Evangeline Dennler-Beaver EDTECH 597 Week 13: Synopsis for an edutainment movie April 23, 2011

Write a brief synopsis for an edutainment movie in any subject. Include the educational objectives, strategies and content. Explain why it is edutainment.

Hairspray movie Characters: John Travolta Edna Turnblad - mother of Tracy who is skeptical and fears her daughter rejection on audition Michelle Pfeiffer Velma von Tussle - rejects Tracy and mock her size Nikki Blonsky Tracy Turnblad - beautiful young plus-sized teenager infatuated by Link Larkin a handsome young teenager dating Velma’s daughter. Queen Latifah Motormouth Maybelle - hosts once a month “Negro Day” on Corny Collins Show Christopher Walken Wilbur Turnblad - father of Tracy, owns Har-de-Hut Joke Shop Amanda Bynes Penny Pingleton - Tracy’s bestfriend In 1960, African Americans and Whites segregation is in effect. Tracy Turnblad, who

loves to dance befriends an African American dancer hated Seaweed. Tracy, a plus-sized

teenager wakes up ready for school (“Good Morning, Baltimore”). Tracy and her best friend,

Penny Pingleton, love to watch “Corny Collins Show,” starring “The Nicest Kids in Town.”

Tracy and Penny moan over Link Larkin because he is handsome and sings so well. Tracy’s

mother, Edna, stays home with her ironing board that never goes out for a long time because she

is plus-sized and has low self-esteem. Penny’smother, Prudy Pingleton, articulates her

disapproval of dancing to “black music.”

The main characters (Tracy, Link, Penny, and Seaweed) are fighting for the integration of

The Corny Collins Show, a show that held "Negro Day" once a month. Increasingly, the

discrimination against plus-sized people, African Americans, people of lower socio-economic

status and people not deemed aesthetically appealing still raged on. Baltimore segregation of

black people and white people in classroom remained. Blacks are not allowed to cross the area

after dark where the White’s lived.

Types of discrimination throughout the movie is present with the stage manager Velma

von Tussle who does not accept Tracy because she is heavy as well as African Americans and is

threatening to cancel “Negro Day”. When tryouts for the Corny Collins Show came about,

Velma von Tussle does not accept the girl with the cheap clothes. Velma felt threatens because

she wants her daughter to win the contest. Velma von Tussle believes that if a person is not

perfect to her they are worth nothing. The victims were Tracy, the African Americans on the TV

show, and the girls at the tryouts. Velma threw Tracy’s votes in order to sabotage Tracy’s

participation in the show.

Content

The content is about Black and White people segregation in Baltimore City such schools,

restaurant, church, and bus. The protest rally on Human Rights in social justice such as racial

equality, fairness, and friendship of humanity. The young generations are the future with the

support of parents lead the rally of free racial prejudice. The personal and social competencies

explore understanding and developing knowing his or her emotions include self-awareness.

Hairspray is about cross-cultural communication and involves intergroup perceptions and

attributions in assessing what needs to be in an ongoing conflict event.

Educational Objectives

The educational objectives are to learn social problems in the society and behavioral

studies of what the student is expected to be able to do upon completion of the lesson. This is

designed to focus students on concept about to be instructed. Common sets include asking

questions of interesting insight and analyzing the plot of the movie. My objectives are

established and contented. I will guide the learner throughout the lesson and provide feedback

and guidance with cues and direction if they are wrong as well as when they are right. Here are

following objectives.

1. Students will explore different societal perspectives on how they have affected of the

history.

2. Students will see on how their parents’ decisions affect when they were teenagers and

their day-to-day culture.

3. Students will learn techniques and general strategies of the writing process for

creating dramatic manuscripts.

4. Students will learn collaboration skills in speaking and listening and demonstrate

working on a group project.

5. Students will examine ways in which cultural influences affect self-esteem, identity,

and behavior.

6. Students will recognize emotions in others and handling relationships.

7. Students will learn to facilitate interaction predictability to reduce unpredictable

anxiety level.

8. Students will understand the nature of emotional intelligence and its importance for

success in life.

9. Students will learn self-respect and others that are challenged.

10. Students will learn to identify different goal emphasis based on cultural situational

factors such core values.

11. Students will learn situational conflict such as seating arrangement.

12. Students will learn to pay attention to interconnectedness of the cultural level,

individual level, situational level, and relationship level, and the process cultural

conflict management.

Strategies in Teaching

As a teacher, I will ask a few questions to explore ideas on language skills and reflective

skills. Teacher asks students to be the person in a group tends who has many ideas. Teacher

asks students to be the person in a group who tend to be very good at listening and understanding

what other people have said and find challenging to share ideas with other people. Teacher asks

students if collaboration is ongoing, exciting and interesting. Teacher asks students on

personalities in the group easier or challenging to express viewpoint. Teacher asks students to be

involved during class discussions such as observations and apply appropriate personal

experiences. Teacher asks students in the group simulations in order to enhance their learning

and understanding as well, as help others. Teacher will require attendance because absences

will lower their grades.

Why is it edutainment

Hairspray is very intriguing movie and the scenes are combined into comedy, music, and

melodrama. Hairspray was awarded in 2007 the best family film, comedy film, and musical

film as well in 2008 International Film. The learner will engage in role-play because the

students will identify and explain their strong opinions about the movie and demonstrate in the

classroom. Hairspray demonstrates active-listening and behavior competencies through music.

Music brings people together because it touches the heart and feeds soul of an individual.

Hairspray demonstrates how cultural synergistic approach requires a fresh mind-set to

build on commonalities and fuse differences in result more effective and satisfactory outcomes.

Through combined creativity and collaborative problem-solving processes, individuals expand

their outlook and options in generating solutions to a conflict problem. The movie demonstrates

the value of particular movie on content, moral, and social aspects for learning.

In summary, Hairspray demonstrates culture is a learned behavior and fosters a particular

sense of identity and community among its group members. Culture consists of key elements of

traditions, beliefs, values, norms, symbols, and meanings in the cross-cross cultural variations.

The values in Hairspray movie demonstrate why people behave the way they behave in a

particular conflict scene. Therefore, the Hairspray provides competencies in general skills and

strategies in conflict management. Knowing the lesson, the viewers or observers educates and

amuses their way of thinking on possible meanings and interpretations and focuses on the things

the he or she is focused on the issue and not on the person. Importantly, Hairspray movie

demonstrates the values of harmony and uncertainty avoidance by welcoming differences and

respecting other’s people differences. The value of Hairspray demonstrates cultures differ on its

power distance by respecting elders and letting their children make their own decision.