Stories Across Media
Changes in Transitions
Fall 2010
Ryan Walsh – Instructor
rjwalsh@butler.edu
317 940-3233
Office Hours: MF 11:30-12:30, or by appointment.
Required Reading Materials:
–The Princess Bride by William Goldman
–Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
–Dracula by Bram Stoker
–The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
–Red Alert by Peter Bryant and Peter George
–Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
–SF Writer, Custom edition (Grammar & usage handbook)
Additional Materials will be either commonly accessible or provided as needed.
Required Movies (can be checked out of library, not required to buy)
-The Princess Bride dir. Rob Reiner
-Batman Begins dir. Christopher Nolan
-Bram Stoker’s Dracula dir. Francis Ford Coppola
-The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy dir. Garth Jennings
-Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb dir. Stanley Kubrick
-Pride & Prejudice dir. Joe Wright
This course will examine the dynamic between a story’s origins and its evolution as it makes the transition from one medium to another. This is NOT a class that will take sides in the debate of “Was the book better than the movie?” Instead, we will look at the different media styles of the stories themselves and determine which changes were made artistically and which ones were necessary to make the story work in its new medium. We will look at stories that went from books to movies, movies to comics, radio dramas to books, and just about every other combination. Before the end of the semester, you’ll understand that sometimes making the transition isn’t always about making new money off of old work, but giving those old works a new method of reaching people.
First Year Seminar: Self, Community, and World (6 credit hours) Learning Objectives.
1) To reflect on the “big questions” about themselves, their community, and their world.
2) To develop the capacity to read and think critically.
3) To develop the capacity to write clear and persuasive expository and argumentative essays, with an emphasis on thesis formation and development.
4) To gain an understanding of basic principles of oral communication as they apply to discussion.
5) To understand the liberal arts as a vital and evolving tradition and to see themselves as agents within that tradition.
6) To develop capacities for careful and open reflection on questions of values and norms.
7) To develop the ability to carry out research for the purpose of inquiry and to support claims.
Writing assignments: Most of the writing assignments will be short, informal reactions to the material assigned in class (books, movies, etc.) about 200 words in length. There will be one formal writing assignment (800 words) due mid-term, a peer-review (500 words), and another formal writeing (1000 words) due for the final; the formal writes need to have citations from your subjects and secondary sources, and a full bibliography is required. For EVERY assignment, I will expect a hardcopy submitted on the due date as well as an electronic version on Blackboard. ALL writing should be double-spaced, Times New Roman 12.
Oral components: ALL students are expected to participate to the ongoing discussions in class. Additionally, there will be times when I expect students to read aloud in class, either from supplied material, another student’s work, or their own.
On-Campus Resources: All of these and more are available to you. They want to help, and you have every reason to accept that help!
Learning Resource Center: http://www.butler.edu/learning/ If or when you start feeling stressed or overwhelmed with your academic responsibilities, this should be your first stop. They can tell you how to use the resources available at Butler to address your specific needs, and even help you discover your own optimum learning habits.
Speakers Lab: http://www.butler.edu/speakerslab/ The peer-operated Speakers Lab will be able to help you become a more effective face-to-face communicator, in everything from private conversations to filled auditoriums. You will never stop having to talk to people, no matter how advanced IM gets, so you might as well become great at it.
Writers’ Studio: http://www.butler.edu/writersstudio/ The Writers’ Studio is a peer-operated resource for you to have someone read over your work with you and identify points of strength and weakness. This gives you an opportunity to rework your papers so that your statements are clear and supported in the most effective possible way. The best thing you can do is go early, make an appointment, and give yourself time to use their advice – half an hour before class is far TOO LATE for the people there to help you. This is NOT a place where you can drop off your paper for a quick proofread, so don’t even think about it.
Reading Quizzes: We will have them. I won’t always tell you when. Keep up with the reading.
Grading Scales: Grading will be based on three main criteria: Punctuality, Participation, and Clarity. All your written, oral, and communal work will be judged on these three points.
Punctuality: Showing up to class on time every time, Having all the reading done before class, and Handing in assignments when they are due.
Participation: Contributing to in-class discussion, either by answering questions, by adding insight to a relevant topic, and reading texts aloud for the rest of the group.
Clarity: Expressing ideas clearly both in the classroom and in written assignments, Citing sources where appropriate; Editing work to minimize spelling and grammar errors, and otherwise making every effort to Communicate effectively.
| A | 94-100% | B+ | 87-89.9% | C+ | 77-79.9% | D+ | 67-69.9% | F | < 60% |
| A- | 90-93.9% | B | 84-86.9% | C | 74-76.9% | D | 64-66.9% | ||
| B- | 80-83.9% | C- | 70-73.9% | D- | 60-63.9% |
Attendance Policy – Please refer to the University Handbook for Butler’s policies.
Late Assignment Policy – ALL assignments are due at the beginning of class on the dates provided. For every 24 hours an assignment is late, you will lose one grade of credit regardless of quality (A paper handed in two days late, even if it’s A level work, will get you a B+ at best). Given that you have the chance to earn extra credit for reviewed and resubmitted assignments, it is truly in your best interest to turn in work ON TIME, even if it’s not completely polished.
Plagiarism Policy – Writing is not easy work for anyone. When it’s done well, it’s usually the result of hours or even days of painstaking research, at least three drafts, and readings done by many people. To take someone else’s hard work and pass it off as your own is an offense on many levels, and it will not be tolerated.
Each student is responsible for citing their sources accurately and consistently. Anyone caught plagiarizing will immediately fail the assignment, with the possibility of failing the course and expulsion from Butler. Please refer to the University Handbook for Butler’s policies for more information.
Disability disclaimer – Please refer to the University Handbook for Butler’s policies.
Cell Phones & Other Electronic Devices: Cell phones should be turned OFF when class is in session, or at least silenced. While you are in class, everything you should be paying attention to is in class with you. As for laptops or tablets, I would rather not see them but will tentatively allow it. I understand some people simply take better notes electronically, and I don’t object. Please understand, however, that I will be roaming around the group regularly, and if you are using such a device for anything other than note-taking, you will be caught. Frivolous use of cell phones or other electronic devices WILL be penalized.
Schedule: I have a breakdown of the semester below. Please keep in mind that the below is a tentative schedule only. We will be covering all the material within this semester, but we will have flexibility depending on class discussion and other factors. (For clarity’s sake, I am underlining movie titles and italicizing book titles.)
August 26: First Day – Introductions and review of the syllabus; Assigned reading is provided: excerpts from Jud Suss by Lion Feuchtwanger (novel) ; Introductory writing assignment will be given in class.
August 31: In-class review of writing assignments; Assigned viewing is Jud Suss (Movie dir by Veit Harlan, available at Irwin Library, strongly suggest a viewing party); Informal writing: reaction to movie as it pertains to the book excerpts.
September 2: Discussion of Jud Suss. Assigned reading is pages 1-200 of The Princess Bride by William Goldman (novel).
September 7: Discussion of reading so far; Continue reading Princess Bride.
September 9: Finish discussion of text; Watch The Princess Bride (movie); Informal writing: Note one change from book to movie that worked and one that didn’t; For next class, have THREE possible topics for formal papers due October 12th.
September 14: Discussion of Princess Bride (movie); review expectations for formal papers, and determine each student’s topic; Assigned reading is Book of Exodus (book).
September 16: Discussion of Exodus, the era it was written in, and its purpose; Assigned viewing is The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston (movie); Informal writing: what is each version of the story trying to accomplish – are their goals the same or different?
September 21: Review of Exodus and The Ten Commandments; Discussion of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Assigned listening is first five CD’s of the radio show (group party is again strongly recommended).
September 23: Discussion of story origins of materials so far, and of other popular stories’ origins; Continue listening to the radio plays.
September 28: Review of Adams-related material so far; Assigned viewing is Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Movie, 2005); Informal writing: identify three changes between the radio play and the movie that were necessitated by their new medium.
September 30: Discussion of your papers and the idea of the cult following as it pertains to media-crossing stories; Assigned reading is Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (novel). You should have a rough draft of your formal papers by now.
October 5: Review/ wrap-up of Hitchhikers; Reading Quiz; Discussion of vampire mythos, its origins, and potential medical explanations; Reiteration of the ban on Stephanie Myers; For the next class, you must watch or read a SECONDARY version of Dracula. I am going to let you choose which as there are countless by now; my only restrictions is that it must focus on Dracula and it cannot be text-based; Informal writing: What parts or aspects of this version of the story drew you to choose it – was the cover art appealing, do you know or trust the creator or director to tell good stories, etc.?
[October 6: Early Term Grades by 10 am]
October 7: Formal Papers Due by beginning of class!; peer-reviews of papers, with option of turning it in to me right away or revise it and send it to me over the weekend; Flipping from medium to genre, we will examine how certain subjects can at once populate horror stories and romances, looking at other examples of genre-jumpers; Assigned reading is chapters 1-8 of Dracula by Bram Stoker; No writing assignment, so focus on the formal paper!
October 12: Thematic discussion of the vampire mythos – we are going to talk about the versions you picked and from those define the essential characteristics of the modern vampire, and from there try to figure out why vampire lore is so popular; Continue reading Stoker’s Dracula.
October 14: No class – Reading Break. Think of this as a time to get ahead in your reading! Before you know it, it’ll be Thanksgiving Break and after that there is no mercy to be had here.
October 19: Discussion of Stoker’s book, and how he might have turned his source material into his book; Assigned reading is to finish Stoker’s Dracula.
October 21: Continued discussion of Stoker’s Dracula, now that we’ve finished it, can we identify how and why it this has endured so long, and how so many other works came from the subject?; Informal writing: Indentify two differences in the version of the Dracula story you picked from Stoker’s original and explain why the creators made them – was it necessary to make it work in the new medium, had the culture changed requiring the story to adapt, or did the creator have something different to say?
October 26: Coming off our focus on monsters, discussion will focus on the villains in stories – why can’t everybody just get along? Can a story have no bad guy and still work as a story? Think about your favorite antagonist and share it with us; assigned viewing is Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick; Come up with possible ideas for your final paper.
October 28: Continuing our discussion of villains, who was the real antagonist in Dr. Strangelove? Was there one specific one, or was everyone an antagonist to someone else?; Send me your ideas for final paper topics, I’ll respond to you before the next class; Assigned reading is Red Alert by Peter Bryant.
November 2: Discuss Dr. Strangelove vs. Red Alert; How do Kubrick and the other creative voices take Bryant and George’s material and turn it into the movie we just saw?; Other significant jumps that occur in transmedia material; Assigned reading is to finish Red Alert.
November 4: Review of the materials we’ve used so far; What are the common threads in these stories, or do such things exist?; Does Hollywood just want more money when they draw from books or other sources for their stories, or are they making genuine statements? Or can such generalities be made? Assigned reading is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller.
November 9: Discuss Batman in comparison with material presented in class; discuss the concept of “retconning” and its role in storytelling; what makes an origin story timeless and what dates it?; Assigned reading will be distributed in class.
November 11: Discuss origin stories as they pertain to protagonists; every hero comes from somewhere, so why is does the hero get the most attention?; How many origin stories were constructed for the antagonists in the stories we’ve covered so far; Assigned viewing is Batman Begins; Informal writing: Could Wesley from The Princess Bride by the medieval Batman? Why or why not?
November 16: Concluding our discussion of Batman; Given our previous discussions of good guys vs. bad guys, can we say that there are such things as absolute right and wrong? If those definitions change for things like era, culture, or geography, are they still absolute?; Assigned viewing is Pride & Prejudice directed by Joe Wright.
November 18: Building off our previous discussion, we will discuss whether Elizabeth’s judgment in this story makes her the central character; Is respectability the best quality for such a character to have, or empathy?; Assigned reading is Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen; Informal writing: In the book, everything is seen through Elizabeth’s eyes, but in the movie the perspective can change – what is gained and what is lost in this transition?
November 22-26: Thanksgiving Break – No Classes
November 30: Discuss Pride & Prejudice in comparison with a truncated version to be read in class; Comparing Pride & Prejudice to Dracula, is there anything these two properties have in common that we can say is indicative of a “timeless story”? LAST informal write: Knowing what you know now about the transition from one medium to another, what intellectual property would you change, from which medium to which, and why?
December 2: Spare day, in case of unexpected class dismissal or falling behind.
December 7: Class review; we will review questions or concerns about final papers; Bring a draft of your final papers to class for peer review.
December 9: Last Meeting of this Class – FINAL PAPERS DUE!!
December 10: Last Day of Classes
December 21: Grades Due by 10 am