Media Frenzy and McCarthyism

The play we are about to read, Inherit the Wind, was written in the 1950's as a response to McCarthyism, as was the play The Crucible which many of you read last year. Even though the public hysteria that McCarthyism specifically provoked is not with us anymore, are there other similar examples from history or modern day that have caused rampant fear, suspicion, public outcry, or media frenzy unnecessarily? Explain the situation.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/mccarthyism.html

Censorship in Music

Most of you chose a song to analyze and share for the recent Persuasive Unit Project. Have the lyrics or music of any bands that you know been censored in any way? Are there situations in which censorship of music is appropriate? What about "clean" versions of songs? What about music videos? Another Mrs. O 80's flashback: Beastie Boys' "Fight for your Right to Party" video

The Freedom to Read

Read the BANNED BOOK PROCLAMATION (click link). What parts of this proclamation are most meaningful to you? How important is the "freedom to read"?

Banned Books Week

BANNED BOOK WEEK is September 29th - October 6th. Click the hilighted link above to see a list of the 100 Most Frequently Banned Books 1990-2000. Have you read any of these banned books? Do any titles surprise you? Why or why not? Are there situations in which censorship of books is appropriate?

Advertisements and Commercials

Advertising is generally what pays the bills in many industries. Marketing a product takes creativity and the ability to PERSUADE. Have you ever bought a product solely on its advertisers' ability to market that product? Identify a particular advertisement that you have seen or heard that is particularly persuasive (i.e. television, radio, billboard, magazine, newspaper, etc.). What kinds of PERSUASIVE DEVICES do they use to entice the general public or a particular age or social group? Have you seen any ineffective advertising?

Protest Songs

For our classwork this week, we will be looking at songs and speeches which demand that people look more closely and think about a specific issue or problem in society. Some do so gently; some inspire listeners to action. Look at the lyrics and related information for one of the protest songs on the following 60's website and comment. Can a song change the world? What makes some more persuasive than others? www.sfheart.com/protest/index1.html

Jumping to Conclusions

The media (radio, tv, Internet, newspapers, etc.) often creates a stir about a topic or person so much so that people begin to GENERALIZE and jump to conclusions about people and groups of people. For example, people see one teenager breaking the law, and they think ALL teenagers are vandals. In our own high school, gossip (true or not true) generates the same results. Comment on some aspect of this issue which affects all of us. Is it part of human nature? Or can we educate people about jumping to false conclusions?