Cleveland Film Festival

Over spring break, I went to go see a film that was showing at the Cleveland Film Festival. I ended up going to see Black Sea, directed by Federico Bondi, which is a foreign film set in both Italy and Romania. I chose this film based off of a synopsis in the Cleveland Film Festival catalogue. I thought it would be interesting because (1) it wasn't a documentary, and (2) it was in a different language and wasn't set in the United States. Apart from the high price to see the show, I was pleased with the film and liked how it portrayed Italian and Romanian women.

In the film, Gemma, a grouchy Italian woman who recently lost her husband, hires Angela, a Romanian woman who left her husband behind in order to make more money in Italy. These foiled characters develop a close bond and end up travelling to Romania where Angela intends to save her failing marriage. Overall, I think the film did a great job portraying the family values of both Italian and Romanian women, and the close bond that can form between two women sharing the same experience. It also effectively showed the general tension between the Romanian and Italian people before Romania entered the European Union.

I think parts of this film would be effective to teach in an English class. I could show certain clips while teaching The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Both the movie and the novel address women's rights issues, and the idea that familial obligations prevent women from living free and successful lives. After watching the clip, students could compare and contrast Edna Pontellier and Angela, and discuss the similarities and differences of the 19th century character and the 21st character.

You're Leaving a Digital Trail

I have just read the New York Times articles "You're Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy" by John Markoff. This reading is for my multi-modal class, and I am shocked at this tracking system that they have set up at M.I.T.

While college students love to get free stuff, I think that sacrificing one's privacy for a smart phone is a little extreme. According to the article, the students agree that "if misused, collective intelligence tools could create an Orwellian future on a level Big Brother could only dream of" (Markoff). I just keep imagining a Little Brother or 1984 world. How extreme is all this tracking going to get? Is this another Patriot Act in the works?

I think that technology gives us a lot of opportunities to interact with each other and share ideas. But if put in the wrong hands, it can be used to limit our rights and invade our privacy. As a soon-to-be teacher, I know that my privacy will be limited because I will work with children and I will be a government employee. Hopefully, my privacy will not be restricted to the point where people know where I am and what I am doing at all times.

Fight Club

This past weekend I saw Fight Club (the movie), starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. I have to say that it rocked my world, and it is now my all-time favorite movie. I particularly liked Edward Norton's acting and the constant plot twists. After watching the movie, I had to read the book, which, thankfully, was at the library. I ended up finishing the book in one day, and, even though the book was excellent, I have to say I liked the movie much better. I hardly ever like a movie better, but this is definitely an exception.

Comparing the book and movie was one thing that I really enjoyed doing while I was reading the book. I think in a YA Literature class, I could potentially have students compare the book and movie in a similar way. Since the movie is directed and produced so well, I believe students could also do a shot by shot analysis to see how a scene delivers a message to its audience. I never thought I might teach a movie in a class, but I think that Fight Club would be an awesome opportunity to get students to look at how movies are made and how they can be compared to books.

In case I might teach Fight Club (the book), by Chuck Palahniuk, I went searching for a potential lesson plan that I might be able to use. I was shocked to find that there were many online lesson plans related to the book. One of the most interesting was a lesson plan titled "Existentialism: Fight Club and The Stranger," which explores how the main character develops his own meaning to life that goes against mainstream societal values. I can see myself teaching this lesson and developing interesting lessons that apply to the standards, but also get students involved with literature.

The Twilight Effect

In my Multi-Modal Literacies class, I read Susan Carpenter's "'Twilight' has a strong Internet connection." The article describes how Twilight's author, Stephenie Meyer, created a strong fan base by keeping a blog. By being responsive and amiable with her online fans through her blog, Meyer established a loyal following that helped spread the word of her now popular book series.

I have personally been very skeptical of the whole Twilight series. I was in a box (summer camp) when the books became very popular. All of a sudden, everyone was reading the series. I learned the story's main characters were vampires. I rolled my eyes and thought the series was just another Anne Rice rip-off. Because of my previous biases, I have never picked up the series, and I have honestly never even given it a chance.

A couple friends have recommended the books to me, so I decided to pick up the first one. I have just started, and I have to say the characters seem interesting and the plot is going somewhere. I can see why people have been going crazy over the whole series. I'm not sure if I will end up falling in love with the books too, but I am going to give it a try!

In addition, my multi-modal class has made me think seriously about possibly teaching a Young Adult Fiction class. So far, I have concentrated solely on classical literature, but I think that most students would enjoy taking a class that focused on "reading for fun." Since most students are not going to have careers in literature anyways, they may as well learn to enjoy reading instead of hating it. I think that the first Twilight book would be great for an Young Adult Fiction class because it is so big right now in pop culture. With both a book and movie, I could make it a strong part of my curriculum. Plus, if I fall in love with the book, I will be able to share my enthusiasm with my students.