February 16, 2013

50 Years of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on Film: A Chat with Documentarian Mary Murphy

50 Years of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on Film: A Chat with Documentarian Mary Murphy

“I feel there’s a direct line between readers of all stripes — young and old, Pulitzer Prize-winners and middle school students — because they all have a such a strong response to the novel. Community happens around ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’…”

2012 Gift Guide for Pop Culture Geeks and Media Mavens

The Dark Knight screenplays, a Doctor Who board game, The Princess Bride, and a lot more…

Guest Post by Maria Selke… There and Back Again: (Re)Visiting ‘The Hobbit’ in Image and Text (2)

The most interesting part of this whole experiment was watching my group turn into self-proclaimed experts on how “The Hobbit” should be adapted for the big screen.

Guest Post by Maria Selke… There and Back Again: (Re)Visiting ‘The Hobbit’ in Image and Text (1)

A year ago, I wouldn’t have considered examining trailers in a reading group…

Guest Post by Emily Weisenstein and Joseph Gasparro… Superheroes, Branding, and Libraries (Part 2)

The most interesting part of the project was seeing how the teens went about modifying the generic superhero to specifically fit the library…

Guest Post by Emily Weisenstein and Joseph Gasparro… Superheroes, Branding, and Libraries (Part 1)

When children were asked to create their own superheroes, they were unconsciously tapping into a generic brand and modifying it to create their own representations. They didn’t know it, but they were actively refining an existing brand to make it their own.

Guest Post by Gabrielle Bondi… Five Things Readers and Fans Don’t Know About YA Movies But Should (Part 2)

After leaving the test screening for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, I was bombarded with questions about literally every scene in the book.

Guest Post by Gabrielle Bondi… Five Things Readers and Fans Don’t Know About YA Movies But Should (Part 1)

I hate to be a killjoy, but it’s important not to let fans get ahead of themselves…

Guest Post by Christopher Shamburg… When the Lit Hits the Fan in Teacher Education

Teachers don’t have to teach Harry Potter, Captain America, or World of Warcraft, but they can allow students to build their writing on these stories.

‘Life of Pi’: the Prettiness of the Soul and the Disneyfication of Literature

What does “spiritual” mean to us, culturally?

‘Doctor Who’: The Ultimate Revenge of the Nerds

In short, yes, bow ties really are cool.

Blu-ray Giveaway: Doctor Who Series 7 (Part One)

Thanks to BBC America, Connect the Pop has three of the just-released-today Blu-rays to give away…

Blu-ray Giveaway: Doctor Who Series 7 (Part One)

Thanks to BBC America, Connect the Pop has three of the just-released-today Blu-rays to give away…

As We Honor Veterans, a Film to Look Out For and Questions to Ask

Oral history, digital storytelling, critical evaluation of documentaries, fiction vs. non-fiction, and debunking stereotypes… Veterans Day offers all this and more.

Digital and Media Literacies at the NCTE Annual Convention

A handy list of all the NCTE session that are specifically sponsored by the Media and Digital Literacies Collaborative…

Guest Post by Miguel Rodriguez… Opportunities for Rich Discussion and Literary Analysis: Overcoming the Stigma of the Horror Genre Part 2

The most obvious question about the popularity of horror is one in which we question ourselves: why do people gravitate toward dark content?

Book Giveaway: Totally MAD — 60 Years of Humor, Satire, Stupidity and Stupidity

Is this the media literacy book of the year? A case could definitely be made…

Guest Post by Miguel Rodriguez… How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Monster: Overcoming the Stigma of the Horror Genre

It is important to remember that the stories I’ve mentioned were never really called “horror stories” because horror as a genre is essentially a ploy to make certain properties more marketable to a segment of the population.

“Are Zombies Good for Kids?”: A Lively Roundtable

” I can see where it’s alarming to see your kid looking like a corpse, but it’s all part of rebellion, of saying the “regular” world of mortgages and wars and nuclear meltdown frightens them and they want to distance themselves from it…”

“Are Zombies Good for Kids?”: A Chat with Psychoanalyst Jack Schwartz

“Are Zombies Good for Kids?”: A Chat with Psychoanalyst Jack Schwartz

“The zombie consciousness reflects the perfect expression of equal rights in society. There is no difference between boys and the girls in this world—hunger is the organizing principle.”