09-1st Amendment

Before on Feb 17th read Amendment I of the Bill of Rights and Section 12 of The Virginia Declaration of Rights (the Declaration was written by George Mason).  Post to the blog a paragraph or two on whether you think censorship of the kind we see in the production history of Scarface is consistent with the 1st Amendment and/or democratic principles more generally.

Make sure to discuss specific kinds of changes made to the film at the behest of the Hays’ Office (the film industry censorship group, not a government agency) and tie your reasoning to particular passages from the 1st Amendment and the Virginia Declaration of Rights.  Before posting you should therefore read Black, Hollywood Censored, pp. 125-132.  That text has finally arrived in the JC bookstore. 

Finally, before class also read Diana Hacker on pronoun reference, pp. 34-35, and start working through the exercises on pronoun reference (12-4 through 12-6) at
http://dianahacker.com/pocket/gm_menu.asp 

During class you will go to the computer lab and read 3-4 posts and comment on at least two.  Make sure you cover the following:  1) whether you agree with your fellow student and why; 2) whether your fellow student covers specific phrases in the 1st A and the Va Declaration and uses them to develop a point or points; and 3)whether your fellow student discussed specific scenes in the film and uses this discussion to develop their point or points. 

Do not use the Leave a Reply box below but the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check 1st Amendment (under Assignments) and your name (under People) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area.