Media+Literacy

Film and Novel

__ Content Outline __ Target grade level:

11-12th, may be taken as a 10th grader if the student has good language arts skills. Purpose:

Reading-and-writing-intensive course designed to expand the topics covered by the high school English curriculum and offer an alternative credit to English IV. May also be assigned in half-credit increments.

Issues to address throughout the course:

 * Novel/story/play-and-film pairings (units 1-8)
 * Movies: sinful or not? (“Christian” movies)
 * book-to-script conversions
 * television and novel
 * stage-to-screen conversions
 * adaptations
 * reasons why changes are made
 * benefits and drawbacks of films
 * benefits and drawbacks of books
 * What makes a novel or film "classic" or "literature"?
 * how major motion pictures are made
 * Depicting sin in a Christian manner
 * Processing secular themes; special vs. general revelation.

Films and novels addressed:

Social Criticism:


 * The Importance of Being Earnest
 * //Pygmalion/My Fair Lady//
 * // Pride and Prejudice/Persuasion //
 * Black Beauty
 * How the Grinch Stole Christmas
 * The Lorax
 * //Jane Eyre//

Adventure
 * //Sherlock Holmes- Hound of the Baskervilles//
 * //Holes //
 * Swiss Family Robinson

Adolescent Literature:
 * The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
 * //I am the Cheese //
 * Charlotte's Web

Fables:

-could also use modern versions movies: //Ever After// (set in medieval times), //Cinderella Story//(set in modern times), //Enchanted// -there is some fun children's lit with new twists: //Snow White in New York//, //The Real Story of the Big Bad Wolf// //-//we talked about comparing the originals to the Disney version -lots of Robin Hood movies out--may be an option for the boys, more of a legend than a fable/fairy tale, but has a rich history in lit.
 * Cinderella/Pocahontas/Grimm's Fairy tales,
 * Beauty and the Beast
 * Mulan
 * //The Jungle Book//

Other:


 * Janette Oke for comparison element- good lit?

Nicholas Sparks, Also, Janette Oke ... What makes a book "good"? Is a book good because it is Christian, even though it isn't good literature? Is there anything wrong with reading/watching for pleasure if escaping reality may create unrealistic expectations for your own life (here in the real world)? Whatever is good, whatever is pure, ... think on these things. Similarly, the discussion of whether Christian films are "good" just because they are Christian. Is subtlety always paramount for a Christian film? What about return on investment? Which film gained more for the kingdom of God--//Fireproof// or //The Blind Side//?
 * some very popular movies are based on books that are not necessarily critically acclaimed or good literature:


 * Hollywood’s visual culture and music as media and literature (unit 5)


 * Celebrities and visual culture
 * The responsibility of influence
 * Societal sins reflected in and created by celebrities
 * Making a screenplay and filming it

=MEDIA LITERACY=

....To be further developed once Film and Novel course is complete. May be half or whole credit.


 * News (unit 6)


 * how news is made
 * CNN, BBC, FOX, ABC- differences, sources, biases, funding, pros and cons
 * other news sources: magazines, newspapers, Associated Press, etc.
 * how to interpret news
 * propaganda
 * news and politics
 * concentration of media ownership
 * the Christian’s responsibility to news (to be well-informed, to evaluate what they hear, and to do something with the information).
 * Music
 * Lyrics as literature
 * Music as a carrier of meaning
 * Music videos/MTV
 * “Christian” music vs. secular music
 * Radio- talk shows, commercials, music, uses, the future of radio
 * The Internet, Advertisements (unit 7)
 * Radio- talk shows, commercials, music, uses, the future of radio
 * The Internet, Advertisements (unit 7)


 * Key benefits and key pitfalls of the Internet
 * Christian responsibility
 * Internet etiquette
 * Key resources (Monster, Craigslist, E-bay, Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, Wikipedia, Email, Google/search engines, wikis, blogs)
 * Commercials
 * Propaganda
 * Billboards/magazine ads/product placement
 * What would advertising according to Biblical principles look like?


 * Educational media forms and video/computer games (unit 8)


 * Documentaries
 * National Geographic
 * The History Channel/Animal Planet
 * Periodicals- journals, business magazines, special interest magazines
 * Video/computer games- addiction, financial responsibility, time use, skills, social aspects

Unit 9-- more lit? Other topics? Rearranging units is definitely possible.
 * Media in Real Life: unit 10


 * Putting what you learned into practice
 * Making a screenplay and filming it
 * wikis, blogs, screencasts, videos, etc. as portfolios in place of final test or for review unit concluding project