Police brutality in film - La Haine & Do the Right Thing - film club ppt

 https://southendhighschoolforgirls-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/19-akar_shsg_org/ERTyUxUQ0dFPqnHzyXWwRE8B8GkMrBDQtavybCLNdZP6LQ?e=2l2DgU

Agnes Varda - film club ppt

 https://southendhighschoolforgirls-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/19-akar_shsg_org/EUAg6OjSLhxPlQPKDMO4OHsBgq8YpJoYpD10EfP2RThHyg?e=1ujAjN

Regarding the pain of others - By Susan Sontag

Who is Susan Sontag?

Born in Manhattan in 1933. She was a philosopher, writer, filmmaker and political activist. Her writing spans : literature, cinema, photography, human rights and media.

Chapter one:

 

Pitch feedback

 Teacher feedback :

Aurora: Music Video; Mood Ring Baby

• very carefully thought out interpretation, nice to see the lyrics so extensively annotated. 
• Mood ring merch on the website?
• Like the symbolism aspect.
• 'seducing the moon' great lyric.
• good how you are linking to your Eng lit studies.
• great film intertextuality. 
• surrealism is an interesting idea- how will you incorporate this?
• 30 seconds: interview of artist- like the idea of shooting in the museum. 
• camera work is a bit shaky, some interesting choices of locations but you need to use a tripod and think about framing  more closely. It is fine to use some shaky hand held but you also need some more composed shots to 'prove' that you can shoot straight!
  
  
  Student feedback
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

Pitch

 

Lip sync test : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6qbBiz2q6k

History of Ballads

 History of Ballads

What is a ballad?

Ballads are poems traditionally set to music, they can be considered as the opposite of an epic poem, as they are typically much shorter in length and only delve into one specific story or event in a concise manner. Common themes in ballads are : love, adventure and loss. Ballads have been passed down throughout time as a way to orally pass down stories.

Characteristics of the ballad:

- Short story - As mentioned before ballads usually dwell on a specific moment. The story is confined to a limited amount of stanza's. For example Keats's La Belle Dame Sans Merci which recounts the story of a man seduced by a fairy who leaves him heartbroken and dying. 

- Universal appeal - Ballads usually discuss themes that not only apply to the writer/singer but appeal to all. La belle dame sans merci for example, explores the theme of unrequited love leading to ruin. 

- Colloquial language - Ballads depart from the traditional formality of poetry to make it more accessible for the listener to connect to the story.

- Abrupt opening - Often features an opening that immediately plunges into the situation.

- No extra details - Ballads lack superfluous details, plunging the reader immediately into the story.

- Dialogue - |Usually written as a form of dialogue, perhaps with a silent listener or two characters. This heightens the intimacy of the ballad.

- Refrain - A phrase or line that is repeated throughout the ballad to emphasize key messages.

- Stock phrases- By using stock phrases ballads are easier to remember.

- Tragic elements - Many ballads can include themes of loss, particularly of love.

- Supernatural - The supernatural can be employed to make the ballad more distinct, such as Keats's poem which uses the character of a faery to represent the woman, this can further emphasise the message of the ballad by presenting it as something that can occur in other worlds. Elements of folklore also play a big part of the Ballad.

- Simplicity - The simplicity of the ballad makes it easier to remember and internalise the ballad. 

- Ever changing - poems are fixed in their form upon publication, ballads however are a representative of how the story is told in that moment in time. They are ever changing with time.

La Belle Dame sans Merci

History of the ballad

>Began in medieval England and France, they were typically anonymous narrative poems sung to entertain.

>These songs were transmitted orally, particularly through Troubadours.  Troubadours were singing musicians that would travel between England and France transmitting ballads about chivalry and courtly love. They were favoured by courts and as a result had a great freedom of speech, leading them to have an immense influence over European poetry.

Troubadours

> This later evolved into literary ballads, in the 18th and 19th century. Poets would imitate the features of ballads (that are sung), through rhyme and meter, in order to write poems that were memorable in subject and tune.

>Folk music begins (in Europe and the Americas), which much like ballads are passed down. Folk music is passed down through families via oral tradition. It is seen as the rural counterpart to music that is mass broadcasted.

> The reach of folk song develops, it becomes a form of protest. The first major example was Woody Guthrie's "this land is your land".

Woody Guthrie

>Mass media evolves and the pop ballad develops, particularly from the 40s onwards. Ballads are typically now used to explore the theme of love through slow tempos.

How is "mood ring baby" a ballad?

> Short story - describes the love affair of the singer, who is enamoured with a woman who suffers with a mood disorder.

>Universal appeal - explores ideas of unrequited love, and not feeling good enough for someone.

>Colloquial language is used.

>Abrupt opening - begins with the question "so you wanna get close?", immediately plunging the listener into the story of the ballad.

>Not much detail - the song does not delve too deeply into the nature of the relationship with the woman, leaving an ambiguity in the nature of the relationship, making it more universally applicable to listeners.

>Dialogue - "so you wanna get close" could be the girl questioning the narrator on if he really wants to get closer. The song is a response to this.

>Refrain - Repeats the question "so you wanna get close" and his response "yeah i love you always". This is the central message of the song, he will love her no matter what.

>Stock phrases - "mood ring baby", used to make the song memorable.

>Tragic elements - There are multiple barriers to their love. The first being that he does not feel good enough for the listener, he is just a simple "poor boy" with a "song to see him through". The second barrier is the opinion of others, others think she is "bad news".

>Supernatural - Uses the imagery of folklore, she is a "princess" that "seduces the moon".

>Simplicity - simple in its : rhyme, tune and subject matter. Perhaps reflects how he feels simple compared to the girl he loves.

> Rooted in time - Follows the thematic traditions of ballads, includes the idea of the courtly lover with the "handkerchief" waiting on the "princess". The song also uses instruments used in folk songs such as the banjo. 

Mood ring baby - analysis

 

The 'mood ring' symbolises the person he loves and her ever changing moods, as a result the singer seems to be at arms length from her, leaving him just being able to observe her external actions and never be able to understand her internal thoughts. It could be inferred that the object of his affection has a personality disorder such as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

The song begins with "so you wanna get close?", which could be the words of the girl, asking him if he wants to get close to her despite her borderline personality. This phrase is repeated into the end of the song, connoting her insecurity that he may not stay with her through her issues, but he reminds her that his love is "always".`

The singer compares her to grandiose things; a "princess on a pillow seducing the moon"; his "muse" and a "beautiful girl". For him her "crystal charms" are so great that she has the power to seduce celestial objects such as the "moon". Yet he positions himself as far below her. He feels like the Petrarchan lover, compared to her he is simply a "cowboy" with a "handkerchief" and just "a song to see" him through. He, the "artist" devotes this song to his "muse". The relationship between artists and muses is a continuous strand through all forms of art, especially ballads which are usually devoted to someone. Being the artist, as the singer admits, can be an extremely "lonely" experience. The job of the artist is to capture the essence of the muse and translate it into a form of art, such as a ballad, to keep that person alive through song. Yet the artist never gets this reciprocated. On the other hand, the line "if you were the artist and not the muse, you'd be lonely like me too",  not only conveys the singers loneliness as the artist but his lack of understanding of his "muse". He assumes that as the "muse" she can not possibly be lonely, however that is not always the case. Being the muse can be an equally lonely experience, since they typically do not get recognised for their contributions to pieces. They are also only ever presented through the eyes of another, unable to express their idea of who they are to audiences. On both ends of the relationship there is suffering. He consistently describes himself as someone simple, being left to look at his "mood ring" who is far more complex than him. 

However, he also recognises her capacity to hurt him. She has flirtatious tendencies with others leaving him at home waiting for her, and he can not keep up with her moods, she's "origami paper" that he doesn't know what to make of her. The whole song oozes with his love for her, he is aware of her strengths and faults but regardless he describes her with love. Typically, people with BPD are presented as crazed with their mood swings, but to him he still sees it as being yet another beautiful aspect of her. The "origami" paper has the capacity to turn into beautiful things, and is never something that can harm others. He is also warned by others to stay away from her, people have called her "bad news" (which is a typical perception of those with personality disorders). Yet regardless of it all, he dedicates his life to loving her "always". This is reinforced by the metaphor of her being a "mood ring", which may change in colour but never changes in shape. The ring is eternal, (and perhaps connotes his incline to marry her), representing his unwavering devotion to her.