Primary source (click on the picture to zoom in) -
Secondary source -
Feil, Ken. “From Camp to Kitsch: 9/11, Taste, and the Imagination of Disaster.” Dying for a Laugh: Disaster Movies and the Camp Imagination. Middletown, CT: Wesleylan UP, 2006. Print. 119-141.
Using the movie poster from United 93 as your primary source and a chapter from Ken Feil's Dying for a Laugh: Disaster Movies and the Camp Imagination (which was assigned as a thematic reading two weeks ago), develop a complex thesis statement.
*Juicy hint from the good work you did in class two weeks ago: If you look in the earlier post we did during the class discussion (under the Comments button), you'll find your summaries of the pitch of the argument in Feil's article, to give you a brief sense of what the main points in his article were. Be sure to identify the right summary because each group posted their summaries of both articles that were assigned in the thematic readings.
As you work on developing your complex thesis statement, be sure to avoid the pitfalls of the five kinds of weak thesis statements described in Writing Analytically. Each group is to post their thesis statement with all group members' names as a "New Post" on the blog.
Discuss to whom the message (in the primary source) is conveyed.
Speculate about the effectiveness of this message, using analytical claims (i.e. for the claims you make, refer to elements in the primary source to support your argument; always link claim-----evidence) as well as arguments in your secondary source to support your claims about the effectiveness of the primary source.
TASKS:
- In groups of 3 (two groups may have 4 people), post a well-developed, complex thesis statement (that avoids the pitfalls of the five weak thesis statements).
- Write one short paragraph to identify whom the intended audience might be.
- In one sizable paragraph, speculate about the effectiveness of this message (in the primary source) to the intended audience you identified in part 2.
- As a group, comment on one other thesis statement in the class (I will assign the groups).
Using the "Comments" button:
- Identify if it is in danger of falling within one of the five types of weak thesis statements.
- Point to one great thing about the thesis statement (is it particularly compelling and how so, etc.)
- Identify one way in which your group thinks the thesis statement might be improved OR suggest one way in which a student with that thesis statement might introduce complicating evidence to develop a complex and compelling paper.
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ReplyDeleteDespite the controversial nature of thematic disaster movies, such as United 93, the infusion of such disaster into Hollywood blockbusters depicts the American public’s desire to indulge in the disaster represented on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteThe intended audience would be the American public. Within the scope of the American public are Americans who are drawn to this disaster genre as well as Americans who want to satiate their appetite for disaster; in this case the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Madeline, Huihong Chen, Ryan
After the terrorist attack of 9/11, Americans’ perception altered to form a new era of American pop culture and changed the public’s perspective of disaster, giving the public an actual event as a reference point between real life and fictional disasters.
ReplyDeleteThe general audience could include any American that was personally affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Americans share a special bond with the event in a sense that everyone felt the same way when the news came about. The feeling was a uniform fear of terrorism. Shortly after this feeling, though, an up rise of hope and determination to fight terrorism was established, sending a shock wave of patriotism across the United States. With this patriotism, we were able to move forward from this tragedy and engage terrorism at its core.
The poster is effective because it relates to the audience through symbolic figures of patriotism. The statue of liberty takes up the largest portion of the poster and it displays the freedom of the United States. The audience can relate to the poster because everyone knows what the statue of liberty is and knows the message that comes along with the structure. Analytically, we can infer that the location of the poster is New York City, the place of the terrorist attacks because of the World Trade Centers in the background. A plane is shown, along with a message that explains that it is the only plane that did not reach its destination along with the other planes. People know of this plane, the American citizens on board caused the plane to land away from its intended target and only caused the citizens on board to pass away.
Nate, Dan, Pete