jay's museum of college writing

The Suicide of Dorothy Hale

In English 201, we are developing research papers based on historical films.  My students are investigating “the story behind the story.”  They are comparing what they see on screen with what they see in their academic research.  Many are reading about the horrors of the Holocaust and the systematic extermination of six million Jews.   They’re discussing  Schindler’s List, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and The Pianist. The Sinking of The Titanic, the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Martin Luther King Jr. are all common topics.  I have one student writing about the United Farmworker demonstrations of the 1960s.  The movie she is watching?  Of course, it’s César Chávez

Below, I share my most recent blog entry for Frida Kahlo.  I’ve chosen to focus upon one of her paintings, “The Suicide of Dorothy Hale.”  I’ve encouraged my students to explore both Frida’s life and her art. We can find inspiration from all sides.

Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere

Go  University of Missouri Football Tigers!  Congratulations on their courage to stand up for what counts. This week my students are writing about prejudice.  We’re talking about events in the news:  "Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere."

Last night  I read a fictionalized account of Sylvia Plath’s last days.  It is told from the viewpoint of young boy who has a chance encounter with the famous poet.  This gave me a good idea: Here, I channel the spirit of Frida Kahlo to relate a true-to-life racial experience.  

 

 

Frida Cuts Loose

This week we are putting together  film/history comparisons.  I’ve asked my students to compare what they see on screen from a historical film to what they see in their historical research.  I have more than a few writing about the Holocaust: Schindler’s List, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Pianist.  They’ve watched their movies; now they are reading about the Nazi invasion of Poland, the ghettos, and death camps.  Others are writing about The Titanic; they detail hand-cuffed Jack neck-deep in waterwhileat the same time they analyze the step-by-step process of how the ship went down.

Milk, 42, Marie Antoinette, Cesar Chavez, Geronimo….

Me, I’m writing about Frida.  I’m looking closely at her tragic trolley accident, her art, and her sexuality.  Here I try to relate a sensual dance scene from the film to one of her most famous paintings. 

 

A Hole in the Heart - Frida K

Frida Kahlo’s art is dominated by self-portrait. “I paint myself,” she once said, “because I am so often alone.” In most of her paintings, you can count on vast, bare landscapes or empty, cold rooms, but these self-portraits helped her develop her sense of individuality and inner-strength. 

I’ve assigned my students a “tuff-stuff” cause and effect essay. They are to choose a life-changing experience and explain how it affected them. Here, Frida connects her loneliness with the courageous, independent woman she would become famous for.

Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play" - Frida's Soundtrack Choice for Girl, Interrupted

When you read, do you ever tap your foot? Does music ever spark an idea in your head? Can you come up with a song or an artist that blends music and literature? Joyce Carol Oates wrote one of her most enduring works of short fiction after hearing Bob Dylan on the radio.

 In English 009, we are reading Girl, Interrupted and researching mental illness. 

Right now I’m working on an assignment that will call on my students’ musical knowledge.  We are going to create a soundtrack for our reading.  We will match our music with our literature.  For Susanna Kaysen’s borderline personality disorder, I’m thinking Kurt Cobain, Maria Callas…  Below I share two sample posts

  

Visual Analysis - The Two Salmas

Everywhere we go  we are bombarded by visual text: television, advertising, web pages.  There is no escape.  In the following spaces, my students are to explain the persuasive power of visual rhetoric. They are going to explain how specific images push us into action.

Once, upon a visit to Frida Kahlo’s Blue House in Coyoacan, Mexico City, I had the opportunity to see Frida’s Diary in a glass display case.  It was filled with arresting pictures and self-portraits that reflect a life-time of suffering.  It inspired me to write a short story that would become my first published work. The title: Frida’s Diary.

A picture is worth a thousand words?  I think so. Here I’ve decided to analyze the movie poster for Salma Hayek’s Frida.