Similar to my previous blog, I've done research on this field of study before for another class in the past. I believe the article in our book must be addressing the liability of production studios including sexually explicit scenes such as graphic sex scenes and full nudity in feature-length movies and box office blockbusters. The examples of censorship are many.
Consider the rating system. A "G" movie we would all likely feel safe taking our young children to. We know it's likely going to be some animation with singing or something like Air Bud: Golden Receiver, with a lovable pooch of some popular variety. A "PG" movie may contain some violence and might give our little ones a nightmare if they're not old enough to understand it. A "PG-13" movie is recommended for adolescents or older, people who have had a few more life experiences and can understand the context and concepts that the movie may represent. Up until this level, most production studios have no problems with rating their movies as such. It's after this level that producers start to consider their material more carefully.
"NC-17", like "PG-13", has an age limit to be admitted by oneself. This reduces the amount of potential ticket-buyers, since young teenagers are often afforded enough responsibility by their parents to be dropped off at a theatre and left unattended. Similarly, movies rated "R" significantly cut down their potential number of viewers. "R" also usually carries with it some sexually explicit material, which touches on a whole new level with regards to sponsorship, and that's what Sex and the Cinema refers to.
If you're a potential sponsor like McDonalds, you're not as likely to endorse a sexually explicit movie because you want to cater to the larger family consumer base. You'd rather offer toys resembling the latest Dalmations movie than a nude Barbie Doll. Movie producers consider where they're getting their funding in addition to who's going to be buying their tickets at the theatres.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Movies are a form of business, and executives are of the habit of doing tried and tested means for successful business ventures. It can have a limiting affect on different levels of public exposure to controversial themes such as homosexuality, and it may lead to children being "sheltered" by over protective parents, but I don't think it's large enough of a concern to worry about for the general population. I may change my opinion after I read the actual article =)
And that's the two main points I remember, as well as what I found on a quick Google search. Now onto the article!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
English 1C - Pre-Reading Blog #1
Well, shoot. I can't help but cheat on this blog a little since I read Paulo Freire's Banking essay last summer. I'll see what I can recall...
The main point regarding the Banking Concept of Education involves students acting as nothing more than storage "banks" for information and knowledge rather than critically analyzing and utilizing the information they are taught. In this equation, teachers are the powerful "bankers" that make deposits into their empty-headed students. Although originally I viewed this as an archaic idea, it's still very present in today's world.
It's also very problematic. Simply memorizing data and regurgitating it for the occasional test when required creates quite a dilemma. Students are encouraged to take everything they learn at face value and not question their authority figures. While this is useful for mathematics, it prevents a student from fully understanding the implications of a myriad of other subjects.
Imagine political science, or psychology, or philosophy. If our views and understanding of these subjects was never questioned or critically evaluated would we even have such topics to study? How often does our understanding of the world become challenged over the decades? If we continued to study the same old ideas, never improving upon them, our society would be more than dull - it would arguably cease to function due to its lack of adaptability.
When students question the information they are given, they understand it better. The teacher might even learn a thing or two about how to better describe the subject in the future, or even learn the answer to a question that had been bugging him for some time. This establishes a dialogue with which both the student and the teacher are on equal footing and one with which the student is more likely to succeed in his academic environment.
That was the main point I recall - that the Banking Concept in general is a poor method of teaching in today's world. It has its merits, such as preparing students for standardized testing or teaching them mundane job skills, but we'll save that discussion for next time.
The main point regarding the Banking Concept of Education involves students acting as nothing more than storage "banks" for information and knowledge rather than critically analyzing and utilizing the information they are taught. In this equation, teachers are the powerful "bankers" that make deposits into their empty-headed students. Although originally I viewed this as an archaic idea, it's still very present in today's world.
It's also very problematic. Simply memorizing data and regurgitating it for the occasional test when required creates quite a dilemma. Students are encouraged to take everything they learn at face value and not question their authority figures. While this is useful for mathematics, it prevents a student from fully understanding the implications of a myriad of other subjects.
Imagine political science, or psychology, or philosophy. If our views and understanding of these subjects was never questioned or critically evaluated would we even have such topics to study? How often does our understanding of the world become challenged over the decades? If we continued to study the same old ideas, never improving upon them, our society would be more than dull - it would arguably cease to function due to its lack of adaptability.
When students question the information they are given, they understand it better. The teacher might even learn a thing or two about how to better describe the subject in the future, or even learn the answer to a question that had been bugging him for some time. This establishes a dialogue with which both the student and the teacher are on equal footing and one with which the student is more likely to succeed in his academic environment.
That was the main point I recall - that the Banking Concept in general is a poor method of teaching in today's world. It has its merits, such as preparing students for standardized testing or teaching them mundane job skills, but we'll save that discussion for next time.
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