Teaching Film and Media

2006-05-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

"Hotel Rwanda" Unit

Standards this unit will meet:
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

This unit was taught in an 11th and 12th grade Word Literature course. The course theme was "African Perspectives". The movie represents the piece of the literature which the unit is based on, but we also used other pieces of writing. The unit takes about two weeks in a school running on hour long class periods. The film itself is two hours and twenty minutes long, so it takes three class periods to just watch the film. I have added the web quest I created but did not use. If the web quest is included in the unit, I would add extra time and include more in the final project.

DAY 1
OBJECTIVES:
Create student awareness of the role of media in their lives
Create awareness about bias in media
Give students a basic understanding of human rights
MATERIALS:
Overhead projector or LCD projector
Newspaper articles: local, national, or international articles. (It is helpful to choose three or four articles and make copies for the class. This way you have pre-screened the content to make sure they relate to human rights.)
PROCEDURES:
Begin class with a set of five questions on the overhead. Students answer the questions on their own. (See Appendix #1 for questions.)
Discuss the student’s answers as a large group. The questions are very applicable to their daily lives and make for good discussion. In the large group discussion, bring up bias in media. For example, how one story is reported in the U.S. may be very different from how it is reported in another country like Iraq or Japan. Discuss the differences between a biased and an unbiased piece of writing. Explain what letters to the editor, commentaries, and guest columns are.
After large group discussion, have a brief discussion about what the students already know about human rights. Talk about what some of their human rights are and how one person’s rights can affect another person’s rights.
Pass out newspaper articles. Give students a few minutes to read the article.
Show the second set of questions (Appendix #1) on the overhead. Have students write down answers on their own.
Large group discussion about how the articles related to human rights.
Students hand in their questions so the instructor has an idea about how much time students spend with media and what they know about human rights.

ASSESSMENT
Students will be assessed based on the quality of their answers. The questions and answers will be worth daily points.

DAY TWO
OBJECTIVES:
Give students background knowledge about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
MATERIALS:
TV, DVD player
"Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda" DVD
PROCEDURES:
Hand out assignment sheet with explanation of final project. Talk briefly about what the unit project will entail. (See Appendix 2). Spend only a few minutes discussing. Each day, spend a few minutes going over the project.
Encourage students to take notes from the video to use on their projects.
Show clips from "Frontline". The DVD is over two hours long, so showing clips cuts down the time.
The DVD is put out by PBS, and some of the material is gory. I chose to edit the clips so I showed those parts with less gore. I didn’t want the images to turn the students off from the message. Before I began the film, I warned students that some of the images may be disturbing.
Periodically pause the film to discuss with the class to make sure they are following along.
Make notes of key figures and events on the whiteboard while the documentary is playing so students can take notes.
ASSESSMENT
Students hand in an exit ticket listing three things they learned about the genocide and three things they didn’t understand or had questions about.

DAY THREE
OBJECTIVES:
Provide students with background information about Rwanda
Have students practice working in small groups
Practice public speaking skills
MATERIALS:
Seven different articles about Rwanda, the UN, the Declaration of Human Rights, etc. (See Appendix 3)
Poster paper
Markers
Highlighters
PROCEDURES
Count students off into seven different groups (or groups of no more than five)
Assign each group member a different role. (ie. Scribe, speaker, questioner, etc.)
Give each group a different article to read. Every member gets a copy of the article.
Allow students time to read and highlight the key points of the article.
Each group gets a sheet of poster paper and a marker.
Each group decides what information from their article they would like to share with the larger group. The group chooses no fewer than six key points that they then list on their poster paper.
After each group has written on their poster paper (about 30 minutes), the small groups present their poster to the class. One or two people from each group may share the presenting task.
The instructor answers student questions and clarifies points that are made.
Hang the posters up in the classroom.
ASSESSMENT
Groups will self-assess. See Appendix 4.

DAYS FOUR-SIX
OBJECTIVES:
Expose students to "Hotel Rwanda"
Create student understanding about how the events and information they studied the day before relate to the film
Create an opportunity for students to learn about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda
MATERIALS
TV, DVD player
Film "Hotel Rwanda"
PROCEDURES:
Encourage students to take notes while they watch the film.
Write important character names, locations, and key events on the board throughout the film
Pause the movie to make sure students are following what is happening. Use the information they studied as reference points.
Each day, have students recap what happened in the previous day’s viewing.
ASSESSMENT
Instructors can informally assess students based on their level of engagement with the film.
On the last day students should spend ten minutes free-writing about their personal reaction to the film. The writing is informal and not graded on spelling, punctuation, etc. Student reactions are surprising and touching. The reaction can be worth daily points.

DAYS SEVEN AND EIGHT
OBJECTIVES:
Provide in-class opportunities for students to gather information and begin their final projects
Allow students to use the resources from day three and eliminate the need for them to do outside research
MATERIALS:
Laptop/ LCD projector
Microsoft Office Publisher
Background information articles (see Appendix 3)
PROCEDURES:
Model the final project using the LCD. I had a brochure I had created in Publisher for a different class that I used to showcase the Publisher program. I didn’t want to use Rwanda because I didn’t want to steal any ideas from my students or offer them the opportunity to steal mine. By showing them how cool their final project can look, it takes the emphasis off of the writing element, which many of my students found intimidating. The modeling only took a few minutes. I showed the students my example and gave a brief tutorial on how to use the program so I wouldn’t have to waste time when we got into the computer lab. I did the modeling the day before we went into the lab. Students would still have questions, but at least they would go into the lab with some idea of what I was looking for.
Tell the students that at the end of class two rough draft articles are due. The articles count for ten of the eighty-five final project points. This helps motivate students to stay on task for the whole hour and also gives me an opportunity to review their material and give them feedback on their writing. (I did this activity on a Friday so I had the weekend to go through the articles and hand them back on Monday, when they had class time again to work on the project.)
Clearly lay out the timeline for the rest of the unit. Students will have two days in class to work on rough drafts of articles, and two days in the computer lab to type up articles.
Reference a calendar and show the students what day the project is due.
Lay out background information on table and allow students to use the material during class.
Circulate through the classroom, making sure that all students are grasping the concepts in the informational material as well as the details for the project.
ASSESSMENT
At the end of the hour, collect all rough drafts. I encouraged students to hand in whatever they had to get credit. I gave partial credit for those students who had just started an article or had a basic outline.

DAYS NINE AND TEN
OBJECTIVES:
Offer students the opportunity to work with a technology they may not have access to outside of school
Provide meeting time for students who are collaborating on a project
MATERIALS:
Microsoft Publisher
Computer lab
Disk to save material
PROCEDURES:
Begin class in the classroom. Take attendance, state behavior expectations for the computer lab.
Give students the hour to work on typing up and formatting their articles.
Circulate the room answering questions and keeping students on task.
ASSESSMENT:
I assessed students based on how well they stayed on task. I carried a clipboard around and marked down the students who worked on their projects.

I gave students a few more days to work on the projects at home while we switched gears and moved on in class. It worked out for me that our last day in the lab was on a Thursday and the projects were due Monday. The final brochures varied in length and complexity. Students who were very familiar with computers included more graphics and designs. Students who didn’t have the technology at home still typed up articles, but made a brochure out of construction paper and pictures. I chose to reward those students even though they didn’t use the technology I had intended. Their message got across just the same and they felt more comfortable.

Addendum:
To make this unit longer and more advanced, you can include some study of other genocides. There are several going on in other parts of the world today, and there are genocides that have been committed in the past. I created a web quest for students to use as a way to gather information themselves. View it at: . I included some links to the sites I used to get information for the packets I handed out in class, as well as some sites with information about the Holocaust. The Holocaust is one genocide I thought students would have some prior knowledge about. Based on the demographics in the class, some students may be more familiar with the genocides in Darfur, Laos, or Somalia. I don’t know the extent of information available about the situations in those countries, but I’m sure there would be enough to work with. Pairing the Rwandan genocide with the Holocaust would allow the students to compare the instigating factors, different countries responses, and the fallout.
Another way to expand this unit would be to pair "Hotel Rwanda" with a novel about the Holocaust, like "Night" by Elie Wiesel. Both are first hand accounts about an individual’s experience. The final project could be expanded to include more articles.
Additionally, I did a lot of the research for my students. Based on previous experience with my class, I knew I needed to provide a lot of scaffolding. Had I just assigned them to do research, they would not have done it. For a more responsible class, they could be assigned to do some of the research. Again, the school I was at did not have the computer resources needed to make me feel comfortable requiring students do a lot of research on their own. I would have liked to have spent a week going to the lab everyday, but that wasn’t possible.
The school I taught at did not have the resources to play audio files, but if they had, I would have played an interview of Paul Rusesabagina so the students could have heard his voice.

APPENDIX 1
PART 1…
What role does the media play in your life?
How many hours per day do you: watch TV, instant message, surf the Internet, play video games, read the newspaper, read a magazine, etc.?
Have you ever watched or read a story that made you angry or made you take action? If so, what was it and why?
Do you ever discuss the news or a show you watched with your parents? Friends? Why or why not?
How far would you go to report a story?

PART 2…
Look for a local, national, or international story in the newspaper.
Does the article pertain to human rights?
How does the article make you feel?
Do you think the reporter did a good job reporting the story from a human rights perspective?
Did the article make you want to take action?

APPENDIX 2
"Hotel Rwanda" Unit Project
DUE MAY 8th
This assignment requires you to create a newsletter or brochure using Microsoft Word. You may work in pairs or groups of three.
ROUGH DRAFTS OF TWO ARTICLES ARE DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 28th
As a class, we will spend Tuesday, May 2nd and Thursday, May 4th in the computer lab. USE THIS TIME WISELY!!!
Each student is required to write three articles for the newsletter/brochure.
One article must be a review of the film "Hotel Rwanda".
At least one article must be unbiased.
Each article must have a title and author.
The newsletter/brochure must have a name. (For example, ‘The Harding Gazette’)
You will be graded on creativity and design. Try something new! Import graphics, word art, and experiment with different background and font colors.
For articles that are NOT editorials/opinion pieces, you must use 3rd person voice. (For example, do NOT write ‘I really like this movie’. Instead, write ‘This was an entertaining and informative film.’) Avoid the use of "I".
If you use information resources, which you should, you need to cite them! If you do not cite your sources, that is PLAGARISM! You will fail!
Here are some ideas for articles:
Tourism in Rwanda
National Parks and Lakes
Wildlife sanctuaries
Tea and Coffee exports
History of country before the genocide
U.N., universal human rights
U.N. diplomacy
U.S. role in Rwanda (President Clinton)
Geography of Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal
Paul’s role in the genocide
Starbucks and Rwanda
Why was there violence?
Each article should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
Each article is worth twenty points, the rough drafts are worth 10 total points, creativity and design is worth 10 points, and a presentation to the class is worth 5 points, for a Total of 85 points.
This project is worth 15% of your Final Grade for this class!!!

APPENDIX 3
U.S. State Department Website
On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali. Both presidents were killed. As though the shooting down was a signal, military and militia groups began rounding up and killing all Tutsis and political moderates, regardless of their ethnic background.
The prime minister and her 10 Belgian bodyguards were among the first victims. The killing swiftly spread from Kigali to all corners of the country; between April 6 and the beginning of July, a genocide of unprecedented swiftness left up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead at the hands of organized bands of militia--Interahamwe. Even ordinary citizens were called on to kill their neighbors by local officials and government-sponsored radio. The president's MRND Party was implicated in organizing many aspects of the genocide.
The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha accords came under attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently with the genocide for 2 months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire, in June 1994 on a humanitarian mission. They deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in an area they called "Zone Turquoise," quelling the genocide and stopping the fighting there. The Rwandan Army was quickly defeated by the RPF and fled across the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million refugees who fled to Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the war ended on July 16, 1994. The RPF took control of a country ravaged by war and genocide. Up to 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million or so had fled, and another million or so were displaced internally.
The international community responded with one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts ever mounted. The United States was one of the largest contributors. The UN peacekeeping operation, UNAMIR, was drawn down during the fighting but brought back up to strength after the RPF victory. UNAMIR remained in Rwanda until March 8, 1996.
Following an uprising by the ethnic Tutsi Banyamulenge people in eastern Zaire in October 1996, a huge movement of refugees began which brought more than 600,000 back to Rwanda in the last 2 weeks of November. This massive repatriation was followed at the end of December 1996 by the return of another 500,000 from Tanzania, again in a huge, spontaneous wave. Less than 100,000 Rwandans are estimated to remain outside of Rwanda, and they are thought to be the remnants of the defeated army of the former genocidal government, its allies in the civilian militias known as Interahamwe, and soldiers recruited in the refugee camps before 1996.
In 2001, the government began implementation of a grassroots village-level justice system, known as gacaca, in order to address the enormous backlog of cases. With the July 2005 release of 36,000 individuals detained for genocide charges, over 40,000 individuals remain in the prison system and are scheduled to face the traditional court system. Those released and others facing lesser charges from the genocide await trial under the gacaca system.

Official Website of the Government of Rwanda
1994 April - President Habyarimana dies in a plane crash.Genocide begins.RPF launches the final campaign to stop the genocide. July - the genocidal regime collapses and RPF captures Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.RPF establishes the Government of National Unity together with seven other political parties. 1996/1997 The Government of Rwanda passes the law for the trial and punishment of those responsible for genocide in Rwanda.Rwanda gets involved in the first DRC war to liberate and repatriate Rwandese refugees held hostage by ex-FAR and Interahamwe. (Rwanda's involvement in the DRC leads to President Mobutu's removal and the installation of Laurent Kabila as President of the DRC.) The Government of Rwanda repatriates over 2 million Rwandese refugees from the DRC and Tanzania. 1998 Rwanda gets involved in the second DRC war to deal with insecurity caused by the ex-FAR and Interahamwe (DRC Government supports ex-FAR and Interahamwe). 1999 Local elections take place at cellule and secteur levels. The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, to end the second DRC war, is signed. 2000 March - President Pasteur Bizimungu resignsApril - Major General Paul Kagame is sworn in as the fifth President of Rwanda.

HISTORY OF RWANDA
About the Program
Rwanda was supposed to be easy. Ten years ago, when the United Nations sent peacekeepers to this small Central African nation -- with the unanimous support of its Security Council, including the U.S., its most influential member -- most of the policymakers believed it would be a straightforward mission to support the framework of peace established following the country's recent civil war. Few could imagine that, a decade later, Rwanda would be the crisis that still haunts their souls.
In "Ghosts of Rwanda," airing April 1, 2004, at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE® and the BBC mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide -- a state-sponsored, 100-day massacre in which some 800,000 Rwandans were methodically hunted down and murdered by Hutu extremists as the United States and international community refused to intervene. Through interviews with key government officials, diplomats, survivors of the slaughter and even some of the genocide's perpetrators, the two-hour documentary offers groundbreaking, eyewitness accounts of the genocide.
About This Guide
What prompted the Rwandan massacre? How could an international community that had sworn to "never again" allow genocide do so little to prevent one unfolding right before its eyes? This viewer's guide provides a brief overview of the Rwandan genocide, including the social, political, and diplomatic failures that converged to enable the mass killings.
Background
"Rwanda will never leave me: it's in the pores of my body," says General Romeo Dallaire, commander of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Rwanda. "We saw lots of them dying, and lots of those eyes still haunt me -- angry eyes, innocent eyes. They're looking at me with my blue beret, and they're saying, 'What in the hell happened?' ... And they're absolutely right: How come I failed? How come my mission failed?"
When the United Nations sent Dallaire and his peacekeeping forces to Rwanda in late 1993, the mission was viewed as a relatively straightforward attempt to support the transition of power established by the Arusha Accords in the wake of Rwanda's civil war. But a deadly political endgame remained just under the surface, with Hutu extremists feeling threatened that the Accords would diminish their power.
When an informant notified Dallaire that Hutu extremists were plotting the "extermination" of prominent Tutsis, and the assassinations of Belgian peacekeepers in order to spark the withdrawal of U.N. forces from Rwanda, the general cabled U.N. headquarters in New York for guidance on how to protect his informant. The cable also outlined Dallaire's plans to raid arms caches that the Hutu extremist militias were amassing in preparation for their planned attacks.
Dallaire received an unexpected response. In a stern cable, the U.N. peacekeeping office -- then headed by Kofi Annan -- ordered Dallaire not to intervene, saying that to do so would violate his peacekeeping mandate.
Annan now says the United Nations was afraid that if Dallaire intervened, his mission would quickly repeat the mistakes of the U.N. in Somalia, where U.S. forces intent on capturing Somali faction leader Mohammed Aideed were engaged in a bloody battle that left 18 U.S. soldiers dead and 84 wounded. (See The Politics of Humanitarianism for more on Somalia.)
"We were concerned that Dallaire and his force didn't have the capacity ... to take on that sort of responsibility," Annan tells FRONTLINE, "and that if they attempted to do it and any of the peacekeepers were killed, we may see a repeat of Somalia."
Three months later, on April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Habyarimana and Burundian President Ntaryamira were killed when Habyarimana's plane was shot down near the airport in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. It would spark a three-month slaughter in which the Presidential Guard, the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), and Hutu militia -- known as the "Interahamwe" -- would execute a carefully planned genocide of Rwanda's moderate Hutus and its Tutsis. The killing began that night, as forces went door to door, working their way down lists of those to be killed.
"I remember a soldier who shot a young mother in the road outside my land, a young mother who was running with a child in her arms," recalls Monique Mujawamariya, a human rights activist who managed to flee the country. "The mother fell. ... The soldier who had shot her shot at the baby who was crawling towards his mother. I will never forget that. I will never forget seeing a soldier's weapon pointed at a baby's head. It is the most horrible scene that I've spent all my life trying to drown."
Within 24 hours of the president's death, the moderate Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana would also be murdered, along with the Belgian peacekeepers who had been sent to protect her and her children. Just as Dallaire's informant had predicted, Belgium soon called for the withdrawal of its peacekeepers and lobbied U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher to get the United States to support the full withdrawal of U.N. forces--a move that would ultimately lead to the withdrawal of most U.N. forces from Rwanda at a time when the massacre was in full force.
Within days, a full-scale evacuation of foreigners began, as the United States and the United Nations ordered its personnel to leave Rwanda. Not everyone wanted to go: Laura Lane, the consular officer at the U.S. embassy in Kigali, volunteered to remain in Rwanda and establish a safe haven at the embassy to shelter victims from the killing.
"I felt very strongly that if there is someone who is planning this kind of evil, they need to know that there is also another group; that we Americans will stand right here and stand against them," Lane says in "Ghosts of Rwanda." "[I] felt very strongly about that, because otherwise they'd think they could get away with it."
But Lane was ordered to leave the country along with the other embassy and U.N. personnel. No provision was made, however, for Rwandans employed by the United Nations or other foreign organizations: As the convoys rolled out of Rwanda, Bonaventure Niyibizi -- a Rwandan employed by the U.S. government -- wondered why he was being left behind to face the slaughter.
"I saw them leaving, I saw the flags on the vehicles -- I knew all of them," he says. "I knew all the vehicles, the people they belonged to. I think it was sad, surprising, to see that by the end of the day you are a person who has to die when other people are allowed to be alive."
The Politics of Humanitarianism
Why did the international community so quickly abandon Rwanda at a time when its presence might have stopped the genocide? Like Kofi Annan, many of the diplomats and government leaders in office at the time blame the failed Somalia mission, in which U.S. soldiers attempting to capture a Somali warlord were ambushed -- resulting in a fierce, 17-hour firefight that would leave 18 U.S. soldiers and more than 1,000 Somalis dead, 84 U.S. troops wounded, and images of dead American soldiers dragged through the streets of Mogadishu flashed around the world.
"The Clinton administration was brought to its knees by the problem in Somalia," says Michael Sheehan, former peacekeeping advisor to the U.S. Mission at the United Nations. "Our secretary of defense was fired, our presidency was dramatically weakened, they were enormously criticized for this adventure in Somalia and now you had another situation unfolding in Rwanda. There was no democratic political operative that could advise President Clinton to virtually turn around the ships steaming out of Somalia and send them back into a new African adventure of a raging civil war in the early parts of this genocide."
Annan is more succinct. "To some extent," he says, "Rwanda became a victim of the Somali experience."
In addition, after 17 peacekeeping missions in just four years, U.S. and U.N. officials believed a stricter criteria was going to have to be implemented that limited humanitarian intervention when national interests were not at stake. In a U.S. Naval Academy commencement address given at the height of the Rwandan massacre, President Clinton affirmed this doctrine: "The entire global terrain is bloody with conflicts from Rwanda to Georgia," Clinton said. "We cannot solve every such outburst of civil strife. ... Whether we get involved in any of the world's ethnic conflicts in the end must depend upon the cumulative weight of the American interests at stake."
Civil War or Genocide?
Another factor that would play a pivotal role in preventing the international community from intervening in Rwanda was the political and diplomatic debate over whether what was occurring there was, in fact, a genocide. In the first critical days of the killings, officials say, the prevailing belief in Washington and New York was that the violence was merely a resumption of the civil war -- not a carefully planned attempt to exterminate Rwanda's Tutsi population.
"I was not realizing that there was a real genocide," says Boutros Boutros-Ghali. "Because there is a definition -- for us, genocide was the gas chamber, what happened in Germany. You need to have a sophisticated European machinery to do a real genocide. We were not realizing that with just a machete you can do a genocide. It takes time for us to understand."
But time was running out. As late as mid-May, the U.S. Department of State was still stating that it was unsure whether a "legal determination" of genocide had been made regarding Rwanda. By that time, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates, more than 500,000 Rwandans had been murdered.
On May 17, 1994 -- six weeks after the killings began -- the United Nations finally agreed to send 5,500 troops to Rwanda. The deployment was delayed, however, due to disagreements as to who would provide troops and equipment and who would pay for the mission.
Ultimately, no one would intervene and the killing would come to an end when the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) reignited the civil war, overthrew the Hutu leadership, and seized control of the country. As the RPF forces captured the capital in July 1994, the extremist government and hundreds of thousands of Hutus -- many of whom had actively participated in the genocide -- fled across the border into Zaire and became beneficiaries of the outpouring of humanitarian aid from the international community initially intended for their victims.
"By the time the genocide was over, I was so angry," says Carl Wilkens, an American humanitarian aid worker who had refused to evacuate and the only American to remain in Rwanda throughout the genocide. "I was angry with our government. I was angry with people who could do something, even the simplest things, and didn't."
The Power of One
Not everyone in Rwanda stood silently by as the genocide occurred. In "Ghosts of Rwanda," viewers meet a number of individuals who defied orders and protected Tutsis from the slaughter. Wilkens, for example, sought out one of the genocide's leaders and convinced him to prevent the slaughter of children at a local orphanage. Lane, meanwhile, recounts helping some Rwandans leave the country in the early days of the genocide by including them in the U.S. evacuation convoy.
"We had a convoy of over 100 vehicles with over 600 people -- only nine Americans," she says. "If they [came] to our checkpoints and we could hide them, we did. We dubbed them Americans for the day -- we made them honorary Americans so that they could be in the convoy."
Some U.N. peacekeepers also defied orders not to intervene in the slaughter. One of the greatest heroes of the Rwandan crisis, observers say, was Capt. U.S. Diagne, a U.N. peacekeeper from Senegal, who single-handedly saved countless lives -- including the children of the murdered prime minister. Diagne was killed by mortar fire while supervising efforts to protect Rwandans from the genocide.
Gregory Alex, a former U.N. humanitarian worker, reflects on the power of individuals in the face of genocide.
"You ask yourself, 'Here's one guy with no gun sitting on a wooden chair ... and he's able with no gun to convince people that they're not allowed in here to kill people," Alex says. "And yet, the whole [international] system with guns or whatever couldn't do anything."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), meanwhile, claims to have saved as many as 70,000 Rwandans simply through its continued presence in the country after the withdrawal of all other U.S. and international organizations. In particular, the ICRC's representative in Rwanda, Philippe Gaillard, recalls breaking his organization's longstanding policy of not commenting on such atrocities and alerting the world to the genocide then underway.
"The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is a 140-year-old organization, was not active during the Armenian genocide, shut up during the Holocaust -- everyone knew what was happening with the Jews," Gaillard says. "In such circumstances, if you don't at least speak out clearly, you are participating in the genocide."
Apologies
In March 1998, President Clinton visited Kigali, where he apologized to the Rwandan people and the victims of the genocide. "The international community, together with nations in Africa, must bear its share of responsibility for this tragedy," Clinton said. "We did not act quickly enough after the killing began. We should not have allowed the refugee camps to become safe havens for the killers. We did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name: genocide."
Those sentiments were echoed weeks later by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. In an apology to the parliament of Rwanda, Annan said, "We will not deny that, in their greatest hour of need, the world failed the people of Rwanda...."
"Ghosts of Rwanda" concludes by examining the aftermath of the genocide, the lessons learned--and not learned--by the international community, and by questioning whether the phrase "never again" has more meaning today than it did 10 years ago.
"When you are faced with the question [of] whether I think that we can avoid the Rwandas of tomorrow...my answer is I really don't know," Annan now says. "I wish I can say yes, but I am not convinced that we will see the kind of political will and the action required to stop it."
Timeline
United Nations General Assembly unanimously passes the Genocide Convention, which obligates signatory states to prevent and punish perpetrators of genocide.
1959-1962
Revolution brings about a reversal of power in Rwanda: The Hutu majority seizes power from the Tutsi minority, which had been the favored class under Belgium colonial rule for more than a century.
1990
Army of the Tutsi-led rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invades Rwanda and a three-year civil war ensues.
1993
August
Rwandan government and the RPF negotiate a cease-fire and the Arusha Accords are signed.
October 3
Special Forces in Somalia are engaged in a 17-hour battle with the ruling warlord. Eighteen U.S. soldiers are killed and 84 wounded, with more than 1,000 Somalis killed. U.S. and other nations' troops quickly withdrew from the U.N. mission.
October 5
Security Council authorizes Rwanda mission (UNAMIR) to assist parties in implementing the Arusha Peace Accords.
November
UNAMIR forces begin to arrive in Rwanda; the first phase of deployment ends in mid-December with a total of about 2,500 troops.
1994
January 5
Hutu militias disrupt the ceremony to install a broad-based transitional government.
January 11
UNAMIR leader Gen. Dallaire sends urgent cable to U.N. outlining Hutu plans to exterminate Tutsis and his own plan to confiscate Hutu militia arm caches. He is told to desist -- as this would exceed his peacekeeping mandate -- and to discuss the issue with the Rwandan and foreign governments.
February
Series of massacres and political assassinations occur in the capital of Kigali and in Southern Rwanda, targeting Tutsis and Hutu members of opposition parties. Hutu extremists step up efforts to prepare death lists, import tens of thousands of machetes, and issue anti-Tutsi propaganda.
April 6
Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Burundian President Ntaryamira are killed when Habyarimana's plane is shot down near Kigali Airport. The killings begin that night.
April 7
Extremist Hutu forces set up roadblocks and go from house to house killing Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians. Ten Belgian soldiers with UNAMIR, assigned to guard the moderate Hutu prime minister, are tortured and murdered. The prime minister is also murdered.
April 8
Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) forces launch a major offensive to overthrow the interim government, reigniting the civil war.
April 9-10
France, Belgium and Italy send troops to evacuate their citizens. Americans leave Rwanda by convoy to Burundi, where U.S. Marines wait. A handful of Rwandans escape with the Westerners.
April 14
One week after the murder of the 10 Belgian soldiers, Belgium begins to withdraw forces from UNAMIR and urges the U.S. to support pulling out the rest of the peacekeepers.
April 21
The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to withdraw most of the UNAMIR troops, cutting the force from 2,500 to 270.
May 17
The U.N. finally agrees to send 5,500 troops to Rwanda; however full deployment will not be complete until September--long after the genocide is over.
Mid-May
The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates 500,000 Rwandans have been killed.
Mid-July
Tutsi-led RPF forces capture Kigali. The Hutu government flees to Zaire, followed by a tide of refugees. The RPF sets up an interim government of national unity in Kigali. The genocide is over. An estimated 800,000 Rwandans have been killed in 100 days.
November 8
Recognizing that serious violations of humanitarian law were committed in Rwanda, the Security Council creates the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
2002
April 2
Colonel Theoneste Bagosora and three other alleged architects of the genocide go on trial at the ICTR; as of February 2004, their trial is still underway.
Glossary
Arusha Accords: Intended to end a three-year civil war between Rwanda's Hutu government and Tutsi-led RPF rebels, the August 1993 peace agreement called for a democratically elected government with a broad-based transitional government leading to the elections. Hutu extremists feeling marginalized by the agreement orchestrated the genocide.
Genocide: The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.
Hutu: The majority community in Rwanda, which during the colonial period had suffered as second-class citizens. With independence, Hutu gained power and privilege through the patronage of presidents Gregoire Kayibanda and Maj. Gen. Juvenal Habyarimana.
Interahamwe: Youth militia of the Hutu extremists trained by organizers to carry out the genocide.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): A global humanitarian aid organization, the ICRC estimates it saved as many as 70,000 Rwandans targeted by the genocide without the use of force or weapons.
Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR): Army of the Hutu government led by President Habyarimana. After the president's plane was shot down, the FAR joined the Presidential Guard and the interahamwe in carrying out the genocide.
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF): Tutsi-led rebels who fought the Hutu leadership during the Rwandan civil war. While the international community refused to intervene and 800,000 Tutsis were killed, the RPF was finally successful in putting down the Hutu extremists and ending the genocide.
Tutsi: Rwanda's largest minority community, which Belgian colonials had favored as the privileged class until Hutu revolutionaries took over political leadership in the early 1960s.
Transitional Government: Ruling political body of shared Hutu and Tutsi leadership negotiated by the Arusha Accords.
UNAMIR: The United Nations peacekeeping force brought in to support the Arusha Accords' transition process. Two weeks into the genocide, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to withdraw most of the UNAMIR troops, cutting the force from 2,500 to 270.
Rwanda Facts
Country in central Africa slightly smaller than Maryland
Population 7,810,056 -- the most densely populated country in Africa
Average life expectancy 39.33 years; only 2.7% of the country is older than 65
Predominant ethnic communities: 84% Hutu, 15% Tutsi; Twa 1%
60% of the population is below the poverty line (2001 est.)
Excerpted from CIA-The World Factbook. All figures are 2003 estimates except as noted.
Major Peacekeeping Missions in Africa During the Genocide
Country
Mission
Financing
Maximum Military Strength
Military Fatalities
Liberia
UNOMIL9/93 - 9/97
$ 99.3 M
368
none
Angola
UNAVEM II5/91 - 2/95
$ 175.8 M
350
3
Mozambique
UNOMOZ12/92 - 12/94
$ 486.7 M
6,979
21
Somalia
UNOSOM II3/93 - 3/95
$ 1.6 B
28,000
146
Rwanda
UNAMIR10/93 - 3/96
$ 453.9 M
5,500
25

UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION
Why do we need a United Nations?It is often said that if we did not have the United Nations, it would have to be invented.-- In a world plagued by conflict, the UN permits instant consultations among governments and provides the forum for dealing with long-term problems.-- The UN is a catalyst for action on major global issues, such as the environment and illicit drugs, and provides the best mechanism available to mobilize and sustain international cooperation to tackle these issues.
-- The UN and its agencies help build economies and stabilize financial markets. They help eradicate disease, expand food production and increase longevity. They protect refugees, deliver food aid and respond quickly to natural disasters.
-- The UN and its agencies protect vulnerable groups, like children, refugees, displaced persons, minorities, indigenous people and the disabled.
-- The UN and its agencies provide the machinery for setting technical and legal standards in vital areas of global interaction, from air safety standards to human rights.
No organization in the world is better suited to pursue these goals, because no other possesses the UN's universality and legitimacy
Is the United Nations a world government?The UN is not, and was never intended to be, a world government. As an organization of sovereign and independent States, it does only what Member States have agreed it can do. It is their instrument. Do countries surrender their sovereignty at the UN?The members of the UN are sovereign nations, and the UN Charter is one of the strongest safeguards of sovereignty, enshrining that principle as one of its central pillars. At the same time, most of the problems the world faces today are of such complexity that they cannot be addressed by any single nation acting alone. The UN is where the world's countries come together to address common problems. Working with other countries is an exercise of sovereignty, not a limitation of it. By cooperating in specific areas through the United Nations, States build the structures that make international life possible. Countries voluntarily decide to work together because they feel it is in their best interest. The universality and impartiality of the UN provides the common ground where countries can achieve maximum benefits from cooperation, while guaranteeing that their sovereignty will be protected.
Is the UN a tool of the big powers?The United Nations is the instrument of all its Member States, who shape its policies by discussing and voting on major issues. In the General Assembly, all countries have the same voting rights, making it the most democratic of international institutions. Even in the Security Council, the United States and the other four powerful, veto-wielding members, though able to stop any action with which they disagree, must take the views of other States into account and cannot impose their will. No country, however powerful, is able to dictate UN policies single-handedly.
What does the General Assembly do?
The General Assembly is the unique world forum where all Member States are represented. It has been called the closest thing we have to a parliament of nations. It is here – and only here – that the world's most pressing problems are addressed, a place where all countries can express their differences and reach agreement on how to proceed.
Just as individuals in a democracy have equal voting rights regardless of whether they are rich or poor, powerful or weak, all countries in the General Assembly have the same voting rights. The vote of the General Assembly is therefore an accurate barometer of world opinion. Its decisions, though not legally binding on Member States, represent the moral authority of the community of nations.
Do developing countries dominate the General Assembly?Before 1960, some States complained about an "automatic majority" of the industrialized countries. After 1960, with many newly independent States having joined the UN, others complained about a "tyranny of the majority" by the developing countries. In fact, voting patterns tend to vary greatly, depending on the issue at hand, and like-minded countries tend to have similar voting patterns on issues of mutual concern. However, the new spirit of cooperation in international affairs has generated an increasing trend towards decision-making by consensus. As a result of negotiation and accommodation in reaching mutually agreeable solutions, most General Assembly resolutions are now adopted without a vote.
Are only governments heard at the UN?Although the UN is the world organization of States, its framework provides opportunities to involve other actors whose cooperation is increasingly vital for the solution of global problems. Various expressions of civil society contribute to the work of the UN – non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the business community, trade unions, professional associations – and their involvement with the UN is growing. The UN has also expanded its cooperation with research and academic institutions, youth groups and other associations.
The Secretary-General regularly consults with the private sector, meeting with business leaders and business organizations – seeking their help to achieve the goals of the UN. As a guiding principle for this relationship, he has proposed a "Global Compact" under which world business leaders commit themselves to certain norms in the areas of human rights, labour standards and the environment. Hundreds of companies from North and South, big and small, are engaged in the Compact, as well as trade unions and NGOs. Contrary to some perceptions, the Compact does not accept corporate funding. It does not endorse companies or give them recognition, and the UN logo remains strictly guarded. The Compact seeks to engage companies in support of UN goals through learning, dialogue and projects.
Regarding philanthropy, Time-Warner co-chairman Ted Turner in 1997 announced a $1 billion donation to UN development and assistance programmes, which is administered by his UN Foundation in coordination with the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 made a $750 million grant to the UN-supported Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. The world's Rotary Clubs have given more than $400 million to WHO's efforts to eradicate polio, and the world's Lions Clubs support many UNICEF programmes.
What about NGOs?Among the most prominent players at the UN are the NGOs. An NGO is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group organized at the local, national or international level. Some 2,100 NGOs active in economic and social development have "consultative status" with the Economic and Social Council – the main policy-making body on economic and social matters – and their representatives may be invited to address its meetings. In addition, some 1,670 NGOs carrying out information programmes on matters of concern to the UN are accredited with the UN Department of Public Information. Many NGOs have official representatives at UN Headquarters, providing the UN with valuable links to the world's peoples.
NGOs speak for broad international and national constituencies and have increasing influence on the UN's work. They play a prominent role at UN conferences, advancing the views of their constituencies on issues ranging from women's rights to food security. They were instrumental in the adoption of the 1997 Convention banning landmines and the establishment in 1998 of an International Criminal Court to deal with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In the poorer countries, NGOs work hand in hand with the UN to assist people in need
What does the Security Council do?The Security Council is the UN organ primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security, dealing with crises as they arise. Under the Charter, the Council's decisions are legally binding; Member States are obligated to carry them out.
The Council is made up of 15 members: 10 non-permanent members, periodically elected by all Member States for two-year terms; and five permanent members. The system of voting gives added weight to the permanent members – China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. Any of these countries can block a proposal by casting a negative vote, even if the other four permanent and all non-permanent members vote in favour. This is called the "veto power".
Isn't the Council in need of reform? The General Assembly's working group on reform of the Security Council, made up of all Member States, is considering possible changes.
Given the large increase of UN Member States since 1945 – especially developing countries – as well as the changes in international relations, Member States have recognized the need to review the membership of the Security Council. Proposals before the General Assembly include increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent members, rotating or sharing Council seats, modifying the veto power, and improving the Council's working methods.
One such proposal would increase membership from 15 to 24, by adding five permanent members without veto power (three developing States and two industrialized States), as well as four non-permanent members. This proposal would add Japan, Germany and three developing countries as permanent members. It has also been suggested that only non-permanent members be added, with periodic re-election of countries on the basis of their contribution to UN peacekeeping and development activities. Though none of these proposals has obtained overall agreement, the General Assembly is continuing its efforts to find an acceptable formula.
Meanwhile, the Security Council has made considerable progress in reforming its working methods, with the aim of enhancing transparency. During 2001, a number of procedural changes were introduced, affecting the conduct of meetings, format of reports and documentation. The Council continues looking at ways to improve the transparency of its working methods.
What is the role of the Economic and Social Council?The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the central UN forum for international economic and social issues. Through its discussion of these issues and humanitarian concerns, as well as its policy recommendations, the Council plays a key role in fostering international cooperation for development and in setting priorities for action. It coordinates the economic and social work of the UN specialized agencies, programmes and funds, and also plays a key role in formulating follow-up mechanisms to the major UN conferences, to ensure implementation.
The Economic and Social Council has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms. It meets monthly for short sessions of several days' duration, and holds an annual four-week session in July, during which a special meeting of Ministers discusses major economic, social and humanitarian issues. The Council also offers NGOs the opportunity to bring their expertise to the UN, thereby maintaining a vital link between the Organization and civil society.
ECOSOC has seen a revitalized role in recent years as it has taken the lead in tackling many of the major challenges presented by globalization. Along with coordinating the work of commissions that deal with such topics as population, sustainable development and social development, it has led efforts to meet new challenges – such as closing the "digital divide" between the developed and developing countries through its work on information and communication technologies. The Council has also emerged as a forum of major importance for policy dialogue, bringing key representatives from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund together with the diplomatic community at the UN to forge new policy directions.
What is the role of the UN Secretary-General?The Secretary-General is the top official of the United Nations and its chief administrative officer – the symbol of the Organization to the world, particularly as the foremost international mediator and peacemaker. The Secretary-General draws world attention to major global issues, from development to disarmament to human rights, and is empowered to bring to the attention of the Security Council any problem that threatens international peace and security. To help resolve international disputes, the Secretary-General may carry out mediation or exercise quiet diplomacy behind the scenes.
The impartiality of the Secretary-General is one of the UN's most important assets. In recent years, the Secretary-General has intensified the exercise of preventive diplomacy to keep international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading. The Secretary-General has also taken the lead in efforts to reorganize and streamline the work of the UN, working closely with the General Assembly and other bodies to ensure that reforms are far-reaching and coordinated, so the UN may respond effectively to the needs of Member States.
The Secretary-General is also Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), which meets twice annually to ensure the coordination of activities in pursuit of the common goals of Member States across a wide range of issues. It comprises the Executive Heads of 27 organizations, including UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (an autonomous agency under the aegis of the UN) and the World Trade Organization – representing the entire UN system.
How is the Secretary-General appointed?The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Council.
The first two Secretaries-General were Trygve Lie of Norway and Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden. In the past 40 years, countries have informally agreed to rotate the office among the regional groups. It has thus passed from Asia (U Thant of Burma, now Myanmar), to Western Europe (Kurt Waldheim of Austria), to Latin America (Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru), to Africa (Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, who served one term, and Kofi Annan of Ghana, the current Secretary-General). Although there is technically no limit to the number of five-year terms a Secretary-General may serve, none so far has held office for more than two terms.

What does the UN do for human rights?One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law to which all nations can subscribe. The UN has also developed effective mechanisms to protect human rights, benefiting people all over the world.
The UN advances human rights in many ways:*raises concerns with governments, responds to human rights abuses and takes action to prevent violations.
* The UN Secretary-General and the High Commissioner confidentially voice human rights concerns with governments on various human rights situations and issues, including the treatment of prisoners and the commutation of death sentences.
* Under certain UN human rights treaties, individuals can appeal against States for alleged violations of their rights, subject to the fulfilment of certain preconditions, including the exhaustion of all domestic remedies.
* The UN Commission on Human Rights is one of the main intergovernmental bodies that holds public meetings on human rights violations wherever they occur in the world. It reviews human rights issues, including the situation in specific countries and territories.
* UN experts appointed by the Commission monitor and report on the human rights situation in specific countries, as well as on violations of all human rights in any part of the world – including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
* The Office of the High Commissioner assists in all these efforts. It also helps governments fulfil their human rights responsibilities by providing technical assistance through such activities as the training of police and judges, as well as the provision of advice on legislation and national human rights institutions.
* Many peacekeeping operations now include mandates for protecting and promoting the human rights of the affected population.
* The United Nations promotes accountability for grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Two UN International Tribunals, established to deal specifically with the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, have helped bring war criminals to justice.
* In January 2002, the UN and the government of Sierra Leone established a Special Court to try persons for serious violations of international humanitarian and national law during that country’s decade-long civil war. The court is independent of the UN and the government. Unlike the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, it is funded directly through voluntary contribution by Member States.#
ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS
The UN has helped to make human rights a matter of concern to people everywhere, which governments find it increasingly difficult to ignore. Examples of the UN's groundbreaking work:
* The UN created the International Bill of Human Rights, comprising the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two 1966 International Human Rights Covenants – on civil and political rights, and on economic, social and cultural rights – which make many of the Declaration's provisions legally binding on States parties.
* The UN has drafted and adopted more than 80 conventions, declarations and other instruments on political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.
* The UN helped end the regime of apartheid (racial segregation) in place in South Africa from 1948 to 1994, through a sustained anti-apartheid campaign ranging from an arms embargo to international conventions. In 2001, the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, meeting in Durban, South Africa, produced specific recommendations to counter the forces that threaten diversity.
* The UN has successfully negotiated an Optional Protocol to its 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, by which States parties agree to ban the participation of children under 18 in armed conflict. The Optional Protocol came into force in February 2002.
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How does the UN defend vulnerable groups in society? The UN is an advocate for society's most vulnerable groups – minorities, migrant workers, refugees, indigenous people and children in especially difficult circumstances – and works to better their plight. International treaties, such as the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, have been negotiated through the UN to protect vulnerable groups. Various UN mechanisms monitor compliance by States with obligations enshrined in human rights conventions on the rights of vulnerable groups, and hold countries accountable for violations.
The UN also conducts international campaigns to raise global awareness of the problems affecting vulnerable groups. On behalf of the world's 300 million indigenous people, the UN launched the International Year of the World's Indigenous People (1993) and the ongoing International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1994-2004), and is negotiating a declaration on their rights. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is the main advocate for the estimated 300,000 child soldiers. The International Labour Organization has launched a global programme to eliminate child labour, while the UN Children's Fund carries out projects to improve the lives of street children, working children and children in conflict situations.
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What does the UN do to promote the equal rights of women?The UN has been instrumental in improving the status of women by spearheading change and raising awareness of their rights throughout the world.
* The equal rights of women are enshrined in the Preamble to the UN Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which legally establish gender equality as a fundamental human right.
* The UN has set international standards on women’s rights and created instruments to monitor their observance around the world. In 1979, it adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – an international bill of rights for women and a blueprint for action by countries to guarantee those rights. Nearly 170 countries have ratified the Convention, legally committing themselves to ensuring women’s equality. A special UN committee of independent experts monitors implementation of the Convention.
* Established in 1946, the UN Commission on the Status of Women meets annually on matters concerning women’s rights. It makes recommendations on problems requiring immediate attention and promotes international legislation in support of women's rights.
* The UN has helped mobilize women around the world. To focus attention on women's rights, the UN declared 1975 to be International Women's Year and 1976-1985 as the UN Decade for Women. The UN has also provided a forum for women from around the world to join together to promote their rights. In 1975, it convened in Mexico City the first global conference ever held on women, followed by world conferences in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995).
* Two UN bodies are devoted exclusively to women's issues. The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) funds innovative development activities to benefit women, especially in rural areas of the developing world. The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) uses new information technologies to support the advancement of women and their access to the information society (see www.un.org/womenwatch).
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How does the UN support democratization?The UN supports democratization in an increasing number of countries that seek its help. By providing technical assistance in preparing and holding elections, the UN has helped nearly 80 nations to consolidate the democratic process. It organized the 1993 elections in Cambodia and has sent impartial observers to ensure free and fair elections in several countries – including Namibia, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, South Africa and Mozambique. The UN has also helped armed opposition movements transform themselves into political parties – for instance in El Salvador, Mozambique and Guatemala.
To consolidate democracy, the UN helps nations to build and strengthen well-functioning, accountable processes and institutions – political, judicial and administrative. The UN Development Programme supports democratic governance in many countries by strengthening parliamentary procedures, upgrading the judicial system and helping to fight corruption. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights advises countries in expanding human rights laws, improving penal codes and protecting freedom of expression.
The UN has helped strengthen the democratic process by assisting elections in nearly 80 countries.
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Why do we need an International Criminal Court?An International Criminal Court has been created to deal with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The establishment of such a court had long been on the UN agenda, but the appalling massacres in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda made the need for it even more urgent. The statute of the Court, drafted by a committee set up by the General Assembly with more than 100 Member States participating, was endorsed by 120 countries at a conference held in Rome in 1998. After receiving the required 60 ratifications, the Court came into being on 1 July 2002.
Located at The Hague in the Netherlands, the Court is to consist of 18 internationally respected judges elected for nine-year terms, and a team of prosecutors and investigators. It is not part of the UN and is accountable to the countries that ratify its statute. Those countries agree to prosecute their citizens accused of such crimes under their own laws or surrender them to the Court for trial.
The Court's statute ensures against unwarranted prosecutions. It gives precedence to national courts, requiring States parties to use their own tribunals in the first instance. The Court may intervene only when national courts are unable or unwilling to act. Moreover, prosecutors must justify their decisions on the basis of well-defined international standards, which preclude politically motivated charges. Finally, the Security Council has the authority to halt any prosecution it deems improper. As it begins functioning, it is hoped that the Court will help to end impunity and deter potential war criminals.

1896 The King decides to leave his country’s external relations in the care of the German Empire
1900 The White Fathers found their first Mission
1926 The League of Nations gives Belgium a mandate of tutelage over Rwanda
1959-61 The Rwandan social and political revolution begins following the Bahutu manifesto
1961 The country declares its status as a Republic
1959-63 Reprisals against Tutsis and first flights by Tutsis
1973 Juvenal Habyarimana takes over following a military coup
1990 The Rwanda Patriotic Front – the RPF – attacks Rwanda from Uganda border
1993 Arusha Peace Accords between the Government and the RPF
1994 April Beginning of the genocide
1994 July End of the genocide. The RPF takes over and there is massive exodus of two million Hutus to neighbouring countries
1996 New tensions in Eastern Zaire between the different armies and refugees

EIGHT YEARS OF PROGRESS
Eight years ago, the Government of Rwanda began the difficult task of rebuilding the country. In 1994, no schools, hospitals, factories and government departments were functioning. Public utilities like telephones, electricity and water were also not functioning. There was total displacement of the population, both internally and externally. There was no civil service and the government's administrative capacity had collapsed. Civil servants had either been killed during the genocide or had fled the country. Survivors of genocide were still scattered all over the country and traumatised. Genocide had further polarised the Rwandan society.The Government of National Unity and the Rwandese people, with some support from the International community, have registered progress in the difficult process of moving from emergency to long-term development.The first challenge that the government faced was to stabilise the country and create conditions that would enable the whole population to enjoy peace and security.About three-and-a half million Rwandese refugees have been repatriated and resettled. this is a phenomenal repatriation record in world refugee history. The process of reintegration of refugees and members of the former government army (Ex-FAR) has further promoted reconciliation. About 15,000 elements of ex-FAR have been integrated into the Rwandese National Army, the RPA, at various command levels, as well as within the rank and file.In promoting reconciliation, a Unity and Reconciliation Commission was established to consolidate the government policy of redressing the legacy of divisive politics that has been a prominent feature of Rwanda for many decades. The commission continues to raise public awareness through civic education initiatives (Ingando). Furthermore, there has been extensive dialogue, which, took place under the leadership of the President of Rwanda, touched on unity and reconciliation, justice, democratisation, security and economy.The Government of national Unity has made progres in building the justice system from scratch. Following the enactment of the Genocide Law, trials have taken place to bring to justice the genocide suspects. So far, (...) have been convicted and (...) acquitted. Currently, there are over 120,000 genocide suspects in overcrowded prisons. About 12 million Rwanda francs are spent annually on looking after these prisoners. To deal with this caseload expeditiously, the government has initiated a participatory form of justice (GACACA) that draws from the experience of traditional pre-colonial Rwandan society. This will be operational by the end of the year 2000. Through a Genocide Survivors Fund, the government provides support in education, shelter, health, and income-generating activities to the most vulnerable amongst the survivors. About 5% of government revenue collected each year(approximately 4 billion Rwanda francs) is contributed to this fund. Donations from the public or private sector, as well as from the international community are welcome.A Human Rights Commission has been established to promote the rule of law and respect for the fundamental rights of citizens. On the political front, the Government of National Unity has made progress in maintaining the inclusiveness of the broad-based government as an indispensable component of the new political dispensation. A policy of decentralisation has been initiated to involve people in grassroots communities in decision-making. This will enhance their participation in activities to transform their poor conditions. Local elections have already taken place at the cellule and secteur levels.Elections at the commune and prefecture levels will take place by the end of the year 2000.A Legal and Constitutional Commission has been established to consult all Rwandese citizens on what kind of Constitution Rwanda should have at the end of the transition period.Transparency and accountability within government institutions have been identified and promoted as critical ingredients necessary for effective and efficient government. To that effect, a number of institutions have been established, namely the National Examinations Board, the National Tender Board, the Auditor General's Office and the Rwanda Revenue Authority. In addition, government will further require public officials to declare their assets in accordance with a National Leadership Code of Conduct.Economic recovery has been consistent since 1994 when real GDP declined by 50% and inflation stood at 65%.Security has been restored to all the 12 administartive prefectures of Rwanda. Undoubtedly, this is a peace dividend from Rwanda's involvement in the DRC.Rwanda has been welcomed to join the East African Cooperation (EAC), in pursuit of greater cooperation and economic integration. Rwanda is also an active member of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA).

POST-INDEPENDENCE:
From 1959 onwards, the population of Batutsi was targeted, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, and a population of almost two million Rwandese people in the Diaspora that was to last almost four decades.The First Republic, under President Gregoire Kayibanda, institutionalised discrimination against Batutsi and periodically used massacres against this targeted population as a means of maintaining the status quo. some Rwandese groups in the diaspora attempted, without success to stage a comeback through armed means.In 1965 Rwanda was declared a one-party state under MDR/PARMEHUTU, which was the architect of the racist ideology that was to be consolidated in the Second Republic under President Major General Juvenal Habyarimana.In 1973 President Kayibanda was deposed in a coup d'etat that brought Major General Habyarimana to power. Subsequently, President Kayibanda and many prominent politicians of the First Republic were killed. More Batutsi were killed. In 1975 President Habyarimana formed the Mouvement Revolutionaire Natinale pour le Developpement (MRND), a single ruling party that was to promulgate in 1978 a sham constitution that repeatedly returned him to office by organising "elections" in which he was the sole candidate.Both the First and second Republics repeatedly stated that Rwanda was a small, overpopulated country that could not accomodate Rwandese refugees if they were to return. Increasingly, the population across the ethnic lines was marginalised and impoverished while Habyarimana's regime became more violently intolerant. The divisions within the ruling Bahutu clique that culminated in the coup d'etat of 1973 became more heightened in the 1970s and 1980s when the clique talked of Bahutu of the north and Bahutu of the south. Political activities remained banned.
THE RWANDESE PATRIOTIC FRONT (RPF):
Against a backdrop of entrenched divisive and genocidal ideology, repeated massacres, the persistent problems of refugees in the Diaspora, and the lack of avenues for peaceful political change, the Rwandese Alliance for National Unity (RANU) was formed in 1979 by some Rwandese in the Diaspora with an objective of mobilising Rwandese people to resolve these problems. Almost a decade later, in 1987, RANU became the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), whose objectives were:
To promote national unity and reconciliation;
To establish genuine democracy;
To provide security for all Rwandese;
To build an integrated and self-sustaining economy;
To eradicate corruption in all forms
To repatriate and resettle Rwandese refugees;
To devise and implement policies that promote the social welfare of all Rwandese and;
To pursue a foreign policy based on equality, peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit between Rwanda and other countries.
THE ARMED STRUGGLE:
Most of the world had never heard of the RPF until October 1st, 1990 - the day the war of liberation against the military dictatorship in Kigali began. Taking up arms was not an easy decision to make. War has always been the last option in the consideration of the RPF. However, all efforts for peaceful and democratic change in our country had so far proved futile. It had become apparent that only by taking up arms could anyone wishing to put an end to the dictatorship and the violation of our peoples' fundamental rights hope to succeed. The regime had ammassed a huge coercive state machinery using violence to oppress the people. The taking up of arms against the regime was therefore considered not just a right, but also a patriotic and national obligation. When the war began, Rwandese peasants and workers, students and intellectuals, men and women from every region and "ethnic" or social group, responded to the call of the Rwandese Patriotic Front to rid our country of dictatorship. With the beginning of the armed struggle, France, Belgium, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) hurriedly dispatched troops to Rwanda to support the dictatorial regime.
THE SEARCH FOR PEACE:
As the war for liberation escalated, RPF still attempted to seek peaceful ways of resolving the conflict. On March 29th, 1991, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the RPF and the then Government of Rwanda signed the N'sele Ceasefire Agreement which provided for, among other things, cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of foreign troops, exchange of prisoners of war and finally, seriuos political negotiations to end the conflict. immediately after signing the agreement, the Government of Rwanda ridiculed the said agreement as the war intensified.As the regime became more desperate, massacres of Batutsi in various parts of the country became widespread in a delibrate effort of ethnic cleansing. The regime used violence to harass and silence the emerging internal political opposition. Violence was also used to derail the peace process. After a long period of negotiation that took place in arusha, tanzania, the Arusha Peace Agreement was signed on August 4th, 1993. The Arusha Peace Agreement was preceeded by the signing of the agreement on a new ceasefire, as well as parties agreeing on the following principles:
That there was neither democracy nor the practice of the rule of law in Rwanda;
That a broad-based government of national unity, including parties of different political persuasions was necessary to oversee the transition to democracy;
That the rwandese army was not national in character and that it was necessary to set up a truly national army from among members of the two existing armies;and
That Rwandese refugees have a legitimate inalienable right to return home.
THE ARUSHA PEACE AGREEMENT:The Arusha Peace Agreement was structured around five pillars:
The establishment of the rule of law;
Power-sharing
Repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced people;
The integration of armed forces;and
Other miscellaneous provisions.
It was particularly the power-sharing arrangements that threatened members of the regime. The Arucha Peace Agreement threatened the basis of their power and privilege, which they had so far enjoyed without serious challenge. Given the fact that they had always relied on the army as the instrument of maintaining their grip on power at any cost, it is clear why they were very opposed to the idea of integration of the armed forces. The Arusha Peace Agreement was signed on August 4th, 1993 and was supposed to have been implemented within 37 days, beginning with the establishment of the institutions of the presidency, cabinet and the National Assembly. A United Nations force was supposed to oversee this process. RPF honoured all its commitments when in December 1993 it sent 600 of its troops to Kigali, as well as members of the Executive who were supposed to be members of the transitional government. The mind of the regime on the other hand, was focused on the preparation for genocide. The Arusha Peace Agreement was never implemented although its principal provisions now constitute the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Rwanda.
GENOCIDE
The first massacres in Rwanda took place in 1959. Thereafter, almost in a regular manner, killings of the Batutsi became a habit. In the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s massacres of Batutsi were common. Between April and July 1994, over 1 million Rwandese people, mainly Batutsi and some Bahutu opposition were killed by the genocidal regime. So many people were involved in the killings. Those who planned and organised the genocide include the late President, Major General Juvenal Habyarimana, top government officials, including members of the so-called Provisional Government, the presidential Guard, the National Gendarmerie, the Rwanda Government Forces (FAR), the MRND-CDR militia (Interahamwe), local officials, and many Bahutu in the general population. Preparation to carry out genocide by these groups involved the training of the militia, the arming of both the militia and some sections of the population, the establishment and widespread use of a hate radio called Radio television Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM), and the distribution of lists of those who were to be targeted. Repeatedly, these groups prevented the establishment of the Arusha Peace Accords. When the genocide began, the United Nations had a peacekeeping force - the United Nations Assistance for Rwanda (UNAMIR) - in Rwanda of about 2500 troops. The first reaction of the United Nations, and indeed of other nations that had their own nationals in Rwanda, was to withdraw their troops and their nationals respectively. Under the circumstances the RPF had to fight again in order to stop the genocide.
THE FALL OF THE GENOCIDAL REGIME
On July 4th, 1994, the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali, fell to the forces of the Rwandese Patriotic Army(RPA), the armed wing of the RPF. The members of the so-called Provisional Government, the armed groups, and many people who were involved in genocide, fled mainly to the DRC and Tanzania. Over 3 million refugees fled to Tanzania and the DRC. On July 19th, 1994, RPF established the Government of National Unity with four other political parties. These parties are the Liberal Party (PL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and the Republican Democratic Movement (MDR). Weeks later, the National Assembly was formed. Members were nominated by the RPF, the four above-mentioned parties plus three other smaller parties, namely, the Islamic Party (PDI), the Socialist Party (PSR), and the Democratic Union for Rwandese People (UDPR). In this parliament of 70 seats, the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) has 6 representatives

2006-04-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Integrating Media in the classroom

This post will be an outline for my final project. Currently, I am teaching the film "Hotel Rwanda" in my World Literature class. The course theme is African Perspectives. Previously, we read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. That unit was basically devoid of film and media. I wanted to change that for "Hotel Rwanda". I began the unit by showing clips of a PBS Frontline production called "Ghosts of Rwanda". I used the DVD to give students some background knowledge about the genocide that happened in Rwanda. The film immediately engaged the students in a way lecturing does not. The PBS production had interviews with several of the key players from the UN as well as survivors of the genocide. The people in the documentary gave the genocide a face. After screening the clips, we had a great class discussion and wrote down questions the students still had.
The next lesson involved group work. Students were divided into six groups of five to six students per group. Each group was given a different news article related to Rwanda, the UN, or the genocide, from the Internet. The groups task was to become experts on and summarize the information and share the most important points with the class. This activity created a sense of responsibility for the groups; they were the only group with that particular information and it was their job to inform the rest of the class. We wrote the information on poster paper and posted them up around the classroom.
The third lesson before screening "Hotel Rwanda" was a mini-lesson on media. To start the lesson, I had each student answer a series of questions about media in their lives. Then we talked about what students had answered. We talked about where they got their news information, why they used the different types of media they did, and how much time they spent with media everyday. Next, I passed out newspaper articles. The students had a second series of questions to answer. This time the questions were focused on the article and whether or not it addressed human rights, whether the reporter had done a good job reporting the story, and if there was bias in the story. The final questions asked if students had ever read or watched a story that moved them to action, and how far they would go to report a story. We had large group discussion about the articles and the quality of the reporting. The point of the lesson was to raise student awareness about the power of media, bias in media, and human rights. The lesson went really well and the students had a lot to contribute. Many of them had see or read a story that moved them to action. I believe that this scaffolding lesson will allow the students to view "Hotel Rwanda" more objectively.
The film will be screened over the course of three days. Each day, students will journal about their reactions to the film. I have also shared some excerpts from Paul Rusesabaginea's new book, "An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography". I chose parts that help to explain the causes for the genocide. Because the author experienced the genocide first hand, students are more engaged in reading the material.
The final project for the unit is a newsletter/brochure about Rwanda. We will use Microsoft Publisher and students will work in groups of two or three. My school does not have a lot of technological resources, and I had to book the computer lab a month and a half in advance. We have two days in the lab. Each student will be required to write three articles. One will be a review of "Hotel Rwanda", and at least one article can not have bias. The newsletter must have a name and each article needs a title. I will provide a rubric for the assignment so students will know what I am looking for.
If I had different resources, I would use the web quest I created. The web quest has links to different websites relating to Rwanda's genocide. The activity I did with small groups reading information and sharing it with the class was to make up for the fact that I could not use my web quest. Not all students have Internet access, so I couldn't ask them to do the activity on the web quest.
The class discussion on bias is the second way I would integrate what I learned in this class. In the discussion I had with my students, they answered my questions about media in their lives very quickly, but were not aware of the different biases their information sources may have. I think after that class period, they became more conscious of where information comes from and what they are getting out of it.

2006-04-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

College Athletes: Are they working for free?

If I made a documentary, I would choose to focus on Division I college athletes in the big money sports: football and basketball. For the past several years, there has been debate about whether or not these athletes deserve to get paid. The argument is that the schools make so much money off of the individual star-power of the athletes, and yet the athletes themselves can not profit. The flip side of the debate is that the students are getting a free education. Is it free, though? Basketball players start official practices in October and play until March. (We all know that the guys are practicing as soon as they set foot on campus.) They are in-season for nearly the entire school year. On top of being enrolled as a full-time student, they also have a full-time job. Take into account traveling, and the time and effort they have to put into making up missed work, and you see that these kids don't have time to earn money. Football players start practices in the summer, and the Bowl games are in January. Football players' entire Fall semester is spent playing and traveling. Some of the athletes are actually forbidden to hold jobs. The athletes are provided with free room and board and meal money when they are on the road. What they don't have, however, is some extra cash to go rent a movie or buy a new pair of jeans. At least, they don't legally have that money.

College basketball and football seasons are huge money makers for large universities. Just look at the U of M. They desperately want a new stadium in hopes to boost attendance and make more money. When you compare the U of M with a large football powerhouse like Ohio State, the numbers speak volumes. The Ohio State football program grossed over $58 million dollars last year. The University of Minnesota grossed less than $6 million. With their new stadium plan, the U of M believes they would make $10 million each season. The new stadium would also play a large role in recruiting new players. With the U of M making so little money, and a school like Ohio State making so much, is it surprising that when rumors of bribery and cheating start up they surround the schools that have more money?

I wonder who the critics are who think that athetes do not deserve to get paid. The percent of student-athletes who go on to pursue professional athletics is miniscule. The vast majority of students who play a Division I sport will not play that sport professionally. Instead, they will spend their college years the same way those few pro prospects will, and then disappear after their final season. Is it the star athletes like Vince Young, Matt Leinert and J. J. Redick who spoil it for the rest of the athletes? We look at these players and their earning potential on the field/court and decide that we don't need to pay them now-they'll make more than enough later. Well, what about the red-shirt freshman who comes to practice every day to get his butt kicked by the seniors in hopes to make in onto the field for just one play. What about that kid? Would it be so bad to give him a couple hundred dollars a month to have some fun?

I know a few Division I athletes who have a different story to tell. The alumni at most of these schools are very generous. Maybe Vince Young will have a part-time job watering grass at a car dealership where he'll make $200 an hour. If the school provided him with some extra cash maybe there wouldn't be the deceit and cheating by the alumni. For the general public, I think a documentary on what a week in the life of a division I college football or basketball player would be an eye opener. It's not fair to make judgments on what the kids do or do not deserve if you don't know what it's like to be in their shoes. We can only hope that the athletes who sign up for the commitment know what they're signing up for. If an athlete commits to a school knowing that he can't work, then he needs to be okay with that and not complain about how he should be getting paid.

I don't have the answer. Universities and athletes benefit from the relationship. If Vince Young played at Iowa State, he'd still be a great quarterback, but he probably wouldn't get the same press that he did at Texas. Big athlete, big school, big press, big money.

2006-04-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

Week 9: Rhetorical Analysis of News

For this assignment, I watched a Sunday evening news broadcast. I typically tune in to Kare 11 at 10:00. I didn't want to be doing this assignment at 10:30, so I watched a WCCO 4 broadcast at 5:30. There are several reasons I don't like WCCO. The set seems much tackier and I feel that the anchors are not as good. Tonight, the news anchors were John Reger and Terri Gruca. The sports anchor was Mike Max and the weather anchor was Mike Faribourne. The leading story was the weather. It has rained most of the day, and there was flooding in parts of the state. The first five minutes were talking about who got rain, how much, and what the damage was. There were reporters giving updates in the field while Mike Faribourne kept us updated on the radar from the weather center in the studio. It was all very stimulating. After the lead in and a few teasers about what was coming up (Wolves game, Jill Carroll's release, and the anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death), there was a three minute commercial break.

After they came back from the commercial, they spent a few seconds plugging the 10:00 news. The 10:00 news will help you learn how much of what is on travel sites you should believe. Then they went into brief coverage of the anniversary of Pope John Paul II and his path to sainthood. There was footage from the Vatican and Pope Benedict speaking. Then they cut to about a minute on the release of Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor reporter who had been held captive in Iraq since January. She took back the statements she made about her captors being good to her and said she only said that because she feared for her life. The story is not breaking news, but they showed photos of her reuniting with her parents.

The next story was a 30 second piece on Governor Tim Pawlenty's budget, noting that his spending was ruled "justified". There was also a few seconds on Mary Pawlenty speaking to military families at Rush Creek in Plymouth. Neither of the pieces had live coverage or interviews with either Pawlenty.

Next, there was a 30 second spot for X-treme safety fest at MOA. There were video clips which the anchor did voice overs for. The safety fest was to educate people about bike safety. There was also a bike stunt show.

The weather lasted about four minutes. Of course, the top story was how rainy it was here today. The metro area got close to an inch of rain. There was no discussion of weather anywhere else in the nation.

There was a brief sports teaser before commercial break.

Commercials were three minutes long. Featured advertisers were: COIT, Oprah, Warners Stellians (twice), Marvin Windows, Perkins, and Eagle Realty. The ads were lower quality than those I typically see on KARE 11. Several of the companies are local companies that probably don't have the capital to make high quality commercials. I found them all very irritating. None of them were for something I was interested in.

When the news came back, it went into about four minutes of sports. Mike Max covered the Wolves, the Wild, the NCAA tournament, Opening Night for baseball, Twins Spring Training, NASCAR, IRL, WPGA, PGA, and plugged Rosen's Sports Sunday later tonight.

The news wrapped up with a teaser for the 10:00 news; they have a story about the first night for the St. Paul smoking ban, and said they would have reporters out live for coverage. The last blurb they did was about an event in Park City Utah where people skied down the hill in swimsuits and tried to then water-ski across a 100 foot puddle. They had clips from Utah and spent a solid minute watching the clips and laughing at the people in them. They closed with all four anchors sitting at the desk and plugged for the 10:00 newscast. The broadcast ended a few minutes early.

Overall, I found the broadcast very irritating. I felt no more informed than I was when it began. Sundays must be slow news days. They covered the weather more than they did any other story. Local news was merely a blur and I wasn't sure exactly why they even covered the stories they did. The plugs for the 10:00 news seemed much more interesting to me, which makes me wonder if the 5:30 broadcast targets a different audience, or if they try to offer different stories at 5:30 and 10 under the assumption that people will watch both broadcasts. If I only watched the 5:30 broadcast, I would feel that I wasn't getting as much news as those who watched the 10:00 edition.

I understand that the news is going to be on, but something has to be done if there aren't a lot of good stories. Have live coverage from the sports games, cover a local event-like the X-treme safety event-and get some interviews. Anything to keep me from listening to the old weather man for ten minutes. The local coverage could have been stepped up. Two of the local stories were political, and the third was about a safety event. Pretty conservative.

The world news coverage was pretty conservative, too. Coverage about Pope John Paul II and a war hostage were the only world stories. I can see how those stories should be covered, but I would be interested to see what national stories they cover at 10. I will never know, because I'll be watching the KARE 11 news at 10.

2006-03-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

SPOOF ON L.A. WEIGHT LOSS....

WE WORK MIRACLES!!

FORGET ABOUT EXERCISE.... WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT?

WITH LA WEIGHT LOSS YOU DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING AND THE WEIGHT WILL JUST FALL OFF!

KEEP EATING EXACTLY WHAT YOU DO NOW...DON'T GIVE ANYTHING UP!

IT MAY HAVE TAKEN YOU YEARS TO GAIN ALL THAT WEIGHT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HELP YOU LOSE IT IN A FEW WEEKS!

L.A. weight loss ads are everywhere. I hear them on the radio; D.J.'s are promoting the company and bragging about how much weight they've lost. Everyone talks about how they don't have to workout. The T.V. commercials always feature dramatic weight loss stories with before and after photos. You can see the fine print that says "results not typical", but that's exactly what they don't' want you to think. They want you to believe that everyone sees those results. The target audience for these ads are overweight people. As a personal trainer, it really bothers me to see ads like these. For a lot of people who gain weight it is because they have been eating poorly and not exercising. Something has to change!! Yet, these ads validate the bad decisions people have been making by saying they don't have to change much of anything and that they don't have to give up their favorite foods. There is never any mention of exercise-actually, they say you don't have to exercise! The images and words associated with these advertisements are misleading. There is no miracle cure. You have to move more and eat less. People who are drawn to these ads are people who want the easy way out. They are looking for someone to tell them it will be as easy to take the weight off as it was to put it on. I don't know what it says about our society that companies like LA Weight Loss are so prosperous. So many people looking for the easy way out.

Jordan Ad Analysis

I have always been a huge Michael Jordan fan. Recently, I found a website that has a bunch of his commercials. For this assignment, I thought I would analyze two of those ads. The website for the ads is: http://www.jordanextreme.com/commercials/commercials3.htm The first ad I will look at is called “Failure Succeed”. It is the fourth clip down. This commercial came out right before Michael retired for the second time. At the point in his career when he made this commercial, Michael had done just about everything there was to do in basketball. The people who did commercials for him had done almost everything there was to do in commercials, too. We’d seen the upbeat ads with Spike Lee, the Bugs Bunny ads, and the McDonald’s ads with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The advertisers had to get creative. The target audience for most of Jordan’s commercials was the same: athletes, sports enthusiasts, and every aspiring basketball player in the world.
This commercial still gives me goosebumps. It opens with Michael getting out of his car and continues as he walks through the players parking garage until he walks through the doors to the player’s entrance. There is music in the background as Michael talks about the many times he has failed. Somehow, the music is just perfect. The commercial may have the same target audience as all of his other commercials, but this time the ad also targets the players/athletes/wanna be’s who haven’t tasted success yet. The commercial is for the Jordan brand shoe, but we never see the shoe. Only at the end of the commercial when the jumpman logo appears do we know what the ad was for. As Michael lists off all of his missed shots and lost games, we don’t put those numbers in context. If we compared the numbers he is talking about to the numbers put up by most other players, they wouldn’t be that bad. On their own, though, they sound bad. They make Michael seem more like us. He fails, too. The ad is for the jumpman brand, but it also acknowledges that even the best fail, and that is okay.

2006-03-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

Genre Analysis

I believe that by this time, crime scene dramas deserve to be called a genre. My favorite shows to watch, and the ones I will focus on in this entry, are those in the CSI series. There are three different CSI shows: CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, and CSI: Las Vegas. The series started with CSI: Las Vegas, and then the creators smelled blood (ha ha) and offered us viewers two other nights of scientific mystery. The CSI series have characteristics similar to those of Law and Order. It's the good guys against the bad guys, the case is typically solved within the hour, and although characters have minor side storylines you can enjoy the show even if you've never seen it. The CSI shows are different in that they focus on the science behind the case instead of tracking down different witnesses like they do on Law and Order. The legal profession has now run into the problem of jury members expecting the same display of evidence they are used to seeing on TV. Unfortunately, in real life, the resources are not always there to run all the tests and scans that they do on CSI.
Prototypical Roles
Crime scene dramas have a pretty standard list of characters....
The Lead Detective- This character is usually a male. He works the cases and also seems to have insight that no one else does. Often times, it is his wisdom that solves the case.
The Pretty Sidekick-The Pretty Sidekick is not quite as high ranking as the Lead Detective, but is still above some of the other characters. She does not have a love interest, possibly to keep the option of her hooking up with the lead guy open. The Pretty Sidekick is brilliant, beautiful, and gets along well with the other staff.
The Hot Officer-This scientist often says, "I'm with the Crime Lab, ma'am". His jobs include collecting evidence, recreating the crime scene, and interviewing suspects. The Hot Officer always finds some key piece of evidence; a fingerprint, a piece of hair, or a fingernail that is vital to breaking the case. If any of the cast have side stories, it is the Officers.
The Lab Techie-The Lab Techies vary in character depth. In some episodes, the Lab Techie is a key cast member. They have been known to get promoted to "Hot Officer". The Lab Techie always figures out what compound the Hot Officers have found.
The Coroner-Who can have a show about dead bodies without a coroner? The coroner is an active member of the cast. He or she pulls bullet fragments from bodies, discovers mystery bruises, and can match stab wounds to specific knives.
Setting
Each series is set in it's title city. The CSI:Miami series is set in exotic, sexy Miami Beach. The sun is almost always shining, and there are lots of bright colors. Many times, the crime takes place outside or on the water. The CSI: New York series is set in New York. The city is dirtier and more crowded than the other cities. The crimes take place in Central Park, in the harbor, or inside buildings. The CSI: Las Vegas series is shot on the Strip. Crimes often take place in casinos or hotels. Other times, bodies are left in the desert.
Language/Discourse
Although the characters are supposed to be scientists, the directors know that the viewers are not. The language is almost always explained. If they make a discovery about what chemical compound was left on a door handle, they give the scientific name as well as the laymans term. At every step, the characters go through exactly what they are doing. Their lines allow them to tell the view exactly what is happening and how they came to their conclusion. I think that a lot of times the big words are just for show. Who knows if scientists really talk like that.
Typical Storylines
Some typical storylines on a crime scene drama:
Dead body found in a hotel room. Hotel room has been tossed.
Dead body found in a desert. No apparent evidence. (these are really tough)
Dead body found in a car.
Dead body found in a pool.
Dead body found on a huge spotlight on top of a large building.
Dead body found in a tree.
Dead family found in a house.
Dead hooker found in apartment.
Random dead guy in a truck on the side of the road.
Dead guy in a movie theater.
Do we notice a theme here?! Because they are investigating a crime, there is usually a dead body involved. Sometimes there is no dead body, but most times there is at least one. Each episode, there are usually two cases being investigated. Sometimes they are connected, most of the time they are not. The show ends with the Lead Investigator making a really insightful, philosophical statement about life.
Values Expressed
CSI does not overtly express any awe-inspiring value message. The basic message would be, don't break the law. They always solve the crime, and the bad guy always goes to jail. Crime doesn't pay. The other value could be that of education. Scientists can be cool, too. However, most of the actors are good-looking, which may reinforce social expectations that looks are important for success.

2006-03-13T16:21:00.000-08:00

Ethnography
This delayed entry looks at one meeting between Mandy, Dominic, Nicole, and Marty. Nicole was not in this group, but Ross was missing, and Nicole was in the TI room to observe the meeting, so she filled in. I know Mandy, so as I read the transcript, I already had an idea of what she is like. She hasn't talked too much about the other members in her group, so I didn't really have any preconceived ideas about what they were like. The conversation took place a few weeks ago, on February 28th. Their conversation was about the media representations assignment.
I immediately noticed that Dom and Marty seemed to be friends. The were talking about how they always wait until the last minute to do the homework. After they said that, Mandy smiled, and I had to, too. Mandy is so on top of all her work. She does the assignments weeks ahead of time. Still, she does not let their differing study habits affect her groups camaraderie.
I liked the way the group decided to only send two group members to lurk. Looking back, that seems like a good idea. The other two members could then focus on the weekly posts and meeting reflections. Then, the wiki will have a more complete look at the group being observed. Again, Marty and Dom were joking about how they would both be adding to the wiki at 11PM Sunday. Mandy responded, "we can do it sooner, right?".
Mandy and Marty contributed significantly more than Dom. Nicole did a nice job of filling in for Ross. It seems that Mandy has taken some kind of leadership role; she tries to keep the whole group on task. She asks questions, and when someone hasn't contributed she calls them out by name to respond. As I reviewed the early part of the transcript, I noticed that nearly all of Mandy's comments were questions. When someone answered, she would say if she agreed or not. At one point, she even mentions that she wished Ross was there to offer his input.
Before group 2 interrupted their meeting, group 3 mainly discussed whether or not to teach this assignment to high school students. They talked about minor adjustments they could make to ensure that students did not chose topics based on celebrity or popularity. During this discussion, all members treated each other with respect and seemed to value the others' input. Mandy mentioned how she hadn't thought of a lot of the ideas that other people had come up with. Dom seemed especially concerned with how much choice students should get with this assignment.
This meeting was interrupted half way though, and the second half was slightly less productive than the first. There was another group scheduled to meet halfway through group 3's meeting. There were several minutes of greeting the new members and making polite small talk. Then, everyone reviewed the topics of the new member's blogs/wiki/webpages. Group 3 would have had a more productive second half hour if they had not been interrupted. Six or seven people is just too many to have a good online meeting. There were different conversations going on that never got anyone's full attention. It seemed that people were trying to type as fast as they could to get their idea out there before someone else commented. There was a long conversation about overweight men and attractive women on TV. I think everyone got a little side-tracked there. Jing was not in group 3, but it sounded like her project was really something. Overall, once group 2 joined the chat, most of the conversation revolved around media representations, especially those in the entertainment field.
Group 3 has a good working relationship. Ross was absent for the meeting, and they missed the voice of a current teacher. The members seem to have created roles for themselves-Mandy is the questioner, Marty the responder and encourager, and Dom the alternate view point. On the topic of media representation, the members seemed to have similar stances, with Dom playing devil's advocate. Gender may have played a role in which group of people each member chose to analyze. Mandy, for example, looked at the representation of teen girls. In this case, she was a former "insider", but now is an "outsider" to that group. As for the topics the men wrote about, I can not say for sure if they were observing as "outsiders" or "insiders". The team seems to have created a sense of community where they all feel comfortable speaking freely. If one member makes a comment, another member responds either with an affirming comment or a question.

2006-02-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

Critical Approaches

I was assigned the feminist approach. I have mixed feelings about feminism, so researching the topic was probably a good idea. Going into this project, I had the stereotypical ideas about what feminism is. The articles for this week talked about feminism in ways I had not considered. For example, Butler says that you cannot refer to women as a homogenous group because there are so many different individuals who are separated by differences in race, class, and ethnicity. The idea itself is elementary, but I hadn't thought about it in that way. The same issues that divide the larger group of humanity itself also divide the smaller group of women.
Butler also proposes that the same way there are different groups of women, there are different groups of feminists, such as liberal, Marxist, and radical. Therefore, feminism cannot be treated as a political movement. Butler believes that smaller groups can still make progress. Some feminists argue that by viewing men and women as individuals, rather than groups, as Butler does, denies the common subordination and disadvantaged position of women around the world. Other critics argue that it is only through group representation that changes are made, that larger groups have more influence.
I reviewed several articles on www.bitchmagazine.com. Several of the articles address feminism and media. One article, Tears of a Clone:Why Hollywood’s Women Are All Choked Up, discusses how women are portrayed in Hollywood. The major points of the article discuss the ways in which Hollywood women (especially Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Renee Zelwegger, and Sandra Bullock) show emotions. I thought this excerpt was interesting: "In a normal woman, anger is as debilitating than tears—if not more so, as its physical manifestations can make one look like a congested boil as well as compromise one’s inherent wit and grace. Hollywood has dealt with the ugliness of anger by not only placing carefully reasoned and brilliantly articulated expositions in the mouths of its furious girlies, but by developing a whole style of temper tantrum that justifies the terrible phrase “God, you’re beautiful when you’re angry.” Several examples of how Hollywood manipulates the way a woman would really react were things I had thought about before. Consider this"...it’s more dramatic and grown-up to emote half-naked. In Proof of Life, Ryan indicates the torturous battle between anger, frantic worry, trapped desperation, and burgeoning desire by leaning against a fridge in her skivvies, knock-kneed and grizzling gently." How many times have we seen women doing things half naked that we would never do half naked?! The pieces goes on to discuss how Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts each wore fat-suits for separate movies, "Hence such feeble attempts at uglying down as Paltrow’s and Roberts’s much-discussed fat suits (for Shallow Hal and America’s Sweethearts, respectively), and Renee Zellweger’s “daring” Bridget Jones’s Diary weight gain—all gimmicks that substituted physical transformation for actual acting and did nothing but emphasize the perfection of the stars who temporarily tried them on." The article concludes with an attempt at justifying studio executive's choices. If the Hollywood starlets started looking too much like us, then we could sit at the coffee shop for two hours and watch each other walk by instead of spending $10 to go watch their movie. On why Hollywood women are always so beautiful when they are angry or sad, "perhaps .....their average male audience member has had quite enough of his real-life partner’s real-life tears and anger."
The same website has an article about Jane magazine, "Ten Things to Hate About Jane". Jane was created by the former editor of Sassy, a magazine that "was unwilling to pull it's readers into the spiral of insecurity and product consumption...". Feminist readers were excited at the prospect of Jane, but quickly learned that the new mag failed to meet expectations. Instead, photos of skinny girls accompanied articles telling readers that tummys were sexy and bones were not. The clothing featured in the magazine was out of most reader's price range. The article goes on to discuss how Jane is as stereotypical a woman's magazine there is; they have over priced clothes and beauty products, elitist writers, and blatant advertisements. Authors of the article claim that the problem with Jane is not that they are like all of the other women's magazines out there, but that they pitched themselves as something different. The article closes with, "we’re used to women’s magazines making us feel that we’re not thin or pretty enough or rich or well-heeled enough, and that’s why many of us choose not to read them. But it’s far worse to be smugly informed that what we’re getting from Jane is different, when in fact the only difference lies in the pitch itself."

Our group chose to watch the Joe Canadian commercial. From the feminist lens, it is obvious that women are not the target audience for this commercial. The product they are selling is beer, although we never really see that. The speaker is male, and he is dressed in a flannel shirt, like a stereotypical outdorsey, man's man. For the first stanza of his message he speaks hesitantly, as if he is trying to gain my trust. During the second stanza, he tells me some of the differences between he and I. The music in the background and his tone make it sound like his choices are the right ones. Not that he ever really had me, but he definitely lost me during the third stanza. Who is this guy to tell me about politics or pronounciation? As usual, there is no voice for women in this commercial.
The audience approach refers to how the audience will relate to the message. If the audience for this commercial is beer drinking men, preferably from Canada, then the audience will highly relate. Presumably, the audience will either identify with this man because he is from Canada, or because of one of the other statements he makes.
The semiotic approach refers to the cultural and social meaning of signs. This commercial has many signs. Throughout the speaker's entire monologue, images flash on the screen behind him. The flag is the first image is of the Canadian flag, which sets the tone for the entire commercial. Interestingly, I needed the images to help explain some of the things he mentioned. The part about 'zed' not 'zee' was confusing until I looked at the images.
Let me say that I feel like the farthest thing from an expert on this approach, but here goes nothing....Using the poststructuralist approach, you can evaluate the meaning of language and how cultural meanings influence how media is understodd. People from Canada will understand this commercial differently than people from Australia. Different groups of Canadians may interpret the commercial differently. In countries where freedom of speech is foreign, they may not understand how a man of no authority can get up an speak in such a way.
The critical discourse analysis examines how basic ways of thinking can influence social meanings in some contexts. Although Joe is not a politician, he is a white male. White males are typically higher on the power scale. He speaks confidently to a group of people we assume to be like him. People may either identify with him or be turned off by this basic way of thinking.
The post-modern approach confronts traditional views in progress, art, truth, science and others. In respect to the Joe Canadian commercial, a postmodernist would point out how it confronts the traditional views on a "policing" government and art. The commercial itself employs several different types of film styles that flash behind Joe. Even Joe himself is telling the audience that he is not like what you think he is.
The postcolonial approach analyzes how media views other, less developed worlds. In the Joe Canadian commercial, he says that he is not a fur trader or a blubber eater, as if both of those things are negative.

2006-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Film Technique

I selected a scene from the movie, "Top Gun". I chose this movie because most people have seen it, and I had it on DVD, which made re-viewing easier. I chose the opening scene to review. In this scene, no main characters have been introduced yet, so most of the footage is of jets. The setting is a naval ship out in the middle of the ocean. The scene begins with the shot of a jet engine flaming up and taking off. Throughout the entire scene, the song "Danger Zone" plays. The song was a good choice; now when most people hear the song they immediately identify it with "Top Gun". The music is combined with shots that help to create a feeling of excitement, danger, and a sense of what life is like living on the edge.
The scene is only a few minutes long, and there is no dialogue. Aside from the music, the viewer is bombarded with the sounds of jets landing and taking off. It is really loud! It is an action packed scene, even though nothing especially important happens. The use of different camera shots, and a high volume of different shots, makes the scene fast paced. The scene uses almost every type of camera shot. There is one extreme long, several long and medium, and a few close up and extreme close ups. The extreme long is shot from a bird’s eye view- we see a jet landing on the ship- with the shot apparently taken from a different plane in the air. The extreme long is also something of a panning shot because it follows the jet as it moves toward the ship. There are several panning shots on deck as the camera follows workers and jets. The up close shots are of workers and different parts of the jets.
The transitions are all straight cuts. I think that the abrupt change of shots adds to the overall tone of the scene. There is one particular shot where a camera has been attached to the bottom of a jet, and the audience sees the aircraft carrier as the jet takes off. In all of the shots where the camera pans to follow a jet taking off or landing, the object of the shot stays in focus. Most of the shots on board the aircraft carrier were at eye level (or just below actual eye level because most of the subjects were male).
The scene takes place on a large outdoor set either at dawn or dusk. The air is hazy with a pinkish glow from the sun. Onboard the carrier, the people and jets were clear, but the air around them was hazy.
The scene comes to an end when the words "Indian Ocean Present Day" appear on the bottom of a shot of the aircraft carrier from above. When the scene is over, the audience can guess that they are in for an action film involving the military. The opening scene is successful in grabbing the audience interest. Few people get such up-close access to aircraft carriers and fighter jets.

The scene immediately before the one I analyzed was the opening credits. Interestingly enough, the music to the credits started while the Paramount logo was still on the screen. Then, the credits start flashing, white block type on a black background. A paragraph about the navy’s fighter pilot training school comes up, then the title of the film, and then there is a transition to my opening scene. The credits are still rolling, but in the background you can see shadows of the workers and the jets. It is dark out; it must be before dawn. The shots while the credits are rolling are similar to the ones I described earlier. The transition between the first scene and the opening scene is when a jet takes off. Fire streams out of its engines, and as it takes off, the music changes and the credits stop.
The scene immediately following the one I analyzed is very short. The last shot of my scene was an extreme long shot, with the text at the bottom of the screen, and from there it cuts to a man in uniform walking through a door into a control room. The light is dark, with a tint of red from all of the control panels. This was a different shot than the ones I had seen already. There must have been a camera on a dolly in the control room that backed up as the man walked toward the camera. The shot starts with him from the waist up, and stays at the same height as he advances. He and the people in the background stayed in focus. The music fades out and in the background you can hear an operator talking to a pilot. The shot cuts to a close up of the operator’s head as he is speaking to the pilot. Then the next cut is to the next scene, a fighter jet that appears to be sitting in the sky.
In the scenes I saw, editing was used to create feelings of intensity and power. The text screens provided the audience with information that added to the intensity of the scenes. The sounds played a large role in conveying the pace of the film. The music with the credits started off kind of slow and quiet, and you were just waiting for something to happen. Then, "Danger Zone" starts, and the pace picks up. So many of the opening shots focus on fighter jets that the audience has to assume that jets will play a large role in the film. We have not met any characters yet, so no relationships have been built. I think the editing is effective because the audience is intrigued by the close ups of the fighter jets and aircraft carrier. It’s like a behind the scenes tour of something they will never see in real life. The jets are untouchable and exotic.

I think studying film can be helpful in an English classroom. I sat in on my cooperating teacher’s class, and they were just starting a media and advertising unit. I had watched this same group of students studying Hamlet sit and not say a word. When the teacher asked the students to start talking about some commercials they see on TV, they all had something to say. We know that media is a large part of our student’s lives, and activities like the ones we had to do for this week help the student become more involved in the media they view. Instead of being a passive recipient to what they are exposed to, we can use media to show the importance of editing and cinematography . After students have done a storyboard like we did, they can look at the value of each second of the ad. I think this is a good transition or parallel to poetry. Just as every second in a $2 million commercial is valuable, so is every word in a poem. The same connections can be made between a movie scene and a book scene. It might even be cool to look at a book that has been made into a movie. How did the directors have to set up shots in order to create the meaning that the author was able to do with words? It could be a whole unit on comparing a book to a movie, or you could just focus on a few scenes, which may be more productive.

Storyboard! "Sprint Locker Room"
This storyboard is from a Sprint/Nextel commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. To view this commercial, visit http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7107840583664584754

Scene 1: Looking through window into upscale men’s locker room. One man is standing on the right side of the shot, looking at his cell phone. A second man is walking in from the bottom left hand corner and moves toward a locker on the left side of the shot. It is a medium shot; both men are seen from about the knees up. Light comes in from windows in the background. There are undistinguishable voices in the background. (3 sec.)
Scene 2: There is a straight cut to a close up of the first man, holding his cell phone near his face. As he speaks, the camera moves so the shot is of just the phone. (2 sec.)
Scene 3: The camera moves to a long shot, inside the original window it was looking through in the first shot. The man on the left has opened the locker and is listening to and looking at the man on the right. The cell phone is the center of the shot. (2 sec.)
Scene 4: A figure walks in front of the locker room scene, but is nothing more than a shadow.
(1 sec.)
Scene 5: The camera maintains the long shot as the men talk back and forth. The chatter is still in the background. Because the camera does not cut out on the scene, the viewer gets and “unedited” version of what happened in the locker room. The men have a casual conversation about whose phone has more features. The camera is not exactly still, which means it probably was not on a tripod. It contributes to the feeling of standing there watching the two men. (9 sec.)
Scene 6: The man on the left tells the man on the right to try and steal his wallet. The camera moves in slightly, but not all the way to a medium shot. (2 sec.)
Scene 7: The man on the right tries to take the man on the left’s wallet, and the man on the left throws his cell phone at him. The camera backs up a little so it is a long shot again. The movement of the camera gives the viewer a feeling of the action that just took place. The nonchalance of the actors and the camera movements lend to the comedy of the commercial.
(1 sec.)
Scene 8: The man on the left moves toward the camera to pick up his cell phone. (1 sec.)
Scene 9: There is a straight cut to a yellow screen with black lettering on it. The screen lists the different features that this particular cell phone offers. The cut away makes the change abrupt; it is easy to tell what the company is advertising. A voice-over reads the features listed on the screen. (5 sec.)
Scene 10: The camera makes a straight cut back to the locker room scene, right where it had left off. The lighting and sounds are the same. It is a long shot. The man on the left has picked up his cell phone again. The man on the right is just standing up. The viewer assumes that something funny will happen because the rest of the commercial has been sarcastic and comical. (1 sec.)
Scene 11: The man on the left throws his cell phone at the man on the right again. (4 sec.)
Scene 12: Straight cut to yellow screen with black Sprint/Nextel logo. Voice over stating the name of the company. There is a bing in the background that is associated with the Sprint brand of mobile phones. (3 sec.)

I chose this commercial because I thought it was so funny. The point of the commercial is to tell about the features Sprint/Nextel phones offer, and the “crime deterrent” feature is a play on that. The actors in the commercial did a good job of pretending that this new feature was realistic. Of course there is no crime deterrent feature, but wouldn’t it be funny if there were? The camera really didn’t have that hard of a job to do. The scene was set up so that the viewers were mere observers. We were not interacting with the commercial. The commercial would not have been as effective if there had been close ups and cuts. The pace of the commercial was not fast or slow, but real time. The scene we witnessed was something that could realistically take place in the amount of time the commercial was allotted. I liked the fact that Sprint/Nextel was poking fun at themselves a little bit. They weren’t bragging about the features they have and how they’re better than other wireless companies. Rather, they pretended that it was this crime deterrent feature that would propel you to choose their service.

2006-02-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

Justifying film, television, media study in curriculum

The push to go "back to the basics" is alive and well at my school. The high school I will be student teaching at has a 66% graduation rate and is a Title One school. I haven't quite spent enough time there to know what the teachers really think about how the school is going about improving student performance. From what I have seen, there are a few programs that have been put in place for looks, but don't actually do anything. The high school is large and has a very diverse population. Because of the Title One label, the school receives extra funding to put toward after-school programs and extra faculty. For the first two trimesters, every ninth and tenth grade language arts class has two teachers. When the third trimester starts (and I start student teaching) the tenth grade language arts classes will be taught by one teacher. I haven't quite got the justification for that yet. The school is by no means on the forefront of media studies, but it is not entirely ignored. There is a school newspaper put out by the journalism class. Most classrooms have a relatively new flat screen computer for the teacher to use, and a wall-mounted television. Because so many students struggle with reading and writing, language arts teachers often use a CD player and have the students listen to the novel they are reading while they follow along in the book. I haven't decided how I feel about that practice.

From what I have heard from teachers, the majority of parents are not overwhelmingly concerned about their child's performance in school. About one third of parents show up for parent teacher conferences. I don't know if that is different at other schools, but I thought it was kind of pathetic. It seems the school is honed in on improving test scores and preparing kids to take standardized tests. The teachers I have met seem to be creative people who are faced with pleasing an administration that has blinders on, and students who are uninterested and unmotivated.

A Rationale
How many times do we see students walking down the hall with their headphones on? How often do we catch students text messaging during class? The Kaiser Foundation estimates that kids spend over six hours a day, seven days a week, engaged in some kind of media. That is more time than they spend in school, more time than they spend with friends, more time than they spend doing anything but sleeping. They are so good at it, in fact, that they are often engaged in more than one type of media at once. These are students that we struggle to reach with our regular classroom lessons. Why not teach them about the media they use? Media studies could be a class of its own, or bits and pieces could be incorporated into current classes. The journalism class writes the newspaper, but perhaps they could spend more time evaluating city newspapers. What kind of messages are the columnists sending, and what does that say about the paper? Who are the primary advertisements directed toward? Who owns the paper? The students could learn how to critically think about the media messages in something as common as a newspaper. Not only would the students be learning about how to write articles and opinion pieces, but they would also learn what to look for when they read other papers.

The language arts classes struggle to maintain student interest. Most of the novels/texts read for class have to be read in class because so few students complete homework. Media, in the form of audio books, is already being used in the classroom. Movies are often shown to accompany books. How about letting students create their own scene? The school would not have to invest in that much new technology. Video cameras are already available, and we would be surprised at the number of students who know how to use them. By producing their own version of a text, students gain not only creative power but an understanding about what goes into producing a film.

Media is too large a part of our student's lives to ignore. The same way we teach them critical thinking skills when they read a book, we need to teach them critical thinking skills when they are passive recipients of media. As teachers, it is our responsibility to equip our students with the tools they need in "the real world".

2006-01-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

From the media literacy approaches readings, what approach or combination of approaches do you most value? Why? Which do you find problematic? Why? What approach(es) do(es) the films you viewed take? Give an example or two.

There were two approaches that I thought were the most important. I agree that media production should be a part of media literacy education. As with almost any skill, doing plays a large role in understanding. For example, reading and writing go hand in hand. Reading improves writing skills, and vice versa. Students practice both. In order for students to have a grasp on what types of information are sent to them via media, they should practice creating their own media. Once they have created a piece of media, students will have a better idea of the thought processes that went into the creation of the different types of media they encounter. I work as a personal trainer, and everyday I see the importance of practicing a skill. I can tell a client how to do an exercise, I can show them how to do the exercise, but until they actually do it themselves, they don’t quite “get it“. After they try the exercise themselves there is that“oh yeah, cool” moment that we look for. The article noted that educators who favor the inclusion of media production point to benefits such as growth in creativity and the ability to work in teams. I believe that those are true, but I think the greatest benefit from inclusion is a better understanding of how to “access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms”.

The second approach I agreed with was that medial literacy should be taught as a specialist subject. In seven months I will (hopefully) have a classroom of my own. I have no background in media studies. The only work I have ever done with technology was in a one-credit course I took last semester. I am in no position to teach my students much of anything about technology or media. I wish I knew more about different ways to incorporate some of the techniques mentioned in the article (making photographs, planning storyboards, writing scripts) but I have not done most of them. It seems that both students and teachers need to learn how to incorporate media literacy into traditional classroom activities. It seems that teachers have so much they are responsible for learning and teaching. I agree with the quote, “Media education would always be at the margin of each subject, as a more or less unrelated, unvalued extra” (Kress, 1992). However, if media literacy/education was taught as a separate subject, it would get the attention it deserves. Students would learn more in a specialist course than they would from me. The article notes that the media literacy elective would only be available to a small percentage of American students. It is time for schools to stop wasting time and money. If a school can afford to have the media elective, then they should offer it. If a school can’t afford the media elective, don’t try to force it. Let the teachers concentrate on teaching what they know, not trying to put a square peg into a round hole.

I think the view that ‘media literacy education should aim to protect children and young people from negative media influences’ is problematic. I agree with the statement that this position is used mainly to raise the media literacy support from parents and community members. It makes it sound like teachers are watching out and protecting kids. Teachers would never tell their students that they are teaching media literacy to protect them from negative media influences. If teachers said that to students, the students would rebel. Students are “unresponsive to the idea that they are helpless victims of media influence”. Our job as teachers is not to protect our students from knowledge. As secondary educators, we need to treat our students as young adults who are responsible and mature enough to discern for themselves what may/not be media influence. Even if we think students may not be mature enough to recognize the influence media has on them, it is still our job to expose different techniques used by corporations, etc. If we let them discover rather than just tell them how media can insinuate or imply different ideas, perhaps they will be more proactive in analyzing and evaluating the different messages they receive.

I watched films one and four. The first film takes the approaches of making media production a part of media education, and of media literacy having an explicit political or ideological agenda. The end product, the music video, illustrated the political and social message about the importance of voting. The making of the video showed the research, interviewing, and practice that went into the final product. It was impossible to have one without the other. The creators may not have realized how much they would learn by having to research for the video. They learned more doing the research and production than those of use who just watched the video.
Film four also took had an explicit social agenda. Because this entire video was the final product, I felt like a passive recipient of information. In the first video, I felt like I was making the journey with the creators. This video had a very explicit social/ideological message. I do not know a lot about mass media organization influence. However, when I watched this film I felt like I was only seeing one side of the issue. I was immediately resistant because I didn’t trust what I was hearing. Based on the issue they were presenting, maybe that was the goal…..