13-Final paper proposal

By Friday April 4th at 11:59pm post a brief proposal for your final paper. You can go into detail about organization and sources but all that’s required is a paragraph on what you plan to cover and a tenative thesis.  The purpose of this posting is to enable you to see if anyone else in the class is working in the same area you are.  If there are shared areas of interest, I would like you to talk to one another about your projects and will set aside class time for you to do so later in the semester.  To post, use the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page.  Remember to check your name (under People) and proposal (under Assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

11-Minow on Supreme Court

Before class on 3-27 review Minow and Lamay’s account of Supreme Court cases (pp. 119-133) and think about whether they are making a larger point.  You will post your thoughts on this issue to the blog at the beginning of the class.  Use the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check your name (under People) and Minow (under Assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.  

10-Scarface sample paper

Read the first few paragraphs of this paper in class on March 4th and leave a comment on how effective you think the introduction is. 

Scarface, Not as Dangerous as its Characters

During the 1930’s while Scarface was trying to make its way to the big screen there were many people that believed that the film was too violent and would be a negative influence on the viewing public and that the film should not be released.  People such as the Chronicle ridiculed the industry because they said “the movie was infecting the public with a plague of “bedroom liquor, gangster, and criminal themes.” (Black page 109)The Ledger also added in that the movie was “poisoning the minds of the youth of this country.”(Black page 109) Herald went as far as to say they were “nauseated by the movie.”(Black page 109)  From these quotes it is obvious that a good amount of the influential figures of the time believed that this movie was a danger to the public eye.

Another quote from the New York Knights of Columbus says “that gang films “created a criminal instinct.”" (black page 129) This quote was stated after a young boy was shot by another young boy while they were playing cops and robbers. The young boy accidentally shot his play mate while unknowingly firing a loaded gun. This is when an uproar of people blamed gangster themed movies for crimes that were being committed. It seems that no one stopped to ask the question where were the parents of these young children and was the young boy really a ruthless killer that wanted to rob, steal, lie, cheat, and scandalously be with other women, or was he just a young boy who accidentally pulled the trigger.

While some would say that a movie that depicts any kind of organized crime would be a dangerous one, I would have to disagree. I don’t think that movies have as much power as these people give them. In the case of this argument we are using the film Scarface as an example. Many people at the time of its production thought the movie as a gateway to the gangster life. As quoted in Black many people believe the movie was “”the most vicious and demoralizing gangster movie” ever”. (Black pg. 124) That it would lead people in the right direction and increase the crime rate. I, however, disagree with these ridiculous claims.

In my opinion there is no movie that has been created or that will be created that will directly cause the crime rate to increase or to make people more dangerous than they already are. The movie Scarface was a documentary that was meant to depict the horrors of the gangster life at the time of the 1930’s; it was never meant to be a “how-to” book. The movie while it is violent in nature is still condemning the act of crime and violence. I don’t believe that any “sane” individual would not know the difference between wrong and right and believe that the way of life that this movie focuses on, is a just one. If anyone was to watch this movie and believe that it was a glorious and “right” way of life then they were a danger to the public to begin with and the film had no bearing on that fact.

There is nothing that would convince me that just by watching this movie it directly increase the crime rate of the 1930’s. I believe that people should actually be shown how rough and horrific the life of a gangster is, that way they can see what the big problem with it is and do something to try and put an end to it. I don’t think the public should be sheltered from events that are actually taking place; it makes them naive and blind to the world around them. When black says “although graft and corruption in America were as commonplace as machine guns, the role of the corrupt politician was struck from the film as too sensitive” I think that is the most absurd reason to cut something from a movie. Of course that’s not something people are going to want to think is going on in their country, but if things like that are happening then they need to see and know it!

While I don’t think that this movie was dangerous I do agree with some of the censoring that the Hays office made on the movie. I believe it’s because of some of the censoring that the movie didn’t appear to be such a “bad influence.” An example of the changes that the Hays office made that I agree with is that of the attitude of Mrs. Comonte. I think if she had been left the way Hawks and Hughes originally had her in the script it would have seemed as though Tony’s actions were more acceptable. In our society it seems that if your parents accept or approve of your behavior than it in general is acceptable. So I do believe that if they had of left Mrs. Comonte approving behavior in the film it would have definitely given off the wrong signal to the viewing public.

Another scene that I agree with the Hay’s office on censoring was the one dealing with the possible incestuous relationship between Cesca and Tony. I don’t really see the relevance in that being in the movie. It just wasn’t something that would have been necessary in a gangster film. By removing that plot from the film it didn’t take away from the horrors Hawks and Hughes were trying to show us. I personally did not want to watch a relationship like that take place in full force in front of me. From the version that was censored and actually produced we were still able to see that Tony was extremely protective of his younger sister and if the viewer wanted to make it into something more that was entirely up to them.

I do not believe that by simply viewing a movie such as Scarface that it could possibly turn you into a dangerous person or provide you with the sufficient amount of information to start living a lifestyle of a gangster. The movie does not show people on how to load or fire a gun, nor does it instruct an individual on how to plan a murder or a robbery. I think that people and the way they are brought up and subjected to everyday is what makes them dangerous. Some would argue that the crime rate has increased due to the violence in movies and that when or after the film Scarface was produced the crime rates increased as well. That is not a fact and there is no way of proving that correlation with the movie directly. In fact crime rates have not significantly increased since then.

I do not believe that this film was a direct dangerous influence on the viewing public. In my opinion there is a great deal more that goes into an individual than strictly a movie that will make them dangerous. I don’t think this movie was capable of having that much power over any one. While in some parts of the movie the lift style could have come across as glamorous or attractive for the “rush” of it, but in the end there wasn’t anything glamorous about Tony’s way of life. It was a waste.

I do agree with some of the “corrections” that the Hay’s office made on the movie in order to have it approved by the censorship code. I don’t think that any of the versions of the movie “glorified” the gangster life, it simply told it how it was. I believe that people need to be shown the reality of what is going on around them that way they do not become naïve or oblivious to the things going on around them. In conclusion I think Scarface was a good movie that did not directly have a dangerous influence on the viewing public. 

Work Cited Page

Black, Gregory. Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the      Movies. Cambridge University Press. 1994

09-Denby in Culture Shock

In class on Feb 26th, we will watch the 1999 PBS Culture Shock documentary Hollywood Censored:  Movies, Morality, and the Hollywood Production Code.  Post to the blog a paragraph on David Denby’s distinction between representational complexity and teaching unambiguous moral lessons.

07-Hays Code Group and Individual Responses

In class on Feb 14th, re-read, discuss, and write collaboratively on the Lord-Quigley proposal.  I will divide the class into four or five groups.  Each group will read one section of the Lord-Quigley code and summarize its larger and subsidiary points.  There will be an individual and group component of this assignment: 

• After meeting in groups to discuss the section of the code you have chosen (see the list below) as well as how to divide up your coverage, each individual in the group should post their component of the group report on the blog–as well as their individual response to the code as a whole.  For these individual responses, use your own account on WordPress when posting and check Hays Code-Individual Responses (under assignments) and your name (under people).   
• Then your group should meet again to plan how you will pull these posts together in a group report and one or more members of the group should post a coherent group report on the blog.   In putting together the group report, the best option is to use one of your group members’ existing accounts but make sure to check group 1-5 (under people) as well as Hays Code-Group Report (under assignments).  (Note:  you can create and sign in with a new account–with a shared password–for your group reports but this option adds an additional level of complexity (registering on WordPress with a new group user name and non-GMU email address) and is therefore not the best option.  Also note, if you do choose this option, remember to tell me so I can give the new user name write privledges on the blog.)   

In your group, discuss your response to the proposal including any disagreements you had on the value of the code and any thoughts you had on its application to Scarface.  This exercise requires you to place Lord and Quigley’s individual points in larger structure or set of assumptions you distill from the details of the code.  You can use bullets or an outline for the subsidiary points.  I will divide up the class as follows:     

• Group I, assumptions about film and entertainment, pp. 302-4
• Group II, general principles, p. 305
• Group III, general principles, p. 305
• Group IV, particular applications, pp. 306-8
• Group V, particular applications, pp. 306-8

07-Group Work on Lord-Quigley Code

 In class on Feb 12th and 14th, re-read and begin to write collaboratively on the Lord-Quigley proposal.  I will divide the class into five groups.  Each group will read one section of the Lord-Quigley code and summarize its larger and subsidiary points.  You will post your group reports on the blog using a group user name you have created (pick a user name and non-GMU email address from one of your group’s members accounts and create a shared password on 302h31s08.wordpress.com).  Discuss your group’s response to the proposal including any disagreements you had on the value of the code and any thoughts you had on its application to Scarface.  This exercise requires you to place Lord and Quigley’s individual points in larger structure or set of assumptions you distill from the details of the code.  You can use bullets or an outline for the subsidiary points.  I will divide up the class as follows:     

• Group I, assumptions about film and entertainment, pp. 302-4
• Group II, general principles, p. 305
• Group III, general principles, p. 305
• Group IV, particular applications, pp. 306-8
• Group V, particular applications, pp. 306-8

Do not use the Leave a Reply box below but the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check your name (under People) and Lord-Quigley Code (under Assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.

06-1st Amendment & Virginia Declaration

Before class on 2-6 you will read Amendment I of the Bill of Rights and Section 12 of The Virginia Declaration of Rights (the Declaration was written by George Mason). 

You will then post to the blog at least two paragraphs on: 1) what you learned from the reading in Black about why gangster movies upset critics and citizen groups; and 2) Whether you think censorship of the kind we see in the production history of Scarface is consistent with democratic principles.  If you don’t have time to post your entry to the blog in class, do so by Friday at midnight.  

If you finish the in-class writing early, read Diana Hacker on pronoun reference, pp. 39-40, and start working through the exercises on pronoun reference (12-4 through 12-6) at
http://dianahacker.com/pocket/gm_menu.asp  

Do not use the Leave a Reply box but the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check 1st A & Virginia Declaration (under Assignments) and your name (under People) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.

Blog posting during or after class 2-5-08

After we have watched the two filmed endings of Scarface in class on Tues Feb 5th and you have re-read Black, pp. 125-132, several times, post several paragraphs the three endings of Scarface: 

1. the ending in the  “original” script, where Camonte comes out guns blazzing
2. the first filmed ending, where Camonte becomes a coward, runs, and is shot down in the street
3. the second filmed ending, where Camonte is tried and hung.   

Although it simplifies the production history a bit, we will call these the script ending, the coward runs ending, and the hanging ending. 

In your blog posting

1. Describe in detail each ending using Black’s account for the script and your detailed notes on the two filmed endings
2. Then, take a position on whether the ending in the original script, which was never filmed, glorified Camonte 
3. Finally, take a position on whether it makes a difference for our view of Camonte and the government whether he is killed as he runs from his hideout (the first ending filmed) or is tried and punished by government officials (the second filmed ending and the one most people saw at the time).  

You can review part of Scarface’s 3rd ending at: http://classweb.gmu.edu/kthomps4/video/scar-sm.mov. This is the version most viewers saw at the time but is only available now in the recent DVD release with both endings, so its crucial you not miss class on Feb 5th. 

Remember to check your name (under People) and Scarface-3 endings (under Assignments) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.

Welcome; course blog postings

Welcome to the course blog for Engl 302 section H31 in the spring of 2008. Over the course of the semester, you will be posting several reading, film and paper responses on the blog, using the assignment prompts on the right hand side of page (under pages).

When you post, remember to check the appropriate categories for that entry (look for the specific assignment under assignments) using the box in the upper right of the posting area. Its especially important you check your name in the category box as well; otherwise, you may not get credit for your work and it will be much harder for the class to see what you have to say. 

To make your posts, click on the New Post link in the blue area at the top right of the page. Then enter the title of your post (Assignment 3-, starting with the introductions) and your name in the title box and your essay itself in the Posting box. 

See Pages 2a and 2b to the right for more detailed instructions on registering and posting.