Category Archives: Media Literacy and Pop Culture

[Media Literacy] Lightyear: A Family Watch Guide

Setting the stage for family movie nights can help in nurturing young people to be active consumers of media text.  In the spirit of reading deeply, providing young viewers with an opportunity to reflect and share prior knowledge can nurture … Continue reading

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[Trailer Review] Halloween Ends

With the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to the Halloween franchise in 2018, the new series of Jason Blum produced and David Gordon Green directed films have garnered huge box-office results along with divisive critical response. Premiering as part of … Continue reading

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[Movie Review] Tom Cruise Soars in Top Gun:Maverick

Simply put, Tom Cruise is Top Gun: Maverick and perhaps the last true Hollywood movie star. In a pop culture landscape filled with reality television personalities, TikTot challenges and superhero multiverses, the selling-power of a marquee name on a movie … Continue reading

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[Coming Soon] Brick By Brick – An ONABSE Conference Presentation

As an educator, being humbled is part of the experience of learning from others and sharing time with those who make you better. I’m so fortunate that this happens quite often. For example, over the course of the past five … Continue reading

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[Movie Review] Spielberg’s West Side Story is a Masterpiece

I’ve spent many years studying and appreciating film. From my time in college and university diving deep into production and theory, I can without hesitation share that my fandom for Steven Spielberg was polarizing. Perhaps, this is because I was … Continue reading

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[Movie Review] Leatherface Returns

Other than comic-book inspired movies, horror continues to resonant in theatres during the pandemic. In the past nine months, horror has dominated the box office with The Quiet Place 2, Candy Man, The Conjuring : The Devil Made Me Do … Continue reading

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[Movie Review] King Richard

It seems that late 2021 was Will Smith’s time to remind both readers and movie watchers that destiny doesn’t come by accident. Rather, who we are, want to become and where we want to be is far from accidental. It’s … Continue reading

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[Media Literacy Lesson] Don’t Look Up

Well before COVID and when streamers became first release exhibitors of major Hollywood pictures, star-driven movies such a Don’t Look Up would be a significant box office draw. The likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence coupled with a topical … Continue reading

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It’s That Time of Year…

Media Smarts’ annual Media Literacy Week is just around the corner. Taking place Monday October 25 to Saturday October 30, Media Literacy Week provides educators with an intentional opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn as it pertains to media literacy … Continue reading

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Luca: The Importance of Seeing Fully

More so than any other studio, Pixar has been consistent in its output of family friendly films that don’t shy away from the complex narratives that shape the shared experience of movie goers. From the studio’s first feature Toy Story … Continue reading

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