Compare and Contrast

Because the phenomena I chose was sex, I thought theology would be another appropriate context from which to view this subject. One book I found was An Introduction to Moral Theology, by William E. May. This book touches upon what the church’s values are as well as the reasons behind those chosen values. Specifically on sex, the book highlights the values of waiting until marriage to engage in sexual intercourse and remaining engaged only with your spouse. A second book, Sex and the marriage covenant, by John F. Kippley, supports the previous idea of marriage and sex and it goes further to say that sexual intercourse is a sacred part of the marriage covenant and because of this its morality is constantly being evaluated. The third reference I found was Catholic Moral Theology in the United States, by Charles E. Curran. This book, like the others, presents the same notion but supports it with his analysis of the history of Catholicism.

These portrayals of sex are completely different than the ones found in the media. Rather than emphasizing the casual and everyday use of sex, they not only promote, but enforce the value of having sexual intercourse remain sacred. The theology discipline does not play to popularity as the media does, and therefore uses the history and morality of the church to advocate for sacredness of sex within the marriage covenant. Because theology deals with values rather than popularity to get across ideals, it takes into account the physical and emotional and spiritual aspects of sex. Another large difference is that theology discussed the repercussion of a sexual act. The consequences in the theology discipline cover not only pregnancy, but alienating possible mates, a current spouse, or even God himself.

Media Phenomena

When discussing phenomena’s that are portrayed in the media, one really sticks out in my head: Sex. It is absolutely everywhere in our media today. The concept can be found in books, magazines, television, movies, and even the newspaper. One specific example is in the television show Friends. In this half hour sitcom, the entire plot seems to loosely or even directly revolve around sex. The characters have one night stands much more often then they portray sex in a meaningful relationship. It seems that if the character has a relationship with someone, the sex part of it isn’t talked about as often. It is much more readily discussed in a casual manner, as if sex is an everyday occurrence and no relationship is needed to participate in one night of sex with a partner who is practically a stranger. This show assumes this glorified notion of sex to attract a younger audience, possibly a broader one as well since this show already attracts adults.

Sex is even more of the focus in the 30 minute HBO show Sex & the City. The word is in the title itself. Every episode of this show revolves around a different topic in the sexual world. It seems that sex assumes a manner in this show that is not at all taboo. In the outside world, though sex is discussed more often in this day and age, it is still somewhat crass to mention in most settings. However, this assumption is abandoned in this television show and every single character, even the minor ones, talks about sex as if they were talking about what sandwich they were having for lunch. The casual regard to sex that is touched upon in Friends is magnified in Sex & the City. This show draws attention to audiences because it mentions sex in a way that no other television show does. By portraying sex in this way, this show is assuming that there is no one who would consider the act of sex sacred. They leave no room for characters who might feel less casual about there sexual relations.

Even Advertisements use sex to sell their products. The product that sticks out in my mind the most that sells sex is perfume and cologne. I cannot find one magazine advertisement or TV commercial that does not have a man or woman who is half dressed or the promise of sexual relations. Axe products are the most explicit. Not only is the product alluding to sex, like the other perfume or cologne advertisements, but the commercials directly state that using Axe will make you attractive to girls. There is even “directions” on the bottle that include pictures of women flocking towards you once the product is applied. This product is assuming that every male who wants to be clean, wants to attract girls. This is an enormous limitation as this portrayal of men is less than classy and might, in fact, be revolting to some women, as well as some men.

What is interesting about all of these advertisements is that I could not find one that conveys the opposite message and are pro-abstinence, or at least wearier about sex. For places such as Planned Parenthood or an abortion clinic that’s advertisements would not include selling sex, there is no advertisements. This is interesting because any portrayal of sex that people, especially teens see in the media is incredibly glorified. The only negative portrayals might be an article in the newspaper involving teen pregnancy rates and discussing the consequences that come along with sexual intercourse. These consequences are not addressed in any media portrayal that I have found. All of these shows and products are ultimately concerned with popularity and not accurate portrayal of sex or its consequences.

Shot-by-Shot Analysis

Shot 1: Establishing shot- This shot establishes the jet as the setting where the commercial will take place.

Shot 2: Close-up shot- This shot adds a moving wagon that is located at the setting with the jet. The rising action begins.

Shot 3: Close-up shot- This shot adds a person pulling this wagon but still leaves a mystery as to what is happening as the viewer can not see the whole picture.

Shot 4: Close-up shot- This shot shows a persons feet pulling this wagon near the jet, but the audience still isn’t able to complete the whole picture.

Shot 5: Medium shot- This shot shows the audience the mystery person that they have been watching: Roger Federer.

Shot 6: Medium shot- This shot shows the Netjet attendants asking Mr. Federer if he needs any help with his luggage. It is the last of the rising action shots.

Shot 7: Medium shot- The shot then goes back to Federer who claims he does not need help, though his luggage is not shown.

Shot 8: Medium Shot- The two Netjet men are shown in this shot once again. No shots the audience has seen have shown the whole setting since the first shot, which leaves them wondering what exactly is happening.

Shot 9: Pan shot- This shot is the climax of the commercial. The audience finally sees that Federer is carting all his trophies.

Shot 10: Medium shot- This final shot is of the jet attendants saying how soon “he’s going to need a bigger plane.” This last shot establishes Federer with the Netjet company with the idea that if he will fly Netjet, so will you.

Movie Scene

The scene I have chosen to analyze is from the movie Moulin Rouge. The scene is towards the beginning of the film when Ewan McGregor sings “Your Song.” In this scene he is singing to get the attention of Nicole Kidman. He tryd just talking to her but she won’t listen so he bursts out in song and she is quiet and awe-struck until his song is finished. The camera shots in this scene begin with close-up shots of the actor and actresses alternating faces. The camera then moves to a wide-angle lens with Ewan facing the camera while singing, meanwhile behind him the audience can also see Nicole in the background looking enthralled by his song. It then moves back to close-up shots once again. The two lovers are then taken magically by the wind up to the roof where the dance for the remainder of the song, the camera angle constantly switching between close-up, medium, and long shots. This collaboration of camera angles really creates an intimate atmosphere and the audience feels very in tune with both of the characters.

The lighting is mainly high-key lighting, however when the lovers move to the roof backlighting takes over. Since this lighting transition moves so drastically from “regular” lighting, it serves to emphasize the “halo effect” that is projected onto the characters. It adds a magical element to this love scene. The sound during this scene is only mainly the music/song Ewan is singing, with the exception of a few words from Nicole at the beginning. He is attempting to win the heart of Nicole’s character. She does not speak a word for the entire scene once he starts singing which is interesting because the audience has to then decide how she feels about the man trying to woo her by only her gestures and facial expressions. This also adds a magical element to the scene. This techniques used in this entire scene are very representative of the movie’s purpose. This movie is a musical romance and this scene’s techniques creates the intimacy between the two lovers while also adding that magical element that this film carries throughout to create the feeling that this love story is almost fantastical.

In terms of teaching film techniques in my classroom, I agree with Beach when he states, “Underlying these four approaches is the basic assumption that students are most likely to learn to understand and critique use of film techniques through engaging in their own digital video film productions” (21). I believe that students will learn best by doing. I think one important strategy that I will use is involving the use of sound. I think it would be beneficial to give a 3-5 minute scene from a film with no sound. In small groups the children should provide voice-overs for what they believe “should” be happening in this scene. In addition, they should provide and music or other background noise they feel is appropriate for the scene. This activity is also applicable to other film techniques besides just sound and music. For example, you could also provide the children with a plot line of a scene and they could draw out a sort of story board that displays the camera angles that they feel would work best with the scene.

Teaching Rationale

For my rationale, as I have not had a significant amount of experience teaching or student teaching, I would like to use my high school as an example. I am going to present the class as if I was currently teaching it.

My class, entitled “Film Study,” is currently the only one at the high school. This course analyzes movies such as Psycho, Chinatown, Koyaanisqatsi, and Donnie Darko. The majority of the school and community around it view this class as an easy and useless class and do not see the value this course offers to its students. This course offers students the chance to views all types of different movies, and yes, even popular ones too. However, the students discuss the film before the viewing and are tasked to see this film not solely as entertainment. The students need to see why the media chooses to centralize around.

For example, many of the students would be interested in the film She’s the Man. This movie is based on Shakespere's play Twelfth Night, however it is loosely based and there are an overwhelming amount of differences between the film and the book. If the students were to make a list of all the differences they could see in just a few minutes following the viewing of the film they would then need to analyze why there are such major differences. It all revolves around the media and how they want audiences to view the film and how they want to increase its popularity. However, even if a student hasn’t read the play, because of their interest in this movie there would be much more interest in reading it than if the play were handed to them in a different class. Not only is this class enabling the students to dissect messages that the media deems necessary and why they are apparently necessary, but it provokes interest in analyzing media messages throughout literature as well. If the skill of media literacy is learned it can be applied to any form of media that is in existence today.

Since the form of technology has changed so drastically in even the last 10 years it is pertinent to ensure that the curriculum is relevant to today’s students. With the number of students using blogs, instant messenger, chatrooms, and text messaging increasing so dramatically, it is critical that this school have a class that can teach students how to dissect media to discover what is important and valid and not just false claims hence developing deeper critical thinking skills. I do not believe that this class alone can improve test scores in reading and writing, however this class is a critical addition to other literacy classes and can only stand to improve students understanding of different texts and other forms of literature and therefore aid in improving the aforementioned test scores and as well as other basic learning skills.

Introduction and Chapter 1 Response

When reading Chapter 1, “Goals for Media Literacy Instruction,” of Richard Beach’s book the central question that kept my attention was the statement by the teacher at Eden Prairie High School regarding film in school and its supposed “low skill level.” This brought back my memories of high school where I had watched a number of movies. I agree with Beach in that media is amazingly popular among students today and “that will engage students to the extent that they will actually want to learn (4). I believe that film can be a very useful component to any class, however I think it’s important to use it correctly. I didn’t realize how crucial this was until I got to college. Up until then I thought of most of the times my class watched a movie in school as a “free days.” However, when there was discussion afterwards about what was just viewed I believe it becomes even more interesting and therefore more informative. In my opinion, the movie shown in class must be discussed otherwise its relevance is lost to most students and is rarely reflected upon.

Learning becomes fun once a student (such as myself) understands why films and other media create what they do. For example, through my education I am able to understand that films are inherently different than novels. I used to be so upset when I read a great book and the movie was incredibly different. It didn’t make sense to me! Why would the director of this movie not follow the script that is practically written for him already inside the novel? Well now I understand. I have been taught many things about media portrayal including that a film must consist of certain aspects in order to be popular and therefore if those aspects are not in the novel they must be added. The makers of the film are striving for movie popularity, not following the guidelines of the novel.

This being said, if a teacher does not facilitate discussion about the film the classroom has just viewed then maybe that Eden Prairie teacher was correct and there isn’t much learning going on. I believe it is important to get students to view the film while thinking about deeper aspects than simply being entertained. In looking at my views it is clear to me that I enjoy analyzing the “why” of a problem. Here it is “why” would someone write a book instead of create a film? (Or vice versa). This also relates to the other point I would like to address about Beach’s chapter.

Beach writes regarding video games, “far from focusing on the violence in the games, adolescents themselves describe how they are using certain games to develop certain literacies, learn about other cultures, and work online with others” (8). I still don’t understand how a violent video game can lead to developing literacies and learning about other cultures. I have played many video games including some violent ones (007 being my favorite) and although I do not consider myself a violent person nor do I focus on the violent aspects of the game, I’m not quite sure I believe these games have helped me in any relevant way directly related to my education.