In the past I have been forwarded links and videos from the Canadian National Film Board (NFB) website, but it wasn't until recently that I really began to snoop through some of their educational resources. Now I am completely hooked! This would be an excellent resource for any educator, but especially those who teach language arts, literacy, media studies, social studies and history.
Be warned, you can spend hours shuffling through the films, and resources on this website! When I began, I was in search of something to use in my Individuals and Society class, and more specifically on the topic of racism. I stumbled upon a short mocumentary which illsutrates the presence of systemic racism in the work place. This mocumentary is part of a series called "Work For All" done by the NFB, which could be used to discuss institutions, work opportunities, racism, and equality rights in the work force. The mocumentary "Jaded", features Jade Stone, a caucasian office assistant who is considered a "vismin" or visible minority in her workplace. The mocumentary plays on the idea of visibility and invisibility, the "problem" of accents, role reversal, and racial stereotypes to address the presence of systemic racism.
I think this mocumentary would be an excellent text for tackling issues of racism and inequality - topics which students feel are overdone or "common sense". In order to prepare students for watching this film I would want to:
- Discuss the creation and construction of documentaries and their purpose
- The differences between a documentary and mocumentary
- The strategies that each media text uses
- What strategies does a mocumentary use, and why do we understand them to be funny? How does comedy initiate our learning?
- Have a title discussion beforehand. Why is this mocumentary titled "Jaded"?
- Discuss storeotypes, specifically gender and racial stereotypes
http://www.nfb.ca/film/jaded/
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