Foot : Crime After Crime Film Review

1. Personal Issues
What struck me the most was the constant need for hope. Throughout the whole movie, Debbie never lost hope that she would be released. I think it was such a strong emotion because it was real. This wasn’t a movie with actors pretending to play a role. These were real people with real emotions. I think other viewers can generalize with this response because everyone has experienced hope before. As an audience, it is easy to identify emotions we are familiar with.
2. Technique
I think this film was technically strong. The dialogue and the editing made this film very strong. The dialogue could have been very hard to follow if not for the editing. This film was based almost solely on interviews.
3. Acting
The principles roles in the movie were Debbie Peagler and her two lawyers: Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran. This movie was a documentary so the roles in the story were very realistic. The actors were extremely realistic because they weren’t acting. They were living their own lives.
4. Plot
The main idea of the film is centered on a woman named Debbie Peagler who has been wrongly incarcerated for 28 years. She was convicted of murder even though she was not the one who killed her then boyfriend Oliver. Debbie led Oliver to an area where local gang members were waiting to beat him up. Debbie took him to that area because she wanted him to leave her and her daughter alone. He was prostituting her out, beating her, threatening her life, and sexually abusing her daughter. After being bullied by the D.A.’s office, Debbie plead guilty to murder and she was sentenced 25 years to life in prison. The story follows Debbie’s attempt to be released from jail after two pro bono lawyers take on her case after a new California law allows cases to be reopened if the criminal is a victim of domestic violence. The story follows tremendous ups and downs through Debbie’s case until she is released from jail, shortly before her death.
5. Themes
I think the main idea in this story is to keep hoping. I think the main issues in this film talked about victims of domestic violence and those who have been wrongfully incarcerated. I don’t think the messages are distracting to the plot. I think the main idea and main issues are what makes this film so spectacular.
6. Genre
I would classify this film as a documentary. I think people think this genre because they know that it is real. It’s not a made up story.
7. Representation
This film does represent different groups of people. Debbie is a black, poor woman who is incarcerated. One of her lawyers is a woman, who comes from an affluent community and has experienced abuse as a child. The other lawyer is a male, who is Jewish. The film didn’t choose to characterize them in this way, it’s just who these people are.
8. Ideology
After watching this film, I had a stronger distrust for those who work in the criminal justice system. I saw how strongly they fought so they wouldn’t have to admit their mistakes. I also thought that there could be more people wrongly incarcerated just like Debbie. My beliefs were changed just by looking at all of the information presented throughout the film.

Foot: Cleveland Film Festival

I enjoyed going to the Cleveland Film Festival. I’ve never been to a film festival so this was a new experience for me. I was surprised that so many people attended the film festival. I didn’t realize that the Film Festival is such a big event. I’m used to small movie theaters so it was a bit of a shock to me when I saw how big the theater was. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie that I saw, Crime after Crime, wasn’t that busy, although many other movies were. Crime after Crime started at 4:35 on a Wednesday and I could not believe that that many people were at the theater for the Film Festival. I would like to know how far people travel to come to the film festival. It seemed like a variety of people were there.

I really enjoyed watching Crime after Crime. I really liked that this movie told the true story of a woman’s life. I would have loved to have been able to see other movies at the film festival. The only thing I don’t like about the film festival is that it is about an hour and a half from my house. It was kind of hard to find the time to go up to Cleveland during the week. I left Kent to go to Cleveland at three and I didn’t get home until nine p.m. For me, it was really hard to find a day where I could allot six hours of my day for this one assignment.

Foot: Great Films and How to Teach Them

I had a hard time getting through this book. I already knew some of the information in the book so it kind of bored me. I had a hard time staying focused when I reading this book. The pages were very plain and everything was black and white. I did find some of the information
interesting though. I liked when the book talked about the influence of literature on movies and the influence of movies on literature. I just thought it was interesting to see how film can be compared to other media. I especially liked when the book made a comparison between dance and film. “It’s worth considering how a movie can be like, or unlike, a dance number or a musical composition. Some movies do include dances, poetry, or music, of course, but there is a difference between a filmed dance and a dance film” (Costanzo 15). I really liked this quote because it made me think about film in a different way. Dance has always been a huge part of my life, so that quote really made me start to think about the differences in film.

I also found this book to be interesting because it introduced me to some terms that I had never heard of before. I really enjoy watching films, so I was happy to learn some new information. Chapter 2 offered a lot of information that I wasn’t familiar with. I was also surprised when Chapter 5 started talking about theories in film. Many of the theories were similar to literary analysis theories in English. For me, I have a hard time thinking about film and associating it with an English class.

Foot: Firestone Assignment

After spending time tutoring at Firestone, I think there are ways to incorporate multi-modalities into test preparation. I think it would have been very hard for the tutors to incorporate multi-modalities while working with the students, but I do think teachers can include multi-modality test preparation practices in their classrooms. I don’t think you can teach multi-modality test-taking strategies. I think the best way to incorporate multi-modalities would be to use it in your everyday lessons. I don’t think teachers should teach to the test so they wouldn’t use multi-modalities just for test preparation. If you use multi-modalities to teach, improve, or clarify a subject, then that is when multi-modal practices work at their best. As for preparing the students to take standardized tests, I do think there are a few ways that you can incorporate multi-modal test preparation. One way would be to have an iPad present with you when you’re tutoring. I know when I was working with my student through the OGT test packet we came across some questions that I couldn’t explain the answer to. I am not very good with science and I couldn’t really tell her why an answer was correct or incorrect. An iPad would have been great to have with me because I could have easily looked up information on the iPad while she was sitting beside me. Another multi-modal literacy that I could have used while tutoring my student would be a cell phone. I actually do have a cell phone, but I don’t receive the internet on my phone so I couldn’t look up the answers to some of her questions. I also was a little uncomfortable using my phone at Firestone because I know they have a strict policy against the use of cell phones.

If I had my own classroom, I do think that using cell phones could be a challenge. Even though the use of my cell phone would be for educational purposes, I do know some schools have policies stating that neither teachers nor students can use cell phones during school. When I have my own classroom, and if I can afford it, I would love to have an iPad to work with students in my classroom. I think it would be great to have an iPad in the classroom. I would be able to move around the room to work individually with students. If one particular student has a question, I can work with that student at his or her desk and still have a computer with me. I think it would also benefit me as a teacher because I wouldn’t have to carry around a huge book in the class. I could use the iPad to show students texts or comments on certain passages. I wouldn’t have to call students up to my desk to show them a grade or something on my computer because I would be able to go to the student.

I think students would be more interested in test preparation with the use of multi-modal literacies. When students get to use something new, it often perks their interest in the subject. It is very hard to get students interested in test preparation, so the use of multi-modal literacies would definitely be a benefit. I think there is a lot of tension between the expanding definition of literacy and standardized test preparation. Standardized tests are very formal and rigid. They don’t incorporate new literacies in the test. The test cannot incorporate new literacies because students can only take the test using pencil and paper. I think teachers are trying to use new literacies in their classrooms, but it makes it hard when students are going to be tested over subjects that don’t include new literacies. Literacy is expanding, but standardized testing has remained the same. I think that is what is causing the tension in the school system.

While I was at Firestone last semester, I did see some teachers incorporating multi-modal literacies into their classrooms. I predominately saw that in English classrooms. I observed a teacher playing a song on her mp3 player on her cell phone to demonstrate to her students the importance of beat in poetry. I also saw the same teacher play music videos and then she asked the students to identify archetype and theme from the videos. I really enjoyed observing this class because I liked the way the teacher used multi-modal literacies within her classroom. I think that is the best way you can teach your students for taking tests. I don’t think it would really help to just incorporate multi-modality into test preparation. It needs to be incorporated throughout an entire year for students to benefit from it.

I don’t see standardized test preparation easily merging with multi-modal literacies. One of the reasons I don’t see it merging easily is because the use of multi-modalities can cost money. Many schools are short on funds so I think a lot of schools would shy away from something that is going to be an added expense. I also think a lot of teachers are going to shy away from using multi-modal literacies with test preparation because there isn’t any use of multi-modalities in standardized tests. I know when I had to take the OGTs, my teachers prepared my class for the test by simulating what the test was going to be like. We constantly went over questions that had been on previous OGTs and we had to complete practice OGT test packets. My teachers wouldn’t let us use any multi-modal literacies because they said we wouldn’t be able to use them on the test. They didn’t want us to become accustomed to using something that we weren’t going to be able to use on the test. I think a lot of teachers would share similar sentiments. I think another problem would be that students wouldn’t always have access to the multi-modal literacies. Most students now have the internet, but not all students. I think as teachers, we need to remember that not all students have the same access to materials.

Foot: "I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You" and "Your Leaving a Digital Trail."

“I’m So Totally, Digitally Close to You”

I really liked this article. I thought it was interesting that the article talked about things I had experienced while using Facebook. I was surprised that social scientists actually had a name for it: ambient awareness.
“It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye.” When I’m on Facebook, I can tell the mood of my friends based on their statuses. Even friends that I haven’t seen in a while, I still feel like I’m close to them and I know what is happening in their life. I really liked when the article talked about how Twitter and Facebook don’t demand your attention like an email does. I get on my Facebook a couple times a day, but I’m only on for a few minutes. I actually get on Facebook so I can take a break from items that are demanding my attention. I just skim down through my news feed. I don’t even read half of the posts that are on there. I just read the ones that happen to catch my attention.

“Your Leaving a Digital Trail.”

I thought this article was interesting because this is something I’ve thought about when I use technology. I am actually more cautious about my privacy now with the use of all these new technologies that can leave a trail of what I’m doing and where. This article made me think about how some people don’t seem to think about their security at all when they are using social media. It’s very common for me to see people post status saying where they are going or using an application that tells everyone where they are at. I find it very creepy that people can know what you’re doing throughout the day. It really disturbed me that the digital trail that people leave may force some people to change their health habits like jogging. This article was a good reminder to me why I shy away from technology that can invade my privacy.

Foot: "Publish or Perish" and "I (heart) Novels"

“Publish or Perish”

I really enjoyed this article. I find it interesting how electronic book readers have become so popular lately. Personally, I don’t like electronic books. I find it hard for me to read off of a screen. It gives me a headache. I do recognize that there are a lot of positive features to electronic books. They often are very cheap and you have to book as soon as you buy it. For me, the instant access to the books is the best perk for electronic readers. I didn’t realize that there was such a scandal around the price of electronic books. I thought it was interesting to read about the war between the publishers and Amazon. As I was reading this article, I was wondering if textbooks would be offered as electronic books as well. I wonder how they would be priced in relation to new and used textbooks. I think once people have more access to electronic readers and iPads, then they can become a valuable asset to reading and learning in English classrooms. Students will have more access to books instantly and that is never a bad thing.




“Letter from Japan: I <3 Novels”

I thought this was an interesting article. I have never heard of cell phone writers before. It’s really interesting how the Japanese culture has impacted their use of the internet. I thought it was neat how the people reading the cell phone novels online were able to critique and offer feedback to the author.
I think it’s interesting that the cell phone novels are actually being published. I was really surprised when the article talked about authors not wanting to reveal their identity. It’s very different from American customs where we want to take credit for our work.

I think it’s really interesting how the internet and cell phones has drastically impacted our culture. I think this concept would be neat to incorporate in a creative writing class. I think it would be interesting to see how students respond to being able to write stories through their cell phones.

Foot: Video Games in the Classroom

I thought this article brought up a lot of interesting points although I don’t know that I agree with all of them. I liked that the article talked about a school that was trying to use technology to help students learn; however, I’m not really a fan of using video games in classrooms. In my College Writing class, I had to write papers on video games after I had played them. I actually hated the fact that I was forced to play video games for a class. I don’t like playing video games to begin with so this approach to learning didn’t appeal to me at all. I felt like my teacher was trying to incorporate “cool” things into the class. I do think this approach to learning could benefit a student who likes video games. If you had a student in your class who liked videogames, then I think the use of videogames could help the student become more interested in the class. I think a teacher needs to know who his or her students are in order to see if this type of approach would work.

Foot: Make-up Assignment

As a teacher, I think the multigenre autobiography would be a fun way to learn more about your students. The multigenre autobiography offers teachers a way to find out what types of topics your students are interested in. Knowing what your students are interested in would be very beneficial when trying to decide how to organize students for group projects. The multigenre autobiography lets teachers to have a better sense of who their students are and what type of background the students comes from. It also lets students learn more about each other. They may find that they have similar interests to one another. One of the lessons that I learned from completing my own multigenre autobiography was that even though I recognized that a text was too difficult for me, I returned to that text a few years later. That lesson impacts the way I plan on teaching because it showed me that it’s important not to get discouraged just because you struggle with something. I also learned just how important books were in my life. I read young adult literature because I could relate to that characters and what they were feeling. That reminded me how important it was to remember what types of situations my students will be going through and the emotions that are associated with them. One of the challenges with the multigenre autobiography is that it requires a lot of knowledge about computers in order to incorporate media in the presentation.

Another activity I would use in my own classroom would be to have students analyze a short piece of film after already viewing it once. I think this activity would be great in a creative writing classroom because it makes the students focus on their senses and specific details in the movie. I especially liked when students had to close their eyes and write down all the sounds that they heard in the film clip. It would make students realize how important specific details are when a writer is trying to capture a specific moment. I think this activity would also work in a general English class. This activity helps students realize how details impact a piece of writing. One of the challenges with this assignment is that it requires some knowledge of films terminology. It also requires students to be completely focused on the film clip in order to fully grasp the exercise.

Foot: Pleasure Reading

I just recently stumbled on the television show The Vampire Diaries. After watching one episode, I decided to watch a few more episodes to see how it compared to the Twilight series. I wanted to read some of the books as well to see how they compared. I’ve read the first two books in the series: The Awakening and The Struggle. At first, I felt like the author was stealing a lot of the same ideas from the Twilight series, but as I got further into the books I realized that they are quite different. The television show adds a lot of sexual appeal whereas the books don’t incorporate that as much. I think it’s interesting how this vampire genre seems to dominate young adult literature right now. I really enjoy reading the Twilight series as well The Vampire Diaries. I plan on reading the rest of the books in The Vampire Diaries when I have time.

Pytash: Chapter 5

This chapter immediately caught my attention after reading the first two paragraphs. I loved the Jago mentioned how song lyrics are actually a type of poetry. I think students have a hard time connecting to poetry in general. By drawing attention to song lyrics as a form of poetry, it offers students a way to relate to poetry. I’m not really a huge fan of poetry, but I know it is important because I will be teaching it in a classroom. In this chapter, I really liked that the Think Aloud strategy was used with reading a poem for the first time. I think it is really important for pairs of students to use this strategy in order to make sense of a poem. Poetry is often ambiguous when you read through a poem for the first time. I think this strategy would really help students to become more comfortable with poetry because they can ask questions and discuss the poem in a small group. This chapter also talked about why teachers should teach how poems work and how to approach difficult poems. I think as teachers, we need to be cautious as to how we approach difficult poetry. I think that is where we can lose a lot of students because they feel like they don’t understand what is happening within the poem. I liked that the section on difficult poems gave options on how you can approach difficult poems.

Pytash: Chapter 3

Choosing Which Books To Read

I really liked this chapter because it was very informative about deciding what types of books students should read during school and how many. I really enjoy reading and so it is often hard for me to choose just one book to read. This chapter made me think about what kinds of books I want to teach in my classroom. Personally, I prefer to read books rather than short stories. I think books allow me to get to know the characters better. I was really surprised when Jago said that she had her sophomore students reading twenty books. When I think back to my sophomore year in high school, I know I didn’t read nearly as many books as that. I liked that she had her students reading outside of class for their choice project. I also liked that she paired the choice reading project with literature circles. I know a lot of times when students are reading difficult texts on their own outside of class, it really helps to have a space where students can come back together to ask questions and discuss the text. This section made me excited that I will be able to choose the books that I want my students to read. I don’t know that I’ll have my students reading twenty books in a school year, but I am going to have them reading a lot.

One quote stood out to me in the reading in the empathy section. It said, “Literature allows for close, almost scientific analysis of individuals under duress” (Jago 52). I really liked this quote because I think it captures why a lot of people like to read. For me, I like to read because I like to see how characters handle complex situations. Overall, I found this chapter to be hugely informational as to what I should include and not include in my classroom.

Pytash: Chapter 1

I really enjoyed this chapter. One thing that I found interesting was the section that dealt with reading for pleasure versus studying literature. As I was thinking about this chapter, I was questioning how to use classical literature to get students interested in reading. I think that both young adult literature and classical literature have different advantages to each, but I think young adult literature is more effective in getting students interested in reading. I think classical literature can teach students a lot about themselves and society, but I think it is hard getting students motivated up to that point. I was also surprised to learn that Oprah now has “Traveling with the Classics.” I think it is great that a celebrity figure such as Oprah is promoting classical literature.

I really liked the section that dealt with reading literature creating background knowledge. I really liked that Jago pointed out that you gain background knowledge on subjects just from reading. I had never thought about it that way before. Lately I have been reading articles online on the NASCAR website. I don’t really know that much about cars, but I have noticed that I’ve become more fluent with the vocabulary. I guess I just haven’t paid that much attention to how reading can create background knowledge rather than just obtaining background knowledge from my life experiences.