Ideas to do for Feature Article

I was thinking of doing the song - Khe Sanh performed by Cold Chisel:


I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh

And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man

I've had the Vietnam cold turkey

From the ocean to the Silver City

And it's only other vets could understand



About the long forgotten dockside guarantees

How there were no V-dayheroes in 1973

How we sailed into Sydney Harbour

Saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her

She was lined, and I was home to the lucky land



And she was like so many more from that time on

Their lives were all so empty, till they found their chosen one

And their legs were often open

But their minds were always closed

And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains

And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, paypacket lean

And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been

But the car parks made me jumpy

And I never stopped the dreams

Or the growing need for speed and novacaine



So I worked across the country end to end

Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend

Held a job on an oil-rig

Flying choppers when I could

But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend



And I've travelled round the world from year to year

And each one found me aimless, one more year the more for wear

And I've been back to South East Asia

But the answer sure ain't there

But I'm drifting north, to check things out again



You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong

There ain't nothing like the kisses

From a jaded Chinese princess

I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long



Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

And it's really got me worried

I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry

And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Don Walker (Performed by Cold Chisel)



And using the poem, Beach Burial written by Kenneth Slessor:



Softly and humbly to the Gulf of Arabs

The convoys of dead sailors come;

At night they sway and wander in the waters far under,

But morning rolls them in the foam.

Between the sob and clubbing of gunfire

Someone, it seems, has time for this,

To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows

And tread the sand upon their nakedness;

And each cross, the driven stake of tidewood,

Bears the last signature of men,

Written with such perplexity, with such bewildered pity,

The words choke as they begin -

"Unknown seaman" - the ghostly pencil

Wavers and fades, the purple drips,

The breath of wet season has washed their inscriptions

As blue as drowned men's lips,

Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall,

Whether as ememies they fought,

Or fought with us, or neither; the sand joins them together,

Enlisted on the other front.

Kenneth Slessor

Not Ready to Make Nice by The Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks have had their reputation suffering ever since the early 2000s. This is because of an incident that happened while the Dixie Chicks were in Europe singing at one of their concerts. Due to their beliefs, Natalie Maines made a comment about the current president at the time, George W. Bush about his decision into sending America and many other countries into war. In protest, almost all of their fans have left them and their names have been in headlines ever since. The Dixie Chicks couldn’t believe what was happening and Maines especially was asked to apologized of which she denied – she confessed that apologizing to the president would be her greatest regret. But still their reputation was ruined and in outrage the Dixie Chick recorded a song called “Not Ready to Make Nice”.


“Not Ready to Make Nice” is a song that was written by the Dixie Chicks as they believed that they should further explain the incident, further explain their beliefs. They wanted to express how idiotic it was for people to react in such a way – especially if they were to agree. This is shown in the quotation, “And how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge / That they’d write me a letter sayin’ that I better / Shut up and sing or my life will be over”. They also wanted to show the audience how it is in their shoes. Everyone believes in many different things, everyone has different values so why would everyone threaten The Dixie Chicks’ lives over saying a comment based on their own beliefs.

Anger is crowding the song with strong words used to express this frustration such as ‘hate’ and ‘shut up’. The Dixie Chicks and especially Maines is outraged and fuming as everyone seems to make one comment based upon their own views a big deal. Of course Maines’ beliefs are a big deal to her, but the reaction caused by such a value is quite immature. For an Example, “It’s a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her / Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger”. This is for when a child came up to them one day and protested against them as well due to her mother’s opinions. Indeed it is a sad story as protests shouldn’t always have to come to these sorts of situations – specifically involving a child. There is sadness there as well as Maines and the rest of the Dixie Chicks would have felt sad for how people have gotten so involved in such a bad way and they would have felt sad that a child has even gotten involved. They thought they had to fight back, to show how people can focus their attention on the most unnecessary things.

There are a total of 9 stanzas within the song (refer to lyrics posted before) which consist of four lines each. “Not Ready to Make Nice” has an interesting rhyming scheme as such that in the first 2 stanzas (1st verse) the first two lines rhyme. In the chorus (Stanzas 3 and 4) rhyme every second line. In the next stanza there is no appearance of any rhyming but in the next 2 stanzas (2nd verse), they rhyme on the last 2 lines. As you read on there is a use of repetition of stanzas and the first stanza of the song, is then repeated at the end of the song. This is intriguing as it seems as though the writer is purposely doing this to enforce their point in sort of an angry matter.

Similies such as “I made my bed and I sleep like a baby” suggest a meaning against the most used saying, “How can you sleep at night?” whenever someone was to do something shameful or bad in any way. This is confirmed in the next line, “With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’”. The Dixie Chicks are suggesting that they don’t regret the incident; they are not guilty at all – because they believe that it is the right thing, they have a right to have a freedom of speech. It is a free country after all. The language is emotive; it gets the audience to feel for the country singers. This is the purpose of the song, to get the audience to feel for the singers, to get them to empathize with the Dixie Chicks – which was rather successful in some ways.

The song’s music video also visually implements the meaning in more of a creative way. Women are shown in bleach white, olden-day dresses and hands with black ink are staining the dresses the women are wearing. Metaphorically, this can suggest many different things. As the women are standing without moving, like they standing for something – implying the singers are standing up for themselves and not shying away. The staining of the dresses can entail that their innocence may be getting stained for standing up. There is imagery shown within the song lyrics such as the line “I made my bed and I sleep like a baby” shows a vision of innocence. This is because babies and infants are seen as innocent – because they are – and it makes it seem that they are not guilty for what they are doing, to them they feel innocent, and it is their right to have some sort of freedom of speech.

Within the start and the last stanzas, they are sung softly with soft music within the song, it is quite strange as in the middle of the song, the overall movement and sound is loud and harsh. To me it reminds me of how people can have a rage session. At the start, they are all calm but one thought or word or sentence can set them off. But at the end of the rage, the person starts to feel calm as they have drained it out of their system – they feel much better. This is successful in the song because it really does enhance the emotion of the song. The audience now knows that they are really angry about it. If you were to read the lyrics itself, you might have hinted at the anger but without this technique, you would have thought it was just a sheet of words. That they are angry but no one really understands it because they cannot get the emotion of the song.

Overall the song is very expressive and emotional, it changes many views about the Dixie Chicks, and it has especially influenced me that they are right – they are innocent.

Not Ready To Make Nice - Dixie Chicks (Lyrics and URL)

Forgive, sounds good


Forget, I'm not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I'm still waiting



I'm through with doubt

There's nothing left for me to figure out

I've paid a price

And I'll keep paying



I'm not ready to make nice

I'm not ready to back down

I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time

To go round and round and round



It's too late to make it right

I probably wouldn't if I could

?Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself

To do what it is you think I should



I know you said

?Can't you just get over it??

It turned my whole world around

And I kinda like it



I made my bed and I sleep like a baby

With no regrets and I don't mind sayin'

It's a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her

Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger



And how in the world can the words that I said

Send somebody so over the edge

That they'd write me a letter sayin' that I better

Shut up and sing or my life will be over



I'm not ready to make nice

I'm not ready to back down

I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time

To go round and round and round



It's too late to make it right

I probably wouldn't if I could

?Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself

To do what it is you think I should



I'm not ready to make nice

I'm not ready to back down

I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time

To go round and round and round



It's too late to make it right

I probably wouldn't if I could

?Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself

To do what it is you think I should

What it is you think I should



Forgive, sounds good

Forget, I'm not sure I could

They say time heals everything

But I'm still waiting

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pojL_35QlSI

Moree Daily Telegraph

Moree Daily                    Lifestyle                  Friday, 24th  
Telegraph                                                              August              

GABBY'S PEOPLE

Farm Girl Sadly Leaves For The City

From Right to Left: Page Whibley and her Childhood Friend,
Caitlin Picker on the Moree school bus

Enduring the toughest decision to leave all behind to go to St. Hilda's School Boarding for an education to last her a life time writes GABRIELLE BUREY.

Page Whibley thought it was all over as she packed her bags to Leaving her farm in Moree NSW, to head off to a boarding school on the Goldcoast. A city quite different from the dry outback, which is one of the bravest things she has ever done. Whibley is an intelligent girl, longing to be a Fruit Farmer "because i like fruit". She is also a genuine girl who has never wronged anyone - but she is constantly teased for being who she is. 

"I believe in love, family... karma and justice... I don't care what anyone thinks of me cause I am perfect for me and someday some one will love me because of that." And we do love her, for her determination she has that takes her to extreme lengths such as going to Regionals for High Jump in 2011. We love he for her love, she has an image of god himself, forgiving people just because she cares and she doesnt want to lose the people that she loves in life. We love her for her happiness, where she always manages cheer people up for whatever outcome that has turned against them. And lastly, we love her the most for her beauty, besides her outside beauty, she has a true heart and we can't let her slip through our fingers. But most people don't see that underneath her enivious looks, instead they see a blonde farm girl who doesn't understand anything about the city. 

Caitlin Picker, her childhood friend quotes, "Page is a nice girl, she understands me and loves me for who I am." Picker isn't the only one who is lucky to have Page as a friend, Lawrence Sehmish-Lahey, a boy from TSS says "she is really bubbly... cheerful, everyone should be lucky to have her as a friend." 

Page and friends filming her Creative Media Assignment
at St. Hilda's School

It is not the first time that a farm girl has moved to the city and is mistaken as for someone else. Jamie Retchway has also been thought of as someone else than she actually is, known being stuck up in her music and her sports. When in fact she is just trying to focus on her future and is actually a genuinely kind girl. 

"It has come to our attention that the country is such a different environment then to the city - this can affect either personality if they were to cross paths."  says Dr. Reece Taubin, a phsycologist specialising in the effects of environments upon the human mind. "People are forever changing their lifestyle which is in boths ways,  good and bad. It is good because you learn knew experiences aand bad because you are forever trying to catch up to the customs within that society. Furthermore, the adaption to different environments can can lead to harships for both people." 

'So why did page move?' you ask,  we don't really know the whole answer. But we understand idea that Whibley is all for the education and the adventure For which St. Hilda's School Boarding is surely an opportunity you would not want to miss. An experience that would last her a life time.

Chicks In The Line of Fire

See the full article at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1196419,00.html

Chicks In The Line of Fire

The Dixie Chicks are a band who have made headlines in the recent past for their public responses to war, through both the things they have said in public and the music that they have recorded. During today's lesson, we will be reading an article from Blackboard that explores the public response that the band has had to endure as a result of their thoughts and we will also explore one of their songs.


The headline of the feature article, Chicks In The Line of Fire  was effective in showing that the 'Chicks' (The Dixie Chicks) are in strife and have done something wrong. The heading is effective in pulling the audience in as they are curious on what it would be about if they didn't hear about the controversy of the Dixie Chicks. If some of the audience has heard of the controversy, they would be interested to read on to gather more background information and so on. 

"Natalie Maines is one of those people born middle finger first."
The use of not having a extensive byline contributes to the mood of the audience, it brings them in and leaves them hanging - desperate for more. It should be called 'teasing' actually. The byline is a good choice due to the massive hook it leaves on the readers. They want to know why Natalie Maines is one of those people who is born middle finger first. I wanted to know why she was talked about as being one of those people who are born middle finger first. In fact some people would not know what it means, like me and so this would suggest that the readers would like to read on to try and understand what it is supposed to mean.

"As a high school senior in Lubbock, Texas, she'd skip a class a day in an attempt to prove that because she never got caught and some Mexican students did, the system was racist. After Maines joined the Dixie Chicks, and the Dixie Chicks became the biggest-selling female group in music history--with suspiciously little cash to show for it--she and her bandmates told their record label, Sony, they were declaring themselves free agents. (In the high school that is Nashville, this is way worse than skipping class.) Now that she's truly notorious, having told a London audience in 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, 'Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas,' Maines has one regret: the apology she offered George W. Bush at the onset of her infamy. 'I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President,' says Maines. 'But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever.'"
The introductory paragraph tells me many things, such as the childhood and life history of Natalie Maines and how the Dixie Chicks came about and became such a success. It also states the reason why Natalie Maines is one of those people who are born middle finger first.  It tells the readers that Natalie Maines made a comment about the president George W. Bush in his decisions that they particularly did not believe in. Which is acceptable as everyone has their own opinions which they are entitled to.

In some ways it feels as if the journalist is trying to create some sort of empathy for the Dixie Chicks such as in the fact that they announce: "the group received death threats and was banned by thousands of country radio stations, many of which still have informal bans in place". But in some ways was worshiping the women in ways that include that the author believes that the comment on the president was pretty ballsy and that Maines is used to rebelling. Shown in this comment in the introduction,  "As a high school senior in Lubbock, Texas, she'd skip a class a day in an attempt to prove that because she never got caught and some Mexican students did, the system was racist". It makes you think that Maines believes in many things and is grown up on strong values. It creates a tone of feeling for Maines, for the Dixie Chicks and that what they believe in is good. 

In some ways, I believe that the whole point of writing the article was to cool down the death threats and the terrible situation about the Dixie Chicks that happened in 2003. It makes the readers and the angry people to stop and think about the situation. Like what they tell us in school is always to "Stop, Look, Listen and Do". Especially when crossing the road. Such as in the quotation, "But apologies are for lapses of character, not revelations of it, and sensing that they were being asked to apologize for their beliefs as much as their timing, the Chicks decided not to back down." It shows an understanding of how the Dixie Chicks feel in the whole controversy.


The journalist does make a considerable use of direct quotations from the band and others involved though out the article. Effectively affecting the feelings you have for the Dixie Chicks, and influences your opinion of the band members.  These quotations are successful in influencing the readers that the Dixie Chicks are going to fight through it and they all look after each other, shown in a "Everything was so nice and fine and happy for us for the longest time... It was awesome to feel those feelings again that I felt in high school: to be angry, to be sure that you're right and that the things you do matter. You don't realize that you're not feeling those feelings until you do. And then you realize how much more interesting life is."  It compliments the overall figure of the band members,  it creates a whole rebelling nature around the band especially Natalie Maines.

The journalist was effective in achieve their purpose of the article which was to create a whole sympathetic nature and tone through the article.

Maus vs. Compulsory Hero

How does the graphic novel genre, particulary "Maus" portray a similiar message to "Compulsory Hero" through a different medium?

The graphic novel Maus portrays a similiar message to the song Compulsory Hero by the Australian band, 1927 in many ways. This is shown how they use the technique of Euphemism such as how Maus does not include images of the gory the same as how 1927 have within their music video - in fact, they use the first verse of the children playing war games to be a basis of their video. They also both share a general way of discussing about the war, they both talk about the war having no glory at all. Compulsory Hero and Maus both share the same use of emotion and colouring. For instance, they are both black and white which creates a dark mood to the imagery within their work. Even though Maus and Compulsory  are set within a different medium, they still both seem to share the same techniques when it comes to the war.

What is the effect of each song/novel?

The effect of both song and novel differ. Maus gives you an insight to the situation, although you feel as though you are just the audience which can control the amount of understanding you can give. Mearwhile, Compulsory Hero has included the effect of using 'your', 'you', 'we' within their lines which sort of makes you imagine what it would be like within that situation.Although they both create an effect of an intense feeling of fear and violence. Meanwhile, Compulsory Hero uses a language technique that makes it seem like you are a part of it - like you are the 'compulsory hero'. Suddenly there is a feeling of despair and sadness, like you are the one going to war and you are forced by the law to go and kill people you don't want to kill. Overall the effects of both song and novel differ in the effects they bring.

What do you think is more effective?

I believe that Compulsory Hero seems to be more effective in the way it portrays the audience to feel for the situation. 

Rupert Brooke

The poet Page and I are researching is Rupert Brooke (1987-1915). Rupert Brooke is an English Sonnet writer who was known for his work of the first world war - which he has not experienced first-hand. Born on 3rd of August 1987, he lived on 5 Hillmorton rd in Rugby, Warwickshire (United Kingdom). He found his education in two independant schools called Hillbrow School and Rugby School. Brooke was known to be the 'handsomest young man in England'. He was a bisexual as he was known to fall in love with both sexes, he also fathered a child with a Tahitian women called Taatamata. Unfortunately in 1915, Rupert Brooke died of Sepis given to him by an infected mosquito bite while he was on a boat near the Greek islands of skyros - where he now rests peacefully.

Rupert Brooke's main poems:

• V: The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me,
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke: V. The Soldier, http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/brooke/vsoldier.html,(16.8.12)

• IV: The Dead

These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,

Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.

There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter
And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,
Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance
And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.

Rupert Brooke: IV. The Dead, http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/brooke/ivdead.html, (16.8.12)



 

"An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" - William Butler Yeats

“An Irish Airman Forsees His Death” by William Butler Yeats is a poem her wrote for his friend who was the Irish Airman who was killed in action. The poet’s purpose in the poem is to create a significant memory of his friend who unfortunately died that day – he wanted us to feel empathy for the times the soldiers went through during war. The men do not want to fight shown on line 9-10,

"Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,

Nor public men, nor cheering crowds;"

The overall mood the poet has set within the poem is a feeling of dread, sorrow, sympathy, empathy, grief and also leaves you curious – who is this man? Why should we fight?, etc. In the beginning you can sense memories and the use of shame in the way they are living their life. How their life is easily wasted. Through the poem you start to feel grief but in some way you feel happy for the man, he is letting go, he is going to stop fighting and find his happy place. But you also feel despair in some ways as it seems that after the last word, the last letter – the man is passed, it is all over. You feel empty in some way. Yeats is trying to make us feel this emptiness, he is trying to make us feel as though we are in that situation, and we cannot turn back. The craftsmanship of the poet is quite interesting. The poet has used sets of imagery shown in the words on line 10,

“Nor public men, nor cheering crowds”

And on line 11,

“Drove to this tumult in the clouds;”

Yeats has also used a set of repetition in the vowels of the words such as on lines 13-15,

“I balanced all, brought all to mind,

…

A waste of breath, the years behind”

The thoughts during the process of the poem would have been to create an effect upon the audience to make them understand what is really going on, how this man felt – which was successful in the way the poem has expressed its emotions.


The poem is structured in a way that it does not really have any more than 1 stanza and has 16 lines going in an iambic pattern. The rhymes are all in a structure of A-B-A-B C-D-C-D E-F-E-F G-H-G-H. The language the poet has used is old English, aka formal wording with the use of first person. The first person technique is successful in showing the thoughts of the character, to portray the emotions the character feels in the situation. The poet also used Euphemism to leave the audience thinking about it, it creates the poem more sombre as it makes it innocent, to say as the character is the victim within the poem. The poet also uses literal meanings such as in line 2,

“Somewhere among the clouds above”

Yeats has used imagery within the poem with the use of symbolic meaning. For an example, shown in line 2,

“Somewhere among the clouds above”

There is the symbolic meaning as that is how the Irish Airman dies, he is in a plane fighting against other countries and when he knows that he about to ‘meet my fate’ among the clouds above. The effect creates a feeling of knowledge of what is going to happen and it introduces the poem quickly and precisely to the audience. The movement within the poem is of standard rhymes and uses plenty of assonance, such as in lines 13 and 15,

“I balanced all, brought all to mind,

…

A waste of breath the years behind”



In summary, the overall impact it has for me is the feeling of sadness, grief and emptiness. The poem is successful as a work of art by the way it musically flows through with the artistic images coming through your mind. This was created by the appropriate use of imagery. All in all the poem does successfully achieve the poet’s purpose to say that this man was a sweet man and he did not want to go through with it. The audience can see him being affected and in some way feel guilty in forcing this man to kill someone he didn’t want to kill, so this man gave up for someone else’s life.

Official Speech: Maus the Film

I am honoured that Maus has been nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards. I have received so many questions from you so I will answer the most frequent. When I had the opportunity to read the novel, overall I felt an extreme case of fear, violence, love and conflict, which I identified as the main themes of the novel. When I was thinking about how I was going to adapt the novel, I thought about focusing on the main themes and how I was going to share them with the audience. Within the Novel, I didn’t want to show some of the scenes because they might have not provided what I wanted to show or it didn’t deliver the same emotions I felt when I read the novel. I believed that this film should be shown to people of all ages except for those under 15, I wanted to show what it was like in Nazi Germany.

 

The use of film techniques helped me to efficiently portray the themes that I wanted to, in the film. Making the audience to see the messages of fear, violence, love and conflict like I saw when I read the book. The themes of fear was developed by the use of quick music like a heartbeat. Similar to the music in which was used in the film Alice in Wonderland where she gets caught by the Baber snappers. In the scene where Anja is running away from the Gestapo, you may hear the rushed music with the rhythm of the shots coexisting with the beat of the music, giving a suspenseful feeling to the scene. Violence triggers the fear of the Jews suffering in that time period. To get the audience to capture the violence appropriately, I used different types of lighting and angles to create emphasis upon the actor and to show power between characters. For an example, in some scenes that have the theme of violence, the lighting is gloomy and uses a lot of fading transitions when the Jew is to be beaten up and most likely, killed by the Nazis. The Nazis are shown as a prominent figure with low angles and backlighting. Meanwhile the Jewish population are shown on high angles and front lighting shining down upon the face. The technique helped me contrast the power between the Nazis and the Jews. That was how I wanted to portray violence. On a happier note, I preferred the theme of love to shown calmly, giving the audience a breather from the fear and violence the movie is screening. I noticed within the book that without the love that Vladek and Anja share, they might have not even lasted on. I immediately wanted to show this using soft lighting, eye-levelled angles and medium shots. To portray the theme of conflict the use of colouring, mise en scene, dialogue and sound effects. I wanted the theme of conflict to be shown as a distant memory, so I chose to colour the scenes in a light sepia. For an example in book two when Vladek is fighting against the Germans in the Polish army to stop them from coming across the border. Due to the decision, I was able to show contrast between present and past. This is a vital part of the film, which now leads me to the next most frequently asked question.



I have thought long and hard of the decisions I have made and I had to change and delete some scenes to create a flowing storyline. This important decision was to create a storyline that interests the audience. As I have explained to you before, the colouring for one of the scenes is used, as it is a flashback. The use of this flashback is when Vladek kills the man who has dressed up as a tree (found in Chapter three, Book two) and later on when he is taken prisoner, he brings the man’s body up to the van. So, whenever the Nazis were to shoot the Jews down or kill them, the scene of when he is prisoner of war comes back. Symbolizing that even though they are to kill others as a part of duty, that killing is not morally right in any cases. Another decision I have made was to swap around a few scenes in a way that interests the audience of over 15 years of age and creates a shock value. Shown within Chapter 2 book 2, Art Speigelman talks about his life after creating the first book, his father passing away and is continuing onto the second book. Artie was getting business propositions and metaphorically he was growing smaller, weaker and he was shown on top of a mountain of bodies. This tells the audience that what they are about to see is going to be confronting, creating a shock value. That is how I wanted it to feel. I hope many fans don’t go crazy over the fact that I deleted and swapped scenes around, to me this was a difficult decision that I had to think long and hard about.



Maus contains information of one of the saddest eras of history (PAUSE) and so I wanted everyone to know the potential of this book on how it expressed Nazi Germany. Who really likes History? Now don’t get me wrong, I like History but I believe that seeing History in a film other than studying it in books of size 8 font as it is a much faster way to learn. I believe that this graphic novel has potential in the education for senior students. Even the way that Art has set out the book has justified my reason. For instance, it is a graphic novel and the vocabulary is so easy that a 5th grader can understand. The story of Maus has expressed its knowledge in a way that everyone can read and a plus is that it is straightforward and doesn't take paragraphs of words to explain one thing. Education on one of the saddest eras in history shown within the pages of the graphic novel and adapted movie, Maus is crucial as everyone can share empathy of what happened.
To be a son of a Holocaust survivor, their very being would've been determined by the human nature’s will to survive. Without their ability to survive in such atrocious situations, Art Spegielman would not be here today. Thank you.

Introduction edit before and after

BEFORE:

Good ______, I am currently talking to you about my new film release based on the Graphic Novel by Art Speigelman. I am honoured to have such a film nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards. When I first had the opportunity to read the novel, I felt an extreme case fear, violence, love and war which I identified as the main themes of the Novel. When I was going to adapt the film from the story, I wanted to focus on those themes to share with the audience. Within the Novel, I didn’t want to show some of the scenes as they didn’t provide what I wanted to show or it didn’t deliver the same emotions I felt when I read them. I believed that this film should be shown to people of all ages except for those under 15, I wanted to show what it was like in Nazi Germany, just like Artie wanted to too. So far I have received many questions from you and I am now planning to answer the main questions you have asked.


AFTER:

Good ______, I am here to talk to you about my new film release based on the Graphic Novel by Art Speigelman, Maus. I am honoured for Maus to be nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards. I have recieved so many questions from you so I will answer the most frequent. When I had the opportunity to read the novel, overall I felt an extreme case of fear, violence, love and war which I identified as the main themes of the novel. When I was thinking about how I was going to adapt the novel, I thought about focusing on the main themes and how I was going to share them with the audience. Within the Novel, I didn’t want to show some of the scenes because they might have not provided what I wanted to show or it didn’t deliver the same emotions I felt when I read the novel. I believed that this film should be shown to people of all ages except for those under 15, I wanted to show what it was like in Nazi Germany, just like Artie wanted to too.