Blog Prompt 7

Using 3-4 quotations from Rushdie's WIZARD OF OZ, tell how he would interpretation this video of Indian children singing a song from the American film.

TEMPLATE FOR VM 2OO FINAL PAPER OUTLINE

I. Introduction

a. Tentative Thesis: How+Why (How does your text use the theoretical concept and why—the deeper (implicit/symptomatic) meaning

Part 1: Theory Overview

II. General Theory Overview

a. Basis of theory

b. Important parts

• i. ________
• ii. ________
• iii. ________
• iv. ________

c. Role of theory in Culture

• i. Importance
• ii. How it has been used

III. The Concept (e.g., Unconscious, Ideology, Brechtian Epic Theater, Postmodernism or others)

a. Define Concept

• i. Discuss variations on concept
• ii. Discuss Centrality of concept for theory

b. Discuss parts of the Concept

• i. Part 1
• ii. Part 2
• iii. Part 3

IV. Media Theory/Criticism and its Use of your Theory

a. A general overview of How Media Studies understands the theory

b. Theory’s application to media texts (how has it been used)


Part 2: Close Analysis

V. An Overview of how theory interacts with the band, program, film genre, website etc.)

VI. Subpoint 1 How does the concept work within your chosen program/website/CD/film? And why? Deeper meaning

• a. Evidence 1
• b. Evidence 2
• c. Evidence 3

VII. Subpoint 2 How does the concept work within your chosen program/website/CD/film? And why? Deeper meaning

• a. Evidence 1
• b. Evidence 2
• c. Evidence 3

VIII. Subpoint 3 How does the concept work within your chosen program/website/CD/film? And why? Deeper meaning

1. a. Evidence 1
2. b. Evidence 2
3. c. Evidence 3

IX: Conclusion

X. Annotated Bibliography

Mon/Wed Class Blog Prompt 6

DUE MONDAY 11/23

What would Fredric Jameson say about the following image:

Jameson's essay link:

http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/jameson.htm

Blog Prompt 5

In case you missed it:

How would Freud describe Jack Bauer's masculinity?

Make sure to catch up if you're behind on your blogs.

Terms for the Week (Poll at the Bottom)

FREUD
Psychoanalysis
Oral Stage
Anal Stage
Mirror Stage
Oedipal / Electra Complex
Phallus
Primal Scene
Voyeurism
Scopophilia
Male Gaze
To-Be-Looked-at-Ness
Sadism
Masochism

MODERNISM
Modernism
Realism
Radical Subjectivity
Age of Anxiety
Self-Consciousness
Fragmentation

Which Terms Need Clarification?

Mon/Wed Class Remaining Debates

November 16
Is Kill Bill II an example or a disruption of the patriarchal dominant with the use of the male gaze?

PRO
1. Stephen Wortman
2. Danny Bailey
3. Kevin Huang
CON
1. Daniel Hillel-Tuch
2. Nikki Feola
3. Katie Farino


December 14
Is Duck Amuck modernist or postmodern work?
PRO (MODERNIST)
1. Elliot Oquendo
2. Catherine Zaker
3. Amanda Albion

CON (POSTMODERN)
1. Ross Hansen
2. Silas Robinson
3. Jamie Spetner

Marx Link

Here is a link to the Marx article we went over on Monday's class.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01b.htm#b3

Habermas Article: The Public Sphere

Jürgen Habermas' article on the public sphere can be found here

Full link:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0ByZZr-slJG1iMzBkMWI1NWQtNjhjOS00OTczLTlmOWQtOTJjZGRkMWZkMWQ3&hl=en

Please contact me or Jane with questions.

Midterm Exam (FRIDAY ONLY)

VM 200 Friday Midterm Exam

I. Objectives (30 pts.)

a. 5 Quotations: match the author.

b. 5 fill-in the blank

c. 5 Identifications (Pick 5 and define it and tell how it fits into a larger theory)

II. 2 Short Essays about Film Art (30 pts.) You will choose two to write on.

III. 1 Long Essay (40 pts.)

Stuart Hall, Karl Marx, and Walter Benjamin are all students in Media Criticism and Theory! And Professor Shattuc has offered to reduce their number of blogs if they would debate. They all jumped at the idea.

Here is the question: Does the pilot of The Wire support dominant ideology?

1. Create a debate.

2. Be precise about their theories—similarities and differences.

3. Quote them where possible.

_______________________

Keywords

• appropriation
• representation
• syntagmatic code
• representation
• reproduction
• false consciousness
• codes
• denotative
• connotative
• myth
• sign
• signified
• signifier
• iconic sign
• symbolic sign
• aesthetics
• ideology
• economic base
• discourse
• nationalism
• spectator
• realism
• structuralism
• negotiated reading
• oppositional reading
• Dominant Reading
• Negotiated Reading
• Oppositional Reading
• aura
• exhibition value
• authenticity
• cult value
• referential meaning
• explicit meaning
• implicit meanings
• symptomatic meaning
• Encoding
• Decoding

Midterm Exam (MON/WED ONLY)

I. Objectives (30 pts.)

a. 5 Quotations: match the author.

b. 5 fill-in the blank

c. 5 Identifications (Pick 5 and define it and tell how it fits into a larger theory)

II. 2 Short Essays about Film Art (30 pts.) You will choose two to write on.

III. 1 Long Essay (40 pts.)

Juergen Habermas, Karl Marx, and Walter Benjamin are all students in Media Criticism and Theory! And Professor Shattuc has offered to reduce their number of blogs if they would debate. They all jumped at the idea.

Here is the question: Does the pilot of The Wire support dominant ideology?

• Create a debate.
• Be precise about their theories—similarities and differences.
• Quote them where possible.

_______________________

Keywords

• appropriation
• representation
• syntagmatic code
• representation
• reproduction
• false consciousness
• codes
• denotative
• connotative
• myth
• sign
• signified
• signifier
• iconic sign
• symbolic sign
• aesthetics
• ideology
• economic base
• discourse
• nationalism
• spectator
• realism
• structuralism
• negotiated reading
• oppositional reading
• public sphere
• private sphere
• aura
• exhibition value
• authenticity
• referential meaning
• explicit meaning
• implicit meanings
• symptomatic meaning

Mon./Wed. Blog Prompt 5

For the Monday/Wednesday class:

Look at Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com/.

Using Habermas's words and Practice of Looking Chapter 5, discuss whether the blog discussion constitutes "public sphere".

This is due BEFORE CLASS on 10/26.

Blog Prompt 4

Find three quotations in “Rhetoric of the Image” that you find illuminating. Discuss them and apply the them to the following ad for the last episode of The Sopranos:

http://www.zoom-in.com/media/graphics/blog/content/soprano_poster_season6B.jpg

Friday Class Blogs

Here is the list of the blogs for each class member in the Friday section of VM 200. If you're blog isn't on this list, or the information is incorrect, let me know.

Log in to Blogger, visit these blogs, and look for a 'Follow' button in the sidebar. Follow each other, and try to comment on one another's work.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Elizabeth Amarancas - http://themycroft.blogspot.com/
Jeannie An - http://jeanniean.blogspot.com/
Dana Bryant - http://katievm200.blogspot.com/
Brittany Bennet - http://lacynicalidealist.blogspot.com/
Vinny Bittencourt - http://filmschooling.blogspot.com/
Brian Collins - http://vm200bpc.blogspot.com
Zachary D'Agostino - http://dongero.blogspot.com/
Christopher Husta - http://youturnelectric.blogspot.com/
Joshua Krellenstein - http://joshkrellenstein.blogspot.com/
Kristofer Mitchell - http://krismitchell.blogspot.com/
Brooke Rupe - http://blog-mediacriticismtheory.blogspot.com/
Andrew Tuchel - http://atuchel.blogspot.com

Monday/Wednesday Class Blogs

Here is the list of the blogs for each class member in the Monday/Wednesday section of VM 200. If you're blog isn't on this list, or the information is incorrect, let me know.

Log in to Blogger, visit these blogs, and look for a 'Follow' button in the sidebar. Follow each other, and try to comment on one another's work.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Amanda Albion - http://immediateideas.blogspot.com/
Danny Bailey - http://dannysvm200blog.blogspot.com
Lorenzo Carideo - http://lcvm200.blogspot.com/
Robert Cromartie - http://cromartiecorner.blogspot.com/
Casey Eisenreich - http://caseyisthespacecowboy.blogspot.com/
Kate Hyejung Eun - http://jamongpi2g.blogspot.com/
Kathryn Farino - http://hakunamatata-kfarino.blogspot.com/
Nikki Feola - http://nikkifeola.blogspot.com/
Benjamin Goodman - http://bg-vm200.blogspot.com/
Ross Hansen - http://aworthlessopinion.blogspot.com/
Daniel Hillel-Tuch - http://hilleltuch.blogspot.com/
Kevin Huang - http://kevinhu4ng.blogspot.com/
Michael Kassier - http://mnkvm200.blogspot.com/
Lorena Mora - http://lmvma.blogspot.com/
Kristen Power - http://kpoword.blogspot.com/
Michael Rivera - http://DutchtownVMA.blogspot.com
Silas Robinson - http://appalitch.blogspot.com
Ethan Silverstein - http://ethansvm200.blogspot.com/
James Spetner - http://mediatheorymusings.blogspot.com
Ross Tipograph - http://rossjacobmediablog.blogspot.com/
Elliott Toquendo - http://elliotoquendo.blogspot.com
Steven Wortman - http://soldiersteve.blogspot.com/
Catherine Zaker - http://catzaker.blogspot.com

Paper Assignment 1

Assignment: Using Roland Barthes’ analysis of the Panzani ad in “Rhetoric of the Image,” write an essay on the structure of the semiotics of a film/TV poster of your own choosing. (You must include the poster with the paper - no B&W xeroxes). For your thesis, you must locate a classical myth and form an argument around how the myth is rewritten into a modern context. Then use your study of semiotics to support your thesis.

Your paper will be evaluated based on:

1. Your ability to construct an original and specific argument about the poster’s myth and the semiotic structure and to prove it with evidence from the poster.
2. Your ability to research and rewrite a classical myth based on the poster’s modern context.
3. Your knowledge of the Barthes’ essay, the general theory of semiotics and the ideas in the book and the course.

Requirements:

1. The paper must be 5-7 pages long. It will be typewritten and double-spaced.
2. All typos and misspellings must be corrected. I will not accept the paper if there are more than three uncorrected typos or misspellings. You will use the MLA citation to document Barthes and your source for your myth.
3. The paper will be turned in-class on the due date. Each day late will cause the paper’s grade to be lowered one letter.

http://writing.syr.edu:16080/~danentwi/Barthes_Rhetoric%20of%20the%20Image.pdf

Blog Prompt for Week 3

Two Quotes from The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction:

“...for the first time – and this is the effect of the film – man has to operate with his whole living person, yet forgoing its aura. For aura is tied to his presence; there can be no replica of it. The aura which, on the stage, emanates from Macbeth, cannot be separated for the spectators from that of the actor. However, the singularity of the shot in the studio is that the camera is substituted for the public. Consequently, the aura that envelops the actor vanishes, and with it the aura of the figure he portrays.”

“Magician and surgeon compare to painter and cameraman. The painter maintains in his work a natural distance from reality, the cameraman penetrates deeply into its web. There is a tremendous difference between the pictures they obtain. That of the painter is a total one, that of the cameraman consists of multiple fragments which are assembled under a new law. Thus, for contemporary man the representation of reality by the film is incomparably more significant than that of the painter, since it offers, precisely because of the thoroughgoing permeation of reality with mechanical equipment, an aspect of reality which is free of all equipment. And that is what one is entitled to ask from a work of art.”


How do these quotes apply to The Blair Witch Project? Is the film an attempt at recapturing the aura (either of the actor of the landscape), or an even more assertive attempt at cutting into reality?

Blog Prompt for Week 2

This entry is due by:
Monday October 5th for the Monday/Wednesday class,
Thursday October 8th for the Friday Class.

Compare and contrast how Tokyo Story and a classical Hollywood continuity film create two different forms of realism.

Blogging Tips

Blogging is a skill, just like lighting, editing, sound design and the many others you are mastering throughout your Emerson education. Like the rest of these skills, being able to write insightful, well-reasoned arguments for an online audience will help you not just as a media-maker, but as a potential employee. Following are some basic guidelines for writing in your blog.

Blog Consciously

• Always write for your blog as though others will read it, because they will. In this case, it may just be your instructor and your classmates. However, getting in the habit of writing for an audience will hone your writing skills, and will also improve your chances of being able to market your abilities as a writer.

Blog Professionally

• This is really an extension of the first rule. When posting to your blog, imagine not just that you are writing for an audience, but that you are writing for an institution that is paying you (a newspaper, or a professional media website) for your well-reasoned arguments. Put aside personal opinion, do not use a casual writing style, and pay attention to spelling and grammar.

Blog Creatively

• Even a simple platform like Blogger gives provides you with a multitude of options for customization. You caninclude audiovisual supplements to support your work; you can link your blog to Twitter and Facebook; You can endlessly customize the design and format of your blog. Making stylistic choices and creating posts that are rich in content allows you to distinguish yourself from the many other blogs out there. On the other hand, while all these bells and whistles are great, you should also be creative in your writing. Do not be afraid to take a controversial stance, or to make an unusual argument, as long as you have the evidence to back it up. Good writing will make you stand out more than any design choice.

Blog Regularly

• This should not be difficult to do for this class because you will have a topic each week. However, if you have an interest in building up a body of work through a blog, you should be updating regularly. This will keep a potential audience coming back, but it will also demonstrate to those interested in working with you that you are able to set and meet deadlines for yourself and keep a regular independent work schedule.

Welcome

Welcome VM 200 students.

We'll be using this blog as a central hub for all the blogging assignments that go on in class. I'll post the weekly prompt here as well as any other information you guys might find useful. If you have announcements, ideas or information you'd like me to post so that all students can see them, please feel free to send them to me.