1984 Projects

*post updated 3/11 to include students' descriptions of projects*

A couple weeks ago, Ms. Bluhm assigned a summative 1984 project. Students could write a fairly traditional analysis to a reference to 1984 in pop culture, or they could make their own, creative reaction to 1984. Ms. Bluhm has barely started grading the projects, but I couldn't wait to share two of my favorite projects that so beautifully illustrate the passion and creativity of the students who made them.

From Vivan R. comes this portrait of Big Brother in beads! It turns out he's creepy even when he is pearlescent.



Here is Vivian's description of her project:

My original work of art directly references 1984 with a beaded representation of Big Brother. I started with a Big Brother propaganda poster, pixilated the image, and changed the medium from a large inked piece to a small glass one. I think the pixilated effect of the beads makes the image a little harsher, and the metallic color with pastels makes the image more interesting than black on white. I originally created this piece working with the theory that if an item seems to be watching you, you are less likely to steal or tamper with it. Along that line, the suitcases most recently acquired by my family have staring eyes painted on. You are not really being watched, but if you feel like you are, you may act the part. This matches 1984's use of telescreens and propaganda posters to keep inhabitants in line. If Big Brother's face can deter thoughtcrime in 1984, perhaps his face can deter theftcrime in 2009. Opening one flap gives a better emphasis on BB himself, opening the other reveals the caption from the propaganda poster. When both flaps are open, the beadwork hangs in the center window, letting light pass through.

And from Maddy L., who will be going to culinary school next fall, we have the social hierarchy of 1984 in cake form.



Here's a description of the cake in Maddy's words:

For my representation of 1984 I made a cake creation. There are three layers which represent the prole, outer circle, and the inner circle. The first layer is the prole. I made a box cake because their food is controlled by the government so they do not get to make things from scratch. Also, it is just a plain yellow cake which represents their boring food. There is no icing because they are limited on how much sweet things they can eat. The next layer up is spice cake with cream cheese icing. The outer circle gets slightly more privileges and so they have a slightly more complicated cake with icing. There are less people in the outer circle and so they have more individuality so they are represented by cupcakes. The final top layer is mini chocolate truffle cakes. This shows how superior the inner circle is because they get the richest and best cakes. There are few members of the inner party so there is not much cake in the top layer.

The cake has all the components of the social structure shown by the type and flavor of each layer of cake. The increasing deliciousness of each layer can also represent the amount of power that each person has. The richness of the cake increases as you get to the inner circle where people have the most power. The message of the cake is to show how different the separate social groups are.

The cake of course simplifies the complex fight for power in 1984. However, it does get at the really message of inequality of the social classes and the superiority of the inner party.

What I like so much about these two in particular is that they took the project in a direction that is authentically their own. Cake? Beads? Who would have thought it possible?

Internet as Utopia

Earlier this semester, I asked students to respond to the concept of utopia on the internet--either the idea that the internet will bring about a more utopic form of education and community or how the concept of utopia is used to market products. For the first question, notions of the internet as a utopia, I asked students to read Will Richardson's article World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others published on Edutopia (itself an example of using the concept of utopia for marketing purposes).

I left the response assignment intentionally vague, hoping that students would feel free to respond in creative ways. I was not disappointed. The response that most perfectly melded form and content was Jasmine's Facebook note (*disappointed sigh* for the school district that just outlawed teachers and students communicating via web 2.0 software)

Below is Langton's brilliant (and artistically rendered) response to Richardson's article (click images to view full-sized):



One thing that surprised me was how emphatically my students argued for the role of teachers in mediating the online educational experience. I don't think that Richardson suggests that the internet makes teachers obsolete, but he does suggest that it requires a significant redefinition of teaching and learning. They also felt that Richardson ignores the vast swamps of dreck (primarily anonymous youtube comments, 4chan users and pornography) that seem to thrive on the web.

What do you think? I would be particularly curious to hear from my students if I am representing your view correctly.

Floating Utopias

Anyone can build a game-changing social-network platform or a virtual community or a set of open APIs. But the people here want to start a nonmetaphorical revolution by creating their own independent nations. In the middle of the ocean. On prefab floating platforms.

Check out this article by Chris Baker from Wired Magazine about Seasteading. It describes the efforts of the Seasteading Institute to create their own version of utopia.

"Proactive Merchandising" or Big Brother?

"Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long. The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity — and can change the ads accordingly."

Check out this article, When you watch these ads, the ads check you out, about the use of cameras to gather feedback about the person watching the advertisement.  

What do you think?

On a previous subject

“To me, this is the real world,” she said. “And it’s a very peaceful world. I don’t hear anything except the leaves falling. I get up in the morning, I go out on my front deck and I dance and I say, ‘It’s another glorious day on the mountain.’ Men are violent. The minute a man walks in the dynamics change immediately, so I choose not to be around those dynamics."
--Winnie Adams as quoted in the NY Times

Check out this NY Times article, My Sister's Keeper, which discusses the fate of lesbian separatist communities. While Gilman didn't mention lesbianism in Herland, the assumptions about gender, masculinity, femininity, and utopia that allow for the creation of these communities would sound very familiar to her.

What do you think?