Blog Posts Reflections #9 and #10:Wow Factor: have I created new meaning? Asked new questions? and Reflection: in the end what did I do well, what did I learn, what would I do differently next time.

Wow Factor: have I created new meaning? Asked new questions?

From my research, it is obvious that the importance of John Hughes work has been questioned before so my question is not completely original.  Although I feel like my work has some originality due to the fact that all this information hasn’t been organized in the same place in a research paper.  I found many sources but none of them alone gave me everything I need, all of them together did but I compiled all that information to make something new.

Reflection: in the end what did I do well, what did I learn, what would I do differently next time.

I feel like I organized my information well, I did struggle with that but I think it turned out good. I learned so much more than I once new about my favorite movies.  I learned that these movies I’ve watched so many times have other meanings than I interpreted and have had so many impacts.  As I didn’t grow up in the 80s I didn’t understand how important they were then, I just knew that people still watch them now, but they really have such a huge sociological effect which is really interesting. I’ve learned that the man who made all these movies is really such a creative genius, and so much more thought went it to these movies than you see just from watching them. There is so much depth to these movies. I found my topic very interesting but If I was to do this again I would pick a different topic just because this could easily fall into an opinion piece instead of a research project, so I had to be careful not to do that. 

Project Outline

Essay Outline

Introduction:
In my introduction will introduce my topic and my stance(John Hughes' Coming of Age films remain relevant, have a lasting impact and are important to teens) and what my four main points which will make up the body of my essay and explain why John Hughes' films are important.  There will be a hook as well as a thesis which will introduce my topic and subtopics.

Body Paragraph #1
John Hughes' movies address teens and their problems seriously
-the problems depicted in the movie: mental health, fitting in, bullying, class seperation, etc.
-how they were addressed; examples from the films
-how this broke barriers; first to talk about these problems

Body Paragraph #2
They accurately portray teens; the characters are real and dynamic rather than stock.
-breaking stereotypes
-examples
-the depth to the characters

Body Paragraph #3.
The movies have changed the way Hollywood makes teen movies
-what these movies inspired
-how films changed
-examples

Body Paragraph #4
The message in each movie is timeless which allows every generation of teens to relate
-examples, author opinions, and other research
-the main themes, messages, etc.
-why they're important to teens

Conclusion:
Tie everything up. Go over my topic and main points again and summarize essay and conclude.

*all of my evidence is from online sources which will be in my bibliography and will be cited within my essay
*I haven't decided how I will incorporate visuals yet but visuals are important to my project

Reflection: am I ready to proceed? Do I need anymore research?

Today I went through my research and found any hole in my research that needed to be filled.  I found sources through the online database that would complete my research.  I have a little bit more note-taking to do and then I will be ready to proceed on to my project outline.

Reflection: Background knowledge: what have i learned, how is my new knowledge informing my project decisions?

I have been researching about John Hughes’ Coming of Age films and I found a few sources that gave me what I was looking for. So far I have researched and taken notes on the films relevance, sociological impact, major themes, important lessons, process of how they were made, the teen movie market, adolescent problems important to the films, and music central to the movies. I have about 9 sources I looked at that I am keeping track of and 4 of those are the ones I really focused on for the bulk of my info. As I research and take notes it becomes clearer how I will structure my project and I have ideas of what it will look like. I still have to research the coming of age novels I choose, which are the perks of being a wallflower and catcher in the rye.  After I research all of that I will go back and make sure I haven’t missed anything and I have enough evidence. 

Timeline and Goals

Timeline and Goals

I hope to finish preliminary research today, June 2^nd

I will also be done my research proposal: graphic organizer and question by June 3rd

I plan to have by first 5 reflections/entries done by June 3^rd

I would like to roughly be done research by Monday June 6^th

I’d like to have filled in any holes in my research and have it ready for my project by June 7^th or 8^th

As well I plan to have reflections 6, 7, 8 done by June 10^th

I plan to finish my project outline by June 9^th or June 10^th latest since that is the due date

I plan to have finished my project and all remaining reflections by June 16^th or latest the last day of school  

Reflection: my choice for study and why.

Reflection: my choice for study and why.

For my study I chose the topic of coming of age films in particular John Hughes films.  My aim is to discover why these coming of age films were/are popular and relatable from the 80’s till the present.  As well as the impact they’ve had; on other films, on individuals, on different generations of adolescents. I came to this idea while brainstorming I thought of all the things I really enjoy; books, films, shows, music, etc., and I thought of coming of age films and books.  Some of my favorite books are categorized as coming of age books, such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Then I tried to think of what I could do with those books but nothing really worked, question wise. So then I thought what about coming of age films.  Which brought to mind John Hughes, whose films “The Breakfast Club”, “Sixteen Candles”, and “Pretty and Pink” are some of my favorite movies, and I had seen a documentary about writer and director a while back talking about how his work was so powerful for adolescents. So I was inspired to know why these types of films continued to work for over three generations.  Other than their humor and obvious story line appeal, I wanted to go deeper into how they stayed relevant and why they’re so important. I’ve been brainstorming questions around my bigger main question which I will proceed to answer through further inquiry. 

Reflection: What is my understanding of inquiry?

Reflection: What is my understanding of inquiry?

To me inquiry means research, discovering, and exploring ideas.  It is a process of learning new subject matter or going further into subject matter you are already familiar with. It is the process of investigation to answer questions you have relating to the subject. Then creating something out of what you’ve learnt, a project, presentation, essay or research paper.  Through inquiry you can develop a deep understanding of your chosen subject.