Foot: Film Festival Review

Crime After Crime

A.   Personal Issues- This film showcased the life of Debbie Peagler and her unlawful sentence of spending at least 25 years in prison for having her boyfriend killed to get his life insurance. Seeing a lady that looked like she had transformed her life and made something out of herself after what she supposedly did was what hit me strongly. So many times there are people that go to jail and just sit there and then want out on good behavior. If you just sit there everyday knowing that you can get out for behaving for a year, well then everyone would do that.  Debbie took it a step further. She didn’t just sit around. Instead, Debbie was a leader for her church group, instructed people making electrical components, and inspired many other women in the prison. I felt compassion for her because she was trying to do something regardless of what she had done in the past. After 25 years serving and forgiveness from her victims family, I really thought she could be released. The court just kept overturning her case. Everytime there was hope, she was let down. I definitely was moved when the court sent her a letter saying she was going to get out, and then took it back, saying that was not the best choice. This lady was so grateful for her attorneys to try to fight for her case. The most moving part was when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was so hard to see a lady go through the treatments involved with cancer and then have to go back to prison. I know personally of how horrifying the aftermaths of chemotherapy can be from watching my aunt go through breast cancer. I think that other people could easily see my response to the things Debbie had to go through if they have ever had a loved one go through cancer. It’s hard enough to go through cancer at home; it would only be harder in prison. When Debbie was given only eight months to live, I could not understand why the district attorney would not let her out. I highly doubt that she would be focused on anything demeaning, but rather living her last days to the fullest. 

B.  Technique- This was not technically a movie where they acted out the scenes. I am sure that Debbie’s attorneys might have had to rehearse some of the monologues, but for the most part it seemed that things were shot based on how they were occurring. One technique that I really liked was the rolling years that would show before certain scenes. This was more of a documentary, so the years were important and at each important year a black screen would appear with a dial turning to the date. Then, sometimes they would give a short synopsis of what had happened during the time between what was just shown and what would be shown in the next year. The techniques that mattered most were not the different shots the camera gave, but the screen titles of what was happening, the dates that were appearing, and the statistics. The biggest strength was all of the data that they gave. This is a true story and it was so believeable because of all of the data that they used. I was not interested in how the camera moved, but the ladies story and if her attorneys were going to win. One of the weaknesses was that it ended like so many other movies ended. She got out of prison and then it was over. I’m not even sure what I would have liked for them to do, but I think it would have been interesting to see snippets of the attorneys and if they have held any cases like hers since her passing. I was ecstatic to see her released, but really wanted the movie to continue. 

C.   Acting-I guess I kind have answered the part of acting in the technique section above. Again, this was a documentary of a battered woman’s life in prison. She was not acting, but was going through her daily life. She was singing in church, talking with friends, and instructing others all while in prison. The attorneys were basically telling their findings. Most of the time they were sitting in front of the camera talking to it. Other times they were talking with Debbie. I’m pretty sure that they could not have had the time to set up rehearsing and acting while in prison. Everything was so credible because it was actually happening. The producer actually had to ask to film the whole prison because they weren’t allowed to just film one person, so they filmed the whole person in order to get to film Debbie in her actual environment. 

D  Plot- Crime After Crime was a nonfictional film about Debbie Peagler supposedly having her boyfriend killed in Los Angeles, so she could receive his life insurance. The actually story is that Debbie moved back in with her mother and her boyfriend, Oliver, moved in with someone else to try to help both of them get their lives back on track. Oliver would not leave Debbie alone, so he mother suggested the gang in their community get Oliver to leave Debbie alone. Two guys end up beating Oliver to death and they along with Debbie are charged with at least 25 years in prison. Two attorneys hear of Debbie’s case and come to her defense. They fought for over seven years trying to free her. It showcases a battle between the court system and a woman fighting for her life. In the end, Oliver’s family forgives Debbie and pleads for her release; she is diagnosed with lung cancer and finally gets released ten months before passing away. Most of the film is shot in the prison where Debbie resided for 25 years. We get information from both her attorneys and the district attorney. Her family, as well as Oliver’s has say in the film too.  

  

E.    Themes-The main theme of this movie was that battered woman are being wrongfully accused. Debbie was trying to save her own life and ended up serving for it. Oliver would beat her with a whip, give her black eyes, and make her fearful of her life. The producer wanted to tell her story because there are so many more women, whom are serving an unjust term. Not only does it tell us about woman who are fighting for their lives, but the cracks in our court system. We got to see leaders of the state, like district attorney Steve Cooley, who were cheating the system and people. These themes were very thought provoking. It left you feeling sorry for the people who have to take the blame for others wrongdoings. I don’t really think that there were hidden messages in this film, but there are hidden messages in the real story and this film brought those hidden messages, like Debbie not actually having Oliver killed for his life insurance to light. The basis for the movie was to tell this woman’s story, so more people would be aware. The producer doesn’t want people to be blindsided by the false realities of the media. The messaged are integrated with the plot, paralleling with Debbie’s adventure of living in jail. 

F.    Genre- This film is a documentary. It could be classified as a crime story as well. It’s a true story, but it is about a crime that a woman supposedly did. Practically the whole film was shot in and around the prison, so it’s definitely a crime story. What makes it even more enriching is that it’s true and so the documentary includes a crime story. People like to see things that are real, things that you don’t think could happen that really do. Debbie is a inspiration to many people and brings to light the aspects of the court and how unfair they can be. 

G.   Representation- The story represented the people in prison as not as bad as the rest of society makes them out to be. There could be other prison stories, where they want you to see how horrid the people are. That was not the case here. Oliver was not really outcasted for what he did. The main focus was on bringing freedom to Debbie. They wanted to show Debbie in the best light to let her free. The people in the courts who have higher status were represented as snobbish and not caring. Many times they would not even speak to the cameras and would not listen to the facts being told. Instead, they were only worried about representing themselves and fixing their hair. That last statement is actually true. They showed the district attorney (a guy) styling his hair before getting ready to get interviewed. The basis of the movie was the struggle between Debbie and the court system, and it was nonfictional, so there are facts backing her, but it definitely did highlight Debbie’s good deeds and the courts bad deeds. 

H.   Ideology- Cultural beliefs on believing the juridical system and believing battered women were challenged. We were shown the true colors of the people working against the inmates. No matter how hard Debbie’s attorneys tried they knew they would probably be denied because of how the system works. I’m sure this was not a surprise to many people, as we all know how messed up the court can be at times. Also, we were shown that just because you are in prison doesn’t mean that it’s your fault. There are chances for people to change and grow from their wrongdoings. One might have thought of Debbie as just another black woman that was getting beat by her boyfriend. At the end of the film I’m sure they thought differently. She didn’t just stay with him and not try to improve herself. She moved out and was trying to move on and that’s when she got wrongfully accused. The film was filled with examples of our beliefs as a culture on prison and what happens there. Debbie is just one example of how sometimes you are able to deny the odds and break beyond the barriers. 

   
    To learn more about the film see the link here. http://crimeaftercrime.com/
    To see some snippets of the film check out the video below. It's truly an amazing story!

  

Foot: Film Festival Review

       Unfortunately finding the Film Festival was not as easy as I would have liked it to be. First off, I do not own a gps, so I printed my directions off ahead of time, hoping that I picked the best route. To my dismay, it was not the easiest route and without the help of Colleen I probably would not have gone because the directions were just insane. They wanted to take me on side roads instead of the highway. It’s very hard to drive in traffic in Cleveland when it is snowing and try to look at the directions.

I wish the festival would have said that the films were showing in Tower City. I knew there were in Tower City Cinemas, but I thought it was in a separate building and if I had known that they were in there I would have at least known of the general area of where the festival was. Having to drive down towards the flats to park was crazy. There was a barrel in the middle of my lane because of how bad the pothole was. So you had to wait for no cars to be coming in the opposite direction, so you could pass the hole in their lane. I was expecting someone to jump out in front of me; needless to say it was sketchy.

I was not very impressed by the festival. It was just like going to the movies. I would have rather went to a movie theatre close by and not have to pay for gas than drive there just to watch a movie. If you were into movies and wanted to spend the whole day watching films, then I could understand going. The only perk of going, besides watching a touching film, was getting to see the producers at the end of the film. I wish they would have announced after the show that they were going to be standing by the doors on the way out because I didn’t even realize it was them until after we passed. Overall, the movie was great, but it was not really a new experience. It felt the same as going to the movies, only more expensive and stressful.

Foot: Pleasure Reading

The Purpose Driven Life

Over break I have been reading The Purpose Driven Life. It is a religious book that is basically a devotional book to be read everyday for forty days. It is supposed to help you find out how to live your best life based on what you were put here to do. The reason for this post is not to make you believe what I believe. I think this book is great. At times some of the questions and comments are quite heavy and hard to comprehend. It has many bible verses and if any of you have read the Bible you will know how confusing it can be. What I like about this book, is that is has many chapters and each are quite brief and recaps at the end of the chapters. I find it easier to read a book if the chapters are shorter. I'm the type of person that wants to start something and get it done, which is one reason I have a hard time with blogging. I want to post everything for the next blog post as soon as I get the rubric. Letting things linger drives me crazy! With shorter chapters I can stay focused on the certain part of the book better for those minimal pages than if it dragged on for 20 or more. 

      The second thing I like about it is that it gives recaps. This is like having a discussion in class after having a class read a few chapters. You don't talk about every detail about the book, but rather the important parts. At the end of this text, it has a point to ponder, a verse to remember and a question to consider. It makes me feel like I got what I needed out of reading and let's me ponder about what just went through my mind and what I should do with what I just read. I think this is something I could do everyday in my future classroom. I should leave students thinking about a topic, remembering something important and considering a question that deals with what we spent the class time doing. 

     I'm not far into the book, but so far I am really enjoying it. If any of you are interested in this type of reading, I recommend you go to the book's site to learn a little more about it. 

Foot: Firestone Assignment

            The assignment in class got me thinking about our tutoring experience and multiple modalities. At the time I could not come up with anything that would fit in that category. It did not help that I only met with my student three times and I even went the extra day. Things were a little confused, and so I got to work with two other girls as well. Now that I have had some time to think, I have came up with a few instances that multiple modality was brought into the tutoring experience.

            One of the girls that I tutored got her phone out during the session to call home and ask her folks if she could stay for the after school tutoring. I don’t know Firestone’s policy on cell phones, but I was kind have squirming in my seat because I was afraid that she would get in trouble. No one even saw her, so I didn’t have to worry about that. Another instance was when I was working with my student and for this blog post I will call her Sherry. One of the writing prompts asked about a time when the student had learned more outside of class than during the actual lesson. She related a time when her softball coach taught her about force. He told the athletes that the more force they put into throwing the ball against the wall, the harder it would bounce back. This instruction outside of the classroom made her understand about force more than her teacher instructing the lesson.

            The one-on-one part of the tutoring was very successful. I think one thing that the students needed was that one-on-one attention. It was not the most fun for them and many times my student just looked at me and I could read her eyes, saying she didn’t want to write anymore or just wanted a break. While I do think they learned a great deal, I think there are other ways that they could learn the same material.

            One problem that my student had was with identifying certain words. This is something that they will encounter in their daily lives forever. I think that looking at a magazine or a newspaper that interested them more would have made them more intrigued. When you are reading about something that you are interested in, you are more likely to figure out the missing part. Perhaps if I got a Sports Illustrated magazine and found passages with relatively hard words, then she would want to figure out the definitions. Her interest in sports could relate to a lot of other instructional approaches. Sherry really enjoyed writing and spent time outside of class doing it. What I think was hard for her was to come up with ideas about some of the topics. Some of them were quotes by famous inventors or philosophers and they did not seem to resonate well with Sherry. I believe that if she had the chance to write about her love of softball or how much participating in a sport teaches you, then she wouldn’t have a problem with writing the essay.

            Another problem that reoccurred was telling the tone of the author of a passage. Almost every time this question came up Sherry was debating between two answers. This is something that a book might not come right out and say. The student may need to analyze the text to come up with the author’s attitude toward it. A great way to implement tone in a lesson would be to use movies. Students are almost always jumping at the sound of seeing a movie. You could watch a movie in a classroom and have certain students focus on different characters and identify that characters attitude throughout the whole thing. Then students could share with the rest of the class what they came up with.

            Practicing for the Ohio Graduation Test is no way fun. It’s necessary, but most of the information is dry and leaves the students wanting to take a nap. I know of a good grammar website that allows you to take a quiz and then tell you if it’s correct and why or why not. We used this website in one of my classes and it was a lot easier for me to concentrate with it than listening to the professor speak the whole time. A final instructional approach I could use in my classroom that includes multiple modalities would be to allow students to pick among a list of television shows and have them watch that show for homework. Then the students would have to complete a list of general questions that you formed. This would teach the students that they can’t just watch the beginning of the show or the end and expect to be able to answer all of the questions. This is the same way with reading a selection. Students need to read the whole thing and often they might need to read it a second time. If you teach students that they can miss something the first time they watched it and let them know that you might have to watch the whole thing to be able to make inferences, they might be able to align that more with a book and the same processes that go along with it.

            As I said above, the OGT is no fun. There is clearly a link missing between teaching students and assessing them. I can honestly say that half of the things they ask on there you don’t use again. You can be a genius, but not a good test taker and thus what the OGT results says defines you being able to graduate. This is unheard of, yet it’s the way for American high schoolers. As we continue to try to get the people in power to see our side of these assessments, we will have to continue to try to prepare students for them. Teaching to the test is one of the lamest excuses I have heard. There were classes in high school where my teachers didn’t even bring up the topic of the OGT except only to say that we would be taking it in the future. Those teachers taught better without mentioning it than the ones that just try to cram it in your brain. I would think that the men in charge would realize that we continue to give and take these assessments, yet our country is still behind others. Is there not something wrong with that? Perhaps we need a new way to assess students!

            As you can probably tell, this is a very frustrating topic. It’s not that I don’t want to keep students accountable, but that the American way is not fair. I wish I could get it through to people that have not spent time in a classroom or taken these tests themselves that it’s not helping our country. Until that time comes, I would gladly use multi-modal literacies in my classroom to help prepare for the standardized tests. I would be willing to use any of the ideas I mentioned above that I could have used with my tutoring student in my own classroom. Newspapers, magazines, movies, and televisions shows, if used in the correct manner could be great tools instead of a test packet.

Foot: Online Articles- Part 2

Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom

            A very interesting article that I believe would have a lot of appeal to middle and high school student these days. It showed how you can incorporate many lessons in a game. I liked Salen’s comment on how segregated traditional classes are. She said, “You go to a math class, and that is the only place math is happening, and you are supposed to learn math just in that one space.” This gaming idea makes so much more sense, when students are able to learn math in more than just one setting of fifty minutes.

            Also gaming allows a lot of things that a traditional classroom deters. In a regular class students just want to learn the material and take the test and pass. In a gaming environment, the students don’t necessarily mind about failing at first. Ntiedo Etuk said, “Failure in an academic environment is depressing. Failure in a video game is pleasant. It’s completely aspirational.” Students want to become masters in the game world and aren’t as embarrassed because they are determined to capture perfection.

Publish or Perish

            Everyone wants an ipad! It was no surprise that Apple is knocking off many other businesses since coming out with the ipad. It has a lot more qualities than the older Kindle. It will, though, cut down on real bookstores. I think that is something that a lot of us are concerned about. We’re going to be English teachers, so a lot of us would rather have the actual book in our hand and because e-books are becoming so popular, about 40% of users using them, regular books may soon become extinct. This leads me to wonder about our jobs as future teachers. We are so worried about the latest technology advancements and being the first to try them out, but could we be buying into something that will leave us jobless in the future? Technology is good, but it can only go so far in my terms. I’m afraid that bombarding our students with games, blogs, Nings, Facebook, ipads, and simulation is only going to leave us on the outside looking in, in the future.

Foot: Waiting For Superman

     This weekend I watched the movie Waiting For Superman. It is about education reform and I would like to call it more a documentary than a movie. I was expecting for it to be like Freedom Writers, but it was not. Instead, it followed the lives of about four student's whom were trying to get into the best school's so they wouldn't end up as drop outs. I hope every single person watches this movie, so they can realize how unfair the education system is to students. It is not right that students have to wait in fear for their name to be called out of the lottery. There were schools that had over a thousand applications to get in, only to accept like 60 students. Some of the parents didn't even want to take their children to the lottery because they didn't want to see how they would react if they didn't get accepted.

     This movie actually made me want to cry. A mother was spending $500 a month for her daughter to go to a decent school, a boy moved away to a boarding school, so he could have a future and parents were willing to drive an hour away just for education for their child. There is something wrong with this picture and we need to fix it. But how can we fix it when no one is willing to listen to us? Students are suffering and the government is just too into themselves to look how others are affected. I encourage you all to watch it. It will be showing this weekend, March 11 and 12 at the Kiva!

Below is a clip from the movie.