Final Essay

There were so many aspects of this class that I found engaging.  One of the things I enjoyed was the focus on symbolism.  The aspect about symbolism that sparked my interest was how one story can relate to another because of the symbols involved.  For example, when we read Goblin Market, we saw how fruit was a constant in the poem and it's purpose can relate to the story of Creation - as it was forbidden.  I also loved the story of Macbeth even though we did not read the whole play, it gave me a new found interest in Shakespeare that was not rattled in high school.  I liked finding an image and a video that related to Macbeth, and picking out the symbols there and breaking it down.  Professor X's lecture also was exceptional, and I would LOVE to take her class if I had the time.  She definitely had the wheels turning in my brain in explaining Macbeth to us.  I also enjoyed Coraline very much, and how the "Scottish Play" ended up being mentioned (whether that was intentional or not) made it fit nicely into this class.  The book was a fun read and only wish that Neil Gaiman could have made an adult version that could be scarier.... that would be great!  Every blog that I wrote for this class was something interesting that I wanted to write about, except for the "About Me," portion - only because I think it is a bit difficult for me to write about myself.

The blog entry that I enjoyed very much came from a student in another class:  Thibaut Black.  His video was funny, informative, and kept me interested the entire 7 minutes.  I think it took him a lot of work, but in the end he did a great job.  He probably blew all the students out of the water with his creativity - very cool.  In our class, my second choice of who did a great job would be Benjamin Chivas.  Because I watch reality TV shows like Ghost Adventures, and Paranormal State, I was excited to see what he had made for his presentation since I already knew what an EVP was.  I enjoyed the EVP explanation,as well as how you could do it yourself if you wanted to.  The scare element of the ghost sounds gave it a nice, chilling touch.  I think the class needed to be scared a little for it to live up to it's title!

Overall, I feel that this class was interesting the entire time.  I never got bored and I enjoyed blogging.  I feel like it is an innovative way to teach, and that more teachers should get with it!  I also think it would be especially helpful with younger students who relate to technology another level that older students do not.  Dr. Smith, you are very good at what you do!!! I will miss this class very much.  Thank you.  I had a great time being a part of it!

Lesson Plan Final Project

My final project is a lesson plan on theme, symbols, and archetypes.  You will find that I have a Lesson Plan Outline to show how I set it up and a Slide Presentation on what I would show in class.  If you click on each link it should open up with my work shown.



Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089469/synopsis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_(film)
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/misc/cecmisc/cecmisc001.html
http://scene-india.blogspot.com/2010/07/lilith-first-wife-of-adam.html

Entry 4.2 - Final Project Update

So far, I am finishing up my lesson plan which is including a slide presentation.  I am almost done and I just have to incorporate finishing touches to "tidy" it up.  It will be done next week on time.

Entry 4.1 - Final Project Update

My Lesson plans is geared toward college students and following the archetypes and symbols that come up in the movie. If you view the movie clip, you can see the character known as "The Prince of Darkness," who can symbolize a demon, devil, Satan, et cetera. Also the woman character, known as "Princess Lily," can be viewed as Eve from the story of Creation, or Lillith in Judaism.  I'm finding a lot of research information and it's a little difficult to keep it specific because there are so many avenues I can go on for this movie and it's topic. 

Entry 3.5: The Meaning of Monsters

The Meaning of Monsters

    Monsters in literature have been evident since people have had religion in their lives in my opinion.  We can examine this by looking at history, religion, culture and comparing it to a modern work like Coraline, by Neil Gaiman.  

In the past and present times, religion has always had a strong division of good and evil.  The good is always honest, pure, courageous, and naive while the evil has a dark, deceitful, dishonest, and trickster side.  When we look at the character Coraline in the book Coraline, we can observe all these good things in her and the evil “other” side shows the opposite.  Religion always sets a tone for the “unknown,” whether it be good or bad which can cause our imaginations to run wild.  Going all the way back to mythology, gods and goddesses had specific powers set to them and there were good and bad differences among them.  We can say that example was played out in Coraline, with her normal side; regular parents and neighbors,  and the other side; her other (evil) parents and neighbors.  The concept of the other parents looking like her real parents but not actually, gives them the trickster aspect of evil.  In the end of the story, Coraline realizes that the other mother actually looks nothing like her real mother.  Another example of trickery in Coraline would be when the other mother shows Coraline a image of her real parents in the mirror displaying that they are much happier without her even though deep down Coraline knows this is not true.  Again, this can be traced back to religion when we think of the story of Creation, and how the serpent tricked Eve into eating the apple.  In most literature, even in the Bible, I have noticed two things:  a fight between good and evil, and good always seeming to prevail.  When we read a story or watched a movie and good does not overcome evil, it ends up leaving me unsettled because essentially, we all want a hero to come out on top.  

Culturally, we like to have a fantasy side that shows evil as some kind of monster.  I think we do this because we have a fear of the unknown and if we see something like a shadow moving, we automatically assume that there must be a monster hiding in our closet.  We assign these shadows as monsters and we create works like Coraline that give a “fake” truth to things we cannot explain.  Otherwise, what could it possibly be?  Our fantasies mixed in with religious beliefs, dreams, fears, and a splash of the occult cause us to write great stories about monsters.  In the end of Coraline, she becomes free of the other mother and realizes that the other mother’s hand is still following her.  It reminded me of the Addam’s Family character “Thing,” who was not a bad hand at all.  On the same note, it makes you wonder where in our history or religion that a mythical hand might have came from? Another idea of this hand is in the cult classic 1980s horror flick The Evil Dead.  They all can apparently see (the hands), and want to do harm (except for “Thing,” because the Addam’s Family was a comedy) to whomever got it removed.  What I find interesting about all monsters in our literature is that most of them get recycled and repeated.  How many werewolf and vampire movies, stories, television shows have been created?  I realize that the story lines are different, however, the same monsters seem to be brought to light.  Again, I believe this comes from history, religion, and culture which cause us to believe some of these monsters actually exist.

Personally, I enjoy supernatural stories the best.  I feel like it is a way for my mind to let go of concrete thinking, and enjoy the depths of something from another world that may or may not exist - and a way to scare yourself!  Monsters may have not actual basis for validity however, ghost, apparitions, and/or spirits are a constant question in our lives.  I like the fact that Coraline contained those elements with the three ghosts behind the mirror which gave it a more realistic twist than just a made up monster on the other side.  Rationally, the idea of ghosts being “real” depends on the person - but I do believe!!!!         

Entry 3.4 My Project

1.  My idea for my project is to produce a lesson plan based on the the 1985 movie "Legend."  The lesson plan will ask for the main character's archetypes, as well as how the themes relate to other subjects like religion.
2.  So far, I have checked to see other sample lesson plans, and even emailed my friend who is a teacher to see how she goes about setting it up.  I have also seen this movie plenty of times so I know it pretty well, however, I did look up a synopsis and some Youtube clips for ideas on what I can extend on.
3.  The steps that I am taking to get it done are doing more research to keep the ideas flowing to keep it interesting and supernatural. I want Dr. Smith to maybe want to use it in a class one day so I am trying to make it as realistic as possible!
4.  I would like to have this done the first week of December because I have some heavy subjects to study for and if I could get an assignment out of the way, that would benefit me.  So I am working vigorously to finish it early.
5.  My only anticipated problems with this assignment is that I have never done this before and that makes me feel a little vulnerable, however, I am having fun with the assignment.

Entry 3.3 Project Ideas

-Cartoon Movie Trailer on either the movie "Legend" or "Labyrinth"
-Lesson Plan based on either movie & its archetypes
-Fanpage made for either movie
-Music video for either movie