An excellent final project from a student in my Spring 2012 Folklore Fieldwork course.

great collection of info, writing, and resources from a folklore prof.

"Native Americans have long struggled for accurate representation in media, particularly in film. Whether the uncredited performances of the “documentary” Nanook of the North or the familiar racism of traditional Westerns, Indigenous cultures have rarely been given much truthful, let alone positive, attention. However, Native people have been slowly cultivating their own voice in film, and that voice is what Dr. Joanna Hearne has spent her academic career studying." /// also features a great collection of related links and resources

But while there are some interesting interpretations of racial stereotypes (white girls eat chips, black girls eat Cheetos, Asian girls eat Pocky, and I couldn’t quite make out what was on the bag in the Spanish video) and some annoyingly persistent gender stereotypes (CAN NO ONE USE A COMPUTER WITHOUT ASSISTANCE?!?! Oh wait, Spanish girls can.) I’m a bit more interested in the aftermath when people started using the meme for social commentary. While there were definitely people using the meme to advance their racist opinions of certain groups of people say, without the wink-nudge insider cred that the above videos rely on to be funny, the meme started mutating, turning the stereotypes in on themselves

The whole film!

Storyboard samples and tutorials for film and animation students.

First, I do not “take off” points. You earn them. The difference is not merely rhetorical, nor is it trivial. In other words, you start with zero points and earn your way to a grade. You earn a grade in (say) Econ 100 for demonstrating that you have gained a degree of competence in economics ranging from being able to articulate the basic principles (enough to earn a C) to mastery and the ability to apply these principles to day-to-day affairs (which will earn an A).

how not to do race in a sitcom

use for ethnography course?

awesome discussions of The Shining

Also published in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. For ethnography, ethics, doing fieldwork in the family.

For all of Ron Swanson's meme-worthy one-liners, all the raillery between Tom Haverford and Jean-Ralphio, and the surprisingly charming love story between April and Andy, Parks and Rec succeeds because the show exudes affection for the townspeople without idealizing them. It's a show where being from a small town, the South, or a  Red State doesn't necessarily make you dumb, any more than it inevitably makes you magically more in tune with nature. On Parks and Rec , living in a place like Pawnee doesn't make you anything necessarily, except an American. Even if, like Leslie Knope, you come from a family with two dads.

"The easiest ways for TV to deal with gender differences (like race or anything else) is to ignore them or obsess over them. What’s tougher, and what Up All Night has been pulling off well (even if it’s still finding its way as a comedy) is treating them as simply one factor among many, sometimes more important than others."

by Rob Foreman!

Amazing and in depth look at costuming in Inception. "This costume is perfectly suited (pun totally intended) to the physical demands of this sequence. The trousers are cut narrowly so that baggy fabric doesn't indicate gravity when there isn't supposed to be any; cuffing the shirt at his wrists fulfills the same function for his arms. The dark vest would be perfect for hiding the harness necessary to do the wire work - and the contrasting lightness of the shirt draws our eyes from any tell-tale signs on his torso that he's wearing one."

Wow, these jokes are kinda mean to PROFESSION MEMBERS! - No man, they're all in fun! (Use for folk humor lesson)

In which John discusses the absolute insanity of front yards. Turf grass is the biggest irrigated crop in the US; we irrigate grass almost exclusively with drinkable water; also, you will be surprised to learn that grass is INEDIBLE.

History of social activism knitting.

Variation and actually creation legends about superheros - in general, good job, Hank Green, on implicitly showing the connection between folklore processes, worldview and popular culture!

I explain to them that when they fail to integrate their quotations, GOD KILLS A KITTEN.

One doesn't want to be too much of a cultural chauvinist, but this seemed completely wrong to me...When asked how he got from Turkey to the North Pole, Oscar told me with complete conviction that Saint Nicholas currently resides in Spain, which again is simply not true...On top of that, aside from a few pleasantries, Santa doesn't speak Spanish. He knows enough to get by, but he's not fluent, and he certainly doesn't eat tapas.

So awesome. Totally sweet you guys.

Great for film studies!

The idea is that the camera is situated by and for men!

An introduction, annotated shooting script, and original novella with illustrations for Rian Johnson's film BRICK.

good stuff

FlowTV is a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Flow’s mission is to provide a space where the public can discuss the changing landscape of contemporary media.

I am unenlightened as to the degree to which the excellent techne is familiar with Komen’s misogynist underpinnings; even if she is like most Americans and views Komen as benign, she’s approprately sickened by this explicitly brazen manifestation of the true status of women in American society. It is not without wry indignation that techne remarks “Gee I know! Let’s raise awareness of breast cancer research by putting a violent message on a headless female torso!”

John Green's health care video on thought bubble

Cover story from 1967 about Bonnie & Clyde (among other films)

Original theatrical trailer. Great illustration for optical effects (teaching editing - transitions).

resource for film stars from 1940s and earlier, some screen stills.

Book companion site - resources for instructors and students.

ScreenSite facilitates the teaching and research of film/TV/new media and is designed principally for educators and students.

If you're satisfied with the assignments, policies, and course plans you've used before, then there's no need to do a big remodel. But if there's something that you'd like to do differently, then the following posts should offer some ideas for thinking through the pedagogical implications as well as some practical how-to advice.

for use in comp classes

Great example of audience/genre/purpose analysis - good for teaching rhetorical analysis!

I'm a GUY with OPINIONS who I guess FARTS while he SLEEPS

Another John Green video that could be good for teaching comp.

But I know how to read an argument and determine whether it has any internal logic to it, and this one just ... doesn't.

Best how-to EVER. Up with the time traveler's shirt.

Again, for lessons on revision: The volume of Obama's editing is unusual but not unheard of. The quality of his editing is exceptional for a public figure. Think of just one sentence in the shot above. The original says "This has always been our history." Obama changes it to, "This has always been the history of our progress." A different, more interesting, and more original-sounding thought. As people in my business say: You know, if things had turned out differently, he could've been a writer! (Yes, yes, I know that he was..)

Photo - use for lessons on strategies for revision

"Are we so different?...Looking through the eyes of history, science and lived experience, the RACE Project explains differences among people and reveals the reality – and unreality – of race. The story of race is complex and may challenge how we think about race and human variation, about the differences and similarities among people."

The step in the hiring process after the interview.

Amazing resource.

Amazing! The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

"Show a lot of things happening at once, remind everyone of what's going on..." Includes Team America, Battleship Potempkin, The Godfather, Notre Musique, The Parallax View.

Writing is rewriting, aka give yourself permission to suck.

For rhetorical advertising analysis

An Analysis Of Lady Gaga's New Vid - Lady gaga bad romance video -

A Journal of Undergraduate Writing at the University of Missouri

And just show a lot of things happenin' at once.
Remind everyone of what's goin' on. (What's goin' on?)
And with every shot, show a little improvement
To show it won't take too long.
That's called a montage. (Montage)

Best ever anything about writing and deadlines. "“If I start writing now when I’m not very rested it could upset my thinking which is not good at all I’ll get a fresh start tomorrow and it’s not due til Wednesday so I’ll have all of Tuesday unless something should happen why does this always happen I should be outside playing getting fresh air and sunshine I work best under pressure and there’ll be lots pressure if I wait til tomorrow I should start writing now but if I start writing now when I’m not really rested it could upset my thinking which is not good at all…”

Stephen Asma finds striking similarities between "green living" and traditional religion: orthodoxy (recycling, using paper or cloth grocery bags), spiritual practice (reducing one's carbon footprint), sin (plastic grocery bags, driving an SUV), enemy infidels (oil company execs, anti-regulation politicians), a coming apocalypse (climate change), high priests and prophets (the "Goracle"), and so on.

Books on teaching with/about/through/around gender, available for free download.

[maybe use for parody/humorous arguments class?] Many journalists have come to think of the comedian as a kind of external standards-and-practices cop — and one whose nightstick leaves painfully embarrassing welts, says NBC anchor Brian Williams. He explains why no journalist wants to show up on The Daily Show unless he's got a book to promote.

When the basic content is good, but the syllabus could be more user (for both student and prof) friendly.