The next text we will study in Year 12 ATAR English is the documentary film Murderball. The text follows the USA quad rugby team as they prepare for the Athens Paralympic Games. The chief protagonists are Mark Zupan (a USA quad rugby player) and Joe Soares (the coach of Team Canada who once played quad rugby for the USA). We will explore the text for constructions of masculinity, how disability is constructed within a sports’ narrative and how we are positioned to respond to hegemonic masculinity, particularly in the treatment of the female characters who appear- briefly- throughout the text.

Please note that this text is studied for Section B (Responding) of the ATAR examination and it is a text you will be expected to know in significant detail. While we will watch this documentary in class (and analyse it), you will also be expected to watch this text through in your own time and build your understanding through independent research.

Here are a range of resources which will compliment your study of this course text:

Murderball Study Guide-rc7fev

Murderball Initial Close Analysis-2krd9z4

Murderball Review-1odsj35

Murderball Focus Questions and Ideas-27f6zkp

Murderball Feature Article-19ebs1i

Murderball Article-1rt50i9

Murderball Documentary Study-2kn67eg

Murderball and Masculinity-1gcl8kt

Murder Ball Visual Analysis-26pkh0x

Challenging Normalcy – Masculinity and Disability in Murderball-117yhdp

Please note that Murderball is available to view on ClickView. A link to the text is below:

https://online.clickview.com.au/libraries/categories/fcbefc28-ff38-326f-00ae-74f83a618b2c/videos/75fbf7d5-8758-f8cb-d92b-05ffe4a495ec/murderball-movie-

Here is a modelled response from today’s lesson.

Please note the following:

• Structure- Opening two sentences offer a thesis statement and a reading of the image. There is a clear reading/interpretation of the image.
• The body paragraph starts with a topic sentence.
• There is a clear attempt to link the conventions explored in the response.
• The response is succinct and coherent.
• It offers a clear and consistent reading.
• Key words from the question are used to reinforce the main reading of the text.
• There is an attempt at using sophisticated language.
• The annotations in black show where the assessment criteria has been met.
• The annotations in green are where I’ve explicitly linked conventions and reading of the text.
• The annotations in red are where I’ve analysed the text in a sophisticated manner.

The image can be downloaded. It uses the modelled response from the archive (October 2017) as its basis which in turn was taken from the ‘Good Answers’ guide.

Please make sure you understand the assessment criteria and that you practice the structure in advance of your assessment on Friday.

Come and find me if you have any questions.

Please note the modelled image analysis above.

Things to note:

• I’ve not only identified the ways in which the image has been constructed, I’ve explored HOW each convention MIGHT have been used to construct the image in a specific way.
• In a short answer response, I wouldn’t be able to write about ALL of these image conventions. I would need, as part of my planning process, to identify which 3-4 conventions work BEST to answer the question in a clear and concise manner.

In tomorrow’s lesson, we will look at how the question might be answered.

• How is gender constructed in the lyrics of this song?
• What words are used to describe women in the lyrics?
• What is your personal response to this song?
• Has anything changed in over half a century since this song was released? Out of interest, view ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones for a construction of masculinity… Quite an interesting contrast between the two songs…
• It’s worth considering both the context of production and the context of reception for a text like this.

Image Analysis

For your next assessment, next week, you will need to respond to two questions; one on narrative fiction, and one question on image analysis.

Here are the things to look for in analysing images:

• Symbols
• Depth of Field
• Framing / composition
• Rule of Thirds
• Diagonals
• Gaze
• Proximity
• Body language / posture
• Setting
• Light and shade
• Juxtaposition / incongruity
• Parody / irony

Here is a link to the images we explored in class: Image Analysis_Gender-10mj02t

Mother Says- Craig Ensor-230if9z

In today’s lesson, we will be exploring the attached short story called ‘Mother Says’. It’s written by Craig Ensor and I’d like you to explore the following ideas:

• How is gender constructed by the text?
• How does the text reject a stereotypical construction of gender?
• What did you find challenging in the text?
• What is the text trying to say about gender?

Arriving at a thesis statement/writing an effective thesis statement requires a lot of preparation, planning and thinking before you’re able to write one.

The screenshots below take you through this process:

In this image, you can see that the question has been deconstructed and that I’ve STARTED to apply my chosen text (The Road) to the question.

I’ve started to think about what my essay might be about…

In this image, I’ve applied the text more directly and gathered my evidence base together. I’ve chosen a few RELEVANT quotations and made sure that I’ve applied my question deconstruction to my annotations. Please note that I’ve referred to ‘the ways’ and my annotations in green demonstrate my thinking around the ‘attitudes’. I’d already defined ‘particular groups’ as parents- motherhood and fatherhood.

My final image is two versions of my thesis statement. Both work equally well but you can clearly see that they have been constructed out of my planning, my collection of evidence and my question deconstruction.

Make sure that you use these processes in planning for your next in-class assessment, your Semester 2 examination and your terminal examinations in the summer.

Attached below, is a copy of ALL the assessment criteria for each section.

Assessment Criteria-1vqqifx

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Image 2-28n7efg

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Image 4-19h4zfy

Image 5-1luw2qo

Image 6-13fw8lt

Image 7-trjmf7

Here are the notes from the whiteboard from today’s lesson. Please use them in your planning and preparation for your assessment on the 24th August:

Section One: Short Answer Response Notes

Comprehension section: Suggested 60 minutes allocated for three questions = 20 minutes per question and 200-300 words per question.

Respond in one paragraph in the following format:

INTRODUCTION – 2-3 sentences introducing argument. Restate the question being asked and summarise main point.
P – POINT (Your main idea)
E – EVIDENCE/ EXAMPLE (Direct quotes or indirect quotes [paraphrasing]).
A – ANALYSIS (Elaborate on what you have written to support your answer).
CONCLUSION – 2-3 sentences concluding your answer.

Step One: Deconstruct the Question

Analyse how the man and boy’s relationship with the world is represented in this extract.

Step Two: Plan

Step Three: Write

INTRO: In Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, conflict between the man and the boy occurs in moments where their contrasting perspectives of the world around them becomes clear. The man has memories of the old world, unrecognisable to the boy, whereas the boy is a creature born into this world of chaos.

POINT: Despite the narrative constructing an ever-present familial bond between the man and the boy, they are challenged as they encounter a multitude of moral dilemmas in the apocalyptic landscape in which they seek to survive.

EVIDENCE: An example of this complex relationship is:

1. In the interactions between the man and the boy after the man shot the person from the convoy in the woods. The boy asks, “Are we still the good guys?” (p.80).

2. “A formless music for the age to come. Or perhaps the last music on earth called up from out of the ashes of its ruin” (p.81).

ANALYSIS:

1. This demonstrates the way that the man often blurs the lines between being a “good guy” and a “bad guy,” because of his dedication to his son. The boy questions their morality, because of the murder, but the man feels justified, as his priority is the safety of the boy.

CONCLUSION:

1. The man and the boy perceive the world differently, because of their relationship with it. The boy sees a clear divide in this world between good and evil, and he judges the actions of the man according to this. The man sees this division in the world, but excludes himself from blame, because of his “good” intentions. The characters’ relationship with the world is shaped by their experiences in it and the man has experienced more hopelessness and loss than the boy can yet imagine.