
2. Set a fictional script, story, or creative non-fiction piece in your decade (as historical fiction, for example) or use your research to inform your creative genius to combine details in flavorful ways.
Classroom: (period 2)
Some More Vocabulary (& discussion):
- Popular Culture: Popular culture is the accumulated store of cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, television, mass media, radio, political ideology, etc. that are consumed primarily by non-elite groups such as the working, lower, and middle class. Name some popular culture items that you consume...
- Counter Culture: a way of life, a set of attitudes or a group of people whose ideas and values are different than the mainstream accepted beliefs. Name some ways you engage or have encountered counter-culture...
- Fads: a thing that becomes very popular in a short amount of time, and then is forgotten at about the same speed. Name a fad that you might have followed when you were younger...
- Progressive Evolution: the process of a gradual change or development in a culture's institutions or social/economic structures. How might popular culture and its trends have affected your identity or core beliefs as of this moment?
Jennifer Government: Discussion of Parts One, Two, & Three. How's it going with the book? Questions? Observations? Connections?
HOMEWORK: Complete part four of Jennifer Government for Thursday. Prepare your portfolio.
Lab reading/comment TASK: Since this website is blocked by our district, please read the information about pop & trash culture here at this link at home. In the COMMENT section of this blog post, please complete the following questions:
A. Explain how our mass media (#3) has promoted "trash culture" (#2) in our society. Find an example from mass media of trash culture and explain what might be a problem or problems you might have promoting this sort of culture to a mass audience (or personal audience--like your family. I.E., think: would it be good for your children or younger siblings, if you had any...?)
B. Read #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8. Choose one to comment on. Do you agree with the websites indication regarding these points? Explain your thinking.
Comments
trash culture along with real news. One recent example of trash culture being forced on the public by mass media is the "cash me ousside" girl, Danielle Bregoli. She gained fame by being excessively rude to her mother on Dr. Phil's show, became a meme, then got absorbed by mass media looking to appeal to teens. She currently makes thousands of dollars a month on promotions and by being in advertisements. No one actually likes her, but somehow she hasn't disappeared yet. She promotes illiteracy, cultural appropriation, disrespect for elders, and nearly everything else that parents pray doesn't happen to their child. However, because her ridiculousness was briefly entertaining, the awful values that she promotes are being force-fed to the public.
#4: Music
I agree with the website for the most part regarding pop versus classical music. Especially in a school like SOTA, it's not uncommon for students to listen to and enjoy both for what they are. Even for a trained ear, classical music takes an extreme amount of focus, and I can't go to an RPO concert without zoning out (maybe because pop music has given me such a poor attention span?) I'd add, though, that while classical music is relatively easy to avoid, pop music surrounds us everywhere. In order to avoid it completely, one would have to order groceries and clothes online,
never call a company for fear of being left on hold, never watch a movie because pop music might be in the soundtrack, etc... while most people who don't enjoy classical music might just be indifferent to it, people who don't enjoy pop music often develop a loathing for it just because it's forced upon them so constantly.
#4 Multiculturalism
I agree with the website in terms of its take on multiculturalism. The Western world has completely transformed into a vibrant and diverse collection of ethnicities, languages and cultures. Western countries, such as the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., is filled with so many different hegemonies as a result of immigration and globalization. Even quite homogeneous nations are becoming increasingly diverse as a result of global migrations.
One example of trash culture in television was the show "Jersey Shore." Young adults living only to party and have sex, making incredibly poor life decisions and displaying a very low level of intelligence and responsibility. Jersey Shore was an incredibly popular show, and still has a lasting memory and impression on reality tv. It was so gruesome and sometimes disgusting, these people made such awful decisions, that we found it to be the best entertainment had to offer because we often couldn't even believe what we were watching.
5. Thought-Provoking Films, Popular Films and Trash
I agree somewhat with the statements the author made about the viewership of the three different modern categories of movie. Many teenage films are lacking in plot and intellectual matter, but instead focus on improbably romance, intense choreographed action and violence and are less than engaging, but not all. There are many teenage films, for example the recent indie movie "The Edge of Seventeen" that are much more meaningful, well crafted and ask important questions, along with being very well acted. I agree with the sentiment about Popular films, that they are often a combination of the two. A recent film that was popular and also very well made was Inception. It had a lot of elements included in trash films, like action scenes and a constant level of intensity, but is also incredibly deep and requires of level of intellectualism to watch and understand. Definitely a movie from which you walk away with a lot of questions. In terms of high-culture movies, I would agree that usually adults and seniors are in the audience. I believe there is a growing population of young people that are noticing and enjoying these movies, however, and I am proud to count myself among them.
#5 Though-Provoking Films, Popular Films and Trash
The author views on teenage films is something I do agree with. Me personally I cannot sit through a two hour long move that isn't action packed, I love action. With the idea of film being "brainless entertainment" I don't completely agree with, even the teenage film that are completely missing a solid plot still can cause the audience to have to think the slightest about what's going on with the characters in the film. There are films that could be considered teenage films or just general films that have a lot of meaning behind the plot such as "Get Out". I do agree that all film falls under the three loose categories of Popular culture, Trashy, or High Culture, but no matter what category you place the film in it can still be insightful and convey messages to the audience.
The Mass Media has promoted “trash culture” in our society through a variety of means. They create sensational headlines which serve to grab people’s attention while miscatogorizing the actual issues. It idolizes many celebrities for their scandal and for their sex appeal while focusing little time or energy to anyone of any actual merit. The inevitable issue with this is that the media begins to shape our culture. What is popular is often what we designate as important or noteworthy. Then, even in the instances that we do actually vilify an individual or a behavior, we promote more of it through our consumerist behavior.
“50 Shades of Grey” is one great example of the trash culture that is so prevalent. It both promotes an unhealthy relationship that is actually damaging to women while miscategorizing what actually goes into the BDSM lifestyle. It does this all the while making enough money for merchandise and sequel’s because it is easy to understand, crude, and appeals to a certain fantasy. Yet, it does not actually ask viewers to think about what they are being shown or the potential dangers in said content.
7. Cultural Differences and Prejudice
I completely agree with the article's articulation of the challenges of cultural differences. The world is becoming more and more connected every single day, and yet societies often times find it difficult to connect with one another. I think that humans do tend to think in groups and it is challenging for us to wholly accept those of other groups. But it is very important that we accept that each of our cultures is limited in someway and we must embrace the cultures of others if we are to become better people.
B) #7 I agree that people have an unconscious bias toward races. I think that when we are raised and surrounded in the culture associated with our race, we become so accustomed that it is hard to relate to other races. I think it’s all about how you are raised. For example, as a black child who doesn’t have that much money, you are most likely to go to a public school in your neighborhood and that majority is going to be other black kids like them so that is what you become comfortable with. I agree that we become prejudice without even realizing it sometimes because you can make assumptions about a person just based off of their race whether it is good or bad. I also agreed that it can be reduced by equal status between the majority and the minority because if I saw more people of color born with the same opportunity as the majority without having to bust their butts to get to the same position as them, I would think differently.
7. I do agree with the article on cultural differences and the unconscious bias towards races. It's difficult to connect to each other society wise but the entire world itself is already connected a lot in someway. With humans having the unconscious bias towards races, it's difficult for people to accept certain cultures. If we really want to be connect in someway and become better people together, we need to learn how to accept each other cultures.
#5- Thought-Provoking Films, Popular Films and Trash
Many films that are for teens focus only on romance and drama and aspects that appeal to the rapidly-changing emotions of teenagers. There are many meaningful lessons to be learned in a few of them but, of course, they only pertain to the teen mind. Many teenage films could be considered a part of trash culture. This is because the two have many similar aspects to them that help the viewer to feel the same way when watching them. With the high-culture movies, it makes sense that adults and seniors are the target audience. There most likely is a growing number of younger people watching these movies, and this may come from parental influence.
B)#5 Thought Provoking Films
I agree with this statement in that a lot of films aimed at the teenage audience are often one and the same. They tend to follow the same plot structure and have the same characters. Especially the films based in high school involving romance. They all seem to have the typical popular sports star who falls for the nerdy girl type of plot. I wish more films that were intended for a younger audience had more depth to them and that they had more complex and diverse characters. I also know however, that those seeking more depth and complexity in movies have other options in more adult categories.
B. #7 I agree with article on cultural differences. It's hard for one to be accustomed with other cultures when they were raised in their own culture. I can simply relate to this article since I wasn't raised in the states but in Puerto Rico. When I had arrived here, it was difficult. I didn't know the languages, and saw many people of different races in the school that I was admitted in. But I accepted them. Many people do the quite opposite and not accept the other races around them. We have to accept each other and embrace the cultures that are introduced to us.
B. As a classical musician, I have dealt with the relationship of enjoying both classical and popular music for my entire life. I definitely do agree with the website in the sense that it does not take intelligence to enjoy classical music, it simply takes time (and typically an understanding of the composer’s context.) Unfortunately, time is not something that a lot of people have a lot of these days, making popular music much easier to listen to and much more efficient in today’s fast-paced society.