Dystopias & Reality

SAFEeye surveillance and privacy
Imagining the Future: The Perfect City. 10 Failed Utopian Cities
The Elements of Dystopia: An Inquiry Lesson What is DYSTOPIA? 10 Elements of Dystopia.
dystopian examples:
1. Elysium Trailer: http://youtu.be/LNhdDDTY6Lk?list=PLOMsq6qKKJICnVUagbK-y5wtG8YKCSfr1
2. Short film “Sight”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_cdkpazjI&index=2&list=PLOMsq6qKKJICnVUagbK-y5wtG8YKCSfr1
3. Divergent Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM
4. 1984 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4rBDUJTnNU
5. Scene from Wall-E: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BQPV-iCkU
6. A beautiful trailer for “Harrison Bergeron” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE_nr2t6fKQ
7. Coca Cola Security Cameras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4utFUN-k
8. Image 1: http://www.livemaguk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Dystopian-Feature-Image.png
9. Image 2: http://inktank.fi/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/1984.jpg
10. Image 3: http://www.occupy.com/sites/default/files/styles/slide_narrow/public/field/image/internet-surveillance-article.jpg?itok=EDQNi82J
11. Image 4: http://imagineathena.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/black-mirror-dystopia.png
The Connotation of Genre
Take the keywords of the 10 Elements of Dystopia and rank the intensity of the connotation of each word.
“Low Battery” view and discuss the spoken word poem “Low Battery” by Prince Ea.
The Tableau

Dear Parents and Guardians of _________________________,

Thank you so much for your assistance in successfully registering your students for the new S.A.F.Eeye (Student Action Following Electronic Eye) technology approval. It is my great pleasure to announce to you that Governor _________________ has signed into law the SAFEeye bill. This technology, a cell-phone tracking software, will be automatically enabled upon arrival to his or her school. Several studies have successfully been implemented in districts near ours, and we’re confident that the information and data that we receive through this new legislation will bring safety security to our school community.

Because we believe that full transparency is necessary for a community to have with its school administration, we are writing you this letter to make you aware of the benefits you can expect to receive as this law moves into action next month and throughout the remainder of the 2014-15 school year.

A live feed of conversations and text messages will be available to you on your private website that you set up at the beginning of the school year. The link can be found directly under your child’s photo when you login to (School gradebook program here!).
Audio recordings of conversations will be saved for up to two years, unless you delete them sooner.
Data reports will be available every month, beginning in September. You can expect to see:

○ Number of text messages sent per day.

○ Names of people that are text messaged.

○ A word frequency count – words used most frequently will be tracked along with other words that you have in your personal search.

○ A full list of websites accessed throughout the month as well as the frequency of visits to each site.

Consequences will begin at school in December. Texting during class will become a much more serious offense:

○ Texting in class will set off a small light in our Dean’s Office. Students will be immediately pulled from class and put in In-School-Suspension.

○ By the third offense of texting during class, students will be removed from class by the School Resource Officer and given an Out-of-School-Suspension.

All messages and conversations will be GPS tracked and time stamped so that you can maintain a close eye on your child’s whereabouts and maintain complete safety in his or her life. We will use this for attendance.

Thank you again for your cooperation. Not only will your students be safer, but our school should begin to see improvements in test scores no later than second semester. If you have any questions at all, please contact our offices directly at ______________.

Sincerely,

The Administration at ____________________________

The Perfect City:

Where everyone wants to live!

Part Two Directions: Uh oh. It looks like things aren’t going to be so perfect for The Perfect City much longer. A new, evil dictator is in town and he is determined to turn this town from Utopia to DYStopia. Three elements of a dystopian society are about to be put into place and will start affecting the city immediately. With your group, write about how your PERFECT city would change if the following three things occurred…

Dystopian Change	How will your school change/look different? Provide as much detail as you can.
Citizens will be under constant surveillance.
Citizens must conform to uniform expectations. Individuality is looked down upon.
Information, independent thought, and freedoms will be restricted.

Activity #3:

The Elements of Dystopia – An Inquiry Lesson

What is a

DYSTOPIA?

Utopia: A utopia is a place or state of mind that is perfect, paradise. In a utopia, no problems exist between citizens and the government.

Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.

Elements of Dystopia:

Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.

Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.

A leader, concept, or tradition is worshipped by the citizens of the society.

Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.

Citizens have a fear of the outside world.

Citizens live in a dehumanized state.

Nature is banished and distrusted while technology is heavily relied upon.

Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.

The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

Citizens experience desensitization from the violence and corruption around them.

The Dystopian Protagonist

often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.
questions the existing social and political systems.
believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives.
helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.

What traits are required to classify a text as DYSTOPIAN?

Genre, as you know, is the way that texts are classified into categories. Knowing the genre of a story helps the reader make predictions, connections, and have a more analytical approach when reading a text. If the reader already knows basically what to expect from this kind (genre) of story, the reader can then focus on more complicated parts of the reading experience.

Today, we are going to examine several film clips and images that are classified already as dystopian. It is your job to take careful notes on the details and patterns that you notice. These details and patterns are the key to unlocking the genre. Be observant and don’t dismiss any ideas! Record all of your thoughts in the chart below.

Clip/ Image	Details I noticed	Patterns I noticed
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6

Name: _____________________________________________ Date: __________________________ Per: _________

Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics

Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions.

Elements of a Dystopian Society

After watching film clips, viewing images, and reading the hoax letter about cell phone surveillance, try to write your own definition of each of the elements that characterize a dystopian society. You have been given only a few clue words for each element. It is up to you to come up with the rest of the definition!

Propaganda _______________________________________________________________________.

___________________, ___________________, and____________________________are restricted.

A _______________, ______________ or ___________ is worshipped by ______________________.

_______________________________________________________________________ surveillance.

Citizens fear_______________________________________________________________________ .

_____________________________________________ dehumanized _________________________.

Nature is ________________________, while technology ___________________________________.

_________________conform _____________________________. Individuality __________________.

____________________________________illusion________________________________________.

_________________________________ violence and corruption ___________________________.

Activity #4:

The Connotation of Genre

Common Core Objectives: RL.9-10.4

I can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including connotative meanings (10.4)

I can analyze how words impact tone (10.4)

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _______________________ Period: _______

Investigating Dystopia:

The Connotation of Genre

Words are incredibly powerful tools for a speaker. Speakers use words to convince, manipulate, pressure, humor, and communicate all kinds of messages to their audiences, and that’s why we need to learn today’s lesson. Word choice, or DICTION, is rarely accidental in a text. News reporters read from a teleprompter (read: script pre-written and pre-approved by the network), actors read from a script, and politicians read from the speech they’ve been given by their speech writer. Likewise, authors of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry also carefully craft their writing to send a specific, desired message to his or her audience. These word choices heavily depend on an understanding of CONNOTATION.

Connotation: an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning

Let’s take a look at our dystopian elements. Specific words are used to describe the kind of world, the kind of life that exists in the genre. Using the envelopes you’ve been given, rank each group of words based on the intensity of their connotation. Whichever word makes you feel the strongest, place that at #1. The word that give you the weakest reaction to its connotation, place at #4. THIS WILL REQUIRE SOME DEBATE AMONG YOUR GROUP! Try your best to reach a consensus…

After completing the activity, let’s reflect on what you learned What did you notice about the importance of word choice (diction)? What surprised you? Which words did you debate with your group? Why?

Directions: Below, there are 16 groups of words. There are many different ways to complete this activity. Students could work in groups and have to rank all sixteen groups of words. If that’s the case, print one of these word lists per group, then, cut out the words and paper clip the words together and place all sixteen sets in one envelope per group. Feel free to organize in other, creative ways!

Group 1

Surveillance

Watch

See

Glance

Group 2

Criticism

Opinion

Teach

Argue

Group 3

Propaganda

Notification

Persuasion

Group 4

Freedom

Individuality

Unrestricted

Choice

Group 5

Restriction

Jailed

Bound

Hindered

Group 6

Worship

Admire

Laud

Approve

Group 7

Desensitization

Ignorance

Brainwashing

Immune

Group 8

Dehumanization

Disrespect

Torture

Ignored

Group 9

Utopia

Perfection

Happy

Innocence

Group 10

Dystopia

Damaged

Dangerous

Oppressive

Group 11

Fear

Terror

Scared

Petrified

Group 12

Illusion

Mirage

Unreal

Fake

Group 13

Conform

Clone

Copy

Group 14

Banished

Expelled

Send away

Remove

Group 15

Disagree

Rebel

Boycott

Protest

Group 16

desensitize

numb

painless

deaden

Activity #5:

“Low Battery”

Investigating Dystopia:

The Loss of Human Connectedness

Perhaps one of the starkest warnings that we get from the genre of dystopia is that the more humans rely on technology, the less we are able to feel, connect, and build relationships with other humans. Today, we will be listening to a poem called “Low Battery”. While you listen, watch the video and think about the images being used to share the speaker’s message.

Questions for “Low Battery”

When the poet says the lyric, “#touchscreens make us ‘lose touch’”, he is using an example of:

metaphor
pun
symbolism
Personification

EXPLAIN!

What is the false promise of technology and social media?

Why do you think people are more and more reticent to speak face to face nowadays? How did we become so avoidant of person-to-person conflict and conversation?

Around 1:32, what is the realization that the poet has about himself and his generation? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

Do some research. Is it true? Is the attention span of an average adult lower than that of a goldfish?

The poet claims that we have a choice. What must we choose between?

“Pageantry of vanity” and “digital insanity” are some pretty tight rhymes. Which other moments of the poem did you really enjoy?

What is the significance of the title “Low Battery”?

What is the tone of the poem? Is it the same from start to finish? If not, where does the poem shift from one tone to another? (HINT: Listen to the music for cues!)

What is the message of the poem? What is the speaker trying to argue? Is he successful? Why or why not?

Activity #6:

The Tableau

“Living Picture”

THE TABLEAU: A LIVING PICTURE

How to use this product: A suggested lesson plan

A tableau is a “living picture”. It is a physical representation of a concept. And let me tell you, it is one of my favorite, go-to class activities.

STEP ONE: You will need a series of questions or passages that you would like students to examine. You might use a vocabulary word list or study guide questions to start.

EXAMPLE: I have a list of five vocabulary words that I want students to review and be able to examine during the period. The words are, during this unit, dystopia related:

conformity
rebellion
propaganda
controversial
corruption

STEP TWO: Assign students to groups according to how many words, questions, or scenes you would like to have depicted. Groups need not be even for this particular assignment.

EXAMPLE: I will have five groups, one group for each word:

conformity (Sarah, Kelly, Jose B., Mark, Doug)

rebellion(Helen, Ilsa, Emma, Diego, Miguel)
propaganda (Amanda, Jennifer, Nico, Luis, Edgar)
controversial(Sarah B, Jose T., Jasmine, Nicole)
corruption (Katie, Mary, Lauren, Kyle, Richard)

STEP THREE: Now, you can give the students the assignment you just purchased (below) and discuss the directions for the activity. In a nutshell, each group’s job is to work together to create a physical representation of their assigned question, word, or scene. One student should be the curator – the person that presents the tableau to the class when they are finished. Everyone else should be a part of the picture (a person, an object, etc.) Their bodies should be positioned in a way that shows their response to the question they’ve been asked, the understanding of their word, etc.

EXAMPLE: I would direct each of my groups, “Okay class! Today, we are going to be creating tableaus. Another word for “tableau” is “picture” or “freeze frame”. You are going to CREATE a picture today using your bodies and positions to show us your understanding of your assigned vocabulary word. So, for instance, group five, your job is to SHOW US what the word ‘corruption’ looks like. Create a picture using your group members to show the rest of your class the meaning of the word ‘corruption”

STEP FOUR: Now, it’s time to let your students plan using the Plan of Action handout. Here, they will first write out their question and answer, word and definition, etc. From there, they can begin planning out their picture. I like to give them three options/ideas for designing the picture: before & after, each person is an answer, and create a scene. Check out the video I made with my colleagues for more explanation: http://tinyurl.com/hsjhvlw

STEP FIVE: Once the students have finished preparing, it’s time to present! Call the groups up one at a time. Students should hand your their Plan of Action sheet (if you copy it back to back, the rubric will be on the back for you!). Allow groups to present and the rest of the students should have their notes sheet ready to go!

Printing directions:

Print the Directions page by itself
Print the Notes page by itself
Print the Plan of Action and the Rubric pages double sided, then cut in half!
Note: This handout can be shared with you via Google drive – please email me directly and we will connect!

Directions: Using each member of your group, create a tableau (a living, still picture) that answers the question that you’ve been given. Be sure to follow your individual group directions closely.

Each member must participate (individual grade)
One member is the CURATOR (the expert that describes/explains the scene to the audience)
Other members must be “frozen” as if they were just in movement and told, “STOP!”
The picture should clearly depict your group’s understanding of the question about the reading that you’ve been given. Each person should play an important role. Some ideas:
- Members could be actual people involved in your answer
- Members could be props or scenery items that are important details to your answer
Your group MAY play a theme song in the background and use physical props as long as each are school appropriate.
Everyone should complete the “Plan of Action” handout. This is how each individual will be graded.

Groups & Assignments:

PLAN OF ACTION: Name: _________________________________

Re-watch the video you’ve been assigned to. You watched it for homework, but now we need you to look at it one more time, closely.
Individually, complete the chart below:

My Group Question:	My “gut” answer…

Now, circle the words in your answer that you can see. Which one of these words do you think creates a picture?
Discuss your answers as a group. When you have arrived at an answer that you all agree upon, decide together how you will show it in your TABLEAU.

IDEAS FOR YOUR TABLEAU:

Depict a moment/scene that answers your question
Have each group member represent a different part to the answer to your question
Do a before/after picture that answers your question

**MOST IMPORTANTLY: MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN YOUR GROUP’S TABLEAU

PLAN OF ACTION: Name: ________________________________

Re-watch the video you’ve been assigned to. You watched it for homework, but now we need you to look at it one more time, closely.
Individually, complete the chart below:

My Group Question:	My “gut” answer…

Now, circle the words in your answer that you can see. Which one of these words do you think creates a picture?
Discuss your answers as a group. When you have arrived at an answer that you all agree upon, decide together how you will show it in your TABLEAU.

IDEAS FOR YOUR TABLEAU:

Depict a moment/scene that answers your question
Have each group member represent a different part to the answer to your question
Do a before/after picture that answers your question

**MOST IMPORTANTLY: MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN YOUR GROUP’S TABLEAU

TABLEAU RUBRIC:

	5 (Distinguished)	4 (Skilled)	3 (Proficient)	2 (Basic)	1 (Below basic)
My role in the tableau is important and demonstrates understanding of the question & the reading
Time spent planning with my group was effective. Student was a team player.

TABLEAU RUBRIC:

	5 (Distinguished)	4 (Skilled)	3 (Proficient)	2 (Basic)	1 (Below basic)
My role in the tableau is important and demonstrates understanding of the question & the reading
Time spent planning with my group was effective. Student was a team player

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