Course Recap for Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Analysis of Carrie

As a class, we used the readings and our own observations to answer three different questions that we felt the movie, Carrie, attempts to answer.  

The first question we answered was What does the movie Carrie say about becoming/being a woman?  The group who looked at this piece said that the movie Carrie says that women can only occupy two positions in life, the position of the evil slutty witch or the good pious virgin.  Then we talked about how different characters (Mrs. White vs Mrs. Collins, Sue vs. Chris) helps prove this point.  The problem with Carrie is that she tries to occupy both spaces.

The next question we answered is What does the movie say about sex?  This group believes the movie says that sex and sexuality is a sin.  We pointed out how the only person who lived is the person who selflessly gives up their potential sexual partner to someone else, Sue.  The one character who we are sure is sexually active, who is constantly flaunting her sexuality is the most evil character in the piece.  Even Carrie's Mom thinks she deserves to be punished simply for conceiving Carrie even though she was married.

The third question we was How do our perceptions of ourselves and how people perceive us affect our choices?  Because so many people told Carrie she was weird and funny and unworthy of love she believed them, so even when others treated her kindly she assumed they were after her.  When the blood is poured on her, she imagines everyone is laughing at her because she perceives herself to be a person who everyone laughs at.  

The last question was What does the movie say about revenge?  The obvious response is what goes around comes around but we also looked at how most of the people who get revenge on others often seem to hate themselves as much as they hate everyone else.  Chris has no reason to hate Carrie, who is the exact opposite of her which suggest that maybe she hates Carrie because she's everything she's not.  Carrie has a very low opinion of herself and in the end gives in to her feelings of unworthiness.

What I wrote above are very brief summaries of what we talked about in class.  From our discussions we could easily write 3 pages about how the film attempts to answer each question.  For homework, you are going to write a 750 word analysis of a movie of your choice.  Think about the choices that the director makes.  Why does he/she choose to portray a character a certain way? What is the significance of certain scenes in the movie?  Why are certain colors, lighting, set designs used? How does the setting (place, time period, etc) affect the story?  I want your analysis to be your own thoughts.  Try not to look up other people's perceptions of the piece.   

Homework

• 750-word analysis of a film of your choice.  What is a theme in the film that you want to focus on?  Something you thought was important or different or interesting?  How do you interpret the message of the film versus other people?  Be sure to defend your ideas about the film with evidence from the piece. (Due Monday)
• Read Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. (Due Wednesday)

Course Recap for Monday, September 22, 2014

Carrie

We watched the movie Carrie. I gave you a list of questions to answer that should help you to decide for yourself what messages the film sends (intentionally or unintentionally) and how the film delivers these messages.

For homework, you will read 3 other people's interpretations of the movie Carrie and the genre of horror in general. Next class, we will discuss your interpretations and how much you agree or disagree with the other 3 critics ideas.

Homework

• Put the finishing touches on your response guide from class
• Read Horror, Femininity, and Carrie's Monstrous Puberty
• Read Cult Movie Review: Carrie
• Read Pretty Bloody: Women and Horror Stereotypes

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Course Recap for Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Character
As a class, we made a list of identifying characteristics from our race, nationality, religion, to our interests and things that matter to us.  Then we passed around drafts of our personal narratives to our classmates to see how many of these characteristics our classmates could guess based on the information we provided in our narratives.  If being a member of marching band and being from a specific city means a lot to you, your paper should reflect that.  If your race and ethnic background is a big part of your identity, find ways that show your audience this.  We can do this without resorting to stereotypes and generalizations.  Certain foods we eat and drink, places we go, things we buy, are often determined by the social positions we happen to inhabit.  By including these types of details, we can give our audience a clue of who we are and where we come from.  We can allow them to get to know us which will make them much more interested in hearing what we have to say.  

Welcome to the World of Blogging
The second half of class we focused on blogs. We looked at a variety of different blogs and found that no two blogs are alike, much like people.  Each blog is a reflection of the blogs' creators and its audience.  We did all seem to agree that the simpler the blog, the better.  People should be able to easily identify a blog's purpose, and it should be easy for readers to find information on a blog.  You will be keeping a blog for this class.  For more information check the Blog Assignment Sheet posted on the right under Class Documents.

Homework

• Complete your first blog post for Friday, September 12. 

Course Recap for Monday, September 8, 2014

Narrative Voice and Humor
We discussed David Sedaris's writing in his pieces "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (from your book Readings for Writers) and "Jesus Shaves" (a video clip we watched in class).  We discussed how each narrative focused a specific moment in the author's life that was significant to him (a moment where he overcame an obstacle, a moment where he experienced a moment of solidarity with people from different cultures).  We also talked about Sedaris's brand of humor and how he makes fun of himself and Americans in a very self-deprecating way and how he uses cultural stereotypes and sarcasm to connect with other people.  He makes fun of things that most people can relate to.  Sedaris's humor gives his pieces a distinctive narrative voice that separates his writing from other writers.  Our goal as we explore the personal narrative is to find ways to infuse our own narrative voice into our writing.

It's All in the Details
After discussing Sedaris's writing, we looked at two different poems with two very different speakers. In "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid we explored how the nature of the advice that the speaker of the poem gives to the audience reveals a lot about that speaker's character.  We could tell she was female, poor,Caribbean, had struggled a lot in life, had been taught and was oppressed by traditional gender roles, and deeply cared for the recipient of her advice. Even though the main topic of the piece isn't actually the speaker, we are still able to learn a lot about her.

Then we looked at "The Day Lady Died" by Frank O'Hara.  We surmised that the speaker in this piece was white, male, middle-aged, wealthy, well-educated, interested in the arts, and on a tight schedule.  We are not explicitly told any of this.  We gain this knowledge based on the places he went (the tobacconist, The Golden Griffin), the things he buys (a shoeshine, the Verlaine, the bottle of Strega), and his reaction to other people and things around him (the fact that he doesn't care if the bank teller looks at his bank balance or not when withdrawing money, the sudden rush of emotion when he discovers Billie Holiday's death).  Our goal is to try and find a way to reveal ourselves in our own piece by showing and not telling.

Homework

• Write a 750 word essay that reveals important details about yourself using one of the following prompts.

• Provide advice to a someone about something you feel you are an expert in.  We should learn who you are and what is it about you that makes your advice worth following.  How did you gain this knowledge?  How do you know it will work? Why do you care?

• OR Tell us the story of where you were and what you were doing on a day of national tragedy.  Obviously September 11 may quickly come to mind but there could be other days of tragedy (like the death of a famous celebrity) that might lend themselves to this piece.  Be specific.  What did you do? What did you buy? What did you eat that day?

Welcome to Thought and Writing!

Welcome to English 1050!
I am Micealaya (Mickey) Moses, your instructor.  Please take time to save this blog into your favorites/bookmarks folder as I will provide weekly updates, course recaps, and all course documents through this site. I am excited to work with all of you this semester! Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.  My e-mail is m5moses@wmich.edu.  I am also available to meet with you every Monday between 2 and 4 and by appointment.  In this class you will learn how to think like a writer, a skill you already possess in some capacity.  We will read and  discuss various texts and you will hopefully leave this class with the ability to write in both academic and "real world" settings.

Course Syllabus and Course Expectations
We read through the syllabus in class and talked about the things you would have to do to succeed in this course. Please be sure to review the entire syllabus (posted on the right side of the blog) on your own, but here a few of the finer points, the things that are essential to your success in this class:

• Attendance and participation are extremely important. You are expected to be in class on-time on a regular basis and to participate in all class activities and discussions.
• Late work is highly discouraged.  Please get in the habit now of turning things in when they are due.
• I am here to help you but I can't do anything for you if I don't know something is wrong. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are confused.  Again I can meet with you during office hours or by appointment to discuss things you may be struggling with.  Also please inform me in a timely matter if you're going to miss class.
• Please be courteous.  Disruptive behavior is distracting and counterproductive to our class.

Homework (Due Monday 9/8)

• Read "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, page 16 in Readings for Writers
• Write a paragraph describing your favorite dish.  Your goal is to convince your reader that they want to eat the dish you are describing.