Hunger Games Workshop #1 - Themes & Ideas

The themes/ideas we are looking at in The Hunger Games:

- Rich vs Poor

- Hope and Rebellion

- Struggle for Power

- Power of Propaganda

For the ideas/themes we will first brainstorm

- Explain what it means

- Find two examples of it in the film

- Describe how the example shows the theme/ideas

- Explain why the idea/theme is important to the story

- Then we will co-construct a SEXXXY paragraph.

Rich Vs Poor

- Rich: More opportunities, privilege & power

- Poor: No/Far less money, less opportunities, no power, disadvantaged

Definition: Theme of "Rich Vs Poor"

More than just money, it is about who has more power, privilege, and opportunities.

Rich:

President Snow, District 1 citizens, Capitol citizens, Caesar

Capitol - Do not get reaped for The Hunger Games, surplus food- excess in variety, acess to cleaner,                            brighter, and more exotic clothing, far larger, prestine and more architectually innovative                                buildings- example of power, privilege & opportunity. Technology- faster and more convenient                       ways of travel (airships, trains). Medicine - trackets, blood sacnners, healing balms. 

               Children - Presents, get to play, luxury of a life without working.

Poor:

District 12, district 11, 

District 12- Buildings- broken, unsecure, unlivable conditions, made from wood, smaller, don't have access                    to materials to make anthing better, lack of access to power. Clothing- bland, dull, well-worn,                       raggedy, lack of variety, old style, mens best outfits- button-up shirts, trouser/shorts, held up by                       suspenders/belts (don't fit properly.) Womens best outfits - dresses, shirts/skirts, not well fitted.                       Coal miners- dark colours hide dirt & coal, less sun damage. Technology- no access to                               medicine, people are ill, lack of transport, fence is not electricified, (can't keep secure/no access                    to power) Can't gain acess to food, food is hunted or rationed out, name added to reaping in                       exchange for food. Children - must work, lack of rest/play, live in fear of being reaped, lack of                       opportunity/choice of occupation- most will be coal miners.

In 'The Hunger Games,' setting is used effectively to show the theme 'Rich vs Poor.'Rich vs Poor is about more than money, it is about opportunity, power and privilege. For instance, we can see the idea of privilege reflected in the physical environments of District 12, and the Capitol. In District 12, the buildings are worn out, broken down, and unsecure- whereas buldings in the Capitol show modern design, vaiation in materials and are built on a grand scale. This makes the audience think abotu the differences in wealth and power between the two locations. District 12 has nothing whilst the Capitol are safe and secure with their surplus of food, water, clothing, technology, and buildings. The purpose of this was to show that Katniss Everdeen has come from a place of less privilege and power so her success in the games is very unlikely. Coinciding with this is the use of colour. In District 12, there are lots of browns and greens whilst in the Capitol, we see a futuristic palette of metallic greys, silvers, and blacks. The use of settings and colour effectively show us the imbalance of privilege between those living in places like District 12 and the Capitol.

P.E.

I have been a good teammate in P.E. this term because I have helped others when they do not know what to do, and I have been respectful to not only other members in my team but the other team, even when our team loses.

I think I have been operating at level 3 because I was self-directed in my learning, and was co-operating with others. I also helped others when they needed assistance, such as helping with equipment and technique.

Hunger Games Film Study

This week in film study we have been analysing the Hunger Games (2012), and the choices made by Gary Ross. The following is our brainstorms on the contrast between the wealthy and the impoverished citizens of Panem. 

District 12:

- District 12 is impoverished

- District 12 uses no currency, only trade

- Clothing is dirty, dull

- Hair is unkept as hygiene is poor

- Music is minimalistic, relaxed, soothing (light humming)

- Living conditions far below par

- Famined citizens, starving; citizen shown scraping the meat off of a bone with their teeth.

- Katniss uses a bow to hunt for extra food, as her family is probably starving

Capitol:

- Capitol is the wealthiest area of Panema

- Clothing is bright and interesting; exotic

- Hairstyles are extraordinary

- Makeup is excessive, colourful

- Exotic music is futuristic, fast paced

- Buildings are large, prestine condition, in oppressing gray

(D12) Reaping:

- District 12 citizens dresssed in dull colored clothing

- Peacekeepers dressed in oppressive black and white

- Effie dressed in vibrant white and pink

- Surrounded by sunlight, and spotlighted harsh, white lighting

- Establishing shots used to show the crowding of District 12 citizens

- Great tyrranical walls of dull grey brick

- Diegetic sound used to induce tense feelings: rustling of paper, footsteps, the hiss of a microphone waiting to be used

- Close-ups and extreme close-ups used to display the reactions and feelings of Effie, Katniss, and Primrose

- A large screen, one of the only examples of electricity being used in District 12

- Silence

(Capitol) TV Show:

- TV style presentation

- Large stadiums, great crowds

- Vibrant yellow and orange backing

- Harsh spotlight

- Backstage staff moving around, talking to eachother

- Deafening cheers and screams from the crowd

- Closeups to see Katniss and Caesar's reactions to questions/answers

Tribute Parade:

- Mid shots on crowd, full of the wealthy and their extravagant attire

- Futuristic technology

- Costumes used to keep down impoverished districts...

- ...Which Katniss and Peta defy when they are in their 'on fire' outfits

- Closeups on the crowd as they cheer on Katniss and Peta

- Katniss is now 'the girl on fire,' a title which will help to instill hope into the districts she represents

Rue's Death:

- Sad, sombre music

- Closeups to show Katniss's reaction to Rue's death

- Closeup on Rue as her eyes are closed, putting her to rest

- Mid shot to show Katniss's full body grieving to Katniss...

- ...Her reaction drowned out by only non-diagetic sound

- Establishing shots used to show the citizens of District 11, all three-finger saluting; a symbol of hope, and the hope they have lost

- Tracking shot to show man starting the riot that would take place in District 11

- Layers of diagetic sound, screams, slams, the breaking of glass, marching, juxtaposed by soft music

- Dutch tilts, shaky camerawork, and quick cuts to show the pacing of riot taking place; a montage of destruction

- Contrast between slow, personal footage of Katniss and Rue to the very harsh camerawork of D11's riot

Peta and Katniss:

- Hopeful, royal sounding strings

- Over the shoulder shots and closeups used to show their body language; Katniss strings her bow as she believes Peta is going to kill her, Peta's readiness to be killed.

- High angle shots used to make Katniss and Peta look weak in the face of the large ship flying down over their head

Katniss's Scoring:

- Tracking shot to show Katniss's slow approach to the scoring area

- Katniss shrouded in a lack of lighting; Hunger Games officials shrouded in vibrant coloured lighting

- Katniss ignored, officials talking to eachother

- Positioned lower than officials, high angle shots used to make Katniss look weak in the face of her scorers

- Panning shots show trajectory of arrows

- Closeups of Katniss's now panick-ridden face and body language. 

- Mid shots used to show Katniss draw her bow toward the camera

- Pig used as a symbol of indulgence brought only by wealth,

- Katniss's shot through the pig represents the theme of Rich vs Poor; rebellion against the wealthy (by the impoverished)

What are the differences between District 12 & the Capitol's clothes?

District 12, as the most impoverished of all 13 districts, is sorely lacking in clothing and hygiene. Clothing is reduced to dulled whites and greys as they are washed over and over again. The Capitol's clothes, on the other hand, are vibrant and consist of bright, contrasting colours. Makeup worn by those living in the Capitol are worn in great excess, often with entire skin colours being altered. (This can be seen in Effie's makeup during The Reaping.) Hairstyles in the Capitol are extravagant and exotic, and are also consisting of bright colours whereas hairstyles in District 12 are dirty and unkept, due to a lack of hygienic practice. 

This is very similar to what is happening to Auckland at the moment, where southern suburbs lack the income required to function, and where northern suburbs like Parnell are some of the wealthiest suburbs in New Zealand.

What does the word tribute mean?

A tribute is either an item, animal, or person that is gifted as a show of respect & admiration, or a payment made from one ruler to another as a sign of gratitude. The word tribute is used intentionally as it can be interpreted in two different ways, and both are valid in this context. Which definition is intended is never explained.

What can people in D12 do to get extra food?

Citizens of District 12 can volunteer their name to go into the Reaping more than once in exchange for extra food rations. This increasing their chances of being chosen as tribute. They can, like Katniss, also hunt illegally in fenced off areas of wilderness which contains animals such as squirrels and deer.

Money Matters: GST

GST (Goods and Services Tax) is a tax imposed in most commonwealth countries. The cost of GST in New Zealand is 15% of the original price. To add GST to an item's cost, take the item's price and multiply it by 1.15. To find find the GST of a tax-included price, divide the GST-included cost by 1.15.

Film Studies Camera Techniques Visual Dictionary

 

In english we are learning to define the language of film using camera techniques and identify different types of sound and visual techniques. This slideshow shows my learning because I have added definitions of every technique and have included examples. I wonder if there are more, creative ways that these techniques can/are/have been used.

DTE Term 3 Intro 2020

So far this term in DTE, I have learnt how to use the mBot robots and program them using scratch code. mBot is a low cost, easy-to-run robot kit for kids to get hands-on experience about graphical programming, electronics, robotics. It is an all-in-one solution for robotics learning and designed for STEM education. 

The mBots are easy to work with and I was able to get them to spin around and drive to where I wanted. I already knew how to use Scratch style coding because I worked with the sphero bots last year. The spheros were a lot of fun to work with and I liked working with them more than when I was working with the mBots. They cannot move as fast, make as many sounds, and have less functionality than the spheros. They are also more fragile. They do not connect nearly as easily and require batteries which the spheros do not.

This is what we think of the mBots.

Names:	What we think about The mBot	What we think of the mBot Ranger
Greg	It’s very bad because it often malfunctions and does not run most code correctly which is very frustrating.	It doesn’t work
Austin	They malfunction often and sometimes they just run by themselves. The robot sometimes goes by its self.	It doesn’t work
Aron	They are kind of easy to use but can be annoying to make work. Not efficient when it comes to coding	It doesn’t work
Kalim	Its 50/50 when it comes to enjoying and the difficult the sensors didn’t really work	It doesn’t work
Andre	It is a cool idea but they don’t always work the way it should	It doesn’t work

Film Terms Crossword

Across

2. A conversation that two or more characters take place in.

6. The movements and postures in which emotions are portrayed.

10. The act of giving imbuing soemthing with meaning.

11. Lack of sound; quiet.

12. The location/time in which something takes place.

13. Visual effects added in post.

Down

1. A way in which hair is cut or styled.

3. Cosmetics applied to one's face.

4. Sound/Audio effects added in post.

5. A set of clothing.

7. The effects and arrangement of light.

8. Instrumental and/or vocal sounds combined to produce pleasing expression of harmony.

9. An object used on the set of a play or film. 

 

I am learning to define the language of film using visual & sound techniques, and identify different sound/visual techniques. This work shows my learning because I have written down a definition for each term, and displayed it in an interesting fashion. I am wondering if there are more techniques that I haven't covered yet.

Music and the Civil RIghts

1. How did music affect the Civil Rights movement?

Singers and musicians would disseminate and distribute songs to protestors and activators through the press. These songs would be sung at large meetings and when someone was dragged to jail. Music and singing gave those who could not sit on the same buses, eat in the same places, and use the same waterfountains a voice. 

2. Why was music such a powerful force?

Music made people cry, and brought people together.

3. Find some examples of music from the 60s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-43lLKaqBQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crWSG6liT5Y

Team Sports

What Makes a Team Successful?

- Communication

- Co-operation

- Respect

- Leadership

I have been a good teammate in P.E. this term because I have helped others when they do not know what to do, and I have been respectful to not only other members in my team but the other team, even when our team loses.

I think I have been operating at level 3 because I was self-directed in my learning, and was co-operating with others. I also helped others when they needed assistance, such as helping with equipment and technique.

Cellphone Addiction

Are students addicted to cellphones; and if they are, is it a problem? According to King University, the average person touches their phone 2,167 times everyday, and that iPhone users unlock their phones upward of 70 times a day, whereas Samsung and Huawei users unlock their phone upwards of 110 times. CNN says that 50% of students admit to suffering from a cellphone addiction, and that 59% of parents believe their children are addicted to their cellphone. A survey conducted on Thursday, 6th of August showed that 29% of 10Wd considers themselves addicted to their cellphone, and 42% of students in 10Wd use their cellphone for over 4 hours a day. Cellphone addictions have been associated with sleep disorders (insomnia) and fatigue. However, parents also believe that their children should keep their phone on them, as it makes it much easier for them to call emergency services e.t.c. Cellphones are also said to increase ones ability to memorise information, organise themselves, manage their times, and aid in group projects. The regulated use of cellphones by children and teenagers brings many pros, but cellphone addiction can severely inhibit one's wellness. 

Hamilton

What is Hamilton about?

Hamilton tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of USA's founding fathers, and his rise from poverty and his role in the American War of Independence. Hamilton uses actors of colour and african american culture to juxstapose the originally all-white set of founding fathers.

What is the style of the show?

The show's storytelling is done entirely in music, the style of which had been drawn heavily from hip hop and rap. The costumes are based upon what American Revolutionaries would wear in 1776, and the set looks like the inside of a pub.

Name a character that you liked. (Who and why)

I liked King George because his songs were always humurous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NOjkmkanrc

What did you think?

I thought Hamilton was very interesting because of the way that the musical tells its story. The storytelling is very good and the songs are well written. My favourite song is My Shot.

Technology Poster

Technology

Technology has made great improvements to people's everyday lives. This is convenient to people as it helps to eradicate menial tasks that we used to have to do everyday. USB drives and SSDs have made storing information digitally far easier, as floppy disks were much larger and held much less information. Computers have gotten much smaller over time, and can now fit on desks. This is helpful in many different situations, like in airports, office buildings, and in schools. Factories and production machines have made production seamless and quality of products created much higher. These three examples show that advancements in technology have helped people.