Tag: short story

Animal Farm: Propaganda

by D. Marolla


Chapter 7 begins with a cold winter. It’s really bad.  Food is supplies are low:

Witness:

Notice the key sentence: “It was vitally necessary to conceal this fact from the outside world.” Answer: (20 pts)

  • Why was it necessary to ‘conceal’ this fact?
  • Wasn’t one of the promises to the animals that things would be BETTER for the animals with Jones gone? Explain the situation please.

Reading: Chapter VII

The power of Rhetoric and its use in Propaganda:

  • Please explain how Bernays was able to get a nation with millions of women to make smoking “acceptable”. Is there a parallel to Animal Farm? (10 points)

The 3 questions today will be graded as homework, as we’ll be discussing concepts in class and reading.

——————————————————

Here’s how you can help me out during The Collapse:

You can send me Bitcoin Cash (BCH) here:

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

QUIZ – “Runaway Train” Scene / PLOT Analysis

by D. Marolla

Learning Target: Themes in  in “Runaway Train” with some further analysis.

Do Now (20 points QUIZ): 2 Scenes analyzed:

1)      “The ‘itty bitty spot” scene. What, on the surface, is Manny saying to Buck? In the second half of the scene, what is the deeper meaning of what he is saying, particularly the part where he says he ‘wishes he could’. Explain in at least one well developed paragraph. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTdjoA8HeAM

2)      “No, worse – human!” scene.   There are many layers to this scene. Explain what the message / theme is. What did Manny mean when he said this to Sara? Then, pay particular attention to how Sara eventually reacts, what she is screaming for Buck to do. Put your reactions in writing. You may want to take notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnNZTo8aYHs

Discussion:

Ending quote from Shakespeare’s “Richard III”

ANNE: Villain, you don’t know the laws of God or of man. Even the fiercest wild animal has some touch of pity.
RICHARD: But I know none, and therefore am no beast.

——————————————————

Here’s how you can help me grift:

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

Theme and Characterization in “Runaway Train” – CONCLUSION

by D. Marolla

There is no new written work today.  We are finishing the movie.

As we watch, please analyze the following things about “Runaway Train”:

  • What is the THEME?

Characters to watch:

  • Manny
  • Buck
  • Warden Rankin
  • Frank Barstow
  • Sara

Tomorrow we will have questions and answers about these things, so please watch closely.  There is also an unorthodox, somewhoat IRONIC twist at the end.

——————————————————

Here’s how you can help me grift:

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

Leverage – What it is and How to Use it

by D. Marolla

Today we have a short video.  We will connect it to “2081” and “Harrison Bergeron”.  

Think about the concepts involved when talking about how so few people are able to control so many. 

Due Monday (Homework – 20 points):

  • If you were to comment on this video, what would your comment be?

——————————————————
Here’s how you can help me grift (hey everyone else is doing it):

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

Asch Conformity Experiment: Psychology and ‘Harrison Bergeron’

by D. Marolla

Learning Target: “Harrison Bergeron” and its literary connection to Psychology and Today.

Directions: Which of the two lines match the one on the left? A, B, or C?

It’s obvious that the answer is A. Discuss

Read, Review and Discuss the following explanation of the Asch Conformity Experiment:

https://infogalactic.com/info/Asch_conformity_experiments

————————————————-

Going along with the crowd is a powerful force. Remember George Bergeron:

“You been so tired lately-kind of wore out,” said Hazel. “If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few.”

“Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out,” said George. “I don’t call that a bargain.”

“If you could just take a few out when you came home from work,” said Hazel. “I mean-you don’t compete with anybody around here. You just sit around.”

“If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people’d get away with it-and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”

He is going along with the crowd, as well as following Authority.

Watch and analyze the following video, and answer the following 2 questions (20 points): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrtqBpgPjiw

1)      What did you learn from the video “How to Crack the Conformity?”

2)      How easy or difficult is it for YOU to go against conformity or peer pressure? Are you George Bergeron …? Or are you more like Harrison Bergeron?

Non-Fiction Psychological Connection – the Milgram Experiment

by D. Marolla

Obedience to Authority – connection to the Milgram Experiment.

George Bergeron is willing to give up his independence because a government official tells him to. How, or why, do people give up and surrender their freedoms and rights to figures of authority? Is the character George realistic?

Figures of authority:

·         Teachers

·         Politicians

·         Government officials

·         Doctors (anyone with a lab coat)

·         Lawyers and judges

·         School officials / administrators

·         Religious leaders

·         Celebrities – Sports and Hollywood

Questions for today (20 points):

  1. Would you electrocute someone with a killing voltage if one of the above people told you to, or suggested you should?
  2. Why do many of us blindly listen to authority?

The Milgram experiment analyzed this question.

Videos for today to help you with your analysis of George Bergeron, and our Obedience to Authority:

The Original Milgram Experiment:

Derren Brown in Britain does a modern version of the Milgram Experiment:

Curiosity: How Evil Are You? | The Milgram Experiment

——————————————————
Here’s how you can help me grift (hey everyone else is doing it):

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!


Non-Fiction – Privacy Today and in 2081

by D. Marolla

Learning Target: How the idea of being ‘watched’, like in “Harrison Bergeron”, makes people self-regulate and control their own behavior. 

George Bergeron, and most of the people in “Harrison Bergeron” and “2081” are afraid to take of their handicaps and be free and unequal.  They feel that they are being watched, and their handicaps transmit and sound an alarm if they are removed.

Review the short film “2081” and the short story and then answer (20 points):

  • How does the idea of being watched, and the fact that the government will know, make people control themselves and limit their behavior?  Use the ideas about the importance of privacy in the Glenn Greenwald video below.  Also think about the Panopticon video we saw the other day.

George getting zapped – keeping him from his intelligence and memories:

Harrison removes his handicaps – sounds an alarm:

Video: Glenn Greenwald explains the importance of privacy: Why Privacy Matters:

——————————————————
Here’s how you can help me grift (hey everyone else is doing it):

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

“2081” Film Review – (QUIZ)

by D. Marolla

Yesteday we watched a film version of “Harrison Bergeron” called “2081”.

The film is here: https://www.teaching2081.org/

The story is here: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

There were some differences (adaptations) between the two media:

In the film:

  • Harrison threatens the crowd with a bomb.
  • He has a transmitter to show everyone who is oppressing them.
  • Harrison makes a speech.
  • There were some dialogue changes / switches.

Learning Target: Writing a critical review and compare – contrast piece.

Today: Write a 1 to 2 paragraph review of the film “2081”.  In explaining your point of view, give details about the story and / or the differences with the text.  Did the changes work?  Was the film better … or worse?  Why? (1 paragraph minimum please)

Helping your understanding of the adaptation of the story into a film – “A Tale of Two Harrisons“:

How does character analysis (characterization) help thematic understanding? 2081

by D. Marolla

Story Review: Key Quote: George Bergeron: “If I tried to get away with it, the other people’d get away with it, and pretty soon we’d be right back to the Dark Ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else.” 

Today: 1) Watch the short film, “2081”, and 2) the supplemental video: “Should People Resist Oppression?”

https://www.teaching2081.org/watch-the-film

https://www.teaching2081.org/supplementary-videos

Please answer the 2 following questions (20 points)

  1. Why are people (George) afraid of or having a negative opinion of ‘competition’? “Competition is a sin” – J. D. Rockefeller 
  2. Watch George Bergeron, Harrison’s father, during the video version “2081”.  He is allowing himself to be held back (handicapped).  Is he doing the right thing by following these 2081 laws?

We will write a review tomorrow of the short film “2081”

——————————————————
Here’s how you can help me grift (hey everyone else is doing it):

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!

The Message Within “Harrison Bergeron”

by D. Marolla

Learning Target: What is Vonnegut’s message in the short story “Harrison Bergeron”?

Story Link: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

Today’s Classwork (Due Monday – 20 points):

  1. Certain systems (communism / socialism) promise the ‘end of class structure’ and the ‘equality of all people’. Why is this a dangerous concept?  Explain using what you read in “Harrison Bergeron”.
  2. What is required to make everyone equal (in the story or anywhere else)?

Listen: 9:16-15:01

In Class Mini-Lesson: “Do We Need Equality”? Watch and use to help discuss and explore today’s 2 questions.

https://www.teaching2081.org/supplementary-videos#form

The Panopticon: How they watch everyone, including George Bergeron, to make sure he does as he’s told:

——————————————————

My Udemy classes are here – extremely low price and you have them forever.

I also sell custom made mugs. I’ll do personalized orders as well. They are all made in the United States – in Pennsylvania.

All of the mugs are here on Gearbubble. These are made in the USA, and if you don’t want to contribute to Amazon’s record profits during this time of CV19, the Gearbubble link is the one to use. Thank you!