English 39

Grades not final yet

2011-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

I'm still in the process of calculating grades. The numbers you see on Turnitin are not final, but there is no way for me to hide them while in progress. Please realize that they are subject to change, still.

When they are in their final form, I will say so right here. Meanwhile, no need to inquire...

Final Announcements

2011-12-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

We have moved the due date for the Essay 3 to December 15 at 5pm. This is an absolute deadline, and papers submitted after 5pm cannot receive credit (and in fact will never even be seen). They must be submitted to turnitin. If you have trouble with turnitin, you will need to send the text of your essay to me in an email message (not an attachment) to show that it is done...and then deal with the turnitin issue later.

Dec 12 is an optional class meeting for those who want me to review a draft or work-in-progress of Essay 3. Use the link on the right side of the class home page http://english39jung.blogspot.com to put your name down in a time slot. Conferences will be approximately 15 minutes, longer if possible.

The blog post for next week is also optional, meaning that it will improve your participation score if you do it and not affect it at all if you don't. It involves going to tvtropes.org, a website I mentioned on the first day of class, and exploring the site. Then write a post of about 200 words identifying some of the tropes that you feel apply to Changeling and explaining in detail how the details of the movie stick to or vary the trope. Tvtropes may seem incomprehensible at first, but I believe that if you browse around for a while, you will pick up what it is about. Browse a little longer and you'll find tropes that correspond to Changeling.

I keep a Facebook page for Former Students of Dr Jeff Jung. I will send an email out to whatever email you used for turnitin.com with the link to my page for those who want to keep in contact. I post my mini-reviews of movies, and sometimes books, to my page so that you will never have to be deprived of access to good taste for too long. The page is also a great way for me to find out what happens to all of you later on down the line, and for you to help determine the viewing and reading habits of future college students.

One last announcement is a compliment that I had been meaning to pass along, but forgot. During our "The Devil Wears Prada" discussion, you may recall we had a class observer. We do that at El Camino from time to time to verify that none of the faculty members have gone stark raving mad in the last few years and now constitute a real and present danger to the community. Our observer later told me that he was extremely impressed with the quality of the comments and discussion that he observed and that it seemed more like a UCLA seminar. He mentioned the confidence, clarity, and articulacy of the students who contributed, and the subtlety of their remarks. Most of all, he was struck by how participants were genuinely responding to one another. In fact, you all were particularly "on" that evening (good thing he wasn't there on Macbeth night). So, since the praise should be heard by those who earned it, here it is (was).

I found a good number of our discussions to be very interesting and would like to thank all those who made it that way. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

No blog post this week

2011-11-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

No blog post this week. After viewing Changeling next week, we will have just one more blog posting.

Macbeth and Scotland PA

2011-11-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

Due November 28...approx. 200 words on one of the following:

1. Support the following assertion: when compared with Macbeth's crime, it is far less clear that Joe Mcbeth had the intent to cause his victim's death or that he was the direct cause of it?

2. Do the three hippies perform the same function and operate in the same manner as the witches in Macbeth?

3. Joe Mcbeth is obviously the corresponding character to Macbeth, but what is one important way in which their psychologies differ from one another? Is he more or less of a villain?

4. Pat Mcbeth is obviously the corresponding character to Lady Macbeth, but what is one important way in which their psychologies differ from one another? Is she more or less of a villain?

5. Have changes in gender roles caused the Joe/Pat relationship to function differently from the Macbeth/Lady Macbeth relationship, or is the dynamic between the couples essentially unchanged?

6. In what way(s) does Scotland, PA transmit a different moral message or view of the world than does Macbeth?

7. What is one of the less obvious parallel moments between Macbeth and Scotland PA?

Macbeth and other announcements

2011-11-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

Remember to investigate your current grade on turnitin.com and report it to me next week in class.
Due date for Essay 2 is moved to November 28, 5pm.
I will be posting a link on the right side of the page that allows you to sign up for times over the next few weeks (last hour of class or office hours) to review your completed Essay 2. The point is not to allow you to rewrite it, but rather to give you some insight on how to write Essay 3.
Essay 3 is described in the syllabus as a comparison of Changeling to the real-life events upon which it is based. However, I am also giving you the option to write the same assignment but based on the film Heavenly Creatures (which you would have to rent yourself.
Remember to bring Macbeth to class next week.
Instead of a blog post, your simple assignment for this week is to identify at least one passage that you find either a) difficult to understand or b) interestingly ambiguous. You don't need to write or post anything this week, but be ready to mention your passage in class if asked.

The Devil Wears Prada

2011-11-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

I know this is appearing late, but then nobody ever posts this early anyway....

Choose just ONE of the following questions and post a comment supported by specific textual details. Aim for about 100 words.

Due Nov 7

1. For me, one of the film's flaws is that it attempts to show that Andrea has sold her soul to the devil (who wears Prada), but I don't get the sense that she ever did anything all that morally wrong. Has the film successfully showed moral errors on Andrea's part, or did they come up short on that count? Justify your answer by examining one (or more) of the choices that Andrea makes and how it is presented. How does this contrast to the book version of Andrea?

2. Obviously, Miranda has been given vulnerability in the film. But even before that, I would argue that she isn't truly diabolical (though admittedly rude and unpleasant to work with). Let's assess the depth of her alleged evil. ASIDE FROM the ending in which she betrays Nigel, what is the worst (most morally problematic) thing that Miranda does? Is there any excuse for it? Does the film imply or show that it was anything more than pure sadism/devilry? How does this compare with the book version?

3. I said that the film doesn't make clear its position about the fashion world. What would be some reasons for either feeling that a) the film endorses the values of the fashion world; or b) it satirizes/rejects them? How does this compare with the book version?

4. We've talked about the concept of compressed sequences in film that convey much meaning in the smallest time possible by taking advantage of as many audiovisual cues as possible. Write about a brief (60 seconds or less) segment of the film that is richly packed with meaning and discuss what allows it to convey so much meaning in so little time. How was this meaning conveyed differently (better/worse) in the book?

5. What easy formulas or cliches that are familiar to Hollywoodized scripts does the movie use? Does it do anything inventive to those formulas to make them more acceptable and less tiresome than they usually are? What parts of the book, if any are these cliches based on?

No blog post this week

2011-10-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

No blog post this week.

Complete reading The Devil Wears Prada by November 9.

The class has partially redeemed itself in terms of bringing the book to class. Make sure you all bring books to class on November 9 as well.

Again, turnitin will not accept essay submissions even one minute past the deadline of Oct 31, 5pm. Avoid turning in essays at the last minute or even on the last day, and you will not fall prey to this problem.

Notes on a Scandal

2011-10-17T22:38:00.001-07:00

Reminder: I expect to see everyone with the book in front of them in class this Monday. Coming to class unprepared affects your participation grade.

Blog post assignment for the week

Answer one of the following questions with a post of about 200 words.

Due Oct 24

Barbara’s character is obviously radically changed in the film, but what about Sheba? Contrast the two Shebas. One possible area of focus could be the degree to which the film/book seem to encourage sympathy for her. Another focus could be as to whether the book and film differ in their theory as to why she did it (what she “was thinking”).
What techniques does the book use to “clue the reader in” to the idea that Barbara is troubled and unreliable as a narrator? What techniques does the film use?
The film made many changes to reinforce its notion of Barbara has dangerously and cruelly manipulative, and these changes arguably distort the book’s original vision of her. Discuss some other changes the film made to the book (NOT related to the villainizing of Barbara) that DO seem successful and necessary (for whatever reason). Explain in what way the change enabled the film to show more effectively or succinctly an aspect of the novel, even while changing it.

No blog post this week

2011-10-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

There is no blog post due for Oct 17. Begin reading Notes on a Scandal.

I forgot to reprimand the class earlier tonight and will do so now. When I see a classroom in which 7 people have brought the book to class, I conclude that 7 people have read the book and that the rest are attempting to obtain credit for participating in a discussion about a book that they have never read. This is not always a fair assumption, but it's one that you can easily do something about by always bringing the book under discussion to class.

Please note that although the last date to turn in Essay 1 is October 31, it is in your best interest to complete it earlier since Essay 2 is due the week immediately afterward. October 31 probably was not my original intention, but having published it I will stick with it.

Dead Man Walking

2011-10-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

This blog post is separate from and in addition to the 1000-word assignment that is also due next Monday. However, the 1000-word assignment can be an expansion of any blog post you have written previously, including this week's.

Choose one of the following and respond with a post of about 200 words to the forum on turnitin.com. Read posts made before yours and do not duplicate them!

Due 10/10/2011

1. Where in the book is Prejean most convincing in her arguments against death penalty? Is this scene or moment conveyed successfully in the film? If so, how is it done? If not, what is the problem?

2. Where in the book is Prejean least convincing in her arguments against death penalty? Is this improved upon in the film? If so, how?

3. Choose one scene in the film that has no origin in the book and discuss why it was added, how it furthered or detracted from the film's ideas. Are these ideas that don't exist in the book, or are they new ways of presenting the book's ideas?

4. What is the contrast between Prejean's two advisees, and which aspects of them was the film most interested in preserving to create the hybrid character of Matthew Poncelet?

5. Defend the following statement with specific examples: The film version of Dead Man Walking took an undramatic book that meandered and lapsed into speeches and transformed it into a movie with dramatic appeal, but also filled with Hollywood cliches and overly familiar tropes.

6. What differences are there in the religious views of book-Helen and movie-Helen?

No blog post this week

2011-09-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

Please read at least half of Dead Man Walking before the next class, and finish it before the Oct 10 class. Remember that the first major writing assignment is due and start planning.

Also remember that the weekly posts are a required component and are not accepted late.

That said, we will skip the weekly post this week and return to the routine on the following week.

Wizard of Oz

2011-09-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

Choose one of the following and respond with about 200 words. Read messages posted before yours and do not duplicate!

Is the film’s Dorothy stronger or more passive than the book’s version? Defend both points of view.
In what way does the movie convey a different attitude toward the world (which you can take in any sense: gender roles, politics, human nature, economics, home, family, friendship, etc.), than the book did?
This film has always had people trying to come up with a ‘master interpretation’ that argues what the film is really (or secretly) about. It’s said that the makers of the film put all sorts of things into it that weren’t in the book to advance this “secret agenda.” If it’s true that the film is trying to teach or advocate something through symbolism and allegory, what do you think it is? What elements of the plot or of the characterizations that differ from the book can you use to help defend that idea?

We will also discuss the following in class (but these are not writing options)...

Who are the good and bad mother figures in this film, and what scenes convince you to regard them this way? Keep the emphasis on qualities that define them as mothers, not just good or bad women. What kind of theory can we form about Dorothy’s attitudes toward mothers when we look at their role in her life and in her dream?
How is Dorothy’s quest a “feminine quest,” markedly different from the standard masculine quest? Begin by deciding what you think constitutes a masculine quest, thinking in terms of ultimate goal, steps along the way, techniques used to achieve, side characters encountered. Look to blockbuster movies or famous stories as examples.
If the Wicked Witch is The Outsider in this movie, what minority groups is she being associated with to help the audience identify against her? That is, what popular prejudices does the film take advantage of to mark her as different/wrong? How do they accomplish this, specifically?

Muriel's Wedding

2011-09-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Reminder: you should begin reading The Wizard of Oz.

Now for the online questions...post a comment to this entry of about 150-250 words. You don't need the elaborate introduction of an essay; just jump right into your concise answer.

Answer any ONE of the following (and please make it clear in your first sentence which question you're answering). Feel free to reply with disagreements or additions to other student comments.

1) What specific moments show marriage being parodied. Think in literary terms (actions, dialogue, characterizations, plot outcomes) but also film terms (camerawork, lighting, music, and sequencing).

2) Discuss Muriel’s more peculiar lies to see if you can find any plausible, psychological reason for them (either a deliberate reason on her part, or more likely an explanation of why her subconscious prompts her to come up with them): 1) her lie that her mom has cancer (instead of Rhonda); 2) her lie that her husband’s name is Bill (her dad)

3) Why does Muriel decide to find a husband through the classifieds in precisely the moment that Rhonda is diagnosed with cancer?

4) Is Muriel’s father portrayed as the source of all trouble in the family or a victim of them? Are there things going on in the family that the father clearly can’t be blamed for?

5) Discuss the specific moments in which the “traditional” role of women is parodied. This role includes behavior, personality, appearance, expectations, and sexuality among other things. Think in terms of actions, dialogue, characterizations, plot outcomes, the implied messages conveyed by camerawork, lighting, music, and sequencing. Also remember to pay attention to things that are not said, shown, or done (that are conspicuous in their absence).

6) Muriel’s Wedding can be viewed as a (very) twisted variation of the Cinderella myth. Explain what plot elements, character traits, and patterns correspond to elements of Cinderella. Also, these variations were presumably made for a reason, to critique the moral message of Cinderella. Give your best theory as to what purpose the makers of Muriel’s Wedding had in rewriting the Cinderella story in this way. That is, what’s their response to the moral message of Cinderella?

Welcome to English 39

2011-08-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to English 39. You'll need to visit this website about twice per week since you are required to contribute to the discussions on a weekly basis. Specifically, each week you need to post one substantial comment of your own. The questions are found here, but the answers are to be posted on our other site, www.turnitin.com. Replying to other students there is completely optional and can add extra credit to your score (as long as you are having genuine debate and discussion, not littering my board).

This blog also lets you download important documents like the syllabus, assignments, and class handouts, and it has links to readings and other assignments.

For our next meeting, please read the following two versions of "Cinderella." Think about what they have in common; but more importantly, think about their differences and how they add up to create different moral lessons, different effects. You don't need to write or post anything about "Cinderella." Just come to class prepared to discuss along those lines. The two versions are Perrault's version and the Brothers Grimm version.

Here's the first blog posting assignment...
Due Sept 12 -- ONE HOUR before class (5:30pm)

We will use the first posting assignment to get used to the system. Just post a short message introducing yourself and telling us a bit about one of your favorite films and why it deserves that distinction. This is the only post that doesn't need to be any certain length.

Remember to post this response on the Discussion Board of www.turnitin.com, not here!