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Greetings, TV viewers!
Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included
in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home
viewing suggestions for January 10- January 16, 2004.
Happy New Year! The next Media Hour will focus mainly on Abraham Lincoln, from the history to the way he's portrayed on TV and in movies, including the time a Canadian was nominated for an Academy Award for playing him!
What do you know about old Honest Abe? Check out "Abraham Lincoln in Illinois" either on TV on Thursday or at your local video store and see if you can learn a few things from the film.
In other questions, what do you think of the new format for
the Media Menu? We're continuing to make improvments, so if you have ideas about
what would make it easier to use, read, etc, let us know in the BBS below.
Remember to come to Saturday's Media Hour prepared! Watch the shows and really
read the related websites, so you can help us focus our discussion. Explor what
everyone thinks and remind us to think about what was in the shows and
on the websites. Come to the Media Hour prepared and you will be invited down
on stage, and you may earn clams, too!
What's the Media Hour? Watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then
come and talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers,
if they're available). We get together at the Greek Theater (next to
City Hall), every Saturday morning at 9 a.m., Whyville Time. You'll find that
discussions are easier in the Theater, since everyone's chat bubbles overlap
a little less than in other rooms, and City Workers are able to direct people's
movement and behavior, when we need to.
Monday,
January 10
9-10 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
American
History |
Middle
and High School |
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"American Experience: Citizen King" |
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Broadcast on the 75th anniversary of Martin Luther King's birth, this documentary explores the last five years in King's life -- from his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 to his assassination in 1968. It draws on the personal recollections and eyewitness accounts of friends, civil rights movement associates, journalists, law enforcement officers and historians to illuminate this chapter in the story of one of America's most important and influential moral leader.
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For more about American history including race relations, civil rights, regional political differences, federal government intervention in the states and more, go to http://www.pbs.org/amex/mlk.
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Monday,
January 10
9-11 p.m. E/P |
History Channel |
American & World
History |
High School |
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"Time Machine: Invasion of Europe"
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This is a documentary with historical reenactments depicting the 10 days prior to the world War II Allied invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. Bad weather forced Eisenhower, the Allied Commander to cancel initial plans; Rommel, the German Commander went home for his wife's birthday; U.K. and U.S. paratroopers and commandos were briefed; and double agent "Garbo" sent his last deceptive messages to Germany. Based on David Stafford's book, the program follows 10 ordinary lives over 10 extraordinary days. Interviews include a French Resistance fighter, British commandos and spies, and an U.S. paratrooper. (You'll notice how young they all were during those ten days -- barely more than high school age.) (TVPG)
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Tuesday,
January 11
7-8 p.m. E/P |
History Channel |
Science |
Middle
and High School |
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"Modern Marvels: Power Plants" |
| This documentary shows how mankind controls the environment in a variety of ways, whether by capturing the force of a river, harnessing the power in coal or oil, controlling a nuclear reaction, or transforming the light of the sun into electricity. From Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla to Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein, the world's greatest minds have enabled us to acquire our light, heat, and power with a simple flip of the switch. (TV-G) |
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Tuesday,
January 11
8-9 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
American History and Science |
Middle
and High School |
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"NOVA: The Boldest Hoax" |
| This documentary describes events in 1912, when amateur fossil hunter Charles Dawson made the claim that he'd discovered the bones of a primitive human in a gravel pit at Sussex, England. Believing this was the long-sought evidence of the "missing link" between apes and mankind, British scientists were suddenly at the forefront of the worldwide quest for human origins. It took 40 years for the truth to emerge: the "Piltdown Man" was an elaborate hoax -- some say science's greatest fraud. |
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Wednesday,
January 12
7-8 p.m. E/P |
History Channel |
Social Science and Economics |
Middle
and High School |
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"U.S. Mints: Money Machines" |
| How does America make money -- literally? This documentary visits the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is generated. With a storied past as tantalizing as the wealth they create, these mints can spit out fortunes in an hour and keep our economy flowing. (TV-G) |
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Wednesday,
January 12
8-10 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
Music |
Middle
and High School |
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"Great Performances: Leonard Bernstein's Candide" |
| This is a broadcast of the New York Philharmonic's semi-staged performance of the musical based on Voltaire's classic satirical novel Candide, with music by Leonard Bernstein. His prot??g?? Marin Alsop will lead the production, and Broadway actor-director Lonny Price will stage the musical. The cast, drawn equally from the classical and musical-theater worlds, features soprano Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde, tenor Paul Groves as Candide, tenor Stanford Olsen as Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski, Patti LuPone as the Old Lady and Sir Thomas Allen as Pangloss/Martin. |
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Thursday,
January 13
8-10 p.m. ET,
5-7 p.m. PT |
Turner Classic Movie Channel (TCM) |
American History |
Middle
and High School |
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"Abraham Lincoln in Illinois" |
| This is a classic movie (available also on video) about the early life of Abraham Lincoln -- up to the time he got into politics and, against all odds, won election to the United States presidency in 1860. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 play by Robert E. Sherwood, it covers 30 years, from 1831 to Abe's train ride to Washington, D.C., in 1861 as President-elect. The film stars Raymond Massey in a role he originated on stage. A Canadian by birth, Massey earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for his performance.
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Friday,
January 14
8-8:30 p.m. E/P -- check local listings |
PBS |
Social
Science |
High School |
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"NOW" |
| David Brancaccio has taken over for Bill Moyers and is now the sole anchor of this weekly public-affairs newsmagazine. Topics are always based on headlines, and are thoroughly researched. Thus, they are excellent for viewing as material for classroom current events discussions or essays. |
| For advanced information on each program's content go to http://www.pbs.org/now. |
Saturday,
January 15
8-9 p.m. E/P |
Turner Classic Movie Channel (TCM) |
Language Arts, English Literature, Government |
High
School |
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"The 9/11 Commission Report" |
| This is a classic movie, also available on video, is based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury novel of the same name. (Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper will burst into flame.) The story is about a firefighter who lives in a future where books have been outlawed by a government fearing an independent-thinking public. It is the duty of firefighters to burn any books on sight, and confiscate collections reported by informants. People in this society, including the firefighter's wife, zone out and get their information from wall-sized television screens. After the firefighter falls in love with a book-hoarding woman, he begins to read confiscated books. It is through this relationship that he begins to question the government's motives behind book-burning. His secret life is soon found out, and he must decide whether to return to his job or run away, knowing full well the consequences that he could face if captured. |
| This can't be a Media Hour pick, but it's definitely a great story. Read the book and/or watch the movie -- I'm sure it will be a topic for the Media Hour someday! |
Sunday,
January 16
3-5 pm E/P |
History Channel |
Social Studies & World History |
High School |
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"Time Machine" |
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This is a documentary about the Japanese during WWII. They believed that they were racially pure and led by a divine being in the form of Emperor Hirohito. How, they thought, could they lose? This documentary special probes the Japanese psyche before and during the war. What led them to believe in their own racial superiority and to contemplate suicide when they began to fail? Newly discovered archive film and interviews with Japanese eyewitnesses provide a compelling portrait of war. (TV-PG) |
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