Create a monster for the 21st century, to be presented to the class in a 10-15 minute presentation. Please present your monster in a creative way--dress up as your monster, do a skit, share a video (all videos should be uploaded to youtube or vimeo so they can be played easily in class), short story, visual aids/posters, etc.
You may not bring laptops the day of the presentation, but you may upload to the web and present from the in class computer. Please do not present anything that requires a flash drive or downloading as we do not have time to set up in class.
Quickly slapped together print outs or scrawled drawings will receive no credit. You may not present a creative aide that was not made by you.
Pay careful attention to your monsters physical attributes, living environment, prey, attitude, etc. Make sure these directly represent cultural fears and desires.
Additionally, please answer the following questions in an essay format, 3-5 pages in length, and present them to the class as well. You may choose to present them in a creative way or a more straightforward way, but they must be answered directly. Being able to critically analyze your monster, as we've critically analyzed the monsters in this course, is imperative to your success on this assignment. Failure to do so, even if you have a cool looking monster, will result in a non-passing score on the assignment.
Here are the questions:
What cultural fears does your monster represent?
What cultural desires does it represent?
You will want to choose something specific to the culture. For example, just as Dracula represented the Victorian desire for more sexual freedom for women, your monster will need to express a particular desire that relates to our cultural moment as Americans in this country, today, in the era of Facebook, the internet, climate change, political strife, student loan debt, etc (those are just a few specific examples, it can really be anything). Whatever you do, don't just say that the desires (or fears, for that matter) are something generic. You won't want to say that your monster represents a "fear of the unknown" or "fear of change" or "fear of death" --these are too broad and generic. Pick something related to what's going on in the world today. "Fear of being buried under a mountain of student loan debt" is a specific fear, related to what is going on in the world today. (Don't copy the fears I've put here--come up with your own).
How is the monster's body a physical manifestation of these cultural fears and desires? For example, if it is a vampire that can walk out in sunlight, does it represent our changing attitude toward difference--the fact that we now are more tolerant of those who do not fit "the norm"?
How does your monster "fit in" to the lineage of the monsters we have learned about this semester? Does your monster have anything in common with those monsters? How does your monster differ from them, as a representation of this particular cultural moment and place?
Are there any other monsters that you took inspiration from? How did they inspire you?
Apply at least six quotes from the in-class monster thesis notes to your monster. How does your monster represent these quotes? You may choose to directly quote or paraphrase, but do include a Works Cited page.Can't wait to meet your monsters! :-)
You may not bring laptops the day of the presentation, but you may upload to the web and present from the in class computer. Please do not present anything that requires a flash drive or downloading as we do not have time to set up in class.
Quickly slapped together print outs or scrawled drawings will receive no credit. You may not present a creative aide that was not made by you.
Pay careful attention to your monsters physical attributes, living environment, prey, attitude, etc. Make sure these directly represent cultural fears and desires.
Additionally, please answer the following questions in an essay format, 3-5 pages in length, and present them to the class as well. You may choose to present them in a creative way or a more straightforward way, but they must be answered directly. Being able to critically analyze your monster, as we've critically analyzed the monsters in this course, is imperative to your success on this assignment. Failure to do so, even if you have a cool looking monster, will result in a non-passing score on the assignment.
Here are the questions:
What cultural fears does your monster represent?
What cultural desires does it represent?
You will want to choose something specific to the culture. For example, just as Dracula represented the Victorian desire for more sexual freedom for women, your monster will need to express a particular desire that relates to our cultural moment as Americans in this country, today, in the era of Facebook, the internet, climate change, political strife, student loan debt, etc (those are just a few specific examples, it can really be anything). Whatever you do, don't just say that the desires (or fears, for that matter) are something generic. You won't want to say that your monster represents a "fear of the unknown" or "fear of change" or "fear of death" --these are too broad and generic. Pick something related to what's going on in the world today. "Fear of being buried under a mountain of student loan debt" is a specific fear, related to what is going on in the world today. (Don't copy the fears I've put here--come up with your own).
How is the monster's body a physical manifestation of these cultural fears and desires? For example, if it is a vampire that can walk out in sunlight, does it represent our changing attitude toward difference--the fact that we now are more tolerant of those who do not fit "the norm"?
How does your monster "fit in" to the lineage of the monsters we have learned about this semester? Does your monster have anything in common with those monsters? How does your monster differ from them, as a representation of this particular cultural moment and place?
Are there any other monsters that you took inspiration from? How did they inspire you?
Apply at least six quotes from the in-class monster thesis notes to your monster. How does your monster represent these quotes? You may choose to directly quote or paraphrase, but do include a Works Cited page.Can't wait to meet your monsters! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment