Unit 1 Draft
Source Analysis #1:
The author decided to take on this project to represent the metaphor of every writer having their own specialized style. This is represented through the pencil shop as each person who comes in has their own specialized pencil representing themselves as a writer. The genre is a narrative style article, as the author is telling a story about this shop that only sells pencils to convey a deeper meaning. This source fits into the larger conversation of my topic of inquiry through searching for the underlying meaning rather than taking it at face value. Although the author sounds as if they are just talking about a pencil shop, it is important to ask questions about why and what the writing devices they use represent. I think it did a good job getting across its message through different literary devices such as similes and metaphors. The author uses informal dialogue, such as notations within parentheses, which makes the writing feel more like a conversation rather than a formal research paper. “If you make a purchase (and it’s hard not to, given that you can pay with pocket change), your goods will be wrapped in a box and tied up with string.” This statement is a relatable conversation that the author is having with the viewer by using words like “you” and “your”. Overall, this article does a good job of creating a sense of relatability in the writing, which engages the reader.
Source Analysis #2:
“Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery”,2022, directed by Rian Johnson
The movie is a satire “whodunnit” trope that critiques the wealthy class through displaying their ignorance and idiocy. The title of the movie itself references a layered structure that reveals itself to be transparent. This symbolizes the villain who constantly looks for depth in an attempt to seem smart, but is revealed to be shallow all along. This movie is non-linear and constantly shifts going back in time to reveal different people’s perspectives. As time goes on, it reveals more and more of the underlying mystery of the plot. The film draws from the 1970s detective stories and is influenced by the idea of “disruptive innovation.” I feel the source did a good job at their main goal through imagery and the overall plot of the film. This relates to the topic of inquiry as a whole because it is, at its core, a detective film, and the audience has to pick up on underlying clues through asking questions and watching interactions. This source, due to its being a movie, gives off visual clues other than just dialogue. It uses these visuals to fill the gap of not being able to hear everyone's internal dialogue. This fact makes the source strong in its own way. One quote said by the main detective within the movie is “It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth.” This is a critique of people who think that speaking their mind is automatically fact and claims that some people cannot handle these “facts” because of their emotions. But, in reality, opinion is not fact, and without evidence, it cannot be considered a concrete truth.
"How Might You...? (The Magic of Might)" by David Shaked, Posted 2025
This podcast delves into the idea of questions and how they can create different psychological impacts. Instead of people asking “what will you do?”, which is demanding and puts pressure on the person, “what might you do?” invokes a feeling of gentle inquiry. The author goes on to promote the use of “might” to expand thinking and promote growth. I think the author took on this project to help people improve their mindsets. He seems very passionate about how different questions can be very powerful in their own ways. The author explains that powerful questions can have lasting impacts on the brain and need to be thought through. He has a very gentle and reassuring tone and gives many examples of what kind of questions you can ask yourself to help yourself in certain scenarios. I think this podcast has influenced the genre by promoting self-help and growth. This genre itself encourages a conversation type media, rather than lecturing; it feels more like someone is directly talking to you. This gives the episode a more personal feeling. I think that this project was fairly successful because I thought that his analysis on vocab and how it affects our thinking was very insightful, and his soothing voice was very calming and induced self-reflection. This relates to the larger conversation of inquiry through the many different structured questions and inquisitions that were discussed throughout the episode. I can see now that inquiry could be thought about as a journey of self reflection and growth through asking questions to yourself.
Source Analysis #4:
This short YouTube video delves into High School students investigating their own learning conditions. In Massachusetts, they created this alternative program with about 9 High School students who get to decide how they want to learn, with most of the time no input from adults. The genre of this is a short documentary. This program is called the Independent Project, and it runs only for 1 semester, which is divided into 3 parts, and it only has one rule: design your own learning. These students get to create a weekly question, which they then create a presentation for to teach the class, alongside their semester-wide project that focuses on a personal endeavor. I feel like this learning style really pushes students to take action on their own learning rather than just doing what they're told. The director of the program stated that she wanted to "Stop trying to move every kind of human being through the same gate". I think this really reinforces the idea of individualized learning and was very convincing to hear the many accounts from individual students who were in the program. I think this relates to the larger topic of inquiry, as it highlights how being inquisitive is different for everyone and should be treated as such. I think this video explains the concept that standardized schooling fails at, which is engagement. If a student doesn't want to learn, they cannot be forced to.
“Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery”,2022, directed by Rian Johnson
The movie is a satire “whodunnit” trope that critiques the wealthy class through displaying their ignorance and idiocy. The title of the movie itself references a layered structure that reveals itself to be transparent. This symbolizes the villain who constantly looks for depth in an attempt to seem smart, but is revealed to be shallow all along. This movie is non-linear and constantly shifts going back in time to reveal different people’s perspectives. As time goes on, it reveals more and more of the underlying mystery of the plot. The film draws from the 1970s detective stories and is influenced by the idea of “disruptive innovation.” I feel the source did a good job at their main goal through imagery and the overall plot of the film. This relates to the topic of inquiry as a whole because it is, at its core, a detective film, and the audience has to pick up on underlying clues through asking questions and watching interactions. This source, due to its being a movie, gives off visual clues other than just dialogue. It uses these visuals to fill the gap of not being able to hear everyone's internal dialogue. This fact makes the source strong in its own way. One quote said by the main detective within the movie is “It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth.” This is a critique of people who think that speaking their mind is automatically fact and claims that some people cannot handle these “facts” because of their emotions. But, in reality, opinion is not fact, and without evidence, it cannot be considered a concrete truth.
Source Analysis #3:
"How Might You...? (The Magic of Might)" by David Shaked, Posted 2025
This podcast delves into the idea of questions and how they can create different psychological impacts. Instead of people asking “what will you do?”, which is demanding and puts pressure on the person, “what might you do?” invokes a feeling of gentle inquiry. The author goes on to promote the use of “might” to expand thinking and promote growth. I think the author took on this project to help people improve their mindsets. He seems very passionate about how different questions can be very powerful in their own ways. The author explains that powerful questions can have lasting impacts on the brain and need to be thought through. He has a very gentle and reassuring tone and gives many examples of what kind of questions you can ask yourself to help yourself in certain scenarios. I think this podcast has influenced the genre by promoting self-help and growth. This genre itself encourages a conversation type media, rather than lecturing; it feels more like someone is directly talking to you. This gives the episode a more personal feeling. I think that this project was fairly successful because I thought that his analysis on vocab and how it affects our thinking was very insightful, and his soothing voice was very calming and induced self-reflection. This relates to the larger conversation of inquiry through the many different structured questions and inquisitions that were discussed throughout the episode. I can see now that inquiry could be thought about as a journey of self reflection and growth through asking questions to yourself.
Source Analysis #4:
This short YouTube video delves into High School students investigating their own learning conditions. In Massachusetts, they created this alternative program with about 9 High School students who get to decide how they want to learn, with most of the time no input from adults. The genre of this is a short documentary. This program is called the Independent Project, and it runs only for 1 semester, which is divided into 3 parts, and it only has one rule: design your own learning. These students get to create a weekly question, which they then create a presentation for to teach the class, alongside their semester-wide project that focuses on a personal endeavor. I feel like this learning style really pushes students to take action on their own learning rather than just doing what they're told. The director of the program stated that she wanted to "Stop trying to move every kind of human being through the same gate". I think this really reinforces the idea of individualized learning and was very convincing to hear the many accounts from individual students who were in the program. I think this relates to the larger topic of inquiry, as it highlights how being inquisitive is different for everyone and should be treated as such. I think this video explains the concept that standardized schooling fails at, which is engagement. If a student doesn't want to learn, they cannot be forced to.
I loved reading your piece and how you organized your information! You may want to have the paragraphs in the same color font and to include more about if you thought the projects were successful
ReplyDelete(Abi)
Delete