Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables

Posted on June 26, 2008 at 8:00 am

This week we are visiting Canada’s Prince Edward Island, well known to fans of classic children’s books as the home of Anne of Green Gables and the author who created her, L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery. When I was in 6th and 7th grade I was a huge fan of the series about the red-headed orphan with a big imagination and an even bigger heart who held on so tightly to the “e” at the end of her name. I loved the way each book’s title indicated the widening of her physical and emotional world as she went from Green Gables, Avonlea, the Island. I also read some of Montgomery’s other books, including Tales of Avonlea and More Tales of Avonlea, which reflected more deeply Montgomery’s views on spirituality and sacrifice. And I believe that the miniseries is one of the finest book-to-movie adaptations ever put on film. Every detail and performance is everything Ms. Montgomery and Anne could have wished for. I am looking forward to touring Anne’s community with my family and if I take any good pictures, I’ll post them.

Project Gutenberg’s online version of Anne of Green Gables.

AFI Salutes Warren Beatty

Posted on June 25, 2008 at 8:00 am

The American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Warren Beatty will be broadcast tonight at 9 pm EST on the USA Network. Beatty’s notorious romantic life and political activism has sometimes distracted the media from his achievements as an actor, writer, and director. (Expect some jokes about his appearance in two of the biggest money-losers of all time, the not-as-horrible-as-its-reputation “Ishtar” and the even-worse-than-you-can-imagine Town and Country).

Watch him in the final scenes of his very first film, Splendor in the Grass, a pioneering exploration of sexuality and repression. Beatty and co-stars Natalie Wood and Zohra Lampert are heart wrenching as each must confront the compromises necessary for achieving maturity.

His most family-friendly performance is in Heaven Can Wait, the remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan. It is the sweet romantic comedy about a football player whose soul is mistakenly taken up to heaven by an over-eager angel and who therefore must find a new body to complete his life journey.

Mature audiences should see the classic (but very violent) Bonnie and Clyde, 70’s thriller The Parallax View, and the historical epic about writer/communist activist Reds .

Quiz: How Well Do you Know Your Robot Movies?

Posted on June 24, 2008 at 8:19 am

Wall*E, the new Pixar release, was inspired in part by one of the most loveable robots in movie history, R2D2 from “Star Wars.” Wall*E, an adorable garbage drone, inspired me to create this quiz about other memorable robots from movies and television. How many can you answer?
1. What film features three little robots who tend a garden and cheat at cards?
2. In what movie set in the future does a famous writer/director play a character who pretends to be a robot?
3. What robot’s most famous line was “Danger, Will Robinson!”
4. Robin Williams played robots in two movies. Can you name them?
5. This Disney Channel special had a scientist father who created a robot son.
6. Klaatu barada nikto were the special code words to stop which robot from destroying Washington?
7. This robot from one of the first big-budget science fiction movies was inspired by a character from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”
8. This sit-com was about a little girl robot who lived in a suburban family.
9. Another short-lived sit-com featured a beautiful female robot named Rhonda.
10. This gold-colored robot who appears in many movies has an English accent. What is his name? (bonus: Who built him?)
11. Robots were the stars of an animated film based on famous Shakespeare love story.
12. This robot wore an apron and carried a feather-duster in an animated sit-com.
13. A little boy robot becomes very attached to his human mother in this movie that was a collaboration of two of the world’s greatest directors.
14. Killer female robots attacked the hero of this comedy spy spoof.
15. His name means “information” but this beloved character from a long-running television series is almost human.
16. Is a replicant a robot or a human? Name three characters concerned with this question in “Blade Runner.”

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Quiz

The Sword in the Stone

Posted on June 23, 2008 at 4:55 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Cartoon violence
Diversity Issues:	Class issues
Date Released to Theaters:	1963
Date Released to DVD:	June 17, 2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0015XWU9U

Based on the book by T.H. White, this is the story of the early years of King Arthur. Nicknamed “Wart,” the future King Arthur is squire to a knight when he meets Merlin the magician, who promises to take on his education. Merlin turns him into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel to teach him lessons like the importance of brains over brawn. He gets to see this in action when Madame Mim, Merlin’s enemy, challenges Merlin to a duel by magic, and, though she cheats, Merlin is able to defeat her.

Wart still has his duties as a squire, and, having forgotten the sword for a jousting match, he runs to get it. He sees a sword stuck in a stone and pulls it out, not knowing the legend that whoever will pull the sword out of the stone will be the rightful king. He becomes King Arthur, and listens when Merlin reminds him that knowledge is the real power.

Discussion: The Arthur legend has fascinated people for centuries, and this story about Arthur’s childhood as special appeal for children. Aside from the fun of seeing what it is like to be a bird, a squirrel, or a fish, and from having your very own wizard as a teacher, there is the highly satisfying aspect of having one’s worth, unappreciated by everyone, affirmed so unequivocally.

Questions for Kids:

Â· What made Arthur the one who could pull the sword out of the stone?

Â· What did he learn from his adventures with Merlin?

Â· How will what he learned help him to be a good king?

Â· How did Madame Mim cheat?

Â· How did Merlin fight back when she did?

Connections: Older kids may like to see “Camelot,” the musical by Lerner and Lowe (of “My Fair Lady”), to find out some of what happened to Arthur later (WARNING: the focus of that movie is on Guinevere’s infidelity with Lancelot). Mature teenagers might like the rather gory “Excalibur,” which has some stunning images.

What Kids Learn from ‘Silly’ Media

Posted on June 23, 2008 at 8:00 am

FlowTV, the always-interesting scholarly online publication about media, has a thoughtful article by Aaron Delwiche of Trinity University called “‘What we me worry?’ What the new media literacy movement can learn from Mad Magazine and Wacky Packages.”
Delwiche makes some good points about the legitimacy of video games as a subject for serious cultural and cognitive study and as a form of media that can be on a par with books, music, and movies. But I thought the more interesting part of the article was his discussion of Wacky Packages (the 1980’s trading cards with gross-out parodies of consumer products) and Mad Magazine and the way that the inherently rude and subversive nature of humor helps children begin to question assumptions, think more actively and creatively, and want to learn more about the world so that they can understand the jokes.

As we revamp the media literacy curriculum for the 21st century, Mad Magazine and Wacky Packages have something to teach us about the importance of humor, the value of simplicity, and — above all else — the importance of questioning the man behind the curtain.

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture