ACTIVITY #1
Some ideas taken from http://www.justthink.org/curricula/changing (Have You Seen Me? Sample Activity)
Learner Outcomes:
Students will identify and reflect on stereotypes in media images
Procedures:
In groups of five, brainstorm a list of population subsets they see in the media and their community
-examples: elderly, ethnic groups, handicapped, social class, gender
In a large group, discuss which of the population subsets students see most often in the media?
-What does this say about the culture of media?
-What does this say about how that subset is seen by mainstream society?
-Are they accurate representations?
-What stereotypes do the students see?
Have students look through the magazines/newspapers/advertisements that the teacher brought in, looking for these subsets of population. Each students should have one.
Once the students have selected their advertisement, analyze it.
-What is the advertisement selling?
-What is appealing about the advertisement?
-What is the ad using to draw in the viewer? (what techniques: sex, popularity, objectifying women, etc)
-Who is selling the product?
-Examine color, product placement
-Is the add effective? Is there something missing in the ad?
Bring the class back to a large group discussion. Have each student share what their product is.
Group similar products together and have students analyze similarities.
-What are significant about the similarities?
-Is a certain population subset used to sell similar products?
Bring class back to large group discussion.
-What elements were similar in all the ads?
-What population subsets are most often represented in print images?
-What does this say about society? Or about what sells?
Using this knowledge about print ads, have students discuss what population subsets are underrepresented or misrepresented in popular TV sitcoms.
-Nerds, gender, ethnic groups, age, social class
Get into groups of five. Have students create a new character for the sitcom of their choice—a character that isn’t currently represented in that show. It’s important that the students accurately represent this new character and don’t further the stereotypes seen in society.
Each group will present their character to their peers as an “audition” for the sitcom they chose. Get the reaction of the class.
-Was the character a stereotype or a strong (accurate) character?
-Would the character fit into the show or would it change the dynamic entirely?
Have students reflect on why they got the reaction they got? What does this say about their own personal perceptions of certain population subsets.
Additional activity:
Students could create a short video depicting a scene where the character they created comes onto the set of the sitcom they selected. Have the group members portray actors on the sitcom, complete with mannerisms, dialect (if possible) and actions that would fit the current characters.
ACTIVITY #2
Learner Outcomes:
Students will compare and contrast a text with the film depiction
Procedure:
Read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Watch 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice
Compare the printed form with the media production. While students view the film, take notes on how the text and the film are alike and different?
Discuss which do students prefer and why? How do media variables influence characters, plot themes and the setting?
Examples of books made into movies
Pride and Prejudice
To Kill a Mockingbird
Of Mice and Men
Shakespeare plays directed by Kenneth Branagh
A Christmas Carol (other Dickens’ books; Oliver! Bleak House)
Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann version)
Wuthering Heights
The Scarlet Letter
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
The Great Gatsby
The Importance of Being Earnest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
All Quiet on the Western Front (and Joyeux Noel; Enemy at the Gates)
The Color Purple
Death of a Salesman
Illiad/Odyssey (Troy)
A Raisin in the Sun (either 1961 or 2008 version)
Animal Farm
Angela’s Ashes
The Things They Carried (Forest Gump; Across the Universe; A Soldier’s Sweetheart)
Persepolis
Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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You could also add "The Business of Fancydancing". I haven't seen or read it, but I thought it would be interesting because the book is a collection of poetry and short stories.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! I would love to do this lesson with high school students, who could do it independently, but it would also be interesting to do it with middle school students in the classroom. I think that kids have such an interesting perspective on print vs. visual media, and they express it all the time without realizing that just by differentiating between the two, they are proving themselves to be more literate in some ways than educated adults.
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