Response to I'm So Totally, Digitally, Close to You

After reading Clive Thompson's article "I'm so Totally, Digitally, Close to You", I became much more aware of the impact of Facebook upon my daily interactions. This article made me realize how odd it seems that I know everything about all of my friends through my "News Feed" without directly interacting with them. This troubled me, as I realized that this takes away the event of becoming reacquainted with my friends when I haven't seen them for an extended amount of time.

Although I enjoy perusing through online updates regarding what my friends are up to, I am concerned that human communication is becoming too focused upon instant information. I am reminded of the negative effect this has upon human interactions each time I am having lunch with a friend who constantly checks Facebook and Twitter updates on a cell phone. These updates eventually evolve from an interruption into the dictating topic of conversation. Therefore, I worry that by obsessing over online social news updates, we are failing to interact with the people directly in front of us, who, in most cases, are much more pertinent to our current lives than our digital friends, whom we watch from afar.

Contemporary Film Review of Toe to Toe

1. Personal Issues: In Toe to Toe, the element that struck me the most was the affect of Jesse’s lack of a mother figure. I responded with emotion toward this element because I come from a large, closely-kinit family, for which I feel a great deal of affection and pride. I believe that the general audience of this film will connect with this element, as many people hold their family or their closest friends, whom they often refer to as family, as the driving forces in their lives, and they would sympathize for Jesse as well.
2. Technique: I feel that this film was strong in its integration of sound effects, mood-setting music, interesting and plot-relevant dialogue, and detailed editing. Its greatest strength, in my opinion, was the camera work, as unique camera angles were incorporated. An example of this is the scene in which the camera pulls away from over Tosha as she lies in the grass after being beaten up by a neighborhood bully. This presented a view of her despair that the naked eye could not provide.
3. Acting: The principle roles of this film were Jesse and Tosha. I feel that the roles of these individuals were generally type-cast, as they Jesse was cast to represent a White, teenaged girl and Tosha was cast to represent a Black, teenaged girl. However, this was not the only aspect that made their characters believable, as both actors did a wonderful job of acting.
4. Plot: In Toe to Toe, two teenage girls from different worlds battle social pressures, adversity, and the anxiety of what their futures will bring. I feel that this plot is very unique, as it voices the truth behind tragic teenage struggles, rather than the happy-go-lucky lifestyles often portrayed through young-adult characters.
5. Themes: The main theme in this film surrounds the pressure of growing up. Although the film presents the affects of social pressures and cultural expectations upon teenagers, a deeper message provided by the film is that our reactions to the situations in our lives define us and lead to great consequences.
6. Genre: Toe to Toe fits with the genre of drama, as this film presents deeply emotional and controversial topics. I believe that this is a popular genre because it presents stories with which audience members can empathize. Further, dramas appeal to viewers’ emotions with a human-interest spin to a story.
7. Representation: This film presents a significant difference between poverty and wealth, as Jesse is provided a stable, comfortable surrounding environment while Tosha is portrayed to live in a low-income community, where her mother struggles to pay the household bills. Through this depiction of poverty, the film also portrays the Black lifestyle as one filled with adversity and struggle. Additionally, the film portrays the White lifestyle as one of comfort and instant gratification.
8. Ideology: By presenting the concepts of racial inequality in schools, this film challenges the institution of American education. Additionally, this film confirms that the life of a teenager is a pivotal period in an individual’s development, which often presents a great amount of pressure upon teenagers. Finally, Toe to Toe challenges American parenthood by presenting Jesse’s mother as a non-existent figure in her life.

Reaction to the Cleveland International Film Festival

On Sunday, March 21, I attended the Cleveland International Film Festival with a group of my Multi-Modal Literacies classmates. As I drove a car-full of my peers to Cleveland, I was very excited for the road trip. However, when I got to Cleveland, I missed a detour leading to the parking garage, and my adventure became stressful. Regardless, after some instinctual driving and the reassurance of my passengers, we arrived at Tower City Mall in a matter of 10 extra minutes.

Before viewing our film, my classmates and I dined at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was a great opportunity to interact with my cohorts in a way that I do not normally have the chance to enjoy. The food was great, and the conversations were just as enjoyable.

After lunch, we made our way to the theater to purchase our tickets ahead of time. Leading up to this moment, I was determined to see the film Bomber, a comedy which caught my eye in the festival's catalog. However, after purchasing a stand-by ticket and waiting in line for a chance to see the film, a man admitting people into the theater notified us that Bomber filled two theaters. Panicked, as we had planned on seeing this film, my classmates and I rushed to another film that had begun 5 minutes earlier, Toe to Toe. Although this film was not my initial choice, I was glad that I had the chance to view it. The film was very deep, and it stretched me beyond my level of comfortability, and I enjoyed the experience.

I planned to return to the festival that following Thursday, but a snow storm prevented some friends and I from venturing to Cleveland on the late, snowy night. I was very disappointed, as I enjoyed my experience on Sunday and hoped to share the same experience with another group of friends. Thus, I plan to return to the Cleveland International Film Festival next year and for several other years to follow.

Reflection on the Costanzo Text

Upon reading Costanzo's Great Films and How to Teach Them, my life as a film viewer has changed. When I used to watch films, I would pay specific attention to nothing but the events unfolding and some of the underlying meanings of the messages presented by films. However, now that I have read about and understand the tools of lighting, camera works, and sound, I have found myself dissecting the films I have viewed. Although this approach could fade, I feel that by viewing films this way deepens my appreciation of what I'm watching.

When I was completing my Film Review exercise from the Costanzo textbook, I watched The Godfather with my father. As I have never seen this film, I was also viewing it for a source of entertainment. One thing I normally do while watching a film is make comments about what is unfolding in the film, normally in the form of a response. I do not do this very frequently when viewing a film, but rather, I will audibly respond to something that intrigues me. This is normally along the lines of "Wow... I can't believe that happened!" or "That's hilarious!" However, when I was watching The Godfather, I mentioned to my father that I really admired the unique camera angles in the film. Perplexed by my statement, my father simply agreed and returned to his viewing. Little did he know, that moment was pivotal in my development as a critical film viewer.

Response # 3 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 6

As I read chapter 6 of Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I reflected upon when I read the Odyssey during my freshman year at Kent State University. As Dr. Sanders taught my Great books classmates and me about the many characters, he used a diagram similar to the ones provided in the chapter. Additionally, just as explains on page 138-141, Dr. Sanders also had us not only read the novel but also take notes as an expert on one specific book within the Odyssey. By giving the class ownership over the lessons about certain chapters of a book, I noticed that we were not only able to establish a classroom community, but we also learned more about the text by teaching it to one another. Therefore, I found this to be a very effective strategy.

I have heard some of my cohorts explain that they do not agree with this method because it encouraged students to not read the entire novel. However, I disagree with this opinion. From my experience, I noticed that the students who chose to not read the assignments, thinking they could just follow their peers' notes and lessons, were not able to do well on the assessment about the assigned readings. Therefore, no matter who teaches or provides notes about the text, nothing can supplement actually completing reading assignments. Thus, if implemented correctly, this is an effective teaching strategy in the language arts classroom.

Response # 2 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 3

After reading the third chapter of Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I was given a new perspective on teaching literature. At my high school, I was an honors student, and in our honors English classes, writing was focused upon much more than reading. Unfortunately, I did not read many books such as The Odyssey, Beowulf, and The Great Gatsby until I reached my studies at Kent State University. As a result, I have grown to excel in writing, but I often struggle with reading. Although I can read, my pace is slow and my skills are underdeveloped in comparison to many of my peers.

I began to reflect upon this as I read the quote "Great literature deepens our experience, heightens our sensibilities, and matures our judgement," which Jago stated on page 47. This, in coordination with her explanation of how her students read 20 books, made me realize that I was never really challenged to read until I reached college. That being said, I truly struggled at first when I found myself reading several novels in a month. Therefore, I am the embodiment of Jago's aforementioned quote, for if I was asked to stretch my reading ability when I was in high school, I would have been much more prepared for college. This is significant to me, as I will learn from my experiences to ensure that I provide a better opportunity for my students to succeed through reading than I was given by my high school curricula.

Response #1 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 1

Upon reading chapter 1 of Carol Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I was left very troubled. One of the statistics provided on page 9 stated that the "lowest-performing twelfth graders have vocabularies about equal to high-knowledge third graders." Particularly, this fact scared me the most. From the message of this chapter, I feel that it is safe to say that a cause of this statistic is that high school students are not reading enough rich literary texts to develop sophisticated vocabularies. Therefore, this stands as a testament for the first principle listed by Jago, which simply stated, "Students must read."

As this stands as a staple for English education in America, I was even more disturbed by something I heard in Dr. Kist's class today. A teacher from Bosnia was visiting during our class, and when asked about the types of texts she is teaching in her classroom, she explained that the teaching of reading and literature in high schools in Bosnia is not a common practice. Upon hearing that, I was shocked. I couldn't begin to imagine English education without reading literature. This troubles me because without reading rich texts, students' vocabularies tend to suffer, as Jago pointed out in the quote I listed above. Therefore, through this classroom experience and through reading this chapter, I am scared to realize that the issue of inadequate teaching of literature is not only apparent in the United States, but it is a world-wide issue.