February 11th, 2008—February 17th, 2008

1. Fortune Cookies
2. “P.S.- I Love You”
3. My Mythic Hero

Fortune cookies

Context/Description:

I love Panda Express. In ranking of my favorite places to go out to eat it comes as #2 after The Olive Garden. On Tuesday I was talking with my friend K.R.L. about Panda Express when we got talking about a neat idea for fortune cookies. We are both English Teaching Majors. The fortune cookie I had gotten said “Your principles mean more to you than money or success.”

Analysis:

I think it’s safe to say that most people get the fortune cookies not for the cookie but for the fortune. It’s that exciting mystery and suspense—your anticipation for a fortune of luck to come in your life.

My fortune above does apply to me personally (I don’t really care for money, and if success means gross competition—NO thank you for me). But every time you get a fortune cookie it makes you think about how the message applies to at least one aspect of your life or the world around you. Many fortunes read like themes and proverbs.

This experience has taught me that great media literacy can take place and occur as we talk about it with others. The lesson plan idea I am about to share comes from my conversation with K.R.L. Full credit goes to him (he suggested it first in our conversation) but I helped him build upon the idea.

Lesson Plan Ideas:

The messages in fortune cookies do function as general themes and proverbs. Use fortune cookies in your class as prompts for your students in doing creative writing assignments. Thus the implication would be to do this during a unit on creative writing and creative media. The fortune cookies cost about 17 cents each so it is approximately $25.00 per class roughly to do this in your classroom. Each student will receive a fortune cookie, crack it open (being permitted to eat the cookie J too), and be instructed to use the writing of the fortune as the theme for their creative story writing. Examples of possible fortunes include: “The best mirror is often a good friend,” “Your mind is filled with new ideas. Make use of them” and “You will be successful through innovation and determination.” This could also be adapted to where students (or teachers) write their own sentence(s) on paper, put it into a hat, and have students draw one out from which to write stories from. That suggestion is for schools that have financial difficulties. Furthermore, after the initial creative writing assignment students will be instructed to use their fortunes as the themes or tag lines in producing creative media. Ask students to script ideas for commercials that will do one of two things: 1) Use the fortune line as the tag line for the commercial or 2) Convey the same message in a theoretical way that is still clear to viewers while at the same time promoting a product. Depending on the time constraints of your unit, you might consider allowing students to film their ideas or storyboard them to present to the class.

“p.s. - I love you”

Context/Description:

Friday night I was invited to go with my roommate and her fiancé to the Dollar theater here in Provo. I said I’d love to. They took me with them to see the film “P.S. - I Love You” which is rated “PG-13.”

Analysis:

This movie is rated “PG-13” for “Pretty Gay.” I don’t recommend anyone to go see it. I’ll never watch it again, but it gave me a lot to think about.

Apart from the sexuality, the movie had an interesting plot line. The movie is about a young lady (Hillary Swank) who becomes a widow before age 30. Her husband (who died of a tumor) leaves her notes to read to be delivered throughout the next year. They all say at the end of the letters “P.S. - I Love You” except for the very last one which says something like he’ll always love her. Each letter she receives tells her something to do or someone to find and talk to—like clues.

This movie could be therapeutic for women who have lost their partners early or late in life. While I watched the movie I often thought of my Grandmother whose husband passed away in 2005. She’s still mourning his death, but if I had my Grandmother watch this movie she’d probably die of shock.

Lesson Plan Ideas:

I liked the whole sequential letters thing in the movie where it helped Hillary Swank and others to see what had happened in her life. The letters helped her remember the truth of the situations in her life. When we are about to show certain forms of media in the class we often need to get permission from parents or guardians for our students to view or engage with it. I’m guessing that some parents still throw a fuss even after they’ve given permission at what was actually viewed or what was assigned to students in class as homework—especially if their children received a poor grade. In class, after students have viewed or engaged with media (or have completed a test or project), have them write in their class journals about the experience and what they learned or wished they had learned. As parent-teacher conferences draw nearer have students write sequential letters to parents saying why they got the grades they got on certain tests and projects expressing their role in receiving the grade. Consider having them all write “P.S. - I Love You” at the end of those letters drawing from the media. For all students (especially those who are failing or close to it) a lesson on ethos, pathos, and logos at this time might go straight to their hearts when drafting these informational letters.

My mythic hero

Context/Description:

My favorite cartoon is Sailor Moon and my favorite cartoon character is Sailor Jupiter from the television series. This weekend I watched the episode “A Crystal Clear Destiny” and had an assignment where I needed to create a visual of someone that is my mythic hero. I choose Sailor Jupiter as my media subject matter.

Analysis:

In my drawing I created my own form of media advertising. I wish I had a scanner so you could see what I actually drew, but above is a picture of the heroine in general.

My picture shows Sailor Jupiter from the skirt up with one hand clenched into a battle fist and the other elegantly reaching outward. The borders of my advertisement read “Sailor Jupiter (Lightning bolt pic here) My Mythic Hero” and it includes a caption underneath explaining who Sailor Jupiter is.

Sailor Jupiter is a warrior maiden with super powers over the elements of Thunder and Lightning. In her secret identity as Lita Mokoto, she is a great cook, she has a strong independent personality, she is tall, and she’s crazy over reading and boys.

Sailor Jupiter has many parallels to the great Olympian God Zeus. Zeus controlled Thunder and Lightning, he was the strongest of the gods (just as Lita is the strongest of the Sailor Scouts), and Zeus was girl crazy—but to the sexual extent.

Personally, Sailor Jupiter possesses many qualities and characteristics that I value. And I’ve always dreamed of making a live action film about her and the other Sailor Scouts.

Lesson Plan Ideas:

We all have heroes, but what is a hero? What makes a hero? Why might we view President Washington as a hero but not others who have followed in his stead? Teach about the rhetorical concept of heroes as a motif from literature and media portrayals. How does perspective either change or shape our views of a hero? Why, for example, is Hercules invulnerable in Media but subject to ghastly fate in Literature? Why does the media give heroes timelessness and a digital immortality beyond the written word? Have students create an artwork depicting their mythic heroes. They should then accompany the image with a 2-3 page paper explaining why it is their hero and how the media has or has not influenced their decision in that selective process of defining their hero.