Prepare

As you prepare to write this discussion, take a few moments to do the following:

• Read any required and recommended reading materials for this week, especially Chapter 2 from your text.
• Review the grading rubric for this discussion.

Reflect

There are many ways in which technology is affecting the production, distribution, and appreciation of films. For example, think of how CGI, animation, and other advances in digital technology have changed the ways in which stories are told on film. Then, consider how the Internet has changed the way we access, evaluate, and discuss films.

Write (due Thursday, Day 3)

According to the first letter of your last name, respond to your designated topic.

Topic A (Last names beginning with A through M)
Choose a film and discuss the importance of technological advancements to its success as a mode of storytelling. How might it have been told differently, for better or worse, without these technological advancements?

Topic B (Last names beginning with N through Z)
Choose a film that gained notoriety due to the Internet and discuss how social media and other instant modes of communication have changed the ways in which we approach, appreciate, and consume films. What do these changes imply about the future of film distribution and audience participation in the film’s lifespan?

Indicate Topic A or Topic B in the “Subject” of your post. Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.

Respond to Peers (due Monday, Day 7)

Respond to a post by at least one classmate who was assigned to the topic group you were not. For example, if you wrote your initial post on Topic A, then choose a classmate who responded to Topic B. In your reply, provide your opinion on the topic and discuss how it is similar or different than your classmate’s. Your responses should be 125 to 150 words each.

Please view the video Accessing Feedback in the Gradebook (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for guidance on how to review your instructor’s feedback when the post is graded.

Prepare

As you prepare to write this discussion, take a few moments to do the following:

• Review the Modeled Discussion.
• Read any required and recommended reading materials for this week, especially Chapters 1, 2 and 10 from your text.
• Review the grading rubric for this discussion.

Reflect

As you have learned in this class, film is a far-reaching medium with the potential to affect the greater fabric of our culture. Our understanding this potential and our ability to analyze it reach far beyond just this medium and into all areas of our social structures and culture. For example, the practice of closely analyzing particular films, which we’ve honed in this course, is the same practice of analysis which you will find in other courses – or in learning any new skill.

Write (due Thursday, Day 3)

Based on the films you have watched and the ways you have learned to interpret meaning in them, discuss your ideas about how films engage social concerns and have lasting effects on society. Pick a film (or films) as evidence of this dynamic and describe the social and cultural resonance you see.

Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.