DOCOMINT Uhl It ID 170 773 CS 2C026 AUTHOR poster, d M. TITLE; The NeW Lit eracy: The la ngu Film and Television. INSTITUTION National Council of Teschers EnglishUrbana, T11. PUB DAV: 74 NOTE 70p. AVAILABLE PP° NationaCouncil, of Teachers of English,1111 _nyon Road, ens,t ilinoie 61801 (Stock No.3339, $2.50 m ember -2.75 non-me mber) mF01/PC03 Plus Posta o . ED PRICE s: BE rPTOPS Communication Skills;*Englishinstrucion; *F *film Study; Popular culture; Secondar?Inca ; *Teaching Techniques; *television; *ViUal Literady ABSTRACT book is intendsd as an aid for high school. English tea: hA rs who want to un lerstand v isual literacy and learnhow to teach it. 'The first par-f the bock defines and analyzesthe basic structural devicesU e1 i3filmmaking. The first chapter in this section discusses how the creativeuse of these devices -- composition, lighting andcolor, movementediting, sound, and rhythminfluences people andmanipulates their responses. r 1.o of the motion picture mediumin second chapter analyzes the realism of film art. The skills and light of the inherently illusory nature Achieve knowledge ofthe first 47, hr c:hlpters are used in the third to a visually 1 itet at 4;1critique ofFrederickwi semen's film,I, High School." The second part of the book concernsthe teaching of visual lits racy ski lls as part of the high-school English curriculum. The first chapter in `his section offers practicalsuggestions about how get suit& blematerials and what not to do in the classroom.rh, second contains descriptions ofvarious classroom activities spanning a wide range of difficulty_levels and includes some readingand writing exercises. The book concludeswith appendixes that conta.in a list of books recommended for studentsand for teachers, a gen oral bibliography, and the names andaddresses of film distributors. (FL) ******* ****** ** *** ************ Reproductions supplied by EDR the bes hat can be made from the origina documen ********************* ***q******* ******* *********** * U.l, blifiAltMoNt OP HIALTH, 101.1eArsON AWILPARo NAtioNALINITINTO OP MUCATION THIS 00cokleRT HAl BORN MORRO. OUCI exAcILY AS Receive!) PROM THE PoRloN DI oRoANIZATioN ORIGIN. The New Literacy ANNA if POINt& Or view OR OPINIONS VATNb Do NO? NOGEssARio, ROPRO. sENtOpRICIAL,NATIONAL INSTiTuf a OF ROLKATIoN POSITION OR POLICY. The Language of lA ll n and IlE vi ion Harold M. Foster University of Akron "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY National Council of Teachers of English TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERID1." rational Council ofTeachers of English 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 2 Greta NCTE Editorial Board: Thomas J. Croswell, C. Ker .11 Fristroin, liudino Sims, Donald C. Stemwt, Ann Terry, Robed 11, Ilogin, rA officio, Foal O'Dea, ex officio Book Design: Torn KeyCS NCTE Stock Number 3 339 Copyright Q 1979 by the National Council achers of English, All rights reserved. Punted in the United Stints of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications toprovide a forum for the open discussion of ideasconcerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to anyparticular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee,the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcementsof policy where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publicat en Data Foster, Harold M The new literacy. Bibliography: p. 1, Moving picture plays History and criticism, 2, Moving-picturesStudy and teaching. 3.Television Study and teaching. 1.Title. PN1995.F64 791.4'07'1273 79 -14592 ISBN 0-8141-3333-9 Contents Prejncc' vii I.Unclerstaiicling Visual Litecy I. Media Manipulation 3 2.'the Realistic Facade of Film 13 3. An Analysis or the Filmlligh School 19 Teaching Visual Literacy 4. Suggestions for 'reaching Visual Literacy 31 5. Classroom Activities for Teaching Visual Literacy Appendix it 53 fl ppendix 56 Appendix C 58 Notes 59 Bibliography 65 Preface Two different cultures meet In American publicschools. Young people who receive most of their Information throughtelevision and films encounter the book-orlented teacher,who has experi- enced education as a linear, thoughtNi processgrounded in the use of written language, Young people need help, In addition to the skills ofreading and writing, they need the basic skills and knowledge necessary todeal Intelligently with the constant btinwe or film iii tigerythey en- Counter daily in their lives, They must develop acritical response to the media and a knowledgeof how the characteristics of film contribute to its ability to Influence them,whether in advertise meats, news reporting, documentaries, or featurefilms, They need to develop the means to protectthemselves from the more manip- ulative aspects of film-portrayed violence,which, though not often Imitated, nevertheless has its effects. Young people mustnot be misled by the apparent ability of films to portrayreal life, and they need to know that television and movielove is not identical to reallife love. They must not believethat a happy, successful life depends on having the physical appearance orpersonality of a movie star or film character. To help students achieve these goals, teachers mustthemselves be visually literate, They must recognize thatfilm and television constitute, in effect, a visual languagewhich makes these media such a powerful numipulative force.Thls book is meant to help high school English teachers understand this newliteracy and how to teach it in their classrooms. The first part of the book defines and analyzesthe basic struc- tural devices used in filmmaking, an understandingof which could be called the minimal reouirement of literacyin the language of film.* Chapter One discusses how the creative useof these de- oThe analysis of film in this book also applies to television becausethe two media are television, occupy a signifi- srsimilar. Films, whether made for theatrical release or for cant portion of broadcast time, and althoughtelevision is ti less intense experience than film, this lack of Uncivillyis somewhat compensated for by the large amount oftele- vision viewing. vii v111 vices coin position, lighting and color, movement, editing, Sound, 1111d rhythmInfluences people and manipulates (11dr responses. Chapter l'wo analyzes the realism of the motion picture medium in light of the Inherently illusory nature of 11 lilt arcThe skills and knowledge of the first two chapters are used hi Chapter three to achieve visually literate critique of Frederick WIseitian's dot u- ntentary /ugh Selund. 'this filin is particularly interesting be- cause its subject nuttier Is sure to elicit responsesfrom both stu- dents and teachers, and theilm's cinema write style makes Its reiltillil appear to have angaestfonublc authority, Part Two concerns the teaching of visual literacy skills as part of the high school English currlculunt. Chapter Pour offers prac- tical helps, including the place of visual Literacy in the cliirietluni, how to get suitable materials, and what not to do In the classroom. Chapter Five con tains descriptions (it' various classroom activities spanning it wide range of difficulty levels, and it includes some reading and writing exercises. Finally, the hook provides appendixes that include alist of books recommended for students and for teachers, a large general bibliography, and the names and addreSSes of film distributors. Acknowledge I owe thanks to many who helped me preftarc this book, Stephen Dunning, whose wisdom rnd imagination have been an example for me for nuiny years, w(1Stine scarier. Dr ink Beaver gave gener- ously of his time and energy to provide sound suggestions, Also, Edward Stasheff and ,Max Wing() carefully read and helped me re- fine this hook, kly wile, Greta, provided a thorough reading of the manuscript amid gave me outstanding edi torhil guidance, I also thank Ann John- son who helped me with this book in the hoot stages,rinally,Icite grateful to George Lind of the National Center for Education Sta- tistics for providing me with worthwhile but hard-to-rind informa- tion about high school media courses. !Wok! M. Foster I Understanding Visual Literacy 1 edia Manipulation On September 30, 1973, the movie Fuzz (1972 ) wns shown on network television, Puzz depicts Boston delinquents who drench people with gasoline, then set them on fire. Two days after Pu2: was broadcast, the crime was actually repeated on a Boston street. Evelyn Wagler was carrying a can of gasoline back to her car when It gang of youths stopped her and forced her to pour the gasoline over herself. The youths then wt her on fire, killing her Boston officials claimed the crime was inspired by the TV film. I Although Ihms and television are for entertainment, informa- tion, and art, this incident indicates another side to these media-- their abilityto influence. The murder of Evelyn Wagler is an illustration of the most sensational aspect of this abilitymedia- stimulated violence.2 Although films and television do not trans- form most people into murderers, their influence often extends over a lifetime and is subtle and difficult to assess. The enormous amount of time spent in watching films and tele- vision by adults and children constitutes one gauge °Mu, influence of these media. In 1966, when the world's population was esti- mated at three billion, the film-watchers of the world went to the movies ten billion times,3 By the time an American teenager reaches the age of eighteen,