Chapter 1. prod_chap_3_feb05

1.1 Section Title

Instructor's Notes

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The Game Ain’t Over ’til the Fatso Man Sings

Howie Chackowicz

Radio Story

In this audio piece, recorded for Chicago Public Media’s popular radio program This American Life, Howie Chackowicz recalls the irrational and amusing methods he unsuccessfully employed as a child to win girls’ hearts. Listen to Chackowicz’s story, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

“The Game Ain’t Over ’til the Fatso Man Sings,” by Howard Chackowicz from WBEZ Chicago’s This American Life, episode #188: Kid Logic.

Source: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/188/kid-logic?act52#play

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Describe two of the strategies Chackowicz used to attract girls’ attention. Why, as a child, did he think each of these strategies would be successful?
  2. What is the one story of Chackowicz’s that Karen remembers?
  3. By seventh grade, how had Chackowicz’s tactics changed? Were these new tactics more successful in winning the attention of his crushes?

    Writing Strategies

  4. Before Chackowicz speaks with and about Karen specifically, he recounts his crush-getting theories and recalls a few specific moments from his childhood that did not involve Karen. Why do you think Chackowicz begins his narrative like this, as opposed to jumping right into his memories with Karen? How does this introduction color the way you experience his later conversation with Karen?
  5. Chackowicz casts his recollections as a child against the backdrop of his grown self, never allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in his memories as he interprets them from an adult perspective. Why do you think he does this? If Chackowicz had simply described his childhood memories without adding commentary, would the piece have achieved the same results?
  6. Chackowicz recalls many events from childhood that Karen does not remember. Did the inclusion of Karen’s perspective in this story ever make you question the accuracy of Chackowicz’s memory? Do you think Chackowicz would have reached the same conclusion had he not learned how much Karen’s memories differed from his own? Why or why not?
  7. Chackowicz brings Karen’s perspective into the piece, but we do not get to hear from his seventh grade girlfriend, Elizabeth. Do you think we need Elizabeth’s perspective in the same way we need Karen’s perspective? What argument about his childhood memories, as opposed to his teenage memories, might Chackowicz be making in choosing to speak with Karen but not with Elizabeth?

Learning from Other Writers: Observing the Titanic

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Observing the Titanic

Multiple Editors

Photo Essay

On its maiden voyage from Southampton, United Kingdom, to New York, United States, in April 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg off Newfoundland and sank within three hours, killing more than 1,500 people. Approximately 700 passengers and crewmembers were rescued. Seventy-three years later, in 1985, the wreck was discovered lying two and a half miles beneath the Atlantic’s surface, by a U.S.-French team led by Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Many explorers and scientists have visited the Titanic since, including filmmaker James Cameron. Click through the photos to observe scenes of the luxurious ocean liner, then and now, and then answer the questions below.

The Titanic on trial run, 1912.
Over 300 people aboard the Titanic were travelling first class, which granted them spacious private suites such as the ones shown here, and access to other elegant amenities, including a special dining area, promenade, Turkish bath, and gymnasium. Well known passengers included real estate tycoon John Jacob Astor IV and his new wife Madeleine; Isidor Straus, the owner of Macy’s, and his wife Ida; Benjamin Guggenheim, heir to a mining fortune; the influential English journalist William Thomas Stead; and Dorothy Gibson, an American singer and silent film actress. The Titanic carried an inadequate number of lifeboats (20 instead of the planned 64), so as the disaster unfolded, its policy of saving “women and children first” meant that almost all the well-to-do wives and their sons and daughters were rescued. Among the men in first class, two-thirds died, including Astor, Straus, Guggenheim, and Stead.
The Titanic’s Atlantic crossing was planned to take between six and seven days. (On the night it went down, the ocean liner was an estimated two days from its New York destination.) To feed the 2,223 passengers and crewmembers for a week, the ship carried large amounts of fresh and canned provisions, drinking water, milk, and bottled drinks, including 1,500 wine bottles and 20,000 bottles of beer. The price of meals was included in each passenger’s ticket. Predictably, those travelling first-class were offered an elegant, varied menu, prepared by a well-paid chef. But travelers of all classes reported food on board the Titanic to be good and plentiful and meal times to be pleasantly sociable occasions. In addition to vast food supplies, the ship was equipped with a large number of pots, pans, dishes, cups, glasses, and cutlery. A pre-departure inventory noted that the ship carried 127,000 pieces of tableware. Somehow, stacks of white bowls survived the tumult of the wreck and the crushing water pressure at that depth (6,000 pounds per square inch), though the wooden shelves rotted away.
Captain Edward J. Smith (right) and another of the ship’s officers, purser Hugh Walter McElroy, stand on the deck of the Titanic near the beginning of its voyage. Captain Smith was an experienced and well-respected sea commander who had presided over many successful Atlantic crossings. Eyewitnesses and historians have debated his level of responsibility for the collision, his effectiveness in supervising the sinking ship’s evacuation, and his last words. He died when the ship went down, and his body was never found. He had been in charge of a giant ship weighing more than 46,000 tons that had taken 10,000 men almost four years to build, at nearly immeasurable cost. To its wealthy investors and owners, the Titanic had been a proud symbol of the future and of the new 20th century’s confidence — in the power of developing technology, the might of industry, and human ingenuity. In the end, it became something else. And the tragedy led directly to the passing of strict new safety measures and regulations governing lifeboats, evacuation drills, searchlights, lookout schedules, routes, and radio contact.

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. The Titanic was known in its day as a magnificent floating palace, filled with gracious, extravagant touches. Observe and compare the two photos of private luxury suites, from 1912 and the present. What has stayed the same about the Titanic since it sank? What has changed about it? What effects have the 100 years under water had?
  2. Why would the Titanic have had so many luxurious touches, like the marble fireplaces, spacious bedrooms, fine dishes, and Parisian-style cafes, but not enough lifeboats for all the passengers?
  3. Survival rates varied by class and category. (Exact counts differ among sources and accounts): Among crewmembers, 693 died, and 213 were saved. Among third-class passengers, 532 died, and 181 were saved. Among second-class passengers, 166 died, and 118 were saved; and among first-class passengers, 197 were saved, and 123 died.

    When the Titanic sank in 1912, why do you think that newspaper accounts at the time paid much attention to the prominent men who had lost their lives and less attention to the many European immigrants and average working-class and middle-class passengers? What do you think of the “women and children first” policy in place at the time?

    Writing Strategies

  4. What is the effect of including captions that tell stories about life on board the Titanic? Did you find these captions helpful in understanding the photos? Why or why not?
  5. Does the photo essay showing images of the Titanic make you want to go on an ocean cruise or not? Make your case one way or the other using details from the photos.
  6. Contemporary Irish writer Jack Wilson Foster has commented, “We are all passengers on the Titanic.” What do you think he means by this statement? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Learning from Other Writers: ASU Athletes Discuss Superstitions

Instructor's Notes

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ASU Athletes Discuss Superstitions

Tiana Chavez

Video

Tiana Chavez interviews athletes from Arizona State University about their pregame superstitions. Watch the video below, and then answer the questions that follow.

View transcript.

The State Press, Arizona State University

Source: http://www.statepress.com/2012/03/15/asu-athletes-discuss-superstitions/

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. How does Chavez define superstitions?
  2. What do the athletes imply about their rituals actually enhancing their performances?
  3. What does swimmer Mattie Kukors do to prepare for a meet?

    Writing Strategies

  4. Chavez films most of the athletes at the locations in which they compete, such as the baseball field or the swimming pool. Why might Chavez have chosen to film the athletes at these locations rather than, for example, inside the newspaper’s office?
  5. Many different athletes were interviewed for this video. Did Chavez find a good mix of voices? Were there too many? Too few? What, if anything, was missing for you as a viewer?
  6. What is the purpose of this video? Do you get a sense of Chavez’s views about superstitions? If so, how does she make them clear? If not, how could she have incorporated her opinions? As you answer, you may want to consider editing, narration, and other aspects of videography.

Learning from Other Writers: Hurricane Katrina Pictures: Then & Now, Ruin & Rebirth

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Hurricane Katrina Pictures: Then & Now, Ruin & Rebirth

National Geographic

Photo Essay

National Geographic compiled a series of images showing how New Orleans has recovered since the immediate impact of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the area in 2005. Click through the slideshow to view all of the pictures and read the accompanying text, and then answer the questions that follow.

Mario Tama/Getty Images
A New HopeOn August 20 children play in a new development in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward built by the Make it Right Foundation, which is constructing houses for families who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina.The low-lying Lower Ninth Ward took the brunt of the storm’s devastation five years ago but later attracted an army of volunteers eager to help rebuild (pictured, Amish student volunteers tour the area on February 25, 2006).Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Hurricane Katrina Waiting GameThe New Orleans Saints play a preseason game Saturday against the Houston Texans in the Louisiana Superdome (top)—a whole different ball game from five years ago, when the stadium was a makeshift shelter for victims of Hurricane Katrina.As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s Gulf Coast landfall approaches, many hurricane survivors are still homeless, according to a new report by the homeless-advocacy group Unity of Greater New Orleans, local TV station WWLV.com reported.Hundreds of Katrina victims are living in the more than 55,000 ramshackle buildings that were abandoned after the hurricane destroyed much of the city, according to the report.Katrina, the most destructive and costliest natural disaster yet to occur in the United States, killed more than 1,800 people. In total, five million people were affected by the storm and its aftermath, according to Harvard University’s Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group.Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Come Hell or High WaterA Virgin Mary statue tops a crypt in an above-ground cemetery in Buras, Louisiana, on August 19 (top). The same scene in February 2006 shows the jumble of debris created when Hurricane Katrina floodwaters swept through the cemetery.The deluge opened several crypts and caused some coffins to float away, according to the Getty news service.In some areas, storm surges nearly three stories high wreaked havoc on coastal and inland communities alike.Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Hurricane Katrina’s Line of FireOn August 23 Robert Fontaine returned to the New Orleans street corner (top) where a house he’d been living in burned on September 6, 2005. Though others had evacuated the city, Fontaine stuck it out without electricity to take care of abandoned dogs, one of which knocked over a candle and caused the fire.“My whole life, my whole world crashed. For everyone, not just for me,“ Fontaine told Getty last week.Five years later, with many of Katrina’s scars still visible throughout New Orleans, the U.S. government announced it would contribute more than $26.8 million to Louisiana to help with rebuilding projects, CNN reported earlier this week.Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/
Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
Gone With the WavesA latticework of narrow beaches, sand flats, dunes, and marshes southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands (seen at top in July 2001) were largely submerged by Hurricane Katrina’s powerful storm surge, pictured at bottom on August 31, 2005.Within days the surge stripped sand from beaches and ate away large sections of marsh from the island chain, leaving few recognizable landforms in its wake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Today the Chandeleur Islands are in hot water again due to the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which coated many of the area’s shorebirds with oil.Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/
Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
Hurricane Katrina Hits HomeNow you see it, now you don’t—beach homes in Biloxi, Mississippi—pictured in 1998 (top) and 2005—were wiped out after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.Katrina’s storm surge reached up to 12 miles (19 kilometers) inland in Mississippi.Ng Staff/National Geographic StockSource: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100826-hurricane-katrina-pictures-fifth-anniversary-nation-before-after/

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What was the occasion for the publication of this photo essay?
  2. Based on the images and text in “Hurricane Katrina Hits Home,” what was the extent of the impact of the storm on communities like Biloxi in Mississippi?
  3. Based on the text and images in “Come Hell or High Water,” how has New Orleans recovered since the hurricane?

    Writing Strategies

  4. How is this photo essay organized? In what ways do you find the organization effective? Would you arrange anything differently? If so, how?
  5. How do the text explanations enhance your understanding of the photos? Would your understanding have been different if the text had been omitted? Why or why not?
  6. Which pairings offer the most compelling comparison and contrast? Which offer the least compelling comparison and contrast? What makes some pairs strong and the others weak?
  7. Compare and contrast the two photos in “A New Hope.” What is the purpose of this pairing?

Learning from Other Writers: The Scientific Effects of Drunk Driving

Instructor's Notes

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The Scientific Effects of Drunk Driving

Total DUI

Infographic

Drawing on information from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and other sources, this infographic uses science to explain how overconsumption of alcohol impairs driving abilities. View the infographic, and then respond to the questions that follow.

Provided by TotalDUI.com, http://www.totalduui.com/
Source: http://www.totaldui.com/overview/basics/scientific-effects-of-drunk-driving.aspx

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What are the five factors that generally help determine how much alcohol affects your brain?
  2. List two types of vision problems that alcohol can cause.
  3. Alcohol increases the impact of which neurotransmitter?

    Writing Strategies

  4. What is the purpose of this infographic? How does the information it provides (such as your answers to questions 1, 2, and 3) help to accomplish this purpose?
  5. How does the design of the infographic influence you as a viewer? Consider the selection of features such as font, color, and images as you answer.
  6. Do you find the organization of the infographic effective? If so, why? If not, how would you change its organization to make the information clearer?

Learning from Other Writers: Dirty Water Campaign

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Dirty Water Campaign

UNICEF

Video

In 2009, UNICEF’s Tap Project bottled the water that millions of people drink worldwide and “sold” it from a Dirty Water vending machine. This campaign garnered media attention and raised money to help people access clean, safe water. Watch the video that documents the project, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

Casanova-Pendrill

Source: http://thepositivechangeproject.org/unicefs-amazing-dirty-water-campaign/

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What was the purpose of the Dirty Water campaign?
  2. What waterborne illnesses were included on the vending machine? How did people react to these?
  3. Based on the video, do you think the campaign was successful? Why or why not?

    Writing Strategies

  4. The Dirty Water campaign is an example of guerrilla marketing, an advertising strategy that uses unconventional methods to convey a message. What makes guerrilla marketing effective or ineffective in this case? If more conventional methods had been used, such as television commercials or billboards, would the Dirty Water campaign have been as successful? Why or why not?
  5. The video documenting the campaign incorporates news clips, footage of people donating, images of children in developing nations, and more. What is the effect of including all these different types of content? Do they make the video easy or hard to follow? Do they make it engaging? Use examples from the video to explain your answers.
  6. What do you think was the purpose of the video: to educate? to entertain? to convince people to donate? Explain your response.

Learning from Other Writers: Texting While Walking

Instructor's Notes

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Texting While Walking

Casey Neistat

Video

Videographer Casey Neistat explores the dangers of texting while walking before proposing a solution. Click on the image below to watch this comical video, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

Casey Neistat

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/01/08/opinion/100000001269189/texting-while-walking.html

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Why does the video say texting while walking is dangerous?
  2. Why does the video say texting while walking is inconsiderate?
  3. What solution does Neistat propose?

    Writing Strategies

  4. Neistat uses humor to convince viewers that texting while walking is dangerous and that he has an appropriate solution. What does his attitude or approach tell you about his intended audience? Do you find his use of humor effective? Why or why not?
  5. What evidence does Neistat provide to argue that texting while walking is dangerous? Is the evidence convincing? Why or why not?
  6. Neistat incorporates scripted video, interview, and multimedia elements in this selection. Why do you think he incorporated these different types of content? What other types of content might he have used?

Learning from Other Writers: Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Instructor's Notes

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Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Consumer Reports Editors

Video

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reviewing products ranging from cars to pancakes. Click the image below to watch this review, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

“Best Buttermilk Pancakes” Copyright 2012 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. Yonkers, NY 10703-1057, a nonprofit organization.
Reprinted with permission from ConsumerReports.org for educational purposes only.
www.ConsumerReports.org.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlLUbO19nTI

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. According to Tod Marks, what makes a pancake excellent?
  2. Whose pancakes did Consumer Reports evaluate?
  3. Where did the best pancakes come from, and why were they the best?

    Writing Strategies

  4. How does the Consumer Reports video approach the process of evaluation? Why does the video take that approach? Do you find it effective? Why or why not?
  5. What criteria does Consumer Reports use to evaluate the pancakes? How faithfully do they stick to their criteria? Use specific examples to support your view.
  6. How is the Consumer Reports review organized? Is the organization effective? Why or why not?

Learning from Other Writers: Why Am I Obsessed with Celebrity Gossip?

Instructor's Notes

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Why Am I Obsessed with Celebrity Gossip?

Cary Tennis

Advice Column

Cary Tennis writes an advice column on Salon.com called “Since You Asked.” In this selection, Tennis advises a woman who feels that her obsession with celebrity culture is making her unproductive. Read the column, and then respond to the critical reading questions that follow.

Dear Cary,

1

Every day I find myself logging on to a variety of Web sites—People.com, eonline.com, Salon.com's the Fix—to gobble up all forms of celebrity gossip. I spend hours on imdb.com figuring out which celebrities were born closest to my birthday (Billy Crudup, Robert Rodriguez) or discovering that both Debra Messing and Cate Blanchett named their sons Roman. After awards shows, I go to site after site to relive the dresses, the hairstyles, the snippets of gossip from the red carpet and the after parties.

2

It struck me that this was a problem again last night, when I read that Laura Dern and Ben Harper got married, then proceeded to Google them to death to find photos of them doing mundane things like walking with their baby down the street. They seem like cool people, but could I possibly care about the minutiae of their lives? And what about the hours I handed over to that endeavor?

3

I’ve always been fascinated with celebrities, but the fascination was for years limited to magazine browsing in line at the grocery store. Even then, I knew it was odd that I could tell you the names of Demi Moore’s daughters (Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah) without a pause. But lately, fueled by the whole-house wireless my news junkie partner installed, it seems I can’t get enough.

4

I might not worry about this if I weren’t worried about other elements of my life. My stunted creativity, for example. I’m a writer, but for years I haven’t finished things that weren’t on a specific work-related deadline. My own writing, though I sit down to it regularly, is shrinking. I’ve published a book of poems, been nominated for a Pushcart, taught creativity to both kids and adults. All this is past tense. I feel I’m getting less and less creative. It’s harder to tap into the free-form spill that leads me into a poem, harder to wiggle into the voice that makes a story rise above the rote. I’m in one of those jobs that is too good to leave, too bad to stay. I drive to work fantasizing about quitting. I walk into my cubicle and I slump. On my days off and in the early morning, I work on my own pieces up to a point, and then I file them away. I read about why Renée Zellweger always wears Carolina Herrera.

5

Is this as simple as mere avoidance, distraction? Other things in my life are good. I’m in a happy partnership, have a relatively nourishing home life. I have good friends. The sun shines a lot where I live. My garden has fresh herbs.

6

I turn to you because you are so gifted at seeing beyond the obvious, at teasing out the nuanced reasons for the choices we make. I know that I can unplug the Internet, talk with my therapist, go cold turkey. I’m more interested in what lies beneath. Unlocking this seems the key to changing it. What is the metaphor here? What questions should I be asking? What might I be hungering for? I just read a story about a couple who searched for a year and a half for an apartment in Brooklyn with the right fireplace, and the moment they saw it, bought a studio with a mantel tiled with undulating dogwood carvings. They fell for a fireplace. There’s something noble in that hunger. An update on Kirsten Dunst’s hair extensions? Not so noble. Can you help me see my way out of this, Cary?

Signed,

Too Many Stars in My Eyes

Dear Too Many Stars,

7

I see celebrities as gods and goddesses. A strong interest in their betrothals and betrayals, their binges and fasts, their tragedies, to me indicates an interest in the world of magical characters. It is at root a spiritual quest, closely allied with our thirst for literature. The reason we are so obsessed by celebrities today, I figure, is that there is nowhere else in our culture with such rich and readily accessible tales of such magical and entrancing variety.

8

For instance, the lead item in the Fix today, as I’m writing, is this: “Gwyneth Paltrow has enlisted a rabbi from the Kabbalah Center to exorcise the ghosts from the five-bedroom London townhouse she shares with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and their 19-month-old daughter, Apple. ‘Gwyneth believes that the dark energy that has dogged her lately is due to something dark and unexplained in her home,’ a source told Daily Mail. ‘Her pregnancy is not as peaceful as her last one and she has also been upset by a stalker.’ “

9

Isn’t that wild? (Note that she, as a vessel, holds our crazy beliefs so we don’t have to.)

10

I would argue that gods and goddesses are only useful to us in our lives if they are not regarded consciously as gods and goddesses—only if they are regarded as real. I would suggest that we cannot possibly regard the gods and goddesses of another age and culture the way members of that culture themselves regarded their gods and goddesses. I figure that the ancient Greeks and Romans regarded their gods and goddesses much as we regard our film stars. The minute we become conscious of worship, the worship dies. It loses its magical power. We become self-conscious. So the obsession with celebrities is an act of primitive cultural innocence.

11

We have a pantheon of amazing figures; we are swimming in it; we are living in a magical world. It is natural for us to be transfixed by these characters because we are thirsty for magic. We are not satisfied with our earthly existence, nor should we be. We are humans and humans hunger for the divine. Our religions have failed us, our philosophies have failed us, our government has failed us, and our writers have…well, nevermind. You get what I’m saying: Embrace celebrity worship! Do not be ashamed! It is a real hunger that you are feeding!

12

I would suggest that you build on your interest in celebrities in several ways. For one thing, try to understand your particular responses to particular celebrities in terms of your own interests and struggles. What do your likes and dislikes of various celebrities say about you as a person, your aspirations, your secret hopes, your values? Expand on this. Perhaps you could keep a journal or a scrapbook. Perhaps you could embark on something akin to fan fiction, using the gods and goddesses of our media world as characters in tales of your own creation. Or perhaps, using readily available video software, you could create movies of your own with digital images of stars found on the Internet. If you are a writer and feel your interest is taking you away from writing, I would suggest bringing your writing to bear on your interest.

13

As for me, I also have a private pantheon of characters about whom I feel deeply, but they are boring and embarrassing. For instance, my secret sorrow lately has been the disappearance of Aaron Brown from CNN. I find his being supplanted by the crass young “360” man quite disappointing; I found him at first, as I said in an e-mail to a colleague back when Brown started, a little unctuous. But after a time I came to enjoy Brown’s avuncular style. Primarily what I enjoyed was his judgment—the professional sifting and sorting of stories. This was an appreciation mostly of craft, of how someone works; but then I am a fairly work-centered person. I also liked the fact that Aaron Brown was not trying to make me feel anything (this is very telling about me). I resent the attempts of newspeople to make me feel. I do not want to be made to feel—especially by newspeople. I feel plenty already. I am not deficient in feeling. I am deficient in understanding. I grit my teeth every time Anderson Cooper comes on the screen. I resent him. I wish he would go away. I wish him a bad fate of some sort, I’m not sure what—perhaps that he would fall into the mud. If I were a child playing with little figures of newspeople, I think I would make Anderson Cooper fall in the mud and have to crawl around in it. That probably says a lot about my primitive drives and fears, perhaps more than I would like to know.

14

What do I like on television? I like History Channel World War II stuff with bombs and fighter planes. I like stuff like “What if the moon disappeared?” Because at heart, I’m a little comic-book science boy, fascinated by strange tales of the earth! (This is a clue to my mythic life.) Frankly, all those celebrities remind me of the pain of being an outsider in high school. I feel more comfortable identifying with grim scientists.

15

So it’s interesting for me to think about this in relation to my own life. And it’s interesting to note, as I consider it, how strongly I feel about these things! Aaron Brown’s departure was a genuine personal loss, about which I might have written an essay if I did not fear seeming foolish. Or, more precisely, if I did not fear parading my personal feelings without any kind of argument to back them up. It was just a personal thing.

16

Point being, it’s interesting and instructive to ask ourselves what we like about celebrities. It tells us more about ourselves than perhaps we would like to know. So if I were you, rather than fighting your interest in celebrity lives, I would try to build on it, take it to a deeper level, make an art of it. Especially since you are a writer: Your subject is right in front of you. What is the meaning of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt? What are her special powers? What does she represent? I do not know, but you probably do.

“Why am I Obsessed with Celebrity Gossip?” This article first appeared in Salon.com, at http://www.Salon.com. An online version remains in the Salon archives. Reprinted with permission.

Source: http://www.salon.com/2006/01/06/celebrities_3/

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Why does Tennis think worshiping celebrities is like the ancient Greeks and Romans worshiping their gods?
  2. What is Tennis’s advice to the letter writer?

    Writing Strategies

  3. Who is the audience for Tennis’s piece? Is there more than one audience?
  4. What kinds of support does Tennis use to strengthen his argument?

Learning from Other Writers: Celebrity Relationships: Why Do We Care?

Instructor's Notes

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Celebrity Relationships: Why Do We Care?

Karen Sternheimer

Video

Karen Sternheimer is a professor of sociology at the University of Southern California. Her book, Celebrity Culture and the American Dream: Stardom and Social Mobility (2011), explores how celebrity culture reflects society as a whole. In this video, Sternheimer discusses how our obsession with celebrities’ relationships reveals our anxieties about marriage. Click the image below to watch the video, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View Transcript.

Karen Sternheimer

Source: http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v101/dead.htm

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What aspects of a celebrity’s life does Sternheimer say is “central in celebrity coverage”?
  2. To what does Sternheimer relate our changing views of marriage?
  3. According to Sternheimer, what anxieties does our obsession with celebrity marriage reflect?

    Writing Strategies

  4. What types of support does Sternheimer use in this video? What other types of support might have been effective?

Learning from Other Writers: The Strange Power of Celebrity

Instructor's Notes

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The Strange Power of Celebrity

Tom Ashbrook and Ty Burr

Audio Interview

Tom Ashbrook is the host of the National Public Radio show On Point. In this brief excerpt from the show, Ashbrook interviews Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr, about the idea behind his book Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame (2012). Listen to the excerpt, and then answer the questions that follow.

View Transcript.

On Point with Tom Ashbrook is a Production of WBUR, Boston and is distributed by NPR.

Source: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/10/05/the-strange-power-of-celebrity

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Burr says that one of the reasons that we watch celebrities is because they present a “coherent identity.” What does he mean by “coherent identity”? Give some examples of celebrities with a coherent identity.
  2. What does Burr say the Internet has allowed us to do?

    Writing Strategies

  3. This interview is structured as a conversation. How effective did you find this structure? Would you have preferred a more formal interview? Why or why not?

Learning from Other Writers: Dead Men Do Tell Tales

Instructor's Notes

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Dead Men Do Tell Tales

Timothy J. Bertoni and Patrick D. Nolan

Academic Paper

Timothy J. Bertoni and Patrick D. Nolan are sociologists at the University of South Carolina. In their academic research study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Sociation Today, Bertoni and Nolan use data collected from New York Times obituaries ranging from 1850 to 2000 to test their hypothesis that our society has become more secular and hedonistic. This excerpt presents the authors’ sources in APA documentation style, which is commonly used in sociology and other social sciences. To view the authors’ full analysis and the charts compiling their data, visit the original source. Read the excerpt, and then respond to the critical reading questions that follow.

1

Although the specific names will vary, everyone can recite from memory a list of famous or infamous figures from the past—Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Sir Isaac Newton, Madame Curie, Galileo, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell—people whose names live on because of the notable achievements or discoveries they made. But we also recall others such as P.T. Barnum, Sally Rand, Annie Oakley, and “Buffalo Bill” Cody, people known largely for their “celebrity.” This raises the question: Have we always been obsessed with celebrity and celebrities, or is this a product of the increased disposable income and leisure afforded by advancing industrial technology? To address this question, we develop a quantitative measure of the cultural attention directed toward celebrities and achievers, and use it to explore trends across the 20th Century.

2

Advancing industrialization has produced concomitant trends of increasing technological productivity and declining rates of population growth. Together they have produced a more than thirteen-fold growth in real per capita wealth and income in the United States since 1870 (Nolan & Lenski, 2009, p. 219). Anecdotally, this increasing income “surplus” appears to have enabled the population to shift its attention away from issues of survival and subsistence and toward leisure, entertainment, and amusement—more secular “hedonistic” pursuits. At the same time, science, technology, and secular ideologies have greatly undermined and eroded the influence of theistic religions (Nolan & Lenski, 2009, p. 237).

3

Increasing per capita wealth and increasing leisure time have offered the opportunity for more people to indulge in more hedonistic urges and pursuits, and, this, in turn, has created a growing number of occupations that cater to these pursuits. We believe that, together, these trends may have fundamentally transformed American culture.

4

If they have, we would expect this transformation to manifest itself in observable “collective representations” (e.g., Durkheim, 1895/1982), and, a reasonable place to look for evidence of this is in the popular mass media, more specifically, editorially-chosen and prominently-featured published obituaries. If the cultural importance of secular hedonism has increased, we would expect that there would be a concomitant increase in the relative proportion of “celebrity,” (e.g., athletes, actors, entertainers) and a decline in religious (e.g., clergy) and “producer” (e.g., scientists, industrialists, and inventors) obituaries. Such a trend (social fact) would reflect either a shift in the editorial judgment of the press, since featured obituaries reflect editors’ twin judgments of the individual’s “importance” and of the potential reader interest in them, a shift in the relative numbers of people employed in these occupational categories, or some combination of the two.

5

The pursuit of pleasure, hedonism, has unquestionably been an aspect of all human societies. But its form, direction, and scale have varied greatly. Art history suggests that religious art, music, and ceremony dominated entertainment in the middles ages, while secular activities predominate in advanced industrial societies today. This shift is not simply a shift in individual tastes, but an institutional shift organized around a growing market economy, political liberty, and slowing population growth. In our opinion, the growing prominence of, and attention directed toward, entertainers, actors, and star athletes is merely a collective representation of this underlying socio-cultural change.

6

We hypothesize, therefore, that with advancing industrialization and the growing economic surplus it produces, there will be a growing proportion of obituaries for secular hedonistic occupations and a declining proportion of obituaries of religious, scientific, and industrial figures. We will test our hypothesis with data obtained from The New York Times”The Newspaper of Record.”

Measures and Methods

7

We will test our arguments with three sets of hypotheses. The first hypothesis in each set is the “weaker” form, which merely posits proportional changes in the obituaries of people in certain occupational categories. The second is the “stronger” form, which posits, further, that the change is greater than the change in the relative numbers of people employed in such occupations. Thus, support for the second would imply that the change is the result of greater (or lesser) importance and attention being accorded to the activity/occupational category, not simply changes in the relative number of people employed in them.

Hypotheses:

  • H1a: As industrialization advances the proportion of celebrity obituaries will increase.
  • H1b: Celebrity obituaries will increase at a faster rate than the increase in celebrity employment.
  • H2a: As industrialization advances the proportion of religious obituaries will decrease.
  • H2b: Religious obituaries will decrease at a faster rate than the decrease in religious employment.
  • H3a: As industrialization advances the proportion of business and manufacturing obituaries will decrease.
  • H3b: Business and Manufacturing obituaries will decrease at a faster rate than the decrease in business and manufacturing employment.

8

Data to test the hypotheses were gathered from The New York Times obituaries and Statistical Abstracts of the United States. We first briefly review a special feature on “notable deaths” in 1852 (published in January of 1853), and then sample obituaries for the years 1900, 1925, 1950, 1975, and 2000. Since the U.S. is argued to have crossed the industrial threshold about 1870 (Nolan & Lenski, 2009, p. 197), we have a snapshot of the state of affairs in a late pre-industrial phase and a systematic sample of changes across succeeding phases/degrees of industrialization. By tracing the distributions of obits over time, it may be possible to trace the state of these social facts through this period.…

[Eds. Note: To review the authors’ analysis of the data and view charts that compile the results, go to the original source.]

To Summarize

9

H1a is strongly supported. Celebrity obits increase in all years, reaching 28 percent in 2000, the largest percentage for any category in all times examined.

10

H1b is strongly supported. The increasing prominence of celebrity obits clearly outpaces changes in employment—with the lagged ratio reaching nearly 28, and the contemporaneous ratio, more than 31! By far, the most striking and consistent trend in the focal occupational categories is the increase in the ratios for the celebrity occupations.

11

H2a is substantially supported. After increasing modestly from 1900 to 1950, religious obituaries plummet to zero in 2000, the only occupational category, in any year, to have zero obits.

12

H2b is substantially supported. Religious obituaries, highly overrepresented in 1925 and 1950, drop substantially in 1975, and as noted above are zero in 2000.

13

H3a receives some support. Manufacturing obituaries peak in 1950, but by the end the century are only a third of the level they were at its beginning. Business and finance obituaries basically hold steady (or increase slightly) from 1900 through 1975, but then drop substantially in 2000.

14

H3b receives mixed support. Greatly underrepresented overall, the trend in contemporaneous and lagged ratios for manufacturing and industry is essentially flat, while both ratios for business and finance steadily and substantially decreased across the time period examined.

Discussion

15

These results show substantial support for our predictions. Most striking are the concomitant increases in celebrity, and declines in religious obituaries, documenting the increasing secularization and hedonism of American culture, together with its shift away from concern with issues of subsistence. The magnitude of these trends is seismic. While the Greeks may have looked to their gods for guidance and entertainment, we turn increasingly to our celebrities—entertainers and athletes.

16

As a result, the power of celebrities has also dramatically increased. As Mills (1956/2000, p. 4) wrote, “If such celebrities are not at the head of any dominating hierarchy, they do often have the power to distract the attention of the public or afford sensations to the masses, or, more directly, to gain the ear of those who do occupy positions of direct power.” Additional evidence of celebrities gaining access to power are the notable careers of Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the influence of U2’s Bono and Oprah Winfrey, just to name a few. The author Alan Schroeder (2004) details more of these relationships of celebrities with political power in his book Celebrity-In-Chief. These elites with their increasing influence, and public attention, have filled the vacuum created by the declining influence of (theistic) religious elites and other institutions. In the process, “factoids,” “sound bites,” “infotainment,” and “arguing heads” have blurred the line between news (information) and entertainment and replaced reasoned debate (to the extent it existed anywhere outside our imagination) with noise and distraction....

17

Finally, it has been suggested that an alternative explanation for rising hedonism, as we have measured it here, is that hedonism is just being “outsourced.” Hedonism itself is not on the rise; rather, individuals, instead of producing their own music, art, and films, are now buying it on a market and thereby are creating and financing entertainment and sports celebrities. There is undoubtedly some truth to this, however the spectacular increases in more personalized, individual hedonistic activities and paraphernalia (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, Wii, podcasting, blogging, “flashmobs”) suggest that consideration of this dimension further might only serve to magnify the trends observed here, for these venues and technologies of self-entertainment were not available in the past, even for the wealthiest and most privileged members of society. Their very existence, thus, further supports our argument.

18

In advanced industrial societies more people are able to purchase secular pleasures and thus sustain a vast and differentiated secular hedonistic industry. More people are more engaged in pursuing a greater variety and volume of entertainment and are less concerned with issues of subsistence and mere survival. Hedonism has been discussed by thoughtful people as early as ancient Greece, where it received its name. But in the past, it has been viewed largely a matter of individual choice. While we do not reject the importance of such micro level processes, in this study we have taken a more macroscopic view, taking seriously Durkheim’s (1895/1982) argument that social facts have an external objective reality. Our findings of increasing celebrity, and declining religious and producer, obituaries document a macro-social trend of increasing hedonism and declining religiosity, at least in one advanced industrial society. As we noted above, we believe our argument differs dramatically from the secularization thesis so strongly critiqued by Stark (1999), but should he, or others, disagree, the evidence presented here would suggest that reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

References

Durkheim, E. (1982). The rules of sociological method. (S. Lukes, Ed.; W. D. Halls, Trans.) New York, NY: Free Press. (Original work published 1895)

Mills, C. W. (2000). The power elite. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1956)

Nolan, P. & Lenski, G. (2009). Human societies: An introduction to macrosociology. (10th ed.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm.

Nolan, P. & Lenski, G. (2009). Studying human societies: A primer and guide: A student study guide. (10th ed.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm.

Schroeder, A. (2004). Celebrity-in-chief: How show business took over the White House. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Stark, R. (1999). “Secularization, R.I.P.” Sociology of Religion, 60, 249-273.

Stark, R. (2011). The triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus movement became the world’s largest religion. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/dpB005C6IJZA

Reprinted by permission of Sociation Today.

Source: http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v101/dead.htm

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Why do the authors say that society appears to have more time for “leisure, entertainment, and amusement” (paragraph 2)? What seems to be the effect of this shift? Where did the authors look for evidence of this shift?
  2. In your own words, what is the authors’ hypothesis? How do they test their hypothesis?
  3. What do the authors conclude about hedonism based on their study?

    Writing Strategies

  4. What audience do Bertoni and Nolan address in this essay? Give examples from the essay to illustrate how they appeal to this audience.
  5. How is this essay organized? Describe the function of each section. What is the effect of this organization?

Learning from Other Writers: Charlie Living with Autism

Instructor's Notes

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Charlie Living with Autism

Shannon Kintner

Photo Essay and Article

This photo essay provides a glimpse into the life of Charlie, a five-year-old boy diagnosed with non-severe autism. Click through the slideshow to view all of the pictures, read the accompanying student newspaper article, and then respond to the critical reading questions that follow.

1

“You go bye-bye?” says Charlie Minto, 5, to Kari Hughes, a behavioral therapist. Charlie was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (in lay terms, non-severe autism) in October of this past year. He receives in-home behavior therapy five days a week. When he’s finished with it and ready for playtime, he doesn’t keep it to himself.

2

“No, Charlie, it’s not time for me to go yet,” Hughes responds. In one year, however, Charlie might be saying “bye-bye” to his therapists forever.

3

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the guidelines used to diagnose different types of disorders, will be released in its fifth edition in May 2013 with its first set of revisions in seventeen years. While the changes are not yet complete, the proposed new definition of autism may be more rigorous than the current one. Many families are worried that, due to the revised wording of the definition, their loved ones will lose the diagnosis, and with it, their services through state, school, and insurance companies.

4

Mindy Minto, Charlie’s mother, worries that the costs for the behavioral, occupational, and speech therapies that Charlie needs will be prohibitive. “My fear is that he won’t get the help he needs and that he won’t…be the Charlie that he can be, he won’t rise to his full potential. And that’s concerning.”

Mindy Minto wipes pizza sauce off her son Charlie’s shoulder during dinner one night. Studies have shown that eating at home with the family lessens a child's risk of obesity later on in life.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
A behavioral therapist guides Charlie’s hand while writing his name. Charlie just wrote his name by himself for the first time in mid-April.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
Charlie plays with his dog, Lola, before dinner. Both of Charlie’s parents have described the two as best friends.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
Kari Hughes, a behavioral therapist, asks Charlie to point out certain objects pictured on flashcards. His at-home therapy balances between a few minutes of playtime for every five achievements he makes, such as identifying flashcards or completing a puzzle.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
Delia Minto, 8, Charlie’s sister, plays with Charlie after dinner one evening. Sometimes Charlie may flap his hands or push when excited or anxious, but he never plays aggressively.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
Kari Hughes, a behavioral therapist, teaches Charlie how to use a zipper during a few minutes of playtime.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan
Mindy Minto, Charlie’s mother, helps Charlie put on pajamas after a bath. Charlie sticks to a usual nighttime routine that consists of a bath, some ice cream, and a bedtime story.
Shannon Kintner/The Daily Texan

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What story about Charlie do the images tell?
  2. The photographer shows Charlie eating with his family, learning with his teacher, and playing with his dog. How does this variety affect the viewer’s experience?
  3. What is the message and the effect of Kintner’s title for this essay?

    Writing Strategies

  4. How would you describe Kintner’s written text (both the captions and the article)? Why do you think that she chose this approach?
  5. How does the article change the impression of the images? If the article had not been included, what would the effect of the images have been?
  6. This photo essay originally appeared in a student-run campus newspaper. In what ways are its purpose and audience shaped accordingly?

Learning from Other Writers: Mind Games: Football and Head Injuries

Instructor's Notes

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Mind Games: Football and Head Injuries

Frank Deford

Audio

Frank Deford has been a journalist at Sports Illustrated for over fifty years. Also a regular contributor to National Public Radio, Deford has been selected U.S. Sportswriter of the Year six times and earned an Emmy for his coverage of the Seoul Olympics in 1988. In this audio piece, which originally aired on Deford’s NPR segment Sweetness and Light, Deford explores our culpability in the intersection of football and head injuries. Click below to listen to the selection, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

©2012 National Public Radio, Inc. Audio from news commentary by Frank Deford was originally broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition on May 9, 2012, and is used with permission of NPR. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152250525/mind-games-football-and-head-injuries

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Why, according to Deford, are former NFL players suing the NFL?
  2. What does Deford say is the “larger truth so many of us are avoiding”?

    Writing Strategies

  3. Identify Deford’s thesis. When does it occur in the presentation? Why might he have chosen that strategy?
  4. Describe Deford’s tone of voice and speaking pattern. Is he an effective speaker? Why or why not?

Learning from Other Writers: How Your Aggressive Driving Negatively Impacts the Environment

Instructor's Notes

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How Your Aggressive Driving Negatively Impacts the Environment

Brian Hurst

Infographic

In 2015, GOOD, described as a “magazine for the global citizen,” partnered with the insurance company Progressive to produce Data for GOOD, analyses of statistics and other research aimed at answering such questions as, Does our infrastructure influence our safety? and How have design and technology innovations really transformed us? Drawing on data from devices that monitor driving behavior as well as from other sources, this Data for GOOD infographic explains how aggressive driving has a negative impact on the environment. View the infographic, and then respond to the questions that follow.

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. What environmentally unfriendly emissions are produced by “obnoxious engine combustion”? What negative effect does each emission have?
  2. What happens in a car’s engine during sudden speeding and sudden braking, and what are the effects?

    Writing Strategies

  3. According to data from Progressive, which city produces the most additional carbon dioxide per 1,000 miles?
  4. What is the purpose of this infographic? How does the information it provides (such as your answers to questions 1, 2, and 3) help to accomplish this purpose?
  5. How does the design of the infographic influence you as a viewer? Consider the selection of features such as fonts, colors, and images as you answer.

Learning from Other Writers: The Best Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructor's Notes

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The Best Vanilla Ice Cream

Consumer Reports Web Editors

Video

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reviewing products ranging from cars to ice cream. Click the image below to watch this review, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

"Best Vanilla Ice Cream" From Consumer Reports, © 2014 Consumers Union. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.

Source: consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/06/best-vanilla-ice-cream/index.htm

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. According to Amy Keating, a test project leader at Consumer Reports, what qualities does an excellent vanilla ice cream have?
  2. What brands of vanilla ice cream did Consumer Reports evaluate?

    Writing Strategies

  3. According to the organization, which brands are best and why? What faults were identified in the lower-rated brands?
  4. How does the Consumer Reports video approach the process of evaluation? Do you find it effective? Why or why not? (In answering these questions, you might consider features of the video that would not be possible to include in a print review.)
  5. What criteria does Consumer Reports use to evaluate the various brands of vanilla ice cream? How faithfully did the organization stick to these criteria? Use specific examples to support your view.
  6. How is the review organized? Is the organization effective? Why or why not?