Reading Online - New Literacies: Exploring Realism and Authenticity in Media Messages

Activity 3: Exploring Video Realism

Following are Shawna and Terrence’s explanations of their reasoning for assigning the video clips at certain positions on their individual Reality Check Diagrams. The number noted in parentheses following each explanation indicates the position to which that student assigned the clip, with 1 representing the most unrealistic and 6 the most realistic.

Romeo + Juliet

Shawna: This is totally unrealistic. I put it way down here at the end. This is a play -- it’s a drama. There’s nothing realistic about it. They modernized an old story, but they made it unrealistic modern. People don’t act that way in real life. [Question: How do you know?] I’ve never seen anybody dress like them. (1)

Terrence: [This is] weird because it’s more realistic than Man in the Iron Mask, even though they’re talking in the Shakespeare way. It’s more realistic because of the gas station, the clothing, the way they act out in front of the girls. The gang warfare, too...that’s how they act in L.A. [Question: How do you know?] I’ve met people, seen stuff about it in the news, on TV. [Laughs.] Music videos. (2)

The Man in the Iron Mask

Shawna: I put this as sort of unrealistic, since it’s fiction. Further toward unrealistic than Basketball Diaries. This is historical fiction. Not a true story. [Question: Does it have anything realistic about it?] The costumes and the...what you call it...the scenery, the setting. They actually wore clothes like that. [Question: How do you know?] I’ve seen other shows, seen pictures in books. In pictures at the museum. (2)

Terrence: This is one of those stupid movies. I hate Leonardo DiCaprio. I put it way at the unrealistic end, with the music and the action. [Question: Does it have anything realistic about it?] I think it’s a true story, isn’t it? Was it a book before it was a movie? (1)

The Basketball Diaries

Shawna: I put this in the middle. I’ve seen this show and it’s based on a true story. He actually had a drug problem. This really happened. But those are actors and they’re saying lines. This is a made-up scene. (3)

Terrence: This seems very realistic to me.... I can imagine that’s how two people would act if they were about to get into a fight. It was very tense. I’ve been in situations like this and that’s how it feels. (6)

ADT Commercial

Shawna: I put this in the middle. It was realistic and unrealistic at the same time. It’s an ad, so it’s not realistic. But the lady’s voice -- that was real. [Question: How do you know?] I don’t. The screen said, “This is an actual call to 911,” but I don’t know if that’s true or not. It just seemed real. (4)

Terrence: This seemed very real. That was an actual call. [Question: How do you know?] That’s how my mother would talk. She just seemed so scared, her voice, everything. (5)

World News Tonight with Peter Jennings

Shawna: I put this as sort of realistic...because those car crashes were real. I didn’t put it all the way at realistic because of the way they made it into a joke, they -- the people who made the news show -- made it kind of seem funny. Had an attitude. (5)

Terrence: I put this near the realistic end.... TV news shows actual things -- events -- that happened. (4)

The Civil War

Shawna: This one’s tough. I think it’s nearly the same as the news. Maybe a little more realistic than the news. Because it’s history, and old. It seems more true than something that just happened. (6)

Terrence: I put this as a little less realistic than the news. Because it’s got still pictures, not live scenes. They didn’t have motion pictures then. (3)

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Shawna:	I put this in the middle. I’ve seen this show and it’s based on a true story. He actually had a drug problem. This really happened. But those are actors and they’re saying lines. This is a made-up scene. (3)
Terrence:	This seems very realistic to me.... I can imagine that’s how two people would act if they were about to get into a fight. It was very tense. I’ve been in situations like this and that’s how it feels. (6)

Shawna:	I put this in the middle. It was realistic and unrealistic at the same time. It’s an ad, so it’s not realistic. But the lady’s voice -- that was real. [Question: How do you know?] I don’t. The screen said, “This is an actual call to 911,” but I don’t know if that’s true or not. It just seemed real. (4)
Terrence:	This seemed very real. That was an actual call. [Question: How do you know?] That’s how my mother would talk. She just seemed so scared, her voice, everything. (5)

Shawna:	I put this as sort of realistic...because those car crashes were real. I didn’t put it all the way at realistic because of the way they made it into a joke, they -- the people who made the news show -- made it kind of seem funny. Had an attitude. (5)
Terrence:	I put this near the realistic end.... TV news shows actual things -- events -- that happened. (4)

Shawna:	This one’s tough. I think it’s nearly the same as the news. Maybe a little more realistic than the news. Because it’s history, and old. It seems more true than something that just happened. (6)
Terrence:	I put this as a little less realistic than the news. Because it’s got still pictures, not live scenes. They didn’t have motion pictures then. (3)