Dangerous minds questions (brief overview)

1.    Does Dangerous Minds promote or challenge stereotypes of urban youth? Give two reasons for your answer.



2.    Why do you think this movie is called Dangerous Minds?
If you had to give the movie a different name, what would you give it?




3.    How believable is this movie? Explain your answer with three good reasons why it is or isn’t believable.




4.    Dangerous Minds was shot 29 years ago. Things have changed over the past decades. How do you think LouAnne would be accepted today given her rather unconventional style? How would students, parents, colleagues, administration, and community members respond to her?




5.    What is the most significant thing you have learned from watching the movie?



6.    Do you think that a film like this should be used as a model for beginning teachers? If so, explain why? If not, explain why?



7.    What does the film tell you about constructions of race and schooling in American culture? 


8.  How is Summit like the school in the movie?  Are there any similarities?  What are they?


9.  What is Summit High's biggest cultural challenge?  


10.  Is culture at Summit good or bad?  How can we change?  Should we?  

Contagion Critical Thought Questions

Analysis of the Movie “Contagion”

1. What country did the disease originate in? What two types of animals did this virus develop in before it made the jump to infecting humans? Who was the first person infected?
2. What type of infectious agent was this, and what was its specific name?
3. What are fomites, and which character in the movie explained how fomites can be involved in the transmission of infectious disease?
4. What is the difference between a sign and a symptom of disease? What are the signs and symptoms of the disease featured in this movie?
5. How long did it take a person infected with this disease to develop symptoms? About how long from time of exposure to death? What was the average number of people that an infected person would directly transmit the infection to?
6. Why was the blogger Alan Krumwiede (played by Jude Law) considered such a threat? At best he believed he was helping the public, at worst, he was just trying to make money by exploiting the situation. Regardless, his actions were making things worse. Explain how.
7. Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard), a World Health Organization epidemiologist, was kidnapped. Why? Did the kidnappers get what they wanted? Explain.
8. Dr. Ellis Cheever (played by Lawrence Fishburne) was a medical official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What did he get in trouble for doing, and why?
9. Before a vaccine can be developed, researchers need to find a way to grow the infectious agent in a laboratory. The problem with this microbe was that it quickly killed any in vitro cells the researchers infected. What type of cell do researchers eventually find that allows them to successfully grow the microbe in the lab?
10. Dr. Ally Hextall (played by Jennifer Ehle) was the main character working on development of a vaccine. She eventually injected herself with one of the experimental vaccines she developed. She then went to visit her father who was sick. In doing so, she purposely exposed herself to the illness. While visiting her father, they discussed the parallels between what she had just done and the work of Dr. Barry Marshall. Who was Barry Marshall, and in what way was his scientific work similar to that of the fictional Dr. Hextall?
11. Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) ingested Forsythia when he began feeling ill, and he ultimately did not get the disease. Why can one not conclude that the Forsythia prevented Alan from developing the disease? Please give a detailed response. There are several reasons why we cannot conclude that Forsythia cured him.

PART II:

Directions: Please answer the following questions.  Please answer in complete sentences.   

1.     Who is patient zero?  "Patient zero was discovered to be  __________".  

2.     Why did her husband not get infected? 

3. What was the role of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) in the film?

4. What part does private industry play in fighting this epidemic?

5. What is the name of the worldwide organization that deals with the outbreak?

6. What role did social media play in the outbreak?

7. What were the origins of this virus? (species origins)

8. What were the modes of transmission of this disease?

9. Would this virus be categorized as an emerging virus? Why?

10. How realistic do you think this film was? Explain in a well- developed paragraph.

In one paragraph, describe the ethical issues you felt were presented in the film.