Film Analysis Prewriting

Organizer for Film Proposal: Listing

v  Film: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

v  Approach: Shame theory

v  Scene: When the Grinch is a child in school

v  Impact of shame when a child becomes and adolescent: The Grinch has a shameful experiences when he is growing up, which has a big impact on him when he is an adult.

v  A major shame event involves exposure: The Grinch’s shameful experience was in front of his entire class.

v  Shame is a survival trait: The Grinch has the shameful experience when he tries to conform to society.

v  Shame is the head of family emotions: The Grinch feels guilt, humiliation, embarrassment, mortification

v  The Grinch used the script attack other when he takes his anger out on his classmates when he is made fun of.

v  The Grinch also used the withdrawal script because he isolates himself from the rest of his town because he was embarrassed as a child.

Items in order:

 Approach: Shame theory

ü  Film: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

ü  Scene: When the Grinch is a child in school

ü  A major shame event involves exposure: The Grinch’s shameful experience was in front of his entire class.

ü  Shame is a survival trait: The Grinch has the shameful experience when he tries to conform to society.

ü  Shame is the head of family emotions: The Grinch feels guilt, humiliation, embarrassment, mortification

ü  Impact of shame when a child becomes and adolescent: The Grinch has a shameful experiences when he is growing up, which has a big impact on him when he is an adult.

ü  The Grinch used the script attack other when he takes his anger out on his classmates when he is made fun of.

ü  The Grinch also used the withdrawal script because he isolates himself from the rest of his town because he was embarrassed as a child.

Reflection on "What’s the Matter with Kids Today?"

The argument written by Amy Goldwasser kept my 
attention the entire time while reading it. I related to the article because I am part of the age group the article is about. I agree that children between the ages of 13-17 are consumed with technology such as, e-mailing, blogging, IM’ing, and texting. I think it was interesting how Amy Goldwasser explained how teenagers used these resources to document their own life experiences and are essentially reporters in their own homes. But often times adults disapprove of the amount of hours their children spend on the computer and their phones because they ultimately do not like the fact their children may know more than they do. I thought this was an interesting perspective on the topic because it didn’t occur to me that teenagers were responsible for every consumer phenomenon. I was surprised to learn that teenagers essentially made MySpace worth $580 million and Juno as Oscar winner. I agree that people need to stop looking at the internet and technology as a negative resource for teenagers because in reality there are more positive than negative outcomes that come from it. Someday teenagers today will become the voice of America. 


Here is the website for the article:
What's the Matter with Kids Today?: Amy Goldwasser
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2008/03/14/kids_and_internet/index.html 

Proposal Example of Film Analysis

The Grinch from Ron Howard's film,
 How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

The film How the Grinch Stole Christmas inspires me the most to write my film analysis on. There are several scenes that I have looked at for the shame theory, but there is one scene in particular that stands out. It’s the scene where the Grinch is a child and he is in class with other students his age. The Grinch knows he is different than the rest of the children due to his appearance. This causes him to be guarded and defensive in nature. When the Grinch lets his guard down for the first time in his life it back fires and is his left with immense shame. It starts when he wants to impress his female friend that he is developing feelings for. He gets in the Christmas spirit and makes her a gift that he hand crafts himself. The same night he looks in the mirror and feels self-conscious about his appearance because he remembers one of the rude comments his classmate made while at school. His classmate made a comment about his beard, which is uncommon for a child of only eight years old. The Grinch’s inner, critical voice judges himself making him feel worthless and inferior due to being ostracized by his classmates. He feels immense embarrassment when he remembers this memory because all of the children laughed at him including his female friend he has a crush on. He is extremely overwhelmed by this memory that he decides to take action and shave off his beard.  This action to avoid shame leaves marks all over his face and actually heightens his feelings of humiliation. The next day at school the Grinch tries to hide his face, but evidently the other children saw what he had done. He is now feeling flawed and exposed, which are common feelings of shame. The Grinch reacts to his insecurities and unconsciously takes his anger out on the other children. He uses the script attack-other as a defense mechanism because the shame he experiences is thrown upon his classmates. He does this by creating fear in his classmates when he throws the Christmas tree across the room. This is his attempt to soothe the pain of humiliation, embarrassment, and mortification he is experiencing. He follows the withdrawal-script when he isolates himself from the rest of the town in hopes of avoiding another shameful experience like he had as a child.             

Reflection on "First U.S. Count Finds 1 in 200 Kids Are Vegetarian"

This essay gave me incite on the reasons why children become vegetarians and who they were influenced by. I found it very surprising to learn that a great number of children become vegetarians at a young age. Most children become vegetarians because they understand the severity of animal cruelty that takes place in the United States and they couldn’t imagine that happening to a pet of theirs. I respect the fact that children all around the world are standing up for what they believe is wrong and taking actions to reverse it. However, my concern is that I don’t think all the children are getting the protein they need knowing that meat has large amounts of protein in each serving. The protein is essential for growth and development that is important for young children. Also this essay diminished the stereotype I had for vegetarians. Before reading this article I automatically thought that if you are a vegetarian then you eat mostly healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables. However, this is not the case because many vegetarians are substituting the meat with unhealthy foods such as junk food. All in all I did enjoy this essay and it inspired me to do some more research on the topic.      

Here is the website for the article: 

First U.S. Count Finds 1 in 200 Kids Are Vegetarians: Mike Stobbe 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-11-vegetarian-kids_N.htm 

Reflection on "Lurid Numbers on Glossy Pages!"

I found this textual analysis very interesting and it gave me some insight on the world of publishing magazines.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the numbers that are placed on magazines are not always accurate and are

used to get the attention of consumers. Often times these numbers are made up and are usually odd numbers
to seem more accurate to the daily public. After reading the textual analyses I went through all my old

magazines to see if this technique was really used. On almost every magazine I own there were large numbers

placed on the front page of each magazine. On a Seventeen magazine it said there were 659 new ways to

look cute on the front cover, which often lures in the young population. The additional magazines I own also

had numbers for ways to lose weight, make-up and clothing tips, and entertaining things to do in the summer. This is a strategy used by many publishers to sell the most copies of their magazines and I agree that this is an effective way to do so. However, I would like the numbers to be more accurate and realistic.  

Here the website for the article:

Katharine Q. Seelye: Lurid Numbers on Glossy Pages!  

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/business/media/10numbers.html

Critical Approaches for Film Analysis

I found all of the critical approaches interesting and made me want to further research each topic. However, the critical approach I found most intriguing was the shame theory due to the fact that it is present in numerous films. The first film that came to mind to write my film analysis on was the Harry Potter movies. I can think of several scenes where the same theory is present in just the first film of the sequence. The shame theory is interesting to me because it is a survival trait used to enforce social conformity. It can cause many physiological phenomena that are often used in various films. Also, many films use the shame theory when a child becomes an adolescent; this is true for the first Harry Potter film. Harry feels ashamed of his life because of how he is treated by his aunt, uncle, and cousin. They make him feel inferior and worth nothing, which is part of the shame theory. It isn’t until Harry learns about his other life at Hogwarts when he begins to flourish as an outstanding wizard. I’ve come to the conclusion that the shame theory has the most options to write on that I can expand on.

Reading Complex Material

When reading complex material it’s important to use strategies and techniques to better your understanding of the material. Before reading I first research any background information regarding the topic. This helps me correlate what I’ve learned through my research to the text. Once I begin reading I underline any words or phrases that I don’t know and then look them up in a dictionary. I apply the information I get to the text and the material becomes clearer. Also, when I’m reading complex material I make sure I take my time and not skim through the text. Skimming through the text or rushing through the material will create confusion and it will make it hard to fully comprehend the information. It’s important to read complex material in a secluded area with no distractions so that you can fully commit your time to reading the material. After reading I then write down any questions that may have and I look them up on the internet or I ask my professor.

Reflection on Victory Speech: James Wood

Barack Obama

After reading this article it made me think about all the influential speeches that have been given by the influential speakers of the Unites States of America. It made me want to research speeches given by Martain Luther King and President Lincoln. There is a lot of time and effort that go into these speeches and they should be remembered and appreciated decades down the road. It made me realize history is being made every time President Obama gives a speech. Obama’s election speech was extremely influential to me because he incorporated bits and pieces of famous speeches that have been given by previous presidents and other inspiring speakers. I find this very respectful because it shows the passion and commitment Obama has for this country and he will do everything in his power to make the right decisions. Speeches can made an enormous impact on people and President Obama’s speech made an impact on me and thousands of people around the world. 
Here is a website of the article I read:
Victory Speech by James Wood
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/11/17/081117ta_talk_wood