D Block Criminology 12 - Today we'll wrap up our introduction to violence with a few more Bugs Bunny Cartoons.Today we'll see Rabbit Seasonings, For Scentimental Reasons and lastly The Ducksters. Criminal Harassment (Stalking), Sexual Assault, Assault, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault (torture), and Unlawful Confinement are just a few of the crimes in these cartoons...all violent crimes. I'd then like to give you a few notes on the question: Where does violence come from? We'll look at personal traits, ineffective families, evolutionary factors, exposure to violence, cultural values, substance abuse, and firearm availability. You have time to work on your questions that are due:
- What is the attraction of violent films and video games?
- Is there more violent imagery in media now as opposed to the past (think graphic, realistic visceral)? Why / Why not?
- What kinds of people are drawn to violent imagery and what kind of violent images draw them to that form of entertainment?
- What is “morbid curiosity”?
- Are there any equally satisfying substitutions for violent entertainment?
- What draws our attention to violent media events (news) that are not intended to entertain?
Check out the BBC Podcast "The Why Factor" that asks the question "Why are we so drawn to violent entertainment?" From the BBC...
Why are we so drawn to violent entertainment? Violent films, video games and stories are very popular, as were brutal gladiatorial Roman contests and gory 14th Century jousts. What explains this enduring attraction to violence? Helena Merriman talks to the Mexican director of Heli, a professor of fairy tales and joins one of London’s most gruesome serial killer tours to answer this week’s question.
C Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll take a look at other ways of influencing government such as civil disobedience, mass media, pressure groups and lobbyists (if you're good we may watch the first bit of the movie "Thank You for Smoking".
You'll have to answer the following questions:
- What is a pressure group? What is a lobbyist? How do they influence government?
- What is the role of the media in the political process (think news, reporting, campaigns, and advertising)?
- What is civil disobedience? What are the three "guidelines" for practicing civil disobedience? Should organizations like the Sierra Club of Canada allow acts of civil disobedience to be done in their name in order to block the development of the Northern Gateway (Kitimat) or Trans Mountain (Burnaby) pipelines? Would you? How? Why or Why not?
Washington Post article on Lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
Great website on lobbyist industry in Washington (Center for Responsive Politics)
Canadian lobby website "Hillwatch"
Canadian Lobbying Act
The types of Mass Media include: Print media encompasses mass communication through printed material. It includes newspapers, magazines, booklets and brochures, house magazines, periodicals or newsletters, direct mailers, handbills or flyers, billboards, press releases, and books. Electronic media is the kind of media which requires the user to utilize an electric connection to access it. It is also known as 'Broadcast Media'. It includes television, radio, and new-age media like Internet, computers, telephones, etc. With the advent of Internet, we are now enjoying the benefits of high technology mass media, which is not only faster than the old school mass media, but also has a widespread range. Mobile phones, computers, and Internet are often referred to as the New-Age media. Internet has opened up several new opportunities for mass communication which include e-mail, websites, podcasts, e-forums, e-books, blogging, Internet TV, and many others which are booming today. Internet has also started social networking sites which have redefined mass communication all together.
American abolitionist/author/philosopher Henry David Thoreau lectured on "The Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation to Government" from which came the idea of civil disobedience. His belief was that as a citizen you do have an obligation not to commit injustice and not to give injustice your practical support. According to Thoreau, this means that if a law is unjust, and the legislative process is not designed to quickly get rid of it, then the law deserves no respect and it should be broken hence being civilly disobedient. So for us a modern day example may be the Keystone XL Pipeline project or the Embridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project. The Canadian chapter of the Sierra Club recently put an online poll on their website, to which about 1900 supporters responded. About nine in 10 felt “the climate crisis is so urgent that traditional legal campaigns are no longer sufficient.” They have chosen, however, not to practise civil disobedience. Should they?
Civil Disobedience, Environmental Protest and the Rule of Law
B Block Law 12 - Today we'll watch an episode of Law & Order from season 9 (episode 1) called "Cherished". From tv.com:
After a baby girl is found dead, Briscoe and Curtis investigate the family and learn that her adopted family and brother were trying to keep some painful secrets. Jack gets a new partner, Abbie Carmichael, who had a 95% percent success rate in her four years with Special Narcotics. Together McCoy and Carmichael try to prove that the little girl's brother committed the crime
The episode deals with some pretty heavy stuff (child abandonment and fraud) and to see a real life example check out the Pravda news article here. The real life case surrounds a couple who adopted a child from a Russian orphanage and a decision was handed down in the case in 2008. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
A Tooele Utah mother who admitted to killing a 14-month-old boy she and her husband adopted from Russia was sentenced Friday to prison for up to 15 years. Kimberly K. Emelyantsev, 34, who had pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child-abuse homicide in the death of Nicoli Emelyantsev, offered a tearful apology in 3rd District Court.
I'll have you be the judge for the Law and Order episode and I'll ask you to make a decision about Dr. Andrei Kostov, Megan Connery and /or Edward Connery.
A Block Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today I will show you two episodes of "I Detective" (Terror Tactics and Identity Unknown). On the video, you'll be presented with a crime scene (in Terror Tactics a fire at a $1 million estate leads firefighters to suspect an arsonist may have started the blaze and in Identity Unknown Colorado investigators find a body burned beyond recognition in a crashed pickup truck and clues hinting it was a murder, not an accident) and at a point will be posed with a multiple choice question to answer. I'll pause the episode and you will be required to choose an answer (they'll give you three options). We'll see how good of a crime scene detective you really are. From FOXCrime:
Armchair detectives and forensic science junkies get the opportunity to solve real cases. I, Detective is a television series that combines the elements of documentary, murder mystery and quiz shows. Each half-hour show gives viewers the opportunity to follow clues, find evidence and learn how this information is used to solve some of the most intriguing investigations using the same evidence, suspects, motives and witness statements that actual investigators encounter in their quest to solve the crime.
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