I chose to create a video playlist on the autobiography of Anne Moody called Coming of Age In Mississippi. Anne vividly recalls her early childhood, years in highschool and college, and her participation in the civil rights movement. Her book was published in 1968 and it only details her life until the age of twenty-three. The book has become a great primary source for the rise of equality during the movement.

I could not attach my playlist to the blog so I followed Tarik's example and made a link to it.

Final Playlist Revision:
Tatum: Not Another True Hollywood Story

Martin Gansberg published this article exactly two weeks after Kitty Genovese was murdered on March 14, 1964. I knew of the story before I read the article, but I was interested in reading this piece since it was written shortly after her murder. I was once again amazed at the apathy of Kitty’s neighbors. The article detailed the reasons why no one called the police. The reasons were unjustifiable; one man said he didn’t call the police because he was simply too tired.

The poem written by Abel Meeropol and then sung by Billie Holiday painted a gruesome picture of the racial discord in the 1930s. The strange fruit of the trees were the bodies of African Americans who had been hung. The lyrics poignantly contrasted the natural beauty of the south, “pastoral scene of the gallant South”, with the ghastly imagery of the murdered, “the bulging eyes and the twisted mouth”. Although there are only three stanzas, they are more than enough to convey the powerful message of hate and ignorance that was once endemic in this country.

This collage is based upon the character Borat from Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I chose the picture of a house covered with Pamela Anderson for the background. Borat was obsessed with her. I also chose a picture of Borat in his infamous "Great Success" pose. I added Kazakhstan flags to the neighboring houses to illustrate where Borat was from. I tried to distort the flags with the ripple effect to make them appear as if they were blowing in the wind.

I made a collage based upon First Confession by Frank O'Conner. The cemetary in the background represents the religious component of the short story. I used several images of the church jto illustrate the transformation of Jackie's opinion of religion. In the beginning Jackie thought religion would lead to hell and thinks of it negatively, hence the darker images. Then after going to church he becomes enlightened and sees religion in a positive light, which is represented by the brighter images. The balloons represent Jackie and his family.

When I was thinking about this assignment, I looked at major news events. Celebrities were everywhere, from Rosie O’Donnell refusing to host the Price Is Right to the hourly countdown on CNN of the prison release of Paris Hilton. America is a celebrity obsessed nation, and the media is well aware of the public's interest in their lives. Celebrities provide entertainment even when they are not working. Recently, numerous celebrities have been entering and leaving drug rehab.