Digital Literacy & Expression
Extra Credit Projects
ALL work is DUE
NO LATER than 8:30 AM,
Monday DECEMBER 2nd
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You may do BOTH Option 1 and Option 2
10 TOTAL extra credit points available
All writing must be very legible and in full sentences
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Option 1
National Public Radio's
On The Media (produced by WNYC -
http://www.onthemedia.org/archive/) is a media show about the media. They discuss how media is made, who it impacts, and why it impacts them by covering a variety of stories from the
reporter's perspective.
To get an extra credit point (5
maximum) you need to listen to
any story from the show and write a
ONE paragraph (and only 1 paragraph) response. In your response you should cover some or all of the following points:
- What the main point/opinion of the story was
- Whether you agree or disagree with the point/opinion of the story, and why
- What you think/feel about the point of the story and your reaction to it
- What meaning this story holds, if any, to you, me, the school, teenagers, poor folk, or others you identify in your writing
- Creativity of opinion and interpretation are encouraged
You can browse
year's worth of shows at
http://www.onthemedia.org/archive/ - each show can be played in its entirety
or scroll down the page and and play individual stories. Remember, 1 point per story. 5
maximum.
You can also select from the individual stories I have linked below - each of them contains something I feel will interest one or more of you!
Reporting on the Price of Thanksgiving Dinner
Why Nigerian Email Scams Work
Trayvon Martin, Week Two
Cable News and Trayvon Martin
After the Verdict
The Digital Bible
The End of the Line
Chilling Effects
The FBI's Anti-Piracy Warning
American Propaganda Allowed Stateside
A Dangerous "View"
A Flood of FOIAs
Creation of the Media
An Ethical Framework for Sponsored Content
The Breaking News Consumer's Handbook
My Detainment Story or: How I learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country and Hate Border Agents*
Warrantless Device Searches at US Borders
Enemies Within
Jimmy Kimmel's Viral Video Gag
Their Eyes Were Watching Cats
The Retro Report
The Collaboration
"The Fifth Estate"
The Manhattan Project
About Face
Talk to Me, Siri
Not All Plots, Not All Thwarted
Where There’s Smoke There’s Ceasefire
The Man, The Media, The Murdoch Empire
The Ever Changing NFL Bullying Story
Bullying Does Not Cause Suicide
Guns as Free Speech?
TLDR #7 - It's Rating Men
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Option 2
The Hunger Games series is a teen focused exploration of society's complex class relationships and it focuses sharply on the roll of media in both shaping society and
being society itself. Are the hunger games a ritual tied to maintaing the social order or the media event that justifies and helps perpetuate the inequalities
in that social order?
To obtain FIVE extra credit points write a FIVE (and only 5) paragraph essay examining the
film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire considering the following guidelines & suggestions.
- You must view the movie Catching Fire - the impact of the media is featured in the movie and should be included in your evidence. You cannot do this assignment having read only the book.
- You should compare the dystopian world of the Hunger Games to the world you see around you today (and you should understand and use the word dystopia or dystopian in your essay).
- You should consider that this is a movie about propaganda and war.
- Becoming National heroes after The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta become the public face of the society they are in conflict with - how do they deal with that?
- How is media (and an image driven society) used by all sides to further their own goals?
- Do Katniss & Peeta successfully manipulate the media, like they did at the end of the first movie?
- What about the powerful people controlling the Hunger Games and, indeed, society itself; How do they react when society seems not to be buying their message anymore?
Think about the film, think about the suggestions above, and then write your essay in this format, using complete sentences and powerful paragraphs:
- (1st paragraph)
- What THESIS, point, or comparison do you want to make about the role of media and propaganda in the world of the movie and in our world today?
- (2nd-4th paragraphs)
- What EVIDENCE will you use to back up/prove your thesis?
- (5th paragraph)
- Who cares? Remind me of your thesis, show me how you proved it with evidence, and then tell me why it matters in the first point. Tell me how you proved your point and why I should care that you did.
Good Luck!
