1. Situating and Altering Information
Context & Meaning
Situating and Altering Information

2. Context: the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event or situation; background information
Context is the way we situate ideas and knowledge
If the context of information is changed, then the way the information is understood or received changes
Changing the context of an idea can drastically alter the meaning of an idea or how the meaning of something is received or viewed

3. Changing the Context
Dumbledore’s actions out of the context of the Harry Potter books don’t make sense, and in fact come to seem very creepy
Still not clear?
In the books, Dumbledore is generally seen as a kind, grandfatherly figure in Harry’s life
He acts as a mentor to help Harry make difficult life choices

4. Changing the Context Continued
Think about Darth Vader
When you think of Darth Vader what mental image is conjured?
How do you generally contextualize him within the Stars Wars trilogy?
Does your mental image align with this context?

5. Pocahontas No context: With context:
A Native American woman falls in love with a Colonial settler. Both their people don’t approve, and after John Smith is captured by Pocahontas’ tribe, she risks her life to save him. After being saved, he throws himself in front of a bullet to save her, and has to return to Europe for medical treatment.
With context:
“Pocahontas” was a nickname, and her name was actually Matoaka. She was 11 or 12 when John Smith (27) met her. When she was 17, she was held prisoner in an English settlement and forced to marry John Rolfe (28) in exchange for being released. When she met John Smith again, she was very upset with him and turned away from him. Some records show she told him to stop saying she saved him from being killed because it was untrue and misrepresented her people.

6. Identify the following movies based on their plots being out of context
An advisor feels his boss is a bad leader, so he decides to make a political connection with his boss’s daughter in order to have more influence in the city.
Aladdin
A man unwittingly falls in love with his sister while both fight in a war against fascists.
Star Wars

7. Using Context in Your Analysis
When looking up outside research, look for facts about the author or creators, or when the text was released in order to provide the reader with the context surrounding the text’s creation
Was the author writing about their own experience?
Was the author trying to push an agenda?
Was the author reacting to something?
What was going on socially, historically, or politically when the author wrote?
Understanding the context of the text changes the understanding of it.
Looking at the context of your fairy tales, you can get a better understanding of things that are similar or different between two versions.

8. For your essay You will be analyzing and explaining differences
If there is a major difference in one of the versions of your fairytale, look at the context:
Who is the author?
Who is the audience?
Why was the text created?
What is the effect of the context on the content?

9. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012)
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
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The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012)
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10. Comparative Analysis: Two Series
Similarities:
»► Focus is on Elizabeth Bennet. Her mother wants her to get married.
Difference:
»► Historical: P&P takes place in early 1800s; LBD takes place in 2012 – 2013
»► Cultural: In P&P, Elizabeth doesn’t work and isn’t classically trained/educated. Lizzie is a grad student who lives at home, is looking for a job, and has a lot of student debt.
Significance of similarities/differences:
»► Stays focused on Lizzie, but by updating the historical context, the text becomes more relevant/ easier to connect to

11. Intro/Thesis:
Jane Austen’s novel, Pride & Prejudice has consistently been adapted into media since the early 1930s, from movies to themed episodes in television series. But despite all the adaptations, all the storylines tend to resolve around Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter, and her mother’s desire to see her married and settled. This is no different in the BBC Miniseries Pride & Prejudice and the Bernie Su and Hank Green The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series. While the BBC Miniseries is more true to Austen’s original text, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries updates the text, making Lizzie into a 24 year old grad student vlogging (video blogging) about her life juggling school, family, and her mother’s desire for her to get married. By updating not only the setting, but Lizzie’s education and personal desires, Su and Green created a more contemporary story, making Austen more relevant and approachable to a modern audience.

12. Get in groups!
What are some differences between the versions? Similarities?
»►Explain the similarity or difference your group is assigned
Is it a social difference?
»► An expectation of gender, class, personal background?
Historical?
»► Time period of the text (‘95, ‘05, ‘12)
»► OR, Time period where the text takes place (Regency, Contemporary)
Cultural/Setting difference?
»► UK, US
Significance of similarities/differences?
»► What’s the effect of the change? Why make the change?

13. Homework
WR#7 For this writing response, I want you to submit a working thesis. If you have a finalized thesis, feel free to turn in your introductory paragraph including your thesis. If you don’t have a finalized thesis, spend a paragraph explaining what you want to focus your analysis on, and what context you’re thinking of applying — Cultural, Social, or Historical. This means: you must have decided on a fairy tale, the adaptation, and what you’ll be focusing on. Due: 4/4 by 2:00PM