Check in, Final Project Check-Ins, Group B, The Bluest Eye

FInal Project Check-In 2- Group B: Rachel and Erica

The fliers our group will create would incorporate the book, The bluest eye. In it, we would illustrate how black girls are misrepresented by society and how that creates mental health issues through misrepresentation. Such detrimental self image ( with lack of accurate representation) could cause trauma which leads to anxiety, suicides, or mental illnesses that might seem to develop from nowhere with no cause. The fliers would be an informative piece that shows that racial disparities still exist even though it is 2017. In the fliers, there would be statistics along with with object images from the novel and from contemporary times that prove it is still a factor that effects women.

The setting in the book is in the 40s. From then til now, not much has changed in how society still portray black women. The difference is in its subtlety in how the world presents black women disparagingly through the media and what not. This applies to all black females as like in the book where we see the females and their questions and views on appearance and beauty are raised and talked about.  Because it is an informative flier, it would be available and or passed out publicly. They would be pinned in public libraries where children would have access to them with their parents. Other than that, Baruch would be one of the sites where the fliers would be posted and passed out. This would cover grounds on all levels where girls of all age range, young or old, single or married, would be reached. Of course, there would be sites and hotlines printed on the flier so individuals would be able to seek help or look more into mental issues, anxiety, or any stress release.

There are many fliers out there that also serve the purpose of promoting awareness about mental health, anxiety, and suicide. The difference in our flier is that we would present stats with images that show some of the major causes of these issues. What we are doing is placing some of the society’s “deemed” standards and paralleling them to some of the images from the nove in their timel and connecting them to the causation of these mental issues that  are still perpetuated now.

 

Check in, Group C

Group C- Yahkiney, Mindy, Luis

What: Our group decided to create a digital autobiography of Baruch students memories. The format of the autobiography will be done as a graphic novel. Each member of the team will ask students to talk about a moment in their life where they either felt most embarrassed, happy, sad, etc. The graphic novel will act as a flashback cloud that plays out the story of the individual. An image or short clip of the person will be shown before the comic version of their story.

The project will be in video form but will show pictures narrated by students. Music will be played in the background to support and amplify epic moments of the story. Panels of the story will be drawn, photographed and made into a slideshow video. We hope to do at least two to three stories each having a different plot and emotional feel.

Why: Choosing to turn real life stories into a graphic novel is something that peaked my interest from reading Marjane Satrapi’s “The Complete Persepolis.” There’s a thin line between reality and non-reality when someone does this and gives an outside perspective on his or her own life.

 

 

 

Uncategorized

Group C – Final Project

Building off Mindy’s idea of the Chinese food container, I think we should different kinds of foods inside the containers and ask people which one is the authentic dish.  For the Chinese meal, we can get some low-end (maybe even frozen food) dish and the other containers something better. The purpose is to show how authenticity is something that relies heavily on another’s definition and perception.

Check in, Final Project Check-Ins, Group B, The Bluest Eye

Group B 2nd check in – Rachel and Erica

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What: We decided that we will be creating flyers to inform college students about mental illness. The flyer will include information on mental illness such as Depression, Anxiety, thoughts of suicide or even if there is a stressful event in their lives. There will be symptoms and signs that students should look out for to help them identify if they feel any of these symptoms and whether they should seek the help that they would need. The fliers will also provide access to a suicide hotline number as well as the Baruch psychologist center. We will be handing these flyers out to students around campus as well as putting them up around where students will see them.

Why: The main character from our book, The Bluest Eye, eventually projected that she had developed a mental illness at the end of the book. Pecola has obviously been through very traumatic events throughout her young life. During this time, she had no help in coping with these issues. We want to help those who feel like they have no one to turn to. We want to provide access to those that need to express their feelings. College students like ourselves struggle with school work and are sometimes juggling work and school. This can really take a toll on them which causes extreme stress and can lead to depression. We want to help our peers overcome these problems by enabling them to seek the help that they need. We want to be a part of helping those who are suicidal and, we hope that this effort of ours will help someone in this condition. We urge those who feel stressed to speak their mind and let off some steam. Unfortunately, Pecola did not have anyone to guide her and give her support but we do and we want to make sure that this opportunity is presented.

Check in, Final Project Check-Ins, Group E, Monster, Monster by Walter Dean Myers

project check-in, group e

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Group E, Monster: Harris, Dylan, Tiffany

WHAT: The current intention is to first collect a number of court room transcripts from hearings where black and/or latino kids (may not limit to juveniles) are being charged, then collect transcripts of hearings where white kids are being charged with similar crimes. The aim is to evaluate the language that is used by the prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges; and to make note of any similarities and potential differences in the language used to address and describe the white kids on trial and the black/latino kids on trial. We would theoretically post each compared transcript, side by side, on a website with minimal design (possibly just a solid colored background). We may caption each pair of cases with a comparison of the language used, but have not determined if that would dissipate the intended effect.

WHY: In Monster, our protagonist is a black male that is, with the other men he is arrested with, labeled a “monster” by the prosecution. We, as readers, however, have insight into the life of our young protagonist, and are moved to sympathize with him. Although his lawyer successfully defends him, she is suspicious of her client and refuses to celebrate his win with him.

A black male who goes into trial does not enter the court room as himself, the individual–he enters with all the biases, stereotypes, and judgements that precede him. Prosecutors need only use a handful of words, insinuations, and allusions to win their case. Fear, ignorance, and conditioning of the American people do the rest of the job. Language, which is taught and learned, is the foundation of our understanding of the world, and while we as a group (Group E) have not yet sought out any of the transcripts we would potentially use, we are confident we will find stark contrasts in the lingual treatment of minorities and white defendant. Access is a most important factor of education, and we feel that compiling these transcripts so that they are easily accessible can only serve as a positive addition to any viewer’s self-education.

ALBD, American Born Chinese, announcements, Check in, CR Post #1, CR Post #3, CR Post# 2, Final Project Check-Ins, Frankenstein, Graphic Narrative Assignments, Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Monster, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Monster Readings 1, Monster Readings 2, The Bluest Eye, The Outsiders, Turner Readings, Uncategorized

Group D: Final Project , Shatavia, Jeleah, Kye, Angel

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What:  For our group project we are going to create a scrapbook.  A scrapbook is a book of blank pages for sticking clippings, drawings, or pictures in.  The scrapbook is going to be designed exactly how we think Jefferson, Grant, or a character from the book would create it.  We will be filling up the scrapbook with Jefferson’s important memories, moments, recipes, and his time in jail.  In order to do this, we will be looking for symbols in magazines, things from the internet, clippings in newspapers and physical objects.  Being in jail and confined to one place causes a person to use their imagination.  Similar to Jefferson and Grant they are both trapped in situations that cause them to do a lot of imagining and thinking.  Something our group will be doing in order to create the perfect scrapbook that represents “A Lesson Before Dying”.

 

Why: In the book “A Lesson before Dying” a lot of the book has to do with symbols and teaching.  Jefferson is being taught a lesson by being sentenced to death.  Grants job as a teacher is to teach and he is also asked to teach Jefferson how to become a man.  Since teaching plays a huge role in this book, the scrap book will be created to teach others about our insights, thoughts, and main ideas about the book.  We all thought it would be a good gesture to create a visual.  This way our imagination and how we views things from the book can be brought to life.

Final Project Check-Ins

Group A Final Project Check In: Aaron, James and Richard

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WHAT: We plan to make a video on social perception New Yorkers have on people based on which part of the city a person comes from. People will be approached and asked questions on what they think a person from a certain neighborhood or borough is like. A school would most like bring people together from all over the city, so we might plan to record near school. This will allow us to have more variety in sample size. The length of the video will depend on how many interviews we’re able to get when we record. It’ll be shared on some video sharing website, probably Youtube.

The way it’ll work is we’ll stop people on the street and ask them a few questions like “what do you imagine when you think of someone from Brooklyn?” After all the point of views are recorded we will create a conclusion that will reflect what a general consensus thinks about a group from each said neighborhood or borough.

 

WHY: A large portion of The Outsiders revolved around self image and the image being from one part of town or one economic standing can reflect the way society perceives you. With a city as diverse as New York CIty, we can probably see the same type of assumptions being made here that were made in the town of the book. Socs were thought of as better than the Greasers based on where they came from the ideas people had from each group. An average New Yorker might have the same sort of opinion based on where a person is from.

We decided to go for a video because it’s become a format that’s easily spread around. You can just click on a link and just watch. Video is also a medium that would most easily be viewed by young adults today. It’s more engaging and you get a picture of the person giving their opinions on camera. We’re also in a digital age, where the average person probably spends more time watching videos on Youtube than actually reading. There’s also the function of the comment section that allows a conversation to be made.

announcements, Graphic Narrative Assignments

Graphic Narrative TWO Assignments for Monday!!!

You have two graphic narrative assignments which are both due by start of class on Monday.  If you are comfortable posting a photograph of your graphic to the site  before class, that would be great, but it is not required.

ASSIGNMENT ONE:  FRAMING  OUR MONSTERS

You should make 2-3 panel layouts for your We Monsters autobiographically-influenced graphic narrative that touches in some way upon the idea of monstrosity and adolescence.  You should already know what narrative moment you want to communicate.   This assignment is asking you to play around with how you will visually frame and layout your story.  I’m asking you to use the rulers and pencils passed out in class, to make a clean and legible layout of panels for your graphic.  YOU ARE NOT DOING THE WHOLE GRAPHIC.  You are just doing the panels, and then adding a  kind of mock up stick figure drawing that communicates how you intend to use each panel and how they will speak to each other.

Once you have done one of these, you will then do at least one more for the SAME narrative moment.   The moment/story is the same, but you will propose in this layout a different arrangement (placement, size, shape, etc) of panels.

ASSIGNMENT TWO:  PICTURING WILSON’S PICTURE

Pay close attention to the details of encounter between Darren Wilson and Mike Brown as the legal record provided in the transcript of Wilson’s grand jury testimony shows (see below image).   We focused  on page and lines of the description.

Depending on which group you are in (see below) draw a single panel of either the beginning, middle, or end of this story as  depicted in transcript.   You should not just be replicating the in class example we did.  You may decide for yourself what constitutes the beginning, middle, and end moments of Wilson’s narrative.  And you should decide how best to represent  the portion of the narrative your group’s been assigned to depict.

Where in the above assignment you are working mainly on layout of the panels, in this assignment you are working on composition and arrangement of figures within a single frame.   What figures, symbols, lines, colors, shadows, text, and shapes can communicate the part of the story your group is supposed to work on?

Groups A & B:   Do beginning of  a 3 panel graphic.

Group  C:  Do the middle of a 3 panel graphic

GROUPS D & E:  Do the end panel of  a 3 panel graphic.

 

 

Some things to keep in mind when drawing your panel:

ON REALISM:   Remember that you don’t always have to be literal or aim for realism in graphic novel.  Often money is communicated not by pictures of actual crumpled bills, but by a green dollar sign.  You can see in the example from class, the hospital is just a rectangle with a red cross like sign on it.

ON COLOR:  We have intense affective association with colors.  So colors can signify a whole host of moods and feelings and settings.   Again you don’t want to think literal here.  It’s not important that the shirt is red because it was red in real life (or even in the story), but you might use red to show your character is angry or in the case of the in class example has  a fever (which is a mix of literal and symbolic use of color).

ON MOVEMENT:  A lot  of times movement can be established by repetition of image, or by drawing movement lines that connote the “trace” of where the moving object has just been.

ON BREAKING THE FRAME:  The frame of the panel and the “blank” space between the panel are just as much a part of the visual  configuration of the story ass the drawing of the protagonist.  Having a character fill out the entire frame might make them seem huge or cramped.  Having them break the frame might communicate danger or transformation or some disruption of order and move into the liminal.   By contrast having a lot of negative space in a frame with a very small picture can communicate emptiness, loneliness, or something hidden and secret.

 

announcements, Final Project Check-Ins

Final Project Check In #1 Due 4/24/17 @ 10am

By 10:00 am, Monday, April 24th  one person from your group should post a description of what your group plans to do for the book project.  Remember to check all relevant category boxes. If your group is a little undecided, you may propose two descriptions (but no more than two).   Each description should include a WHAT and a WHY. 

THE WHAT is a detailed description of what you’re actually planning on doing for the project (e.g. make a book, create a webinar, put on a performance, make a video installation in one of the main bathrooms, present a panel of papers, etc.)   You should be as detailed as possible about the WHAT.  Don’t just say you’re going to make a physical book or do a performance.   Explain the nature of the physical book (i.e. size, material, etc.).  Detail the vision of the performance (Improvisation? Scripted, Lyrical, Dance? Musical?  Three acts? A one person show?  A Musical? And so much more.)  Your description should be 2-3 paragraphs.

THE WHY is where you reflect on how your WHAT satisfies the requirements of the assignment (please see the assignment description) and particularly how it resonates with the content you want to communicate.  You should explain why you chose the form you chose, and while your explanation might be partly out of personal interest in that form, you need to articulate a rationale that relates that form/medium to the content of your project.  How does the form of your particular WHAT speak to the themes/questions/claims you want to highlight?  Your WHY should  be at least be 2-3  sentences, but if you want to write more, you are welcomed to do so.

For example:  So my hypothetical group is working on Beloved.  Maybe we randomly decided to make a physical book made out of expired campus flyers.   Maybe we came to the idea partly because we were just joking around and partly because half our group is passionate about making Baruch more green and the other half just thought the idea was cool.  That’s a fine way to come to the idea (the logistical details of  which we will spell out in the WHAT), but then in order to produce a strong WHY, we had to do the WORK of considering how a book made out of expired campus ads might speak to the themes of the course as they play in our novel Beloved?  At first it was tough, but then we thought of two things: one that the main character was a fugitive slave, and so there’s something in the print ad that resonates with the danger of escape and hunt.  But also the ads we are using are expired, which signifies a passing of the terror of being hunted.  In this way the form seems important because by repurposing the expired ads, we both honor the end of that present life of the ads while acknowledging that something of them lives on.  This afterlife of the ads resonates with Beloved which is deeply interested in the afterlife of slavery and escape.  Beloved‘s interest in this afterlife that is both an end and a continuation resonates with the course themes on monstrosity and liminality.  Indeed the monstrous ghost baby in Beloved is monstrous in large part because she is neither in the past or the present and yet she is both in the past and the present.  She occupies in her awkwardly infant and adolescent self a liminality that eventually wreaks havoc on those characters around her who cannot both straddle and be outside of past and present.

This rationale would be plenty for the check-in, but one of the purposes of the check-in is to get you thinking about the what and the why because that’s a huge part of what I will want to see in the write-up.   So if in articulating the WHY described above, my group has other ideas about how to refine the what and/or why so they speak together, we can say more.   So we could decide to  limit the type of expired ads we use. If we only use ads that seem to ask students to market or sell themselves or conform themselves to the needs of institutions, well then now the form of our WHAT is in even better conversation with the content because just as the form speaks to the content (the ads for runaway slaves and afterlife of captivity and being hunted) the content of Beloved and the use of the ads in this way gives new life to the content of the ads and makes us think about the content of those expired ads in a new light.