5Renee's+Web+Quest

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"//Truth is always the first casualty of history//"
The media brain washes us all. We don't even know that it is happening. The government uses propaganda to make them look like the "good guys" in any situation. Journalists and the government officials can bend the truth whenever they deem it necessary. Even though it may be for our own protection, truth is always the first casualty of history because the government and media don't show all images/videos, they use propaganda to hide the truth, and exaggerate or understate about what is going on in historic events.

The government and media don't show all the images and videos from historic events, use propaganda, and exaggerate or understate what is going on. The government and media don't show all the images and videos from a certain event. They keep some very important information to themselves. The reason they do that is to make them seem like the "good guys". A good example of this is the video of when the US troops bombarded the family in their home for no apparent reason. The government and media use propaganda to make a certain country look good or bad. They do this to make it seem like they aren't messing up everything and helping out. An example of this is the video of how the US troops staged the tearing down of the statue. The media exaggerates and understates what is going on. They embellish stories to make them more exciting. They also tone down what is going on in real life, probably to hide something or so people don't get scared. A great example of this is when we watched the video of how there weren't that many civilians killed and there were minor injuries. But it turned out that there were some pretty gruesome pictures and deaths that took place.

The government and media embellish and belittle the truth in almost everything. They cover it up with lies to make them seem like they are doing the right thing. Truth is always the first casualty of history.  

Part 1

1. Create a list of all the types of media you and your partner can think of. If you are on your own, you may need to check out other 8th graders work as the week progresses.

video(tv, news, movies, youtube), podcasts, written (newspapers, posters, book, magazines), the internet

2. Identify the purposes of all media messages – for example to entertain, to inform etc.

To inform, entertain, and persuade people.

3. How is the media influenced by social, political and economic factors? What other influences do you think media is affected or influenced by?

The government can censor things so it makes them look good, stretch the truth, make us seem like we are the good guys Socially, they can make people look good and don't ruin their reputation. Economic: they can make a product seem good so more people will buy it

People can bribe the newspapers to cut things out, and put things in Opinions, people only say what they think, not the truth.

4. What do you think are the effects on those groups of people who are not represented by these media stories and those who portray them?

The whole truth isn't said so that their decisions seem right. We made Iraq seem bad because we didn't get their story straight We only use our opinions, to look good

Part 2 1. How are both sides of the war (i.e. Iraqis and the Americans) portrayed in these images and video?

To the Iraqis, America seemed bad To the Americans, we seemed like we were doing something great for the Iraqis

2. Your group will now undertake research on the Internet to gain a brief overview of the Iraqi culture. Consider information such as major cities, religion, government, social structures.

Major cities: Baghdad, Mosul, Basrha Religion: Muslim and Islam Their governmet:** parliamentary democracy with **Federal system 325-seat parliament, called the Council of Representatives social structures: rich and poor (middle class has had economic problems and is now mostly just poor)

3. Using the **Presentation (Resource 2),** compare the images portraying the same event. Point out the similarities and differences between them. IN GENERAL: They are both the same pics, taken at the same time, just using different angles One set of pics make the americans look good, while the others make them look bad. different perspectives, showing certain parts of each picture.

4. What choices were made in depicting this event in a certain way (i.e. through photographs, video, or written articles)? For the americans, they made took the pictures close up at different angles. They also use written articles to make us seem liek we are doing the same thing. The Iraqis have photos that show the whole area, and show that everything was staged.

5. How did this information affect your understanding of the event? It shows me that our government is always lying to us. They also were trying to make themselves look good by staging events and doctoring photos.

6. What choices were made by the media in how they captured this event? What elements did they choose to omit or select to show? What do you think the intentions were by portraying the event this way?

They zoomed in on photos to make is seem like there were many people. they took photos from different angles (and probably photoshopped) They got rid of all the photos and footage that made us seem bad (like the staging of tearing down of the statue and taking over the family's home). they did all of this to make the US look we were doing the right thing. 7. Why do you think the newspaper images were doctored? They didn't want the citizens of America to be mad. The also wanted to show that they were helping, not planning the whole thing. 8. What purpose did it serve? To make us look good and so they wouldn't get into trouble for what they did.

9. Who gains from altering these images? America gains from the altered images. It makes them seem like they were only helping and doing the right thing.

10. Do you think an altered image can change history, and if so, how? Yes. It made us want to send more soldiers over to help, when they weren't even helping. We might gain an enemy with Iraqi.

Each group or individual will be assigned a pair of newspaper images covering the war in Iraq. These can be found in **Resource 1 "Newspaper Covers of War in Iraq**". Your group is to analyse these newspaper covers and respond to the following questions. An example has been provided for you to work through as a whole class activity with your teacher. Record your answers to your work in your Working Document.
 * __Step 3__**

**We are Page 3**
1. Consider how the Newspaper Editors have chosen to portray the war in Iraq. Consider elements such as a) Image size The image is huge on the U.S paper, they are avoiding the actual topic. The other uses more words b) Use of colour and font size U.S. uses a very colerful picture and big words. The other had very small print. c) Dedication of space to a particular article – consider the size of the article. Does this give it more prominence? The US uses only a small area and a huge picture. The other one uses a lot of space to cover the story. When the article looks pretty, it attracts peoples attention, but it isn't always good. The one that looks more official is the other one. 2. Who is the audience of the newspaper? The audience is the citeaens of the country is published in. 3. Consider the ‘other’ side of the story. Who is not being represented in these newspapers? What ramifications does this have for ‘their’ side of the story? The Iraqis aren't represented verry well. It makes the Irqis seem like they aren't doing that much or are bad. They aren't portrayed the right way.

__**Step 5**__

__**Analytical Writing Task**__

The last task for this Webquest is an individual analytical writing task. **Each student is to write their own essay answering the following question:**

"//Truth is always the first casualty of history//"

Assess how the media assists in shaping and influencing the way events are portrayed and recorded. Consider how a government or country's actions can be supported and 'legitimised' through the media. What impact do these perspectives have on historical accounts and sources for a particular event? Use the knowledge and sources you have analysed in the Webquest to support your answer. Post your essay on your webquest wiki page, and please provide images that you feel represent your experience with this webquest (Introduction, 1 body paragraphs - 11 sentences, conclusion).


 * __Finally__**......Submit your Working Document and Analytical Writing Task to your teacher by end of class Thursday, January 19th.

The media brain washes us all. We don't even know that it is happening. The government uses propaganda to make them look like the "good guys" in any situation. Journalists and the government officials can bend the truth whenever they deem it necessary. Even though it may be for our own protection, truth is always the first casualty of history because the government and media don't show all images/videos, they use propaganda to hide the truth, and exaggerate or understate about what is going on in historic events.

The government and media don't show all the images and videos from historic events, use propaganda, and exaggerate or understate what is going on. The government and media don't show all the images and videos from a certain event. They keep some very important information to themselves. The reason they do that is to make them seem like the "good guys". A good example of this is the video of when the US troops bombarded the family in their home for no apparent reason. The government and media use propaganda to make a certain country look good or bad. They do this to make it seem like they aren't messing up everything and helping out. An example of this is the video of how the US troops staged the tearing down of the statue. The media exaggerates and understates what is going on. They embellish stories to make them more exciting. They also tone down what is going on in real life, probably to hide something or so people don't get scared. A great example of this is when we watched the video of how there weren't that many civilians killed and there were minor injuries. But it turned out that there were some pretty gruesome pictures and deaths that took place.

The government and media embellish and belittle the truth in almost everything. They cover it up with lies to make them seem like they are doing the right thing. Truth is always the first casualty of history.  