Sometimes entertainment takes from the past and acts like a commentary on historical events.
Below are a few examples of such commentary:
War of the Worlds-Addresses the issue of colonialism and the idea of rejecting
imperialism.
Chicken Run-indirect storyline that deals with the Holocaust.
Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith-Balance of power falls into the wrong hands after crisis
allows government more powers (think Hitler and the Reichstag).
Your task is to develop a creative story that focuses on genocide themes. At this point, you should
be able to identify yearly themes that are similar in the genocides we have studied. Your story
must address the following themes:
Conditions-Does genocide your take place during a certain crisis? Think about the role of the and
the Nazis.
Required
Political power struggle-Think about the Weimar Republic, the Young Turks or the Tutsi/Hutu
political struggle.
Assimilation-Identify a group that has a perceived refusal to accept the norms of the majority.
Think Jews not assimilating into German society.
Yearly themes
Long term hatred
Belief in cause justification ideology
Propaganda
Process
Allowing Atrocities
Outcome-How does your story end? Will it be total slaughter or justice?
Pick 8
DenialThe “other”
NationalismInternational response
Following orders
Perpetrator
Victim
Bystander
Hero
Laws: A series of laws designed to deny right.
Character names that reference historic figures-The show Lost has a character name Locke and
Rousseau. Both were philosophers writing about man in the state of nature. Hence Lost is a show
about plane crash survivors trying to live without a set of laws. Your characters should reference
historic figures.
Rubric:
Creativity (has historic names for crucial events)
Tells original story using historical figures as characters
Uses a minimum of eight of the yearly themes listed above
Story projects an understanding of yearly themes
Oral presentation about your project? What did you produce?
Students are allowed to work
together. This means a group
of four students could pick the
targeted group but each
student completes one from
item located in format below
Format
1-Comic book
2-Collection of poems with visuals and maps
3-Documentary
4-Video game: This format assumes the genocide was a success. Therefore, the game is a piece of
propaganda and a lesson. Video game must include a box, CD and directions.
5-Creative story (chapter from book or fake footnoted essay)
6-Memorial website (wikipage)-You are designing a memorial site that will inform the visitor
about the history using maps and other visual aids. A collection of memorial images should also
be a part of this task.
7-A found diary from a victim, perpetrator or bystander
8-Series of government documents
9-A series of five paintings addressing the themes
10-Fake PowerPoint
Items in parenthesis must
be researched
TOPICS
1. Star Wars vs. Trekkies 2. Feminists target men (George Sodini)
3. Charles Sumner targets White Americans
4. Homosexuals target heterosexuals (Stonewall, Alfredo Diego Vinales and Harvey Milk)
5. Giants Fans target Eagles Fans
6. NY Yankees Fans target Boston Fans
7. Take a current event around the globe and predict the outcome
8. Republicans target Democrats or Democrats target Republicans
9. Transformers target Go Bots
10. Israel targets Palestinians
11. Writers of Hacker Manifesto and Myspace target Facebook Profiles
12. V-8 Street racers target Honda Street Racers
13. Homeless People in NYC after Giuliani
14. Pepsi Drinkers target Coke Drinkers after Michael Jackson hair fire accident and Coke changes formula early 80s
15. The Empire from Star Wars on trial for destroying Alderaan
16. Communists during the Red Scare (HUAC, McCarthy and Lenin)
17. Native Americans and Africans form an alliance to target imperialists
18. PS3 owners target XBOX owners after the PS3 network goes down
19. Libya after Qhaddafi removed from power
20. Shia Sunni and Kurds during a civil war. Who wins the war? What happens to the other two groups? Why the fighting?
21. Celebrities target reality TV Stars (Richard Hatch)
22. Radical Islam targets Americans (Bin Laden 1998 Fatwa)
Groups A and B will have the same topic. However, Group A will end at the point when the genocide begins. Group
B will begin where Group A ends but will include “punishment” for perpetrators.
Rubric:
Creativity (has historic names for crucial events)
Tells original story using historical figures as characters
Uses a minimum of eight of the yearly themes listed above
Story projects an understanding of yearly themes
Oral presentation about your project? What did you produce?
Students are allowed to work
together. This means a group
of four students could pick the
targeted group but each
student completes one from
item located in format below
Format
1-Comic book
2-Collection of poems with visuals and maps
3-Documentary
4-Video game: This format assumes the genocide was a success. Therefore, the game is a piece of
propaganda and a lesson. Video game must include a box, CD and directions.
5-Creative story (chapter from book or fake footnoted essay)
6-Memorial website (wikipage)-You are designing a memorial site that will inform the visitor
about the history using maps and other visual aids. A collection of memorial images should also
be a part of this task.
7-A found diary from a victim, perpetrator or bystander
8-Series of government documents
9-A series of five paintings addressing the themes
10-Fake PowerPoint
Where to Begin: Each story will begin with either imperialism or a specific group that moves to a new nation in
great numbers. Starting at this point will allow you to establish the “us v. them” theme. One group begins a series of
laws that acts as the denial of rights. The denial of rights leads to nationalist groups. One group wins a political
struggle or power vacuum. The genocide begins with a spark. At this point there is no need to go into details about
the genocide. Simply focus on the intentionalist/cumulative debate. The final two steps will be the world reaction
and the punishment.
Once your story is outlined select from the format section above and create a hard copy of one of the items from the
list.
Present to class using your visual aid.