Introduction: Do Over!

Do Over! Funny how many times I wish I could do something over...start from scratch, and begin again. I chose to revise my Intermission #2 timed write on communities and conformity.

Intermission weeks were fun weeks! We had the opportunity to pick a movie, view it, and discuss it with our peers. Then came the not so fun part of Intermission week…the timed write. Sixty minutes to write a paper on a prompt we know nothing about until we open the link and begin the assignment.

For Intermission Week #2 I chose to view the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.” I have loved this movie for years, and thought that my prior knowledge of this film would give me an edge and added comfort when the timed write began. I took 10 pages of notes, and watched the film three times during the week. I even outlined possible paper prompts to better prepare myself. Then, I opened up the prompt, and freaked out! All my preparation seemed to be for nothing when I read our paper prompt.

Prompt: Considering your own perceptions of non-conformity how did the film and the group discussion that ensued challenge these perceptions?

I didn’t have any notes from our discussion boards, I only had notes from the film itself! I did my best with what I had, but as you will find out when you read my paper, I did not include the required elements.

In my rewrite I reorganized my paper and tried to focus on including ways in which the movie and discussion boards challenged my views on conformity and non-conformity. My original draft focused heavily on how communities can break down an individual, so I had to work hard on turning the focus back to non-conformity within a community. Hopefully you will be able to pin point all of the required elements in my new paper!