Embedded Files
"Anyone can wear the mask. If you didn't know that before I hope you do now. I'm Spiderman - but I'm not the only one."
--Miles Morales, Into The Spiderverse (2018 Movie)
Inquiry Questions
Factual
How common are Hero's Journey stories in modern media?
Who is Alison Bechdel & how does her research relate?
Debatable
To what extent do popular hero stories present gender / race in an equitable manner?
Are Marvel / Disney movies good for our culture?
Conceptual
What does a hero look like?
Who decides who gets to wear the capes?
Useful Online Resources:
Fandom.com is a resource for information related to film, game, TV show, and other medium franchises. The website tagline is: "the world's largest fan wiki platform."
A searchable database of movie scripts. These can enhance your presentation. Show us your Hero's words.
This website is great tool for verifying the a movie has been deemed appropriate for your age level.
IMDB is a great resource for basic movie information (release date, rating, cast list, etc). This link is to a list of Joseph Campbell / Hero's Journey movies.
Who / What is A Hero?
TV Tropes is great resource for all things related to pop culture or the study of literature including TV shows, movies, novels, & games. Access the TV Tropes or this list on the IMDB website to explore the central character of the hero by clicking the photo (left).
A fun little website about all things related to visual stories (TV or Movies). Use the "Spoilers" toggle switch to turn on/off spoilers. Try the "random trope" generator.
REPRESENTATION: Seeing Ourselves on Screen Matters
Teens Discuss Representation
Topic: Teens Discuss Why Representation Matters To Them
Q: What is 1 take away from one teen's personal perspective?
Q: What is 1 take away about what representation means to our culture?
Is It Time For A Black Superman?
Topic: Star Wars Actor Discussed in relation to Representation
Q: What does this anecdote illustrate about the importance of representation (seeing ourselves on screen)?
Topic: Villains With Visible Differences in Movies
Q: What is 1 take away from one teen's personal perspective?
Q: What is 1 take away about what visible differences in movie villain means to our culture?
Topic: Kindergartners React Strongly to Wonder Woman movie
Q: Which Kindergartener reaction do you find most notable?
Representation: Race
Marvel Introduces Their First Official Chinese Superheroes
“Fear of a Minority Superhero: Marvel’s Obsession with White Guys Saving the World”
Why A Black 'Superman' movie could be bigger than 'Black Panther'
The Complicated Case For A Black Superman
Representation: Gender
“Guardians of the Galaxy” passes the Bechdel test, still fails women
Black Widow Began as a Sexist Stereotype. More Than a Decade Later, Scarlett Johansson Is Reclaiming Her Story
What the Rise & Fall of the Cinderella Fairy Tale Means for Real Women Today
She-Ra & The Princess Of Power Vs The Bechdel Test
Extension- Flipping the POV: Villain-Centered Stories
How Monsters Went From Menacing to Misunderstood
What We Talk About When We Talk About Evil Superman
Love It Or Hate It The Joker Movie Presents A Tempting Fantasy
Children's Fairy Tales?
(ABOVE) Are the ancient familiar fairytales, oral folktales put to paper by two German academics (the Grimm brothers) in the mid 1800s, just simple stories for children or are they allegories for something more?
Unit 1 Shared Doc HERE (BELOW) Fairy Tales PDFs
The Bechdel Test - Everything You Need To Know.mp4The Bechdel Test: Fairy Tales
As part of our wider discussion of Representation, let's apply Alison Bechdel's "Bechdel Test" to our critical reading of some well known fairytales to assess their depiction of female characters and gender stereotypes. Are there two females present? Do they have names? Do they talk about anything other than men or boys or relationships?
The Incredible Hulk (CBS)- Does a male-led superhero story from 1978 have any chance of passing the Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test: Gender
As part of our wider discussion of Representation, let's apply the standard version of Alison Bechdel's "Bechdel Test" to our critical viewing of some popular modern tv shows to assess their level of representation of gender.
She Hulk (Disney+)- Will a 2022 produced female-led superhero story stand a good chance of passing the bechdel test?
Blackish (Netflix)- A popular show with a mostly black cast but it's about race so does it pass the Bechdel Test?
The Bechdel Test: Race
As part of our wider discussion of Representation, let's apply the race / ethnicity version of Alison Bechdel's "Bechdel Test" to our critical viewing of some popular modern tv shows to assess their level of representation of various races & ethnicities.
Star Trek Discovery (Netflix)- Do Sci-fi or fantasy shows have a better chance with the race bechdel test?
Implicit Bias
Blink PDF.pdf(ABOVE) Malcolm Gladwell discusses implicit biases in this extract from his best selling non-fiction book Blink.
Our SOI is "Seeing ourselves represented in Hero stories is important."
One of the reasons why this is true is because diverse heroes help us break through our implicit biases.
Implicit biases are built from years of subconscious learning from adverts, fashion, games, movies, books, & other stimuli society presents us with from a very early age.
Harvard Project Implicit
(ABOVE) Harvard University Project Implicit has 14 tests you can take to see if you have implicit biases (spoiler alert- you do!). Click HERE to register and take the tests.
(ABOVE) Examples & Exemplars from previous years can be found here in our Unit 1 Drive.
Grade 2 Student Interviews - Implicit Bias Association Tests
Hypothesis: 8 year old children already have implicit biases toward certain types of Heroes & Princesses due to their media consumption / the pervasiveness of stereotypes in our culture.
Do you think Grade 2s have knowledge of Marvel & DC Super Heroes or Disney Princesses?
Do you think cultural stereotypes or biases toward men as the default heroes have already set in?
With a partner create a series of association tests or games for interviewing G2s over two sessions (with reflection & refinement before repetition in Session 2).
Following these experiences, complete a Journal Entry that you may choose to submit in your portfolio.
Optional Extensions:
(ABOVE) Gladwell discusses why the 90s TV Show 'Friends' is "deeply misleading". In Talking To Strangers he relates this to the case of Amanda Knox a young American girl wrongly accused of murdering her roommate in Italy (MORE HERE).
The key concepts to take away here: 'Mismatched' & the fact that humans are terrible at reading others' emotions with any reliability.
Malcolm Galdwell
(ABOVE) Check out any of the above nonfiction books written by Gladwell. Each are thought-provoking, fascinating, & worth your time.
Gladwell on the Sandra Bland Case
Sandra Bland was a Black American driver who was pulled over by a white police officer (for no good reason), harassed, arrested, & she then committed suicide in jail.
Jason Ng A&E style writing.pdfMovie Reviews
Why do we read movie reviews?
What do we expect to find in a movie review?
How do we balance fact with opinion? Which do readers want?
What is the role of research when creating a movie review?
What is the role of context when creative a movie review?
What should be discussed in a movie review? Story, Acting, Director? Music? Costumes? Connections to other works? Comparisons to other works? Should the writer make a final Rating or Judgement on the success of the movie?
Using the Movie Review websites below, work with a partner (or alone), to pick a movie you are familiar with, find a movie review for this same movie on 3/4 of our chosen movie review websites (below). Read each review and find it's various elements. With your partners, complete 3 rows of the table on our Unit 1 Shared Doc HERE.
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