RAY KHAN
THE PODCAST PROJECT
After extensively analyzing a variety of Disney films from the fairy tale, Marvel, and Star Wars genre, my classmates and I were tasked to answer the course question: How do Disney films contribute to the construction of society’s values and norms about gender roles? We came to the conclusion that Disney portrayed the breaking and homogenization of gender roles, and set out to prove our claim using specific scenes and general discussion in a podcast known as Disney Diving. Preparation for the assignment and the assignment itself helped us progress towards the course objectives, as we developed stronger collaboration and communication skills through groupwork, and enhanced engaged reading skills with thorough analyses of sources and films. Moreover, an emphasis on peer review helped with giving clear and effective feedback.
PRE-PRODUCTION: PREPARATION AND PLANNING
Beauty and the Beast Annotations
The screenshot comes from the Beauty and the Beast annotations assignment, in which we had to find specific moments from the film in which each main character demonstrated a gender role through their songs, words, and actions. Here, I've focused on two annotations from the Beast in which he conveys constructive masculinity. When I noted down the Beast's apology and his act of sacrifice for Belle, I demonstrated an application of close-reading to the video format.
Blog Reflection
This blog assignment involved a thorough self-reflection over the first three weeks and how I demonstrated each trait from the "Habits of Mind." On the section for curiosity, I described how Beauty and the Beast served as an engaging experience. The assignment strongly relates to the course objective of metacognition, through the practice of reflection with the blog. I learned the significance and benefits of reflection and critical thinking through the assignment.
Pre-Production Meeting Blog
I've included a paragraph from my pre-production meeting blog, that was written after our podcast group had a zoom meeting to discuss roles and responsibilities. We created segments and outlined the topics to be addressed during each one, and I provided input from my role as host. The assignment connects with the course objective of practicing collaboration as we had to divide and distribute tasks in an organized manner. I learned the importance of clear communication, so that every team member understands their duty.
Three Sources Blog
The paragraph below comes from a blog assignment in which I had to find three sources related to the specific moments I would discuss in the podcast. The source of interest is a podcast that evaluates gender roles in Beauty and the Beast. The assignment ties in well with the course objective of improving digital literacy through exposure to various forms of media, including podcasts which are a type of audio. The assignment helped me become more comfortable and open to different forms of media besides traditional writing and videos.
PRODUCTION: CREATING THE PODCAST AND MICROSITE
Podcast Script
I've selected a short segment from the podcast script in which I analyzed how Belle breaks traditional gender values with two specific moments, and I connect my interpretation to the Once Upon a Patriarchy podcast and societal conventions. The script assignment definitely boosted my confidence in reading accuracy as I had to make several complex associations and relationships between texts and media. Moreover, it corresponds to greater written literacy. By the end, I learned the importance of organization and comprehension while closely reading and establishing relationships.
Script Interactions
I served as the host of the podcast which required a level of interaction with my groupmates during their segments. In the image below, a segment of the script is shown in which I had to open the discussion of a Star Wars movie and direct the conversation with basic details from the outline. Recording the podcast involved the course objective of creativity and flexibility while somewhat improvising the conversation. The assignment taught me the importance of coordination, communication, and clarity while planning out the script and the conversational flow.
Microsite Key Scene
Under the key scenes portion of my group's microsite, I included a screenshot of Belle sitting in the Beast's dungeon with a short description of the scene and its significance to the course question. While I had limited space and words, I needed to capture the essence of the scene which relates to ability of writing focused, detailed, and readable prose. And while I had many scenes to choose from, I had to eliminate other options in order to focus on one compelling scene, which taught me the value of analysis and reflection.
Microsite Startup
I've featured my bio on the microsite with a recent picture, and a few lines about my education and interests related to Disney. Everyone in the group was responsible for their own contributions to the page, so I decided to take initiative with starting up the page and creating appropriate sections, such as the summary photo, a bio section, a key scenes section, and a bibliography section. My work really connected with digital literacy through developing a website, as well as responsibility while taking the lead in my group. Establishing the foundation of the microsite helped me in learning structure and organization.
LOOKING AHEAD IN 3 PARAGRAPHS
MISTAKES
While the project process was smooth for the most part, there were a couple of hiccups along the road. It took our team a significant amount of time to establish an umbrella theme, and most of our outlines didn't line up with it until we had our preproduction meeting. We weren't able to find a common platform to communicate on, and some group members didn't respond and check emails on time, which caused a slight delay in the pre-production meeting. However, once everyone was together, we were quite productive. During the recording process, we made many mistakes and had many retakes in order to put together a masterpiece. Another issue was timing, as we were at 31 minutes to begin with and had to cut parts out in order to get to an appropriate length. The editing process was done last minute and caused the group a great deal of stress, so I'd definitely recommend editing earlier. Overall, effective communication is key to success, and is an element that our group could've improved on.
COLLABORATION
The assignment relied on collaboration for its successful execution. The creation of a shared google doc definitely helped out in terms of creating a master script and sharing all of our ideas. I liked how we were each divided up with roles and responsibilities that we all adhered to and worked hard. As the host, I relied on my groupmates for information on their segments, which they provided in great detail for me to ask profound questions and make comments. For future reference, I understand the value of flexibility as to be accommodating for others' schedules and time zones. Moreover, patience is quite important, especially when there's high levels of stress. My group was incredibly cooperative, so we had excellent collaboration.
ESSAY TRANSITION
I definitely plan on switching directions for my essay, but the thesis relates to an idea mentioned in podcast. Our podcast essentially discussed Disney's depiction of male and female characters in a manner in which they do not conform to the standard established for their genders. I analyzed the Beast and compared his constructive gender values to traditionally toxic masculinity and how Gaston embodies those traits. The podcast provided a strong base for my idea, and because I don't want to simply restate its discussion, I'm branching out to a related topic. For my essay, I want to further explore Disney's portrayal of toxic masculinity and how characters from other films, including Krennic from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Beck/Mysterio from Spider-Man: Far From Home also demonstrate similar characteristics. I will be using my annotations in which I've evaluated their words, actions, and appearances in order to prove my assertation. I've found a few external sources, such as movie reviews to also supplement the essay.