A Leprechaun in Alabama

My thoughts in general: On YouTube a few weeks ago I found a newscast about residents of Mobile, Alabama, who think there is a leprechaun in their community. Several residents are interviewed about the supposed leprechaun, including the man in the picture above. Another man is interviewed who talks about carrying around a "leprechaun flute" which he says was handed down for a thousand years from his great-great-grandfather "who was Irish." The newscast also showed an amateur sketch of the leprechaun:



The images above are taken from the newscast. If you can't tell from my description, the newscast (and the newscasters) treated the story lightly, and those interviewed seem to even be poked fun at. Though I think the story is pretty funny, I thought it was interesting (1) that it was actually a news story and (2) that the news station did not treat the story as news but almost as a comedy piece. For your viewing, here it is:




My thoughts on application: I have a couple of thoughts on application. First, perhaps this piece could be used to teach production students about creating newscast. Second, and more importantly (to me, anyway), this could be used to begin a discussion about how to treat people that you are reporting on and interviewing. Thinking about the gender chapter from Seeing and Writing, this newscast would also be an interesting point from which to discuss the portrayal of race in the media.

On the Outside

My thoughts in general: As I was reading the chapters on gender and race in Seeing and Writing, two different songs. The first was "On the Outside" by Oingo Boingo from their Only a Lad album. This song includes the lyrics:

I'm on the outside, I'm on the outside now
This is where it all begins on the outside looking in
Looking in
At you
I'm just an alien through and through
Tryin' to make believe I'm you
Tryin' to fit
Just a stranger on the outside looking in


The second song that came to mind was "Outsider" by The Ramones on their Ramones Mania album. This song includes the lyrics:

I am an outsider
Outside of everything
I am an outsider
Outside of everything
I am an outsider
Outside of everything
Everything you know
Everything you know
It disturbs me so

Music is often discussed as being a way to express emotions, and that discussion is important in media literacy. However, I thought it was interesting how these lyrics came to my mind as I was reading about gender and race. This got me thinking about how media has become part of my conversation. By listening to these songs, the lyrics have stuck in my head, and it is interesting sometimes when they are recalled and what the stimulus is that recalls them. Thus, I thought it was an interesting connection how reading about different people and their experiences with gender and race prompted my recollection of these lyrics.

My thoughts on application: I think it would be informative in a classroom to discuss media as part of our conversation. It might be an interesting assignment to have students record other texts--songs, movies, etc.--that come to mind as they are reading or engaging with other media. It might lead to some interesting discussion about our interaction (and intertextual interaction) with media. I think this would prompt some interesting questions about media literacy and its role in our lives and the lives of students.

Hard Candy

My thoughts in general: This was an interesting film about a girl (played by Ellen Page, who was in Juno) who pretends to be seduced by a man online. However, once they meet, she is not as helpless as she made herself out to be. Once his perversion is revealed, she has fun torturing him, which leads to a difficult ending. This is a difficult film in some ways because of the subject matter. However, it is shot in a very interesting way. The use of bright colors is contrasted with the dark nature (and dark humor) of the film. Many different kinds of lighting were employed, and the change in lighting throughout the film was certainly intriguing. However, I think the my main interest in this film was that it was almost pleasurable to see a online predator/child pornographer (and molester) be tortured in an agonizing way. For me, this film began a discussion about the horror of pedophiles stalking children online and about how they should be dealt with. It had a difficult ending, which, even though it ends with finality, left me with questions about the issues raised in the film.

My thoughts on application: This film is definitely not appropriate for a high school classroom; however, the warning it raises about online predators is an important one. Thus, I really see this film having application as it is used to initiate/prompt discussion about online relationships. Sites like myspace and facebook are very popular, and instant messaging/chatting is also very widespread. Thus, it is important to teach students how to protect themselves and how to be careful. There is an opening scene in the film which consists of the two main characters chatting online, which I think is an interesting visual that is almost hauntingly scary when I think about how possible the scenario really is. Bringing this issue into the classroom is important, especially as we try to teach students how to be media literate.

Once

My thoughts in general: John Carney wrote and directed Once, which is the story of the relationship of two musicians. This film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "Falling Slowly." The film was shot in Ireland on a small budget. I really enjoyed the film. It was simply done and was not overly dramatic or cheesy. I also liked how the film did not have a typical "love conquers all" mentality. It was a very accessible story that did not follow typical conventions that are perpetuated in Hollywood genre films. It has been called a modern musical, and it was interesting to see the role that music played in the film. The music was essentially a character in the film, and it, too, was simple and really reflected the tone of the film. It was a well-crafted film that was quite enjoyable.


My thoughts on application: I think this film is a good example of how a quality film does not need a big budget. It is a good example of how a film can simply convey a story without relying on star actors. It's use of music is an especially appealing aspect to study. It does not use melodramatic underscoring to tell the audience how to feel. Instead, like I wrote above, the music is more like a character who plays an integral role in the story. This would be an interesting discussion in a classroom. An assignment may even be given to make a video that tells a simple story in the style of this low budget film.

American Gladiators

My thoughts in general: Recently, NBC finished airing their new version of American Gladiators, a show in which "average" people compete against the gladiators in contests of strength and endurance. This show was first created about 15 years ago. I loved watching this show when it was first on TV, and I have enjoyed watching re-runs over the last decade and a half. Then, in January, NBC started airing the new American Gladiators show.


I was interested in watching the new show to find out how they would alter the show to fit today's television programming. Many of the events were the same that they had on the original show, though they made a few changes like having the losers fall into a pool of water (a la Dog Eat Dog and similar shows). The gladiators changed, but they were still the same kind of body builder types that they have always been. The competition between the contestants was organized like a tournament bracket with semi-finals, finals, etc. This change seemed to be influenced by the popularity of reality TV. It was a fun show and brought back a lot of memories of enjoying the original.

My thoughts on application: Using this show in the classroom would be a good study in how media changes in accordance with contemporary society. The American Gladiators of the early 90s definitely reflected that time period in certain ways, especially in the hairstyles and the general attitudes and discussion of the contestants in interviews. The new American Gladiators also reflects how television has changed over the last 15 years. Comparing the two shows could be a good lesson in media reflecting its time. It could prompt some good discussion.

Baby Got Book

My thoughts in general: You might be asking yourself, "Is that a gold chain with a giant 'KJV' medallion?" The answer is, "Yes." This is a picture of Pastor Dan "Southpaw" Smith in his music video "Baby Got Book." The song in this music video is a parody of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." For any of you who may not remember Sir Mix-a-Lot, here's a picture:

So, this is Sir Mix-a-Lot on the album cover for "Baby Got Back." If you have yet to figure it out, his rap song is about women who have large buttocks (some have even identified it as "ghetto booty"). And yes, in the photo he is standing on just such a ghetto booty. However, Pastor Dan is not singing about a grand gluteal region in his song catered for Christian audiences. Instead, he is singing about the Bible. I have known about this video for a couple of years; it was shown to me by some Christian friends from Alabama. However, I just recently found it on GodTube, the Christian equivalent of YouTube. Though I have not extensively searched this site, my limited perusal has found it to be quite an interesting site. Pastor Dan's humorous parody involves many images of the giant Holy Bible that is behind him in the picture above. I find this video quite worthy of watching and passing on to a friend. Here you go:






My thoughts on application: Again, with such explicitly religious material, it may be tricky to implement in the classroom. However, there is some pedagogical worth that could be explored. First, it is clearly a post-modern/intertextual work. I have already talked about using post-modern videos in the classroom. This one adds an interesting nuance because it is a Christian parody of a (potentially) derogatory song/video. Is "Baby Got Book" entirely stripped of negative connotation? Does knowing the original, referenced material alter the way one sees the parody? There are other questions that this video poses that would be worth discussing. Second, it is found on an online video site. We've already talked about YouTube, but again this poses an interesting spin because it is found on the Christian site, GodTube. How can religion use the internet to its advantage? How does a Christian video upload site alleviate some of the issues with offensive material? How does it not? Does making religion "mainstream" alter its sacredness? How do media and religion coexist? These are all questions that I think would lead to good conversations about media. Conversing about media and its uses is a key component of media literacy.

In a class with production capability, an assignment could be given for the students to produce their own parody. Hopefully, this would allow them to take what they discuss in class and apply it to their own actual production.

Spongebob Classics

My thoughts in general: The other day, I came across this video called "Spongebob Classics." The voice actors from Spongebob Squarepants recorded over the audio track of scenes from famous Hollywood films. They performed the same lines, only in their Spongebob Squarepants characters' voices. I found the video humorous. I also think it is pretty typical of videos that we see in our YouTube culture. I am not a die-hard Spongebob fan, but I enjoy an occasional episode, but you don't have to know anything about the cartoon to enjoy the comedic re-dubbing in this video. Here you go:





My thoughts on application: This is another example of media which can promote discussion about post-modernity and intertextuality. There are some interesting points of discussion from this video. I think the choice of film clips is worth discussing. All three of the films in the video are iconic. Of particular note is the inclusion of Singin' in the Rain, which deals with the advent of sound film. Considering the fact that the scene used is the one when the director is trying to get Lena Lamont to speak into the microphone, it is ironic that all the voices we hear in the video have dubbed over the original voices because in the film Lena actually does end up getting dubbed over. In The Godfather, a lot of emphasis has been placed on Marlon Brando's voice for Vito Corleone (such as Brando placing cotton balls in his mouth). Thus, it draws even more attention to Spongebob Squarepants' voice coming from Marlon Brando's character. It is evident at times that Spongebob is even speaking with cotton balls in his mouth.
This video could prompt a lot of discussion, especially if the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants is brought into the conversation. There is so much to discuss about post-modernism, absurdism, etc. in the cartoon. Bringing this background information into the discussion about "Spongebob Classics" could be very beneficial to teaching this concept in the classroom.

It also opens the way to having an assignment in which students re-dub video. This assignment could be used to discuss the importance of how audio is used in tandem with visual media...