Download 4th Hour Independent Study Notes Day 1

4th Hour Independent Study Notes
Day 1: April 10
1. John H: Product Placement
a. Product placement is the situation in which a company pays a movie or TV show
to display their product.
b. Some famous movies that used product placement: Back to the Future (Nike),
E.T. (Reece’s Pieces), and Transformers (Chevy Camaro).
c. One of the most interesting product placements happened in Back to the Future:
Part II because Nike showed “futuristic shoes” in the film
d. Product placement seems to be on the decline.
2. Lora G: The impact of TV on today’s generation
a. 70% of daycares use TV daily.
b. Teens only spend 3.5 minutes per day having significan conversations with their
parents.
c. Some people display substance abuse symptoms in their relationship with TV.
d. Major innovations since the 90s have included DVDs, TiVo, Hulu, and more.
3. Dani B: Lessons from Disney Movies
a. An important lesson from Cinderella is “You can choose how to respond to
others.”
b. A lesson from Beauty and the Beast is “Don’t force love; earn it.”
c. A lesson from The Lion King is “You and not alone.”
d. A lesson from Tangled is “To make your dreams come true, you have to ‘leave
your tower.’”
e. A lesson from Finding Nemo is “Parents can be crazy, but in a good way.”
4. Nikita P: Twitter
a. Twitter is rising as a rival to Facebook in terms of popular social media.
b. Twitter was first known as “Status.”
c. The most tweeted event ever was the 2012 presidential election.
April 11 — No School; Snow Day
Day 2: April 12
5. Jon M.: How the Internet has changed out lives
a. The Internet has improved our social lives through media like Facebook and
Twitter.
b. The internet has improved shopping through features like Amazon.com
c. Accessibility has increased in the homes and in more Wifi places.
d. Some people exhibit signs of “internet addiction,” especially regarding social
media sites like Facebook.
e. Our society has grown “dependent” on the internet; if it went away, we would be in
big trouble!
6. Justin F: The Tienanmen Square Protest
a. In spring of 1989, Chinese students protested the government’s oppression.
b. From these protests came the famous photo of “Tank Man,” the anonymous
citizen who stood in front of a line of tanks.
c. “Tank Man” was named one of the most important people of the 20th century.
d. The Chinese government has suppressed the famous photo; Chinese students
believe the photo is doctored or artwork.
7. Dalton O: Newspapers
a. The earliest newspaper dates to 59 BC in Rome.
b. Germans are credited with the first “actual” newspaper.
c. 24 billion newspapers are published each year.
8. David W: Walt Disney
a. Disney was born in Chicago, then moved to Missouri
b. He lied about his age to get into World War I.
c. During his life, he made 21 full­length animated features (there have been more
since his death)
d. His first cartoon was “Steamboat Willie,” and his first feature film was “Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves”, which greatly influenced “The Wizard of Oz.”
9. Ashelyn M: The OJ Simpson Trial
a. OJ Simpson’s murder trial was famous because he was a famous football player.
b. He was accused of two murders that took place on June 13, 1994
c. The media sensationalized the trial; the public couldn’t get enough.
d. The coverage became the model for modern media sensationalism, such as the
Casy Anthony trial.
e. The public feels a sense of entitlement and investment in these cases (they’re
personally affected by the verdicts)
10. Morgan H: Influential Movies in History
a. First movie: “Horse in Motion”
b. 1st full­length animated movie: “Snow White and the 7 Dwarves”
c. “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930) was a major influence on war movies that
followed.
d. “Jaws” was the first “summer blockbuster,”
e. “It Happened One Night” was the first romantic comedy, and is often imitated in
modern media.
Day 3: April 15
11. Tanner N: The History of Texting
a. The first text was sent in 1992, saying “Merry Christmas.”
b. Texting has been used for important things, like sending out “Amber Alerts”
(Notifications of missing children) and doctors in South Africa texting patients’ info
to other doctors.
c. Texting has become a political force, with protests in places like CHina, Egypt,
and the Ukraine using texting to gather many people quickly
d. Last year, there were more texts sent out than phonecalls made.
e. One danger of texting is the possibility of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
12. Alex B: The history of Radio
a. The term “Radio” comes from “Radio waves,” electronic impulses that radiate out
from a central point.
b. Guglielmo Marconi in generally credited with inventing radio in the late 19th
century.
c. Nikolai Tesla later won the radio patent from Marconi.
d. In 1933, Edwin Howard Armstrong invented FM radio broadcasting.
13. Sierra D: The development of Tumblr
a. Tumblr is a microblogging platform created in 2006 and launched in 2007.
b. The inventors are David Karp and Marco Arment.
c. It now features over 100 million blogs.
d. Copyright infringement is a major issue Tumblr faces.
e. The site registers 13 billion views per month.
14. Molly G: Mark Zuckerberg
a. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook (first called “The Facebook”) at Harvard
University.
b. He saw Facebook as a perfect blend of psychology and computers (two of his
major interests).
c. Today, his net worth is $13.3 billion.
d. There are over 500 million Facebook users today.
15. Andrew S: Youtube
a. Youtube was created in 2005 by the owners of PayPal; it was later sold to Google
for $1.65 billion.
b. Some major problems Youtube has had to confront are site maintenance and
copyright infringement.
c. Some people, like Justin Bieber and Lindsey Sterling, have been “discovered”
from people watching their videos online.
d. Youtube has many educational applications, even watching surgeries.
e. The most popular Youtube video (currently) is Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” followed by
Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” and videos from Jennifer Lopez, Eminem, and LMFAO.
16. Eli C: Argo: the movie vs the actual event.
a. Argo is a 2012 historical drama/thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck.
b. It tells the story of the rescue of 6 standed Americans who were hiding in the
Canadian Embassy during the Iranian protests of 1979.
c. The US sent Tony Mendez into Iran with the false story that he is a film maker
looking for a place to shoot an extravagant sci­fi film called Argo; he smuggled out
the standed Americans as his “film crew.”
d. There are many differences between actual events and the events in the film,
such as a police car chase and the methods of hiding the stranded people.
Day 4: April 16
17. Paige H: Marilyn Monroe’s life and career
a. Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Baker in 1926.
b. She is often regarded as the greatest sex symbol of the 20th century.
c. She starred in movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like it Hot, and The
Misfits.
d. She died of an overdose in 1962 (36 years old), but there are conspiracy theories
surrounding her death.
18. Mitch A: The Life and Career of Steve Jobs
a. Steve Jobs was responsible for many technological innovations, including the
Apple Computer, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Pixar, etc.
b. He is responsible for the sleek design of his products.
c. He pioneered graphical user interface and the multi­touch screens (using a finger
instead of stylus)
d. He believed “great art plus great technology equals a great product.”
19. Nicole S: Coverage of Natural Disasters
a. Natural disasters get covered differently based on viewership, not necessarily the
number of deaths or the degree of destruction.
b. Coverage reflects the public’s “voyeuristic tendency.”
c. Them media helps spread the opportunities for aid during disasters.
d. Coverage is dependent on the availability of technology.
20. Sarah W: Cell phones in Society
a. The cell phone was invented in 1983 for businesses.
b. Cell phones have introduced some societal dangers, including texting while
driving, sexting, and cyber­bullying.
c. Today’s generation is not as good at face­to­face communication because of the
cell phone.
d. More people now check social network sites via their phone than their computer.
e. More text messages are sent than calls are placed today.
21. Nate B: The history of Sports Broadcasting
a. Sept. 6, 1920: 1st radio sports coverage of a boxing match.
b. 1921: 1st world series broadcast by radio.
c. 1939: 1st baseball game on television
d. 1993: the first woman to broadcaster called a sporting event.
e. Sports broadcasters became a new form of celebrity; one of the most notable
was Howard Cosell
Day 5: April 17
22. Brendan H: Metal Music
a. There are three main subgenres: metalcore, death metal, and black metal.
b. Metalcore music features clean vocals and often is comprised of Christian
musicians.
c. Death Metal focuses on topics like hate, decay, and death, but is not Satanic.
d. Black Metal is satanic music with no clean vocals; it is heavily criticized.
e. Some stereotypes of metal musicians: they are uneducated, talentless, and
Satanic.
23. Michaela V: The Hindenburg Disaster
a. The Hindenburg was a zeppelin that burst into flames on May 6, 1937.
b. 62 of 97 people (passengers and crew) survived.
c. There are many theories as to the cause of the fire.
d. The Hindenburg disaster was one of the first major disasters filmed and
distributed to the masses in theatre news reels.
e. Reporter Herb Morrison’s cry “Oh, the humanity!” has become famous from this
disaster.
24. Ray C: Athletes in Advertising
a. Companies pay athletes great amounts to endorse their products.
b. Lou Gerhig was the first athlete to advertise Wheaties in 1934.
c. Babe Zaharias was the first female athlete to advertise Wheaties in 1935.
d. Some current athletes with big contracts are Derrick Rose (Adidas) and Cam
Newton (Underarmor).
25. Heather S: The Beatles’ Impact on Society
a. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison formed The
Beatles.
b. They had 20 #1 singles in America.
c. They introduced many musical innovations, including music videos, concept
albums, and lyrics printed on albums.
d. 73 million people watched The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show
e. 1964­1965 was “Beatlemania,” a nation­wide love of the band.