Multi-Modal Literacies: Comparing Naruto to Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer

Text and Dialogue

Balloons (words/thoughts)- In Naruto the words and thoughts were mostly in the form of thought bubbles of various shapes and sizes.  However, I did notice that when the characters spoke actual dialogue the text was in a thought bubble.  When the characters were thinking something internally the text was just written on the page without a bubble.  In Pinocchio, pretty much all the words and thoughts were in round text bubbles.

Captions- In Naruto it was difficult to find any captions because most of the action was conveyed through text balloons and sound effects with pictures showing the action.  In Naruto there was no need for the story to be conveyed through captions.  However, I did find a few captions including the one on page 121 that says “All night Naruto practiced, diligently pummeling an effigy off his teacher…”.  In Pinocchio captions were used in the beginning of the book to retell the original story of Pinocchio.  I also noticed they were used when Pinocchio tells Cricket the story of Geppetto’s murder by the monster. 

Emanata- In Naruto I noticed that exclamation points and question marks were used frequently throughout the book to represent the characters’ thoughts.  The author also used a combination of exclamation points and question marks to represent emotion.  Furthermore, I noticed the use of three periods (…) was also used to represent confusion.  In Pinocchio I didn’t find any emanata because the characters’ emotions were conveyed in other ways. 

Lables/Signs- In Naruto labels were used occasionally to convey the location of the characters.  For example, “The Ninja Academy” is clearly labeled on page 21.  Labels and signs are used similarly in Pinocchio.  For example, “Cherry’s Carpentry” is clearly labeled in the novel so that readers will know where the characters are. 

Lettering- In Naruto, the text bubbles use the same font throughout the novel.  However, it is sometimes bolded when emphasis is needed.  For the sound effects and emanata, a variety of different texts are used depending on the action that is being conveyed.  In Pinocchio, the same font is used for the text bubbles throughout the novel with bolded lettering being used for emphasis.  Different bolder fonts were used for the sound effects. 

Sound Effects- Sound effects were used similarly between the two novels with a few slight differences.  Both novels used sound effects to convey sounds such as “pow!” or “snap!”.  However, Naruto uses these sound effects more extensively.  Sound effects are used in all situations throughout the novel including those of little importance.  For example, “munch munch” is used to convey the sounds of Naruto eating on page 86 of the book. 

Visual Features

Characters- The characters of Naruto and Pinocchio are similar in the fact that they’re both on important quests of self-discovery.  However, they’re different in the fact that Naruto’s quest is to become a powerful ninja and Pinocchio’s quest is mostly about revenge.  Naruto has more characters and they seem to be more complex.  There is room for speculation about the characters.  In Pinocchio, the characters are more one dimensional with the defeat of the monster or the defeat of the townspeople as their only goal.

Objects- I couldn’t really find any significant objects in Naruto.   I think Pinocchio’s nose serves as an important object in Pinocchio despite the fact that it’s a part of his body.  It’s important because it’s his main weapon.  I also think the monsterminator is another important object used in the novel.

Icons- I didn’t observe the use of icons in either of the novels.

Scenery- The scenery in Naruto is very detailed with various uses of shading involved.  The artwork is very similar to the artwork used in anime television series.  The scenery in Pinocchio is depicted in various shades of black and white with some shading, just not as much as in Naruto.  The scenery in Pinocchio isn’t as detailed as in Naruto but the various shades of black and gray do a great job of conveying the mood of the story. 

Depicted Action (internal/external)- In Naruto the action was mostly depicted through pictures and sound effects.  In Pinocchio, the action was depicted by pictures and narrations by the characters.  In both novels internal action was conveyed through captions and text. 

General Layout and Design

Borders- Both novels use square and rectangular panels.  Naruto doesn’t really have clearly defined borders.  Pinocchio mostly uses a white border around the panels except on a few pages that are mostly colored black.

Gutters- Naruto doesn’t have clearly defined gutters.  Pinocchio has a white gutter on the bottom of each page except for the pages that are colored black.

Panels- Each novel uses square and rectangular panels.  In Naruto the characters have more freedom to roam outside the panels wherein Pinocchio the characters mostly remain inside each panel.

Open Panel- I noticed the use of open panels in Naruto mostly with text bleeding between more than one panel.  In Pinocchio, the characters mostly remained in their own panels.

Splash- Splashes were used throughout Naruto to depict fight scenes.  Some panels were even two pages large.  Splashes were also used in Pinocchio to depict action that had a heavy emphasis on it.  For example, a two-page splash was used in the scene where Canpenella was captured. 

Angles and Frames

Bleed- I noticed the use of open panels in Naruto mostly with text bleeding between more than one panel.  In Pinocchio, the characters mostly remained in their own panels.

Close-up- Close-ups were used frequently throughout Naruto, particularly when a character was experiencing a heavy emotion.  In Pinocchio, close-ups were used to convey intense action.

Head shot- Head shots were used throughout Naruto to convey the emotions of the different characters.  Head shots were used in the same way in Pinocchio.

Head-shoulder shot- Head-shoulder shots were used throughout Naruto so that readers could see the characters’ facial features better.  Head-shoulder shots were used in the same way in Pinocchio.

Full-figure shot- In both novels, full-figure shots were mostly used to convey some type of action.  These shots were used when the characters were doing more than just speaking to each other.

Longshot- In both novels, longshots were used to convey action.  Specifically intense fight scenes. 

Extreme Longshot- Extreme longshots were used in both novels to convey large scenes where there was a lot to take in. 

Reverse- Reverse shots are used in both books.

Rhetorical Techniques

Exaggeration- Exaggeration is used frequently throughout Naruto to convey strong emotions or fight scenes.  Exaggeration is used rarely in Pinocchio.

Mood/tone- In Naruto, the mood is mostly conveyed by the detailed scenes and the dialogue and interactions between characters.  In Pinocchio the mood is mostly conveyed by the use of dark colors and shading.

Simplicity/Complexity- In Naruto the characters and scenes were more complex than the characters and scenes in Pinocchio.

Realism/icons/symbolism- Both novels aren’t really realistic because neither of them have situations that could occur in real life.

Order/disorder- There was more disorder in Naruto than in Pinocchio because there was more bleeding between panels and much more was going on in each scene than in Pinocchio.  The panels in Pinocchio were more chronological and easy to follow.

Juxtaposition- I didn’t observe juxtaposition in either novel.

Relationships- The relationships between characters in Naruto were more complex.  In Pinocchio the characters were either all good or all bad.  In Naruto there were more shades of gray.

Point-of-View- Both books were told from the point-of-view of the main character.  However, in Naruto the readers could also see the thoughts of the other characters.  

    

    

    

Multi-Modal Literacies: Lost

     It is my belief that certain television shows and movies can teach us just as much as books and important pieces of literature.  In my opinion, Lost is one of those television shows.  I was fortunate enough to discover Lost about four years ago and ever since then I've been hooked.  At that time, the first four seasons had aired and I watched them all online in about two weeks time.  Ever since then, I've periodically re-watched the entire series and each time, I learned something new about the characters or the mysteries or both.  This show definitely gives people a lot of issues to discuss.
     Another thing I really like a lot about Lost is that it has a lot of allusions to different pieces of literature or elements of culture.  It also has a lot of symbolism which is ultimately what makes it comparable to a piece of literature.  There are multiple references to Alice in Wonderland (The "White Rabbit" episode and Jack's quest to find his father) and The Wizard of Oz ("The Man Behind the Curtain").  Furthermore, Sawyer also references numerous canonical pieces of literature including Of Mice and Men and Lord of the Flies.  He often compares the characters in the show to these literary characters.
     Therefore, it is my opinion that Lost has a lot of discussion points and different elements of it could definitely be used in the classroom.  I like the idea of using the first clip of the show as a means to analyze different elements of film.  There are probably also many other clips that could be used to achieve this same goal.  Furthermore, I think students could watch different clips and analyze the character interactions and discuss some of the allusions represented in the show.  I think this could be used in a lesson about literary allusions in pop culture so that students could see the the books they read in school do have relevance in other parts of their lives.  I've attached a link from lostpedia that gives a list of all the literary allusions in the show.  It's surprising to see how many there are.  I've also attached a link to a youtube video with a list of ten references to lost in popular culture.  It's interesting to see how big of an influence Lost had on the entertainment industry.

Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools: Final Semester Reflection

Overall, I felt that this class taught me a lot about teaching literature to high school students.  I learned a lot about the different ways that literature can be taught as well as some of the different literary theories.  I also like the fact that last semester we mostly focused on young adult literature and this semester we mostly focused on the classics.  I think the pairing of the two classes really helped me find a good medium and I plan to use both types of books in my classroom.  I especially like the project that involves pairing the classics with young adult literature.  I think this is an excellent way to get students to see multiple sides of an issue and think critically about the themes presented in their literature.  I plan on using many of the lessons learned in this class in my future classroom.  It was was definitely a great learning experience!

Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools: Jago Chapter 7

      After reading this chapter of Jago's book I found myself thinking about the teaching methods discussed in the chapter and which methods I agreed with and which methods I disagreed with.  I strongly disagreed with her statement on page 148 where she says "Unfortunately, too often exit exams punish students for the failings of their schools."  While I agree that standardized state tests are unfair to students, I don' t think the blame should be placed on the schools.  I think the blame should be placed on the system at large.  For one thing, teachers don't know exactly what will be on standardized tests so how can they be expected to prepare students for a test in which they don't even know the content? Also, money is another issue because some schools have more money than other schools do which is neither the fault of the students nor the teachers.  I think Jago should really look at the larger issues before being so quick to assign blame to the schools.

     However, while I disagreed with this point, I strongly agreed with the teaching methods she presented in this chapter.  I agree that high school students should understand literary analysis and I plan on teaching my future students this important skill.  Furthermore, I also see the value in allowing students to have a choice on what questions they should be assessed on.  I also like the idea of grading understanding of a novel separate from writing skills.  I think this method of testing and grading will strongly benefit students.  

     Overall, I think this book allowed me to think critically about my own theories regarding teaching and the way in which I plan to run my classroom in the future.  While I disagreed with a lot of Jago's points, I also learned a lot from some of her other points which to me, made this book a worthwhile read.

Multi-Modal Literacies: Speak

   Despite all the final projects at the end of the semester I have managed to find time for a little bit of pleasure reading.  I'm reading "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson and I'm very impressed with the book so far.  I read this book when I was a freshman in high school and I decided to reread it now since it is a young adult book that is commonly used in high school language arts classes.  Also, I always find it interesting to reread books that I've read in high school because my perspective and opinions on the books always change and I think it's interesting for me to see that change.  I think "Speak" is a great book for high school students because the main character, Melinda, is so believable.  The book has a prefect balance between humor and seriousness and I think it has an important message for students.  This book can help teenagers to see that they shouldn't judge somebody based on what they see on the outside, because they ultimately don't really know what's going on in the inside.  Also, this book encourages students to seek help if they've gone through any kind of crisis.  I think this book has a lot of potential for classroom discussion and I would really like to teach it in my future classroom. I've attached a link to a website with a youtube video of Laurie Halse Anderson's poem based on reader responses to her book.  It's very interesting.

Laurie Halse Anderson on Speak

Multi-Modal Literacies: Les Miserables

     Last Tuesday I was lucky enough to go see Les Miserable at Playhouse Square in Cleveland.  It's a musical that centers around the French Revolution but also deals primarily with human relationships and the human spirit in times of trouble.  Although, I've seen this musical twice before it had been about ten years since the last time I saw it.  To me, it was interesting to see how the show has changed in the past ten years including the new uses of technology in lighting and background images that were used.  I also thought it was interesting how I understood the show as a whole so much better.  Last time I saw it I was eleven and I didn't understand a lot of the adult content in the storyline.
     Overall, I think theatre is a great example of a type of text that people don't often utilize.  This show made me think so much about human nature and the human story and the costumes and music were beautiful.  I think people could really benefit from seeing these shows.  Playhouse Square is only about fifty minutes away in Cleveland and there are tickets sold at cheaper prices.  I also think it would be a great idea to do a unit involving theatre with my future students.  I think this would expose them to a different element of culture and allow them to explore different themes in a variety of ways.

Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools: Jago Chapter 6

I found this chapter interesting in a number of ways.  First, I liked the fact that Jago brought up the importance of collaboration between teachers.  I think teachers are often left to their own ideas and I think they could really learn from other people.  More people create more ideas and I think more collaboration between teachers should be done.  I also liked her lesson plan on the Odyssey.  I think she included a lot of great examples of different ways to make sense of the work.  I agree with the idea that students should write their own notes because it helps them learn better than when they're given a handout.  I also like that she has her students organize the characters and setting so that they can all be kept in order.  However, I did wonder about the pace of her classes.  I'm worried that her classes hold little room for struggling readers and that they wouldn't do well in her class because it's so fast paced.  I think it would be better to slow down the reading a little bit so that students of all ability levels will be able to actively participate.

Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools: Jago Chapter 4

     This chapter discussed the elements of literature and the ways in which stories work.  I found it particularly interesting because Jago's approach to teaching different topics such as story structures, literary devices, and story analysis is so different from the approach of many language arts teachers throughout the country.  I really liked the fact that she recognized that having students fill out dry worksheets asking them to fill in the blanks about setting, climax, theme, etc. does little good.  Jago stressed the importance of including these terms as well as many other literary terms as regular classroom dialogue.  I think this is a great way to not only teach the students these words, but to also give them the tools to use these words everyday in the classroom.  I think it's important for teachers to teach literary terms and devices so that students don't see them as abstract, useless ideas that have little relevance to everyday life.  If teachers use these terms everyday in the classroom their students will become more literate and more educated in the study of literature.  They will be able to engage in educated discussions about the literature they read and they will gain a better understanding of every text they read if they have a detailed knowledge of story structures and literary devices.

Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools: Jago Chapter 2

     I thought this chapter was really interesting and it helped to address some questions I've had about the teaching of vocabulary.  During my tutoring experience at Firestone, I noticed that a lot of students seemed to really struggle with comprehending texts because they didn't understand the vocabulary used.  This was surprising to me because some of the words they struggled with seemed to be fairly simple words in my opinion.  This taught me that I shouldn't just assume that students know something and I should always ask students what they are having trouble with so I can help them better.  I agree with Jago's approach to teaching vocabulary because it isn't just rote memorization and it makes words relevant to the texts they are reading.
     I really liked Jago's "personal vocabulary list" bookmarks.  I think this is a great way to get students to realize what words they don't know and how they can learn them.  I also liked how she used "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Julius Caesar" to not only teach vocabulary, but also to teach tone and focus on characterization.  Furthermore, I also agreed with Jago's idea that vocabulary taught in classrooms should be relevant.  I definitely agree with this.  Students should learn words that they will likely see multiple times throughout different types of literature.  Overall, I really like Jago's approach to vocabulary because it seems that it will really help students learn.  Rote memorization and vocabulary tests are never effective and simply cause students more headaches than they need.  I plan on incorporating many of Jago's ideas into my own classroom in the future.

Multi-Modal Literacies: I Am Sindhutai Sapkal (Cleveland International Film Festival)

When I went to the Cleveland International Film Festival I saw the movie “I Am Sindhutai Sapkal.” The movie tells the story of Chindi who was born in India in the 1950s to a poor farming family.  Despite the fact that Chindi wants to get an education she is only allowed to pursue school through the fourth grade.  She is forced into an arranged marriage at the age of twelve and is eventually wrongfully accused of adultery and thrown out of the house by her abusive husband.  However, despite all struggles she faced, she was eventually able to create orphanages all over India and help hundreds of Indian children find a home.

 

A.    Personal Issues: One of the things that really resonated with me throughout this movie was the fact that Chindi was not allowed to get an education.  When she was young, she was only allowed to go to school if she completed all her farm chores which usually caused her to miss at least half of the school day.  Furthermore, once she got married she was forced to read in secret because her husband did not approve of reading and didn’t consider it the duty of a wife.  I was very surprised by this because I come from a culture that values education for all people and I couldn’t imagine being denied an education because of my gender.  I also grew up in a culture that promotes equality between men and women which was definitely not the case in this film.  I think this film really opened my eyes up to different issues in other parts of the world and the fact that there are probably a lot of problems that I’m not even aware of.  I think most Americans that see this film would probably have a similar reaction to the film as me because they were raised in a similar culture.  However, I think people from other parts of the world with different backgrounds would have different reactions to this film because it would hit them in different ways.  I think one of the great things about any text is that different people can interpret it in different ways based on their own life experiences.

B.     Technique: Overall, I thought the movie was very well done.  I particularly liked the music because a certain song would play every time something bad was about to happen.  I also thought the dialogue between the characters really allowed viewers to get a glimpse into the lives of the characters and their values and beliefs.  I think one of this film’s biggest strengths is its music which really helped add to the characters’ emotions and trials in life. 

C.     Acting: I thought the acting in the film was excellent.  There were three different actresses that played the role of Chindi because of the different ages of the character in the film.  I thought all three actresses did a good job of portraying a single character by using the same mannerisms and speech patterns.  I also thought the other actors in the movie did a great job of making their characters’ real.

D.    Plot: One of the things that made this movie so great was that it was a true story.  I think that really made it interesting to see the plot unfold.

E.     Themes: There are a lot of themes presented in this movie.  Most importantly, I think the film speaks towards women’s rights and promotes the improvement of life conditions for women all over the world.  I also think the film speaks towards the importance of getting an education and feeling a sense of belonging in the world.  This is illustrated in the film when Chindi goes on to help orphans who need some adult guidance in their lives.

F.      Genre: I think that if this film were to belong to any genre it would be a drama. The movie is serious and the characters are realistic conveying an overall inspirational message of the perseverance of individuals.

G.    Representation: Different characters were represented in different ways in this movie.  The men were represented as chauvinistic and controlling and the women were represented as sad and hard-working.  Furthermore, the poor class was represented as hard workers struggling to make a living and the rich were portrayed as powerful and greedy.  I think the characters are represented in this way because that’s how the main character saw the world and that’s the way people in her life acted.  The different representations of different groups of people were based off of the main character’s own life experiences.

H.    Ideology: This movie really challenged the false idea that men and women are not equal and spoke towards the importance of equality between men and women.