COMMENT and at least one REPLY to a comment worth noticing.
compare your assignment JULY 30 to the work of Crystal.
How does your compare to this? If yours fell short of this standard, what are the reasons?
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The film was amazing considering they
devised some of the special effects they used with no comparisons or experience
in full-length feature films. One of my favorite effects is when Virgil and
Dante find Farinata where the heretics are buried in piles of fire (27:00). I
enjoy everything about the scene from the red highlight, to the fire pits
burning, and the exhaust from the smoke, it is all very theatrical. All of the
combustibles that are exploding all around the three men create a fiery and
unsettled environment perfect for the place you would imagine the heretics
would be in hell. The moment when Farinata disappears in his pit and the whole
scene becomes burning flames is very visually captivating. I also very much
enjoyed the scene where Lucifer is eating the bodies of Brutus and Cassius
(1:03:00). I enjoyed the special effects of Lucifer specifically in the close
up shot where you can see him eating a man who is just flailing and kicking
around as his is being eaten. It was a particularly fun scene because I
understood the historical reference to betrayal that Brutus and Cassis
committed against Caesar. The effects that the production crew used to
manipulate the bodies was amazing considering the limited technology. There is
one scene that demonstrates the body manipulation very well where Mohammed has
his chest torn open (51:00). In the background you see men whose bodies parts
are detached from itself. There is one man who has no leg and is limping across
the screen and another man who walks into the scene carrying his own head! With
a modern eye the standard is quite low you can clearly tell where the black-out
method wasn’t 100% effective yet it still creates a vivid scene and it is still
quite remarkable considering it was one of the first major motion pictures with
limited resources comparatively speaking.
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So far I am enjoying the course simply
because the material is interesting and most are topics that I haven’t studied
heavily before so it is all new for me. The movies have all been very different
from each other but I noticed a running theme of religion, politics, and
religious identity struggles in all of the films. For example in The Name of
the Rose there is a battle of religious righteousness between the
inquisition and any heretics. Any person who acted out against or believed
opposite of the Church was punished with death. The clergymen in this film are
supposed to act according to the word of God but some have sinned in
unacceptable ways. Similarly, the temptations in The DeCameron seduce
many of the characters in many episodes. For example, the young boy who
pretends to be a deaf/mute so that he can have sex with all the nuns
demonstrates the profane behavior of anyone stepping away from the Church.
Also, political strife is common in most of the films, consider Bernardo in DeCameron
and Brutus in Julius Caesar. Both characters have a great internal
politic battles that overwhelms them and misleads them down a narrowing path. I
would imagine that as we move forward we will continue to see the internal
political battles and religiosity of the Italian people reflected in the movies
and lectures. I am curious about what we will study going forward since the
semester is short I would assume we will study the most interesting aspects of
Italian history. The multi-platform structure of the class between the
combination of the movies, video lectures, response assignments, and blog posts
help to give the best understanding of the material. The interactiveness of the
blog posts helps to have ongoing conversation with other students on their
opinions and understandings of the material. Student’s perspective always gives
great insight because you're in the minds of people who are like-minded and
typically share the same understandings and if not can offer clarification or
deeper meanings to the material.
I wrote a concise and straightforward response to prompt. I am not sure that it falls short. However, I realized that if I had been making notes of the questions I had as I watched the films or anything that peeked my interest about the assignments, I would have been able to provide a long and well thought out response as the one above.
ReplyDeleteIt was true for me- I had been taking notes on my general questions/reactions on the different assignments and found them very helpful to reference back to when gathering my thoughts on what we have studied so far.
DeleteMelissa,
DeleteDefinitely take notes. As I have said in previous posts, I also use the closed captioning. It helps with the names of people and places that may otherwise be misspelled or missed altogether in character conversations. I find it takes a while (a long while), but it saves time when constructing responses to questions.
Very detailed writing. I can sense that a person really enjoys the assignments which is a great thing. I am too enjoying the class and love to learn something new each time as well as express myself afterwards. However, my assignment was much shorter and less detailed this time, simply because I wasn’t fully opened to myself with no particular reason behind it.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristina,
DeleteI agree that Crystal’s writing was very detailed. Like yourself, I am also enjoying the class and I am excited to learn new things.
Crystal was very detailed and thorough when answering the questions for the homework. She gave great examples of the film that we watched. She also added the time the scenes took place because of that it allows me and other students to view what special effects that stood out to her. Unlike Crystal, I did not write thoroughly about the movies and how it relates to the materials we’re covering. She did a wonderful job at connecting each film. I do agree with her that the blogs are a great way to connect and understand other students.
ReplyDeleteHi fan, I agree with you on Crystal adding the time the scenes took place because I also went back to review the special effects she mentioned.
DeleteMy response did fall short of the example. I guess I wasn't aware of the in-depth self-reflection you were looking for. I think a model of the expectations of an assignment or rubric would be helpful tools for me to self-assess my work. I hope to do better on this upcoming assignment.
ReplyDeleteI agree but I like that he gives us the freedom to write as much as we want. I like this type of free writing.
DeleteI had thought of this assignment as our midterm essay, with hopes of synthesizing a lot of material. I agree, Peiling, I also like the freedom of the 'free writing' and find that the prompts have inspired a new form of thinking/analyzing and has me continuously checking in with what part of me is leading: intellect vs. emotion vs. rational brain vs. curiosities.
DeleteShe wrote a very detailed respond. She really took her time and thought into her writing. I like that she put the time of the video she is mentioning about.
ReplyDeletealso she compared two films. I was confused of which video we were supposed to write about because they were all screen play.
Crystal, I appreciate the way you absorbed all of the material thus far and were able to categorize it into the three topics of religion, politics, and religious identity struggles. This approach of yours has proved helpful to me in clarifying the historical concepts we’ve been studying with an intellectual approach as opposed to purely an emotional one on which I feel my assignment verged.
ReplyDeleteI like your note on intellectual versus emotional approach. I think it's helpful to analyze what approach you are gravitating towards and try to add what is lacking.
DeleteWell, for starters, my answer is nothing to compared to hers. She answered the question and went above and beyond by giving great examples. I think I wanted to keep things short for the sake of simplicity. Be straightforward. Sometimes, I go out of my way when some people (my parents) ask me something and give a big complicated answer. I never thought I'd have to be as thorough as Crystal.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm starting to think my response was really below par. After looking at what my colleagues wrote, I feel bad about what I turned in. Not that I didn't try, I did. I think if I would have had a better idea of what was wanted, I could have delivered. Being an online course, we are sometimes limited in communication of what is expected and what is delivered. Great job Crystal. Your response was amazing.
ReplyDeleteDon't be too hard on yourself. I think our professor has us reflect on our assignments so we know what is expected. It helps us figure out where we're doing well in our assignments as well as where we can improve.
DeleteWhile I gave clear and concise answers to the assignment, it's apparant that Crystal put more time and effort into her answers. She referred back to past assignments to support her reflection and offered more anaylsis on the subject of special effects in L'Inferno. I'll make sure to do this in our next reflections and assignments.
ReplyDeleteI think, that this is a great essay, that ties together few previous course assignments. I really enjoyed reading it. I though my replies to that week tasks were pretty detailed, but Crystal was able to synthesize a lot of concepts and ideas in her reply, it felt very detailed and personal. I think, I should take her approach and try to refer back to some of the previous material.
ReplyDeleteThis sample is well written and gives really thoughtful details. Crystal must have put in a lot of efforts in this assignment. Comparing it to mine, my work is a bit shorter. I wish I could have put more effort into it but unfortunately after a long day work I could not make it.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well that I should have gave more detail in my work as well to give the reader more clarity.
DeleteI like that Crystal gave a specific scene in the movie and gave great detail on why they believed it was such a great scene. Such as the scene, when Lucifer is eating the bodies of Brutus and Cassius, Crystal is very specific in what they found intriguing. Perhaps going forward I should give greater detail to support my statements to give the reader more clarity in my opinion.
ReplyDelete