Movie News 10.29.15

• The Suicide Squad invade Empire magazine (ScreenRant)
• Dark Knight trilogy's David S. Goyer: Too Many white male directors in film (Daily Beast)
• Hollywood returns to ghostly possessions in horror (Wall Street Journal)
• Why are R-rated horror films flopping at the box office? (Fortune)
• Hotel from The Shinning may become a horror museum (CNet)
• Trailer of the week: Robert De Niro and Zac Efron in Dirty Grandpa (Entertainment Weekly)

 

Infographic: Artificial Intelligence, Real and Imagined

Though we tend to think of artificial intelligence (AI) as a 20th century phenomenon, it has been imagined, in one form or another, since ancient Greece. But by the 19th century, visions of human-built artificially intelligent beings began to take root in fiction—thanks largely to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Today, AI is a staple of film, as well as books and television. But while what Mary Shelley frighteningly envisioned was out of the reach of her era's technology, our visions of AI are already here or coming soon. For this assignment you will construct a binary infographic illustrating the parallels between film and real life artificial intelligence. Thus, one side should illustrate significant AI representations in movies, while the other should highlight AI's real-life advancements—you will be responsible for providing four of the six required sources. Just as in traditional essays, you will require a central argument to guide your design.

Your infographic must include the following two sources:

• "A (Very) Brief History of Artificial Intelligence” (AITopics)
• "The 8 Evil Forms of AI that Gave Robots a Bad Name" (Popular Mechanics)

To help guide your design:

• "You Suck at Infographics" (Wired)
• "80 Best Infographics on the Web" (Creative Bloq)
• "What Makes a Great Infographic?" (DashBurst)
• "Infographics: Separating the Great from the Mediocre" (The Next Web)

All above articles are located in the eR.

Infographics are most easily utilized in PowerPoint (or a comparable program. Additionally, if you are experienced in it, you may also utilize Photoshop. This assignment must be delivered electronically.

Requirements:

• Six sources minimum—four provided by you
• Include a works cited page

A well-executed infographic will:

• Have a title that articulates the goal of the assignment
• Have a concise thesis as the subheading—important
• Have a concise controlling argument dictating the design
• Visually translate perspectives and facts in a clear and enlightening manner
• Stay within the parameters of movie and real life AI

Due: Fri 11.13 (submit via email by 5 PM)

Reflection 6: My Two Cents—Writing a Film Review

Your task for this reflection is simple: review a film. It may be any film you like, so long as you view it critically. Whether you liked or disliked it should only be the starting point, not the whole of the review. Instead, carefully examine those elements of the film (e.g. acting, direction, plot) that brought you to your opinion.

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be one full page in length

Due: Wed 10.28 or Mon 11.4

Week 12: Jaws (1975)

Week 12: Jaws (1975)
Mo 10.26/We 10.28
Read: REEL—See “Synthesis essay readings” at bottom of syllabus
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations

Due: REFLECTION 6

Upcoming:

Week 13: My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Mo 11.2/We 11.4
Class: English Dept. Assessment; Reading discussion; Presentations; Writers workshop
Due: INFOGRAPHIC (SUBMIT VIA EMAIL BY 5 PM)

Movie News 10.21.15

• Happy Back to the Future Day (CNN)
• #BoycottStarWarsEpisodeVII: Online "movement" says new Star Wars film seeks to diminish white race (Entertainment Weekly)
• Meanwhile ...  The Force Awakens presale tickets smash records (MSNBC)
• Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman on the cover of the new Total Film (SuperHeroNews)
• Study: Watching movies can help build empathy (PRI)
• Trailer of the week: JJ Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens (YouTube)

 

Multimedia Presentations (Updated Schedule)

Find the full assignment here.

Week 12: Mo 10.26/We 10.28 

1. Jimmy N. and Daniela R. - Kowai Hanashi: A History of Japanese Horror Films
2. Dunba T. and Felix W. - Inside Bollywood, the World’s Most Prolific Film Industry

Week 13: Mo 11.2/We 11.4

1. Aliya H. and Maria K. – A Legacy in Infamy: The Story of Birth of a Nation
2. Paul F. and Krystal D. - The Good, the Bad, and, the Ugly: A Look at Spaghetti Westerns 

Week 14: Mo 11.9 

1. Charlie C. and Jesus J. - Infamous Films: Browning’s Freaks, Damiano’s Deep Throat, and Stone’s Natural Born Killers 
2. Madison A. and Jade G. - Bombs Away: Hollywood's Most Infamous Failures
3. Jasmeen K. and Alliyah V. - No Laughing Matter: The Fatty Arbuckle Scandal   

Week 15: Mo 11.23

1. Alex C. and Nicole G. - Fifty Years of Bond, James Bond
2. Elias R. and Trudy S. - La Famiglia: Italian Representation on the Silver Screen

Week 16: Mo 11.30/We 12.2 

1. Yaning V. and Evonne T. - Don't You Forget about Me: The Films of John Hughes 
2. Emily P. and Eileen R. - Hollywood and Gun Violence: The Continuing Debate 

Week 11: Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Week 11: Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Mo 10.19/We 10.21
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“The Most Common Grammatical Errors—And How to Avoid Them”

Upcoming:

Week 12: Jaws (1975)
Mo 10.26/We 10.28
Read: REEL—See “Synthesis essay readings” at bottom of syllabus
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 6

Movie News 10.17.15

• Jennifer Lawrence rocks Hollywood with essay of female gender pay inequality (NPR News)
• First look: War for the Planet of the Apes (Dark Horizons)
• Tom Hanks reads scripts written by eight-year-olds (YouTube)
• Batman V. Superman DLC coming to Batman: Arkham Knight (Latino Review)
• Trailers of the week: Lily James in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (YouTube)
• and: The Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar! (YouTube)

 

Close Read: Muscial Clips Selections

Below is a list of musical clips to choose from for this week's close read essay. Additionally, you'll find ten new clips to consider. Choose only one to write about.

• "America" from West Side Story (1961)
  
• "Elephant Love Medley" from Moulin Rouge! (2001)
•  "Good Morning" from Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables (2012)
• "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from Across the Universe (2007)
  
• "Mein Herr" from Cabaret (1972)
  
• "My Man" from Funny Girl (1968)
• "Summer Nights" from Grease (1978)
• "The Man That Got Away" from A Star is Born (1954)
• "We Both Reached for the Gun" from Chicago (2002)

 Also:

• "A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
• "Agony" from Into the Woods (2014)
• "Drifting Slowly" from Once (2007)
• "Easy to be Hard" from Hair (1979)
• "Gaston" from Beauty and the Beast (1991)
• "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray (2007)
• "I Will Always Love You" from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
• "If I Loved You" from Carousel (1956)
• "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor Victoria (1982)
• "Rainbow High" from Evita (1996)
• "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
• "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees (1958)

Reflection 5: Black and White Movies—On Colorblind Casting

Colorblind casting is the practice of ignoring the traditional race of a fictional character and, instead, casting an actor of another ethnicity. And depending on who you ask, it either robs actors of certain races of opportunities to work, or it opens the doors to more work for a variety of actors of various races. For much of Hollywood's history, colorblind casting has been a non-issue. Typically, if a film called for a character of color, producers would simply cast a white actor to play black, Asian, Latino, or whatever else was called for. This practice, eventually called "whitewashing," lead to many offensive stereotypes in the movie industry. In the 21st century, actors of color have seen their roles dramatically rise, but charges of whitewashing still exist—just witness the recent controversies over Emma Stone playing a half-Asian woman in Aloha or the casting  of mostly white actors in Egyptian-set Exodus: Gods and Kings. Do you believe an actor's race should be a consideration in casting? How would you feel, for example, about a black James Bond? What about an Asian Batman?

• "Fans Petition to Have Scarlett Johansson Removed as Star of Ghost in the Shell Movie" (IGN)
• "Michael B. Jordan Slams Haters Who Don’t Want a Black Human Torch" (HollywoodLife)
• "Pierce Brosnan Backs First Black James Bond" (Guardian)
• "Whitewashing was One of Hollywood's Worst Habits, so Why is It Still Happening?" (Huffington Post)
• "Rooney Mara as Pan's Tiger Lily: A Look at the Controversy" (Entertainment Weekly)
• "When is Color-Blind Casting Okay and When is it Not?" (Movieline)

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be one page in length
• Include a works cited page
  

Due: We 10.14

Week 10: It Happened One Night (1934)

Week 10: It Happened One Night (1934)
Mo 10.12/We 10.14
Read: “The 8 Evil Forms of AI that Gave Robots a Bad Name” (Popular Mechanics), “A (Very) Brief History of Artificial Intelligence” (AITopics)
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations. Writers workshop

Upcoming:

Week 11: The Hurt Locker (2008)
Mo 10.19/We 10.21
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“The Most Common Grammatical Errors—And How to Avoid Them” Due: INFOGRAPHIC (BRING 2 COPIES)

Week 9: Gilda (1946)

Week 9: Gilda (1946)
Mo 10.5/We 10.7
Read: eR—“Infographics: Separating the Great from the Mediocre” (The Next Web), “What Makes a Great Infographic?” (DashBurst), “70 Best Infographics on the Web” (Creative Bloq), “You Suck at Infographics” (Wired)
Class: CLOSE READ; Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“All About Infographics”
Due: REFLECTION 5

Upcoming:

Week 10:
It Happened One Night (1934)
Mo 10.12/We 10.14
Read: “The 8 Evil Forms of AI that Gave Robots a Bad Name” (Popular Mechanics), “A (Very) Brief History of Artificial Intelligence” (AITopics)
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations. Writers workshop
Due: INFOGRAPHIC (BRING 2 COPIES)

Movie News 10.7.15

• Will Smith on his Suicide Squad co-star: "I’ve never actually met Jared Leto ... He was all in on the Joker" (/Film)
• Batman v Superman viral marketing campaign goes live with Fortune profile of Lex Luthor (io9) 
• Magnolia Pictures pushing for the first-ever transgender nomination for two of its actresses (Entertainment Weekly)
•  Hollywood's gender gap in two charts (Time)
• Matt Damon's Martian blasts off at the box office with $55 million opening (TheWrap)
• Trailer of the week: Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt II (YouTube)

Week 8: Dreamgirls (2006)

Week 8: Dreamgirls (2006)
Tu 10.6/Th 10.8
Read: eR—“Summer Nights” from Grease (1978), "Elephant Love Medley" from Moulin Rouge! (2001), “We Both Reached for the Gun” from Chicago (2002), "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from Across the Universe (2007), “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables (2012)
Class: CLOSE READ; Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“Close Reads: A How-To” Due: REFLECTION 4

Upcoming:

Week 9: Gilda (1946)
Mo 10.5/We 10.7
Read: eR—“Infographics: Separating the Great from the Mediocre” (The Next Web), “What Makes a Great Infographic?” (DashBurst), “70 Best Infographics on the Web” (Creative Bloq), “You Suck at Infographics” (Wired)
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“All About Infographics”
Due: REFLECTION 5

Movie News 10.3.15

• Marvel smiles on Ronda Rousey's campaign to play Captain Marvel (Entertainment Weekly)
• Four more Transformers movies planned (Dark Horizons)
• Netflix streaming coming to Virgin America (Los Angeles Times)
• Report: Daniel Craig re-ups for two more James Bond films (Daily Mirror)
• $96,000: What Princess Leia's "slave bikini" sells at auction for (Entertainment Weekly)
• Trailer of the week: Natalie Dormer in The Forest (YouTube)