The Documentary

Food Inc.

Message: The message of this film is a denouncement of the current food availability in grocery stores. The animals are mistreated; the food is diseased; seed companies are abusing farmers. The film is trying to make people into smart food consumers - to question where there food comes from and purchase organic food from local farmers.

Techniques: The documentary sets up a binary between corporations and local farmers and puts a divide between them. The corporation tries to sue the farmer for reusing patented seeds; the corporation forces the local farmer to shove a ton of chickens into a small, windowless building. The corporation makes all of the food from farmers become diseased due to the money carrot dangled in front of the struggling farmers. We see the farmers and the interviews with them and their struggles; the corporations are invisible, abstract entities.

Points of View: As mentioned in the techniques, the documentary mostly stays with one point of view. It attempts to be objective, but the film moves into a category of being pro-organic food by humanizing the farmer and demonizing the corporation. The documentary attempts to lead consumers to make the correct choice, but the consumer does not have an option as to what choice that will be.

Reality: While I do find the conditions of animals in the film disgusting, the unfortunate reality is that this is not a feasible situation. If we went to organic-only farming, the price of food would skyrocket, marking a big difference between income levels. We also would not have enough food to feed everyone as this type of farming takes up more land and more manpower than corporate farming. The percent of people working in agriculture is so little that it would force a huge shift in our working economy. Should we work to change regulations? Absolutely, but we have to realize that food will be more scarce and more expensive. I don't think too many people would appreciate having to give up their animal products.

Influence: This documentary made me want to change my eating habits; it hit me where I am my most vulnerable: animals. They showed deformed chickens, cows and pigs. It broke my heart. When I see a pig that can't walk because it does not have enough room to move or enough leg muscles to hold up its massive, meaty body.

Documentary Activity: With documentaries, images are more important than words. People notice images more and they stay in people's minds better than words said. An important activity students can do when viewing a documentary is analyzing these images. The teacher needs to only use a 5-10 minute clip. The students will make three columns: one for images shown, one for words said and one for meaning reached. The purpose of this is to see when the images and the words do not match up (for example, a corporate executive talking about the responsibility of their corporation while images of destruction are shown). This activity is especially useful for studying the idea of imagery in novels, film production or the use of visuals in a speech class.

Testing This Thing Out

News Analysis

Kare 11 - 11/10/10 at 10 p.m.

00:00 Pedophile's Guide Ebook

02:20 Wadena voleyball going to state after tornado

04:26 Child Abuse case

04:46 Name of woman who was run over

04:59 Bachmann not going for GOP leadership position in house

05:17 Ramsey county vote totals

05:32 Mayor will pay for recount

05:51 Target field adding things

06:08 NASA going to repair fuel tank

06:33 Cruise ship to reach port tomorrow

07:21 Preview

07:38 Commercials - Hom, Gilette Children's Hospital, BMW, Papa Murphey's, home show, HOM, Kare11, US Bank

10:47 Is it a good idea to tap into your 401K?

13:37 Preview of tomorrow

13:58 Split Rock lit up for anniversary of sinking of Edmund Fitzgerald

15:25 Weather

18:58 Preview

19:26 Commercials - BMW, Jay Leno, Gertens, Allstate, Kare 11, U of M, Kare 11, Cort Furniture, Gertens

22:49 Sports scores

23:05 Sports

27:53 Preview

28:04 Commercials - QuitPlan, Metromix.com, Menards, McDonald's, Clear Choice Dental Implants, Kare 11 PSA about texting and driving, QuitPlan

31:06 Lotto numbers

31:21 Giant bass caught off Jersey shore

32:15 Weather review

32:26 End

Analysis:

The news seemed to be divided into thirds - first is news, second is weather and third is sports. Interspersed are lots of commercials. I was most surprised by the commercials. The commercial, such as BMW and HOM furniture, seemed to be targeted towards upper middle class white Americans older than 40. The longest news story clocked in at 2:26 seconds and was about Wadena's high school girls' volleyball team going to state even though a tornado tore apart their town in June. This newscast did not have many 'downer' news stories. It mostly tried to stay upbeat and ended on a note about a giant fish caught by a teen girl.

Activity with students:

For an activity, I would have the students do picture logs of the news. The goal of this activity will be to look through a lens (race, gender, social class) at the news. The students will create a journal of the images they see. For example, they will note who is interviewed during certain news stories and the certain images (b-roll) during stories. For example, what I have noticed is that during any story about Somalis, a picture of the Riverside Towers is shown. The students will then pick a story from their log to critique through a lens. Students will then make a chart including what the story is, who it shows and what it means. We will get a collection of this from the entire class and begin to discuss what the news does in the media.

Book Review

Boyne, John. (2006). The boy in the striped pajamas. New York: David Fickling Books. 978-0-385-75153-7.

Nine-year-old Bruno has a happy life. He lives with his mother, father and sister, Gretel, in Berlin. His family a big house with five stories (counting the basement and attic). He has three good friends, loving grandparents and a big city that begs him to explore. When Bruno comes home from school one day, he finds his family’s maid, Maria, packing up his clothes. His father has a high position with the German army; the “Fury” (what Bruno calls “the Fuhrer”) has assigned his father to be commander of Out-With, or Auschwitz to the rest of Bruno’s family.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is an example of a historical fiction. The story takes place mostly at Auschwitz, in the commander’s house and at the fence that excludes the concentration camp from Bruno’s world. Bruno is a curious and adventurous boy; however, his main trait is his naïveté. The world of Auschwitz is presented through his innocent eyes; he sees atrocities, but does not realize their severity.

John Boyne uses Bruno’s innocence and friendship with Shmuel, a Jewish boy in the concentration camp, to speak about the human spirit. Bruno builds his friendship with Shmuel by meeting and talking everyday, with a piece of fence in between them. The boys do not understand why they are on their particular side of the fence. All they know is the person on the other side is very nice, fun and a good friend. The boys do not realize their differences; they do not realize why other people would balk at the idea that they were friends. To them, it is a very confusing world with too many strange rules.

Overall, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas presents an enthralling story about friendship and the absurdity and pointlessness of war and genocide. By having the story told through Bruno’s innocent perspective, the reader sees how the adults’ actions lack basic reason. It is a story that reminds readers that friendship can often come from the most unlikely of places and war based on fallacies is detrimental to all. This book’s reading level is appropriate for middle and high school students; however, the depth of the content and themes may be more appropriate for high school students.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World Response

This book left me with a sort of a mixed response. It was a little strange to jump into the non-fiction genre right after reading The Hunger Games. It was difficult for me to get into the mindset that not only did this actually happen, but now it has to fit into this physical world. It has to work with scientific laws now; it cannot just be explained away by the technology or magic.

Throughout the entire book though, I had to keep reminding myself that this story was real. It seemed too contrived; I always have trouble with stories that turn out well simply due to fate. When reading, if I see too many times where the story could go terribly wrong, but fate intervenes, I stop taking the story seriously. I want stories with characters who work their way out of situations, only to be helped by fate every once in awhile. But, this isn’t a fictional tale, is it?

I related this book to my semi-interest in going winter camping one day. I’ve never gone, but I know many people who, in December, hike and camp in the middle of nowhere. I want to do it one day, but I question why. It sounds cold, wet and miserable. I think this experience adds to my disbelief of this story - they spent a year and a half out there while I am questioning one night in a tent with a floor and synthetic sleeping back. It’s so hard for me to image the entire crew surviving with most of their limbs. Though, I suppose if there is any place to be stranded, a place with water and food is a good place to start. I just don’t understand how none of them froze to death.

I will move on past my disbelief, because it means little as this is a piece of non-fiction. It may have been sensationalized, but no matter what, all the men survived a 16 month stand in Antarctica. Their ship wrecked and they saved themselves. There are documents and pictures to prove this, both of which are provided in the book. The story is real and no matter how much I believe in its possibility, it happened.

Despite being non-fiction, the story really did read like a fiction book; maybe that’s why I had such a hard time believing it. Jennifer Armstrong built up the narrative, inserted scientific background that would help the reader understand the situation better, and tried to develop the characters. There was enough depth to some of the characters (like McNeish, Worsley and the photographer, Frank Hurley) to understand some of their actions and to predict further actions (such as Worsley’s optimism and McNeish’s depression). However, there wasn’t much about the men.

Armstrong took her time developing Shackleton. He, like the others, is a sort of two-dimensional character; we don’t really see his motives or arcs. She does, however, point out the importance and characteristics of his leadership. She shows he worked his way up to his position, learning about leadership and the Antarctic along the way; he was not born to do his job. She shows his care with his crew, making sure to feed them and keep the group’s spirits high. We see why his crew survived; it’s because his leadership kept the team together and kept the men continuing on his journey.

It was a good book; it wasn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed the story and the pictures. It was a story I was surprised I had never heard before. I didn’t know explorers were in Antarctica at the turn of the century, nor did I ever think an entire team could survive a year and a half in such brutal conditions. What I found the most incredible out of the entire story was the fact that several of the crew members continued on to other Antarctica missions. I cannot image why anyone would want to look at ice ever again after being on it for so long.

Family Sitcom Genre Analysis

Full House Clip - demonstrates the social conflict, the laugh track and clean, city home. Everything is so perfect, their conflicts must be both arbitrary, far-fetched and easy to solve. Also, view the white, middle-class each character takes; family sitcoms tend to promote the idea of "color blindness."

Why does this genre appeal to me?

I grew up on this genre - I didn't have cable when I was growing up, so I had to watch sitcoms on ABC for my entertainment. I am apart of the TGIF generation where family sitcoms ruled. I was invited into the homes of the Tanners and Winslows. To me, as a kid raised on TV, this is what defined families for me. No matter what families look like, they still love each other and get into hilarious situations.

Prototypical Features

See Powerpoint. These include wacky neighbors, conflicts involving social status, themes about love, togetherness and caring. These families have all of their basics met; they can focus on superficial needs, such as status and identity. They may get into arguments, but they never suffer and everything is resolved at the end of the 30 minute episode. These families live in cities mostly, but never live with crime or poverty. Instead, the family unit is the biggest priority in their lives.

The Limitations

While these families may be inspirational for some, the families mostly fail to represent the truth of real families. There is never any real conflict amongst them - there are never threats of divorce, money problems or food shortages. They instead focus on their appearance to the outside world and their undeniable love within the home. In a way, they set up the ideal for the American family; however, this ideal leaves many individuals without agency or an identity. They are cardboard characters with cardboard problems; they have never had to struggle for anything, except the choice of who to take to prom or what to do with the wrecked car before their uncle finds out. The quick resolutions make most family's conflicts seem unsolvable. The real family gets ignored while this fictional ideal family is put on a pedestal.

Activity

To critique the sitcom family, students will be shown 4 five minute clips from four different family sitcoms. They will fold a piece of paper into five columns. In the first four columns, the students will observe the sitcom families in certain categories, such as how their family looks, what their house looks like, how they interact, their conflicts and the family's social status. In the last column, the student will put observations about his own family in those categories. The student will then write about how these families are different and similar to their own families. Then, the students will get together in groups to discuss their answers; they will then talk about what this mass media idea of family does for real families.

PowerPoint