Thursday, December 1. 2016

Today's schedule is D-C-B-A

D Block Crime, Media and Society 12 - Today we'll watch the second half of the Dateline Stranger Danger "My Kid Would Never" episode. So now for the reality of stranger danger and abductions...

• Stranger Danger doesn't teach what a stranger is
• It doesn't account for trusted adults and
• It can demonize all adults to children.

A 2000 Justice Department study found that of the 800,000 kids who were reported missing that year, half turned out to be runaways. MOST abductions turned out to involve family members; only 115 of all the cases reported were a version of the nightmare scenario that most troubles parents - abduction by a stranger. Here's what I'd like you to answer:

1. What do you think the purpose of the "My Kid Would Never Do That: Stranger Danger" show and what assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content?
2. Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light? Why might these people and things be shown this way? What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
3. What techniques does the Dateline show use to get your attention and to communicate its message?

After this we'll discuss "infotainment" (the blurring lines of entertainment and information) where shows like Dateline and 48 Hours Mystery shape the public's views on crime and crime control. Stephen A. Kohm wrote a piece that "examines the way shame and humiliation in criminal justice have become increasingly commodified, enacted, and experienced through hybrid forms of mass media that blur the boundaries of reality and entertainment". In it, he argues that, "public narratives about crime in the news media operate on a distinctly emotional level, weaving powerful messages about not only the nature and extent of crime, but also how audiences ought to feel about crime. To Catch a Predator similarly plays upon and appeals to emotions running the gamut from outrage to humiliation".

Rolling Stone had a great article on To Catch a Predator (The New American Witch Hunt) as did the Columbia Journalism Review (The Shame Game). So, what is To Catch a Predator?

To Catch a Predator is a reality television show which features a series of hidden camera investigations by the television news-magazine Dateline NBC. It is devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining those who contact people they believe to be below the age of consent (ages 12–15) over the Internet for sexual liaisons.



What is the problem with to Catch a Predator? Lots...but in the context of the course we're in what it has done is shape the public's consciousness about crime to the point that "Creep Catchers" is now a thing...



This is not a "foreign" thing...in Nanaimo the RCMP is concerned about vigilante justice there and here in the Comox Valley we also had another vigilante creep catcher event as well. Creep Catchers is a strong example of where people see a problem (through the mediated coverage of crime) and decide to bypass law enforcement and take matters into their own hands. In this, the media has created a moral panic about pedophiles and shaped the consciousness of the public about the problem and the apparent lack of police response. "All jurisdictions across the United States and Canada have trained officers that are on the internet and are trying to interact with these people and find out who they are" said Nanaimo RCMP Cpl. Jon Stuart but To Catch a Predator undercuts the actual detective work of the RCMP and other police services.

So, did To Catch a Predator perform a public service, or was it just another ratings-hungry reality series?



Clearly it was a cultural phenomenon that still reverberates throughout North American society today. The show was parodied on the October 3rd, 2007 episode of South Park titled “Le Petit Tourette.”

It was mocked on Arrested Development
 And on Mad TV

But Chris Hansen is back on tv...


C & B Blocks Social Studies 11 -Today we'll watch the Simpsons episode "The Joy of Sect". From tv.com...

Homer gets a brochure from a religious group at the airport and being highly gullible, he goes to their retreat. Because of Homer's intelligence quotient they have more trouble brainwashing him than the rest of Springfield most of who are all sucked into joining this cult. When they finally succeed with Homer, he signs over the family house to the Leader. The Leader begins taking over various media outlets, making Mr. Burns envy him. Seeing an opportunity to pay even less in taxes, Mr. Burns tries to form his own cult, although he is unsuccessful. Homer and the family move to an agricultural compound and begin picking beans. When the children become just as brainwashed as Homer, Marge escapes and enlists the help of Lovejoy, Flanders, and Willie to kidnap her family. They are able to deprogram them and then Homer tries to show the cult that the Leader is a fraud. When he does, and life returns to normal.

The purpose of watching the Simpsons is to look at the cult of the leader as they say in the episode "The leader is good,the leader is great.We surrender our will, as of this date". Mussolini and Hitler clearly played up the cult of the leader so consider that when looking at the the rise of dictators in the 1920's and the early 1930's. This sets us up nicely for next week's project (Dictatorship for Dummies)

A Block Geography 12 -In order to understand the Coriolis force, we'll watch the Simpsons episode Bart vs Australia .

After we find out that in the country Rand McNally water travels backwards, people wear hats on their feet, and hamburgers eat people...we will really make sense of the Coriolis force. No, toilets are not affected by the Coriolis force but both meso and macro scale weather patterns are. After we will look at winds and pressure circulations. We'll understand where the permanent areas of high and low pressure are on the planet and figure out what that means for a macro-scale pressure gradient wind pattern. We'll try to understand what the Coriolis force is and see how it affects wind. We'll also talk about the Horse Latitudes, the Bermuda Triangle, and the Doldrums. You will need to complete question 1 from page 176 and questions 9 & 15 from page 177 of your Geosystems textbook.

Don't forget that every day we are going to start by looking at the synoptic forecast along with weather maps.
Data Streme
Envrionment Canada: Weather Office Comox