1) The Lead: Recommend/do not recommend the movie/video for THIS/THESE SPECIFIC REASON(S). Write down the reasons you would recommend the movie and figure out which one (or more) you want to highlight in the lead. In the nutgraph, you can briefly mention some of the other reasons. You will then explain further in the body of your paper, using one or more scenes as example(s).
How to come up with a lead:
• First, sum up the movie/video in a sentence or two. (This will take some thinking!)
• Then, analyze how the various elements of the movie/video worked together to figure out what contributed to your liking/not liking the movie. Some movie elements are: visual qualities, dialogue, characterization (were the characters believable, likeable, unlikeable – or were they just like cartoon/stock figures?), music, story/plot etc. Some video qualities are clarity of story/plot/message and how compelling it was, quality of interviews, the interviewees (similar to the characters; were they believable? Compelling?), visuals, dialogue etc
Example: Would I recommend “Life of Pi” directed by Ang Lee? Yes.
• What it’s about: Based on a children’s book, it’s about a teenager from India’s dangerous, nearly year-long experience trying to survive on a life boat -- alone with a ferocious tiger -- following a ship-wreck.
• Reasons I liked “Life of Pi”: 1) It was beautiful 2) It reminded me of snorkeling, only the fish and other creatures shown were more colorful ( and there were more than I’ve ever seen snorkeling which lifted the scenes into the realm of fantasy while still being believable – as if were a heightened reality. Plus, I saw it in 3-D and that also heightened the experience.) 3) The story was compelling. It was simple and yet it had a twist at the end that made it that much more moving and thought-provoking as well as sad. 4) There was a gripping shipwreck scene 5) The actor who played the main character was very believable as was the ferocious tiger (which was not actually on the lifeboat with the boy and was, in part, computer-generated.)
Possible lead? “Life of Pi,” about a teenaged Indian boy who survives for months on a life boat with a ferocious tiger, is by turns gripping, beautiful, and sad; but above all it is magical.
2) The Nutgraph: Sum up the elements of the movie/video that made you like/not like it and that you will discuss in the review
Sample NUTGRAPH: Directed by Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain,”) “Life of Pi,” makes good use of 3-D effects in portraying underwater scenes that are realistic yet so spectacular that they appear fantastical while telling a simple story about a boy’s determination to live. Though based on a children’s book, the story has a twist at the end (DON’T GIVE IT AWAY AS THAT WOULD BE A “SPOILER,” WHICH YOU SHOULD AVOID) that makes the story that much more thought provoking and compelling.
3) Body of the paper: Expands on all the points you make in the nutgraph by describing one or more specific scenes that exemplify the qualities you praised/criticized
Reporters and the law:
1) What is libel?2) What is slander?
3) True or False: During a period of particularly intense racial tensions in the United States, The New York Times ran an advertisement in 1969 that an all-white jury found to be libelous toward L.B. Sullivan, a Montgomery, Ala. city commissioner responsible for the police department. Sullivan was awarded $500,000 in damages.
But the Supreme Court heard an appeal of the case, The New York Times vs. Sullivan, in 1964 and in its decision took away states' power to award damages in a libel action brought by public officials against critics of their official conduct.
The Supreme Court wrote that a public official must prove the statement was made with "actual malice," whether it was false or not.
4) Did Supreme Court Justice Brennan write that the right to criticize the government is "the central meaning of the First Amendment" guaranteeing freedom of Speech? True or False
5) Explain who qualifies as a "public figure" and why. A) a police officer B) a newspaper columnist C) Brad Pitt 4) The editor of the Collegian
6) What are privileged proceedings? Is a court hearing a privileged proceeding? Is a political rally a privileged proceeding?
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Massachusetts Open Meeting Law: Governmental bodies must post a notice to say there will be a meeting 48 hours in advance of it to give the public a chance to attend. A quorum (majority or the number of members present needed to vote) may not get together and discuss SUBSTANTIVE issues outside of the public's view. There are nine exceptions under which a board may hold a closed-door session although it must later make the results of decisions reached available to the public. Exceptions include to consider or discuss: 1) reputation, character etc (vs professional competence) of someone 2) disciplining/firing an employee 3) collective bargaining strategy 4) deployment of security 5) criminal charges 6) real estate purchases 7) grant requirements 8) job applicants 9) mediation
