Digital footprint and Ethics

Hey,

If you have read my post ‘Be a professional’ you would know that I talked about being aware of your image including your online image. You need to remember that anything you have ever posted on the internet will be saved somewhere, therefore when posting always think ‘who will see this’.

Social media is very popular and some of social medias that were popular in 2014 are: Classmates, Facebook, Linkin, Instagram, Reddit, Google +, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.

When looking at safeguarding it is also good to have the child helpline somewhere with you. Unfortunately, no matter what school you are in there will be some form of bullying. There could be problems with children being abused or neglected. You need to remember that children from any age could be abused including children in care and even in respectable homes. Anyone can be abused or be the abuser.

Although there are those with a high risk of being abused and they are: disabled children, children with a learning disability and children who are more intelligent (high IQ) than others.

There are many warnings for those who are being abused and here are some of them: not wanting to change in front of others and have bruises in places where it is almost impossible to get hurt.

When taking photographs of your class you must first find out the school policy in regards to this. However, whenever taking a photograph you shouldn’t be able to identify any of the pupils or the school at they attend.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading

Amy x

Opie, M (Plymouth University Lecture)

How do we communicate?

Hey,

When you look at communication you first look at the barriers of communication which are: Psychological (biases/stereotypes), Sematic (language/culture differences), Environment (room size, layout of furniture, noise, heating, lighting), Demographic (gender & age), Disability (physical, neurological & learning) and Organisational (established lines of communication).

Then take a look at the many different ways we have to communicate, both verbal and non-verbal. Some examples are: Pictional, written, music, facial expressions, gestures, emoji and antinational. As a trainee teacher you need to know different ways of communication so that if your method of communication isn’t reaching the children you change it and use a different method.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) professor, Albert Mehrabian, looked at the 7% - 38% - 55% Rule and developed it within non-verbal forms of communication. He determined that messages received in communication are actually mostly received in a non-verbal form.

• 55% of communication is body language

• 38% of communication is the tone of voice

• 7% of communication is the words from your mouth.

Now let’s look at listening actively which is a way of listening and responding to another person which improves mutual understanding.

“In some ways, active listening is characterised more by what is not done, than what is done. This is because real active listening requires the listener to avoid common responses when listening, even internally, and these are very difficult habits to break.” Robertson, K (2005)

I will leave you with that quote to think about.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading

Amy x

 Medway, S (Plymouth University Lecture)

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Hey,

On 9 September, I watched Guardians of the Galaxy with my family in 3-D. Warning! This post will include spoilers so if you have not yet watched it DO NOT read, you have been warned.

However, before I get into the analysis of the film I am first going to share some information with you regarding 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

Guardians of the Galaxy was based on Marvel comics' superheroes written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanningand and was produced by Marvel Studios while Walt Disney distributed it. This film was directed by James Gunn who also directed the films: Tromeo and Juliet, Scooby-Doo 1 & 2, Dawn of the Dead and Slither.

At the beginning of the film the use of imagery from inside a creature was used to change the scenes. This was clever and a good use of media that integrates well into the movie as a connective. I like the scene where Groot is dancing to music while the beginning fight is happening yet nothing happened to him. I found that this scene was portrayed well and gave the audience humour and therefore lots of laughs. The scene following this one was of Drax jumping into the beast's mouth which was clever. Once Gamora killed the beast with her sword and explosion of colour was created that was like a rainbow shower which could create the connotation of celebration.

Later in the film Peter found his father and travelled with him to his planet, Ego's planet. The name of the planet has a psychological reference as this character is all about him and his purpose to make the galaxy all him. Ego's planet differs from all the other planets shown in this movie through its variety of bright and light colours. This suggests a peaceful planet and has connotations of heaven: a happy, joyful and peaceful place. However, from space the planet is dark red with a face which connotes hell and danger. These 2 contrasting connotations may create confusion in the audience, where they wouldn't know what to expect.

Through the use of bright and light colours as well as words such as celestial, a religious connotation of God is portrayed. Ego built his planet like how God built the earth and universe. Ego also needed to find life and meaning which he thought was to recreate the galaxy unlike God his will was to create, however the Christian God protects the world and the people that he created. Another connotation of God is where the high priestess called her creation of their new species of evolution, Adam who was believed by Christians to be the first man God made. This object also looks like a sarcophagus which connotes the Egyptian God. The colouring of this is a golden yellow which could suggest royalty that God is believed to be as he is worshipped.

The first fight scene at the beginning of this film was a good use of media as it felt like you were there. However, not only was the fight scene a good use of media but also the crash that followed because it looked realistic making you believe it actually happened. The lights used for the gun effect was also a nice form of media. The light effect was used to show the power that Ego and Peter shared that was used artistically and through this clever use of media it created connotations of God's power. I feel that a great use of media is the scene where Yondu, Rocket and Groot went through jumps to travel through different planet atmosphere's to get to Ego's world, and during this scene the characters faces distorted.

Yondu's arrow that was controlled by the Finn (worn on his head) was another clever use of media as the light travelled around the screen which was amazing and meant that you had to pay attention to be able to see where it went. This is also clever as the arrow moves in time with the music. During this sequence, slow motion was demonstrated which is a great media technique to use. The slow-motion effect was also used at the end of Yondu's life that coincided along with dramatic music, creating an emotional effect on the audience.

When most of the team went off to go to Ego's planet, music was played creating a dramatic feeling especially with a slow-motion effect alongside. During the first fight, the music quietened in areas so that the audience would not only see but also hear what Groot was paying attention to. This effect creates the feeling of seeing the scene from a different character’s view, in this case the character just so happens to be a twig as Yondu put it in the film. Dramatic music also played for Groot while trying to retrieve the Finn that controls Yondu's weapon. Using quiet music that later crescendos to dramatic loud music creates an expectation with the audience that when you hear quiet music something bad is about to happen. For example, there was a quiet scene with Gamora and then before you know it her sister, Nebula is trying to kill her. I think this is portrayed well as it keeps the audience on their toes, so to speak.

Throughout this film there has been developments of characters and their relationships with each other:

First there is Rocket who is part of the team but at the beginning of the film you see him push his friends away stealing batteries he didn't need, although they did end up being quite useful. However, by the end of the film he is standing together with the team and no longer arguing with them as a former pushing them away.

Next is Gamora and her sister, Nebula and their relationship with each other. At the beginning of the film, you hear Gamora say that "she doesn't care that she is her sister and that she is just going to take her in". This is later followed by Nebula trying to kill Gamora which ends in Nebula getting stuck in a ship that is about to explode that Gamora saves her from. However, this doesn't stop Nebula from trying to kill her. Later in the film Nebula saves Gamora from dying which obviously shows the development of their relationship as they went from trying to kill each other to saving one another. Nonetheless, I feel what showed these characters relationship development the best is that at the end of the film Gamora hugs Nebula and tells her "you will always be my sister".

Now let’s take a look at Ego whose character development isn't by far as emotional as the others. Ego starts off as being a father figure as he is revealed to be Peter's father, but when his true colours are realised he becomes an enemy. Ego is said to be a God and to him his purpose is to recreate the world like the story of Noah in the Christian Bible but more selfish and malice as he wants to destroy the world and make all the planets him.

The final character is Yondu who I believe has made the best and more emotional development through his sacrifice. From the start of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' saga we know that Yondu kidnapped Peter until he managed to get free after years, so to the team he is an enemy. Still, this changes when he sacrifices his life to save Peter's who he viewed as a son.

 This film contains many emotional scenes. One of these scenes is when the team goes after Peter saying "We are family, we leave nobody behind". Another emotional scene is at the end with Peter listening to music given by Yondu (after his death) and Groot comes in and listens with him which is also cute. I found that many of the sad Groot scenes were cute and were portrayed well creating humour as well as many other emotions.

The movie used intertextual references which were Mary Poppins and Pac Man. When part of Ego's planet exploded, Yondu used his arrow to fly down to the ground that looks like Mary Poppins which Peter told him. When Peter went head to head with his father there was a scene where they both covered themselves with rocks to create a larger image and Peter's rock image was Pac Man.

This film had a beautiful and emotional ending. The funeral was portrayed wonderfully with loads of different and bright colours. For the funeral, Yondu was surrounded by many meaningful as well as colourful objects and was then set off into space through a tube that turned him to ash. Yondu was surrounded by colours from the rainbow through this process. Later the Guardian's ship was surrounded by Ravager ships that sent out lights that made every ship look like fireworks. This connotes celebrating someone's life and not being depressed that they have died.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading

Amy x

Be a professional!

Hey,


What does ‘be a professional’ really mean? It could be talking about your career or job or even your role. Maybe it means you are experienced in what you do or even that you are paid more in your work place. However, for me it means conduct and how you portray yourself, as being a trainee teacher means you always need to be professional and be aware of your image to others. This means thinking about the clothes you wear to work as well as thinking about your online image.

As a trainee teacher you need to remember that you are always learning and need to stay up to date with the teaching standards as well as what is happening in the government about teaching. You need to reflect every action within lessons as well as always analysing what worked well and what didn’t. When thinking about teaching, 3 skills that you need have come to surface which are: having presentation skills, supporting one another and knowing the ethics for within schools.

The best trainee teacher is considered to: be self-aware, be prepared for uncomfortable events, draw on support when needed, know the importance of paperwork, keep documents filled in, fit in with those in the school both staff and students and not lose their identity within their work.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading

Amy x

Opie, M  and  Bennett, R  (Plymouth University Lecture)

Moana

Hey,

On 14 September, I watched Moana with my family. Warning! This post will include spoilers but before I discussed the film I will share some facts about Moana.

This film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker who directed films 'Little Mermaid' and 'The Princess and the Frog'. Moana was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is also the 56th Disney animated feature film.

This film is about a girl, Moana who was the daughter of the chief Tui and was chosen by the ocean to search for Maui and get him to return Te Fiti's heart, that he stole 1000 years ago. She sets off on this journey when there is no fish left in the lagoon for her village to survive and darkness is creeping upon her home. Another reason was that her grandmother, Gramma Tala told Moana to go, with her last breath. Her mother's supports her which is shown through her mother helping her pack up supplies for the journey.

I love how Moana's grandma, Tala says that once she dies she wants to come back as a stingray, and at the moment of her death a stingray image is shown through the water travelling from the island to the sea through the use of light colours. This is how Moana's journey begins. At the end of the film when they voyage again there is a stingray swimming alongside the boats which suggests that when someone close to you dies they aren't gone and will never leave you therefore they will be with you in everything you do and everywhere you go.

This film uses a variety of bright and light colours that are slowly being lost to darkness. When Moana and Maui venture to the Island of Monsters they are surrounded by colours, which are mainly different shades of blue, purple and pink, especially as they travel through the entrance.

I feel that the message of this film is about knowing who you are and trusting in yourself to know which way to go. This is demonstrated by Moana being torn between her responsibility to her people, in the village of Polynesian and the voice inside calling her to the water. Who are you meant to be?

This message is also suggested through the song 'How Far I'll Go', where Moana sings about being called to the sea but everyone on the island is happy and has a role so maybe she should follow hers and lead, but yet the voice inside her is saying a different story.

The music for this film was composed by Mark Manicia who had help from others with the lyrics.

The first song in this film is 'Where You Are' which is about the role you play in your society which for Moana is leading them. It's about how she is the future for her people and that she needs to be who they need her to be but also be herself. I feel this is a good lesson for the audience, to not live for someone else but to do what you want to as well as that it is possible to please others but still stay true to yourself. Early on in the film, Moana learns about her lineage that is demonstrated through the song 'We Know the Way'. This is a joyful song about the village's past when they were voyagers who sailed by boat to find land.

Once Moana had found Maui, the song 'You're Welcome' played. This is a song sang by Maui who is saying you're welcome for all he has done as a demigod, for the humans as he originally stole Te Fiti's heart for them. This used clever media as the character's moved on Maui's body within his tapestry which kept the audiences’ attention as well as the song being memorable, that you can't help but sing along. After this Moana and Maui travelled to the Island of Monsters where they ran into Tamatoa who had Maui's fishhook that they needed to retrieve.

During this scene Tamatoa sang 'Shiny' which is basically about him and the things he collects, but a line in the song says "grandma says to follow your heart" which is a reminder to stay true to who you are. This scene is full of colours and light due to the disco effect created from the shiny and reflective items on Tamatoa's shell. Near the end of this song the background lights disappears making it dark so only Tamatoa is lit up making it look a bit like a float from Disneyland light show.

Finally, my favourite song from this film is 'I am Moana' which is about being true to yourself and not giving up. This song is about knowing who you are and loving both the sea and the island. I feel that the message of this song is about embracing all that you are and not being ashamed or doubt any part of you.

The ending of this film was truly beautiful. I love how Moana figured out that the lava stone person was actually Te Fiti without her heart and then the mystical water parted for them to walk towards each other. This has biblical connotations as in the Bible the Red Sea split for Moses and Israelites to escape through. I thought it was lovely yet clever how Moana sang about being who you are before placing Te Fiti's heart back that enabled Te Fiti to return to her green and colourful self and go back to her form of an island.

When Moana returned from home there was a big family reunion which was an emotional scene and now the light had been restored to the land, shown through the flowers, the village set sail to voyage to new land like they did 1000 years ago. This was a nice way to end the film as life had travelled in a circle so they were back to what it was like before the heart was taken.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading

Amy x

Beauty and the Beast

Hey,

On 17 March, I watched the latest Beauty and the Beast film. Sorry for the delay with this post. Warning! This post will include spoilers for Beauty and the Beast movies.

However, before I talk about my film analysis I will first share some information about the Beauty and the Beast story.

La Bella et Bete also known as Beauty and the Beast, is a traditional fairytale written by the French novelist Gabriella - Suzanne Barbot de villeneuve and published in 1740. It was published in the book 'The Young American and Marine Tales'. The story was however rewritten by Jeanne - Marie Leprince de Beaumont and published in 1956. It was also rewritten by Andrew Bug and published in the 'Blue Fairy' book of his fairy book series in 1889. This is the version that is most commonly retold.

Both the cartoon film and the latest film was produced by Disney. The Disney animation film of Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 and based on the Jeanne - Marie Leprince de Beaumont version. The film released in 2017 was directed by Bill Condon.

DO NOT READ past this point if you have not yet watch the latest 'Beauty and the Beast' film as there will be spoilers in this post.

In the original story of Beauty and the Beast, a father picks a Rose for his daughter, Beauty which is the reason for why the Beast keeps him locked away in the castle. This is represented in the latest film as Belle asks her father, Maurice for a rose but when he gets lost he finds the castle and spends the night. However, on the way-out Maurice remembers that he needs to get a rose for a Belle and by picking one ends up locked away by the Beast. This film was clearly influenced by both the original story of 'Beauty and the Beast' and the Disney animation film, as after picking the rose he doesn't make a deal to return but is locked away with Philip, their horse returning to Belle which happens in the animated version (minus the rose).

At the beginning of the movie, the story of what happened to the Prince in the past is told using an over voice, however unlike the animated version there is a scene of them all dancing until the poor woman who later turned into the enchantress asks for shelter. Later on, in this film, Maurice takes a wrong turn that leads to the castle but what differs from the animated version is that on this journey he is attacked by wolves.

There are many things the director has kept the same but adapted in his image, such as chips trick with the tea and the mirror, where Belle sees her father.

Anyhow, the directors have added scenes to create their own image of Beauty and the Beast which is amazing. One of the scenes was when Gaston, Lefou and Maurice went in search of the Beast in order to find Belle, but when the castle was nowhere to be seen Gaston and Lefou tied Maurice to the tree and left him there for the wolves to find. In this film, Maurice and Belle actually talk about Belle's mother and what happened to her which links to later on in the story where Belle travels with the Beasts to her old home in Paris, through the use of a magical book. I think it is ironic how they chose for Belle to have been born in Paris which is fought of as the most romantic city, for her to later revisit with her love, the Beast.

I feel that the outfits of this movie are adaptions from the Disney animated film. I like this as they have been able to create a new image while staying true to the original Disney characters. The first outfit we see Belle in is her blue and white dress, but in this film the outfit looks more tattered which demonstrates that she comes from a poor family. Gaston's outfit makes him look more like someone coming back from the war instead of a hunter, still this works well with the time period that Beauty and the Beast is setting, which is 1700s.

The outfits for the scene of the dance to the song 'Beauty and the Beast' stayed true to the traditional version, which for those of you who live under a rock is a beautiful yellow ball gown for Belle and a dark blue suit for the Beast. At the end of the movie when everyone reunites and is dancing, a new outfit for the main characters was created. Belle wore a white dress with orange flowers which could suggest that in the future they will get married and live happily ever after as a bride wears white and orange is a colour of rebirth that connotes a new life for the Beast and Belle. The Beast wore a light blue suit which could connote that he has made it out of the darkness and is now in a happier place with Belle.

In this film, you can find the original Beauty and the Beast songs that are: Belle, Gaston, Be Our Guest, Something There, The Mob and Beauty and the Beast. However, the song's 'Gaston' and 'The Mob' have been adapted by some words being added in which creates humour and in my opinion, it also gives character to Lefou. I am glad that they didn't add to the song 'Beauty and the Beast' as I would have liked it to be kept to the traditional way of how it is meant to be viewed. The director created this traditional and iconic scene beautifully and was portrayed well.

In this film, 3 new songs were added which I'm going to write about. These 3 songs were composed by Alan Menken and the lyrics were written by Tim Rice.


The first song is 'Days in the Sun' which started by the Beast as a young boy singing to his dying mother and later the whole castle joins in although separately. This song is about being together and looking back on life as a human but not losing hope.

The next song is 'How Does a Moment Last Forever' which is about Belle's life growing up in Paris and revisiting it to find out what happened to her mother as it was the one story her father couldn't tell Belle. This song is about looking back at your childhood and knowing where you come from.

My favourite new song is 'Evermore' which is about how the Beast felt once he had set Belle free who then left to save her father. This song is about letting someone into your heart and how they will never leave and therefore always be there.

The film contains many bright and light colours which creates beautiful scenes. An example of this is the scene before the song 'Belle' which is of a sunrise that connotes the fairytale genre. The sequence that was performed while the song 'Be Our Guest' played used loads of different colours while the flying crockery travels around the room. Rainbow coloured lighting surrounds the room in a disco effect led by lumiere who conducts the dishes. The flying Plumette and her friends clean the room turning it from darkness to light as love blossoms between Bell and the Beast which connotes happier times ahead. This is a great as well as beautiful use of media. Another clever use of media is when Belle's hair moved due to the effect of the wind as they were higher up in the castle.

Any comments or questions please use the contact box or comment below

Hope you enjoyed the post

Thanks for reading

Amy x