Cloverfield Analysis - Extra Credit Opportunity

This assignment is one that my Composition II students have been prepared for, but Comp I students can give this a shot.

Use the “How to Watch a Film” worksheet to guide you in your analysis and interpretation of the symbols. I'm going to tell you that if you write about "love" you will not receive any credit. Again, the visual symbolism will be incredibly important to look at here.

Requirements:

• Write a 600—1200 word MLA formatted analysis and response to what you think the movie Cloverfield is really about. Consider what the imagery reminds you of from the news and history and how the Cloverfield monster resembles another film monster that was created as a reaction to another historical event that took place on the opposite side of the planet from us Americans.

• Make sure your response includes direct references (evidence) to the film and American (and maybe Japanese) history support for your argument (analysis/interpretation).

• Excessive grammatical and punctuation errors will cause me to stop reading your essay and you will then receive no credit.

• Once you’ve written your analysis, print it and bring it to me or my mailbox or post it on your blog and email me with a link to the specific post(s) about each comic book. Again, do not send me the link to your blog, but the specific address of the post. Students in online courses may submit via email or Google Docs.

Submission: Responses accepted as hard copy or blog posts (Google Docs for online only students). Non-blog responses must be in MLA format, stapled, etc. Blog posts should have spaces between paragraphs and students will need to email me a link to their post.

Potential Points to Earn: 10 points for each piece of writing. You can write an analysis of up to three different comics from this year's selection.

Due Date: Extended to 7 May 2010

Don't forget to click on the "Extra Credit" label below to see other current and past extra credit opportunities.

Free Comic Book Day - Extra Credit Opportunity

Requirements:

• Saturday 1 May 2010 is Free Comic Book Day. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a participating comic book store and obtain any one, or several, of this year’s free comic books.

• Here comes the reading and writing part. In 600-1200 words in MLA format, you will rhetorically analyze the comic book (text) of your choosing. Remember, author, audience, purpose, rhetorical purpose, and rhetorical appeals used by the writer and artist (penciller), since comic books consist of both images and copy (see your notes and Visual Rhetoric PowerPoint if needed). Feel free to use the internet to find out more about your author. Remember to be as specific as possible when explaining your analysis (someone who likes The Simpsons might not like Japanese comics (Manga), for example, so be very specific), especially because comics are a written and drawn medium. Remember, you need to use evidence from the comic book itself to support your analysis. Excessive grammatical and punctuation errors will cause me to stop reading your essay and you will then receive no credit.
  

• Once you’ve written your analysis, print it and bring it to me or my mailbox or post it on your blog and email me with a link to the specific post(s) about each comic book. Again, do not send me the link to your blog, but the specific address of the post. Students in online courses may submit via email or Google Docs.

Submission: Responses accepted as hard copy or blog posts (Google Docs for online only students). Non-blog responses must be in MLA format, stapled, etc. Blog posts should have spaces between paragraphs and students will need to email me a link to their post.

Potential Points to Earn: 10 points for each piece of writing. You can write an analysis of up to three different comics from this year's selection.

Due Date: 5 May 2010

Don't forget to click on the "Extra Credit" label below to see other current and past extra credit opportunities.

TCC 9th Annual Literary Festival - Extra Credit Opportunity - Updated 4 April

Tidewater Community College is proud to present the 9th Annual Literary Festival.

keynote event
Address by Kay Ryan,
U.S. Poet Laureate
Monday, April 5 · 7 p.m.
TCC Roper Performing Arts Center
Norfolk Campus
Reception and book signing following

Performance Poetry
by Taylor Mali
Tuesday, April 6 • 7 p.m.
TCC Roper Performing Arts Center
Norfolk Campus

Campus Readings by
Students and Faculty
Tuesday, April 6 • 12:30 p.m.
Building A, The Forum
NEW Portsmouth Campus

Campus Readings by
Students and Faculty
Tuesday, April 6 • 12:30 p.m.
Martin Building, Room 2505
Norfolk Campus

Campus Readings by
Students and Faculty
Tuesday, April 6 • 12:30 p.m.
Room F-133
Virginia Beach Campus

Readings by Charles Wright
Wednesday, April 7 • 7 p.m.
Whitehurst Building, Room 2057
Chesapeake Campus

Campus Readings by
Students and Faculty
Wednesday, April 7 • 2:00 p.m.
Pass Building, Studio Theatre, Room 157
Chesapeake Campus

An Evening with Nikki Giovanni
Thursday, April 8 • 12:30 p.m.
Advanced Technology Center
Virginia Beach Campus

Thursday, April 8 • 7 p.m.
Building A, The Forum
NEW Portsmouth Campus

Free and open to the public

And now the extra credit for my students:

You can earn up to 50 extra points, ten each for the main speakers, and ten if you attend and write about the student readings.

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to complete it, requires you to attend any or all of the speakers' presentations and then for each presentation attended and viewed write a response in which you should consider addressing at least one or several of these bullets:

• Do not summarize.
• Use specific details, painting a picture for your audience: What was the tone of the presentation, the mood, what were the audiences' responses?
  
• How did the speakers make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
• What did you learn?
• Praise it or critique it, or both.
• What did you like most and/or least?
  
• What does it tell us about how we construct identity and/or culture?
• What other unique response can you give?
  

I suggest taking some notes and I also suggest sticking around for any question and answer sessions as they can be very informative.

Word Count: 300+ words each

Value: 10 points each, and an extra point of student posts on their blog

Due Date: 14 April 2010 for all responses. Responses accepted as hard copy or blog posts. Hard copy responses must be in MLA format, stapled, etc. Blog posts should have spaces between paragraphs. Any student who creates and posts on a blog must send me their main blog address, to which I will link from my blog here.

Still Blogging?

To my students past and present:

If you continue blogging past the end of the semester I encourage you to email me or post a comment on this post to let me know.

If you create any new blogs (not used for English 111 or 112) please let me know and I can include an additional links list for future students, as well as for myself, because even if you've finished my course, I'm still interested in your writing and how you express yourself.

Extra Credit: 17th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film

From the desk of (but slightly modified by me) the Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs:

Tidewater Community College will host the 17th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film at the Roper Performing Arts Center beginning on Saturday, January 23rd, and running through January 31st. TCC and the Marilyn and Marvin Simon Jewish Community Center are proud to once again bring this rich cultural tradition to the Hampton Roads community.

With each passing year, the festival has grown and matured, providing a cinematic feast and cultural celebration. The eight-day festival will feature a wide variety of films, appealing to a cross-section of tastes and viewpoints - from the opening night presentation of A Matter of Size (Israel, 2009) in Hebrew with English subtitles, to Eyes Wide Open (2009) in Hebrew with English subtitles, running January 31st. The film Zrubavel, to be shown on Tuesday, January 26th, will be followed by a panel discussion involving TCC students. This unique film features a poignant look at a multi-generational family of Ethiopian immigrants and the challenges that they face assimilating into their new Israeli homeland. The conflict of the younger generation trying to fit in while their elders try to hold on to their native customs introduces the viewer to this ethnic group and their struggle to adjust. Zrubavel is the first feature length film created by Ethiopian-Israeli film makers.

For a complete list of this year's film selections and related information visit http://www.simonfamilyj.org/.

The film festival is free to all TCC employees and students with a valid ID card. I encourage you to enjoy as much of the Festival as you can and to support our TCC students by attending the showing of Zrubavel on January 26.

And now your instructor speaks...er...writes:

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to complete it, requires you to see any or all of the films and then for each film attended and viewed write a response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
• What did you learn?
• Praise it or critique it, or both.
• What did it tell us about families?
  
• What does it tell us about self-image?
• What does it tell us about religion, politics, and borders?
  
• What does it tell us about what we consider to be acceptable in society?
• What does it tell us about how we construct identity and/or culture?
• What does it tell us about...
  

Every response must:

• Respond to the end of the film as well, so I know you attended the entire film.
• Do not summarize. Again, don't tell your audience what the movie is about. Assume they've just watched it themselves.

I suggest sticking around for any question and answer sessions as they can be very informative and maybe there will be finger foods.

Word Count: 500+ words each

Value: 10 points each

Due Date: The week of 10 February 2010 for all responses. Must be printed and stapled for traditional and hybrid courses and should be emailed for online students.

Great Opportunity for Students: Charles M. Schulz Award

Great opportunity for cartoonists! Give it a try!

Synopsis: The sponsor, Scripps, provides an award to honor an undergraduate student cartoonist whose cartoons were published in print or online in 2009 by a college newspaper or college magazine in the United States or its territories.

The Award: Charles M. Schulz Award

Program information found here.

Deadline(s): 01/30/2010

Link to full program description here.


Image borrowed from The Comic Book Database.

Precious: Extra Credit

Brainstorming: Ever feel like the world's keeping you down, but you just gotta say f*&# it and make your own path?

See the new film Precious.



Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to see the film and then write a blog post in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
• Praise it or critique it, or both.
  
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
• What does it tell us about rhetoric used by society, parents, teachers, men?
• What does it tell us about self-image?
• What does it tell us about what we consider to be acceptable in society?
• What does it tell us about identity and culture?
• What does it tell us about...
  
• Do not summarize (don't tell your audience what the movie is about).
  

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 10 points.

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific post by 8 December 2009.

Richmond Zine Fest Extra Credit

Brainstorming: Have you ever been interested in reading or self-publishing alternative and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) magazines and comics (or comix)?

Requirements: Attend the Richmond Zine Fest and write about your experience in great detail.

Purchase a few zines or comix or see if there are any free ones. Read them respond.

Remember to give specific reasons for your thoughts or feelings. Take notes as you attend this event. Without including specific details, your thoughts are not as meaningful as they could be.

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 25 points

Due Date: Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by midnight Monday 16 November 2009.

Bitches Scene & Women Unseen: Hip Hop & Gender in the 21st Century: Extra Credit Opportunity

Brainstorming: How do depictions of women in Hip Hop inform our interactions with, attitudes about, and opinions of women?

This Thursday, 29 October 2009 from 4:30-7:00 pm is the screening of the Bitches Scene & Women Unseen: Hip Hop & Gender in the 21st Century documentary, followed by a panel discussion featuring Maori Karmael Holmes, Ursula Rucker, and Lucy Bell.

UPDATE: You can also watch the documentary here.

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to attend the film and discussion and then write a blog response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

* Praise it or critique it, or both.
* How did it make you feel?
* What did it make you think?
* How does it relate to knowledge you already have?
* Has it changed your mind about anything?
* What arguments did were made?
* How well were the arguments made?
* Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

Remember to give specific reasons for your thoughts or feelings. Take notes as you attend this event. Without including specific details, your thoughts are not as meaningful as they could be.

Word Count: 300+ words

Value: 10 points.

UPDATE: Due Date: Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 1 December 2009.

Michael and Me: An Extra Credit Assignment

Brainstorming: What makes the world, the government, and our heads go round? Ask Michael Moore.

See Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, and see if it makes your head spin.

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to see the film and then write a blog response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Praise it or critique it, or both.
  
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
  
• How does it relate to knowledge you already have?
  
• Has it changed your mind about anything?
• What arguments did he make?
• How well did he make his arguments?
  
• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 10 points.

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 1 December 2009.

Image taken from the movie's website as linked above.