2.5: Sample of Ten Step Note-Taking Assignment

Sample Ten Step Note-taking (handout)

Steps

1. What is the title of the assigned reading?

“How the New “Aladdin” Stacks Up Against a Century of Hollywood Stereotyping”

2. Who is the author? Or, who wrote the assigned reading?
Evelyn Alsutany

3. Was the author writing to you (students), to your professor (academics), or to everybody (a general or popular audience)?
General Audience

4. What vocabulary words did you have to look up? What vocabulary words might be important to the meaning of the assigned reading? Write at least two vocabulary words/phrases from the assigned reading and define those words/phrases. Be sure to indicate where you found the definitions whether it be from a dictionary or from the assigned reading itself.
Monolithic
Merriam Webster: “constituting a massive undifferentiated and often rigid whole” (3a)
Tropes
Merriam Webster: “a common or overused theme or device : CLICHÉ”

5. How do you relate to what the author says? Identify at least two sentences or sections where the author says something to which you can relate from past experiences or prior knowledge. Write out the sentences as direct quotes, and discuss why you found it relatable.

• “Nonetheless, some glaring problems persisted. Jake Gyllenhaal was cast in the lead role of “The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010), while Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton were cast in “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014) as Egyptian characters.
  • Why were white actors assuming these roles?”
  • I connected this to the OscarsSoWhite controversy and other discussions about representations of people of color in Hollywood.
• “And despite the fact that some white extras had their skin darkened during filming, . . .”
  • As an African-American, I connected this to the history of minstrelsy in American theater.
  • I considered the TV shows, movies, and social media I watch. What stereotypes do I accept without question?

6. Think like a writer. What do you like or dislike about HOW the author wrote the assigned reading? Identify at least two sentences or sections that you liked or disliked and explain why you liked them or disliked them.

• “Disney wanted to avoid repeating these same problems in the live action version of “Aladdin,” which came out on May 24."
  • For awhile, I was unclear about the year in which the live action Aladdin was produced. I had to read further in to learn that it was 2019.
• “In his seminal 1978 book “Orientalism,” literature professor Edward Said argued that Western cultures historically stereotyped the Middle East to justify exerting control over it.”
  • I appreciated the history and the context.

7. What do you think the reading is about? What’s the thesis of the reading? If there is a sentence in the reading that you can identify as the thesis statement, write that here as a direct quote. Otherwise, in your own words, discuss what you think is the main point of the reading.
“But while the live action “Aladdin” does succeed in rectifying some aspects of Hollywood’s long history of stereotyping and whitewashing Middle Easterners, it still leaves much to be desired.”

8. Why do you think that that is what the reading is about? Find and write down as direct quotes additional sentences or passages that prove that the reading is focused on this main point.

• “Disney wanted to avoid repeating these same problems in the live action version of “Aladdin,” which came out on May 24. So they sought advice from a Community Advisory Council comprised of Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim scholars, activists and creatives.”
• Also see subheadings.
• “The biggest problem with the 2019 “Aladdin” is that it perpetuates the trend of reverting to magical Orientalism – as if that’s a noteworthy improvement over terrorist portrayals. In truth, it’s not exactly a courageous move to trade explicit racism for clichéd exoticism.”

9. What evidence does the author use to prove that their main point or thesis is true? In your own words, describe the kind of evidence that the author uses. Do they use facts and statistics, personal stories, quotes from other thinkers, something else?
The author discusses the history of Western portrayals of the Middle East; Alsutany cites an expert, Edward Said, who wrote Orientalism in 1978. Alsutany also compares the live action Aladdin to the 1992 version and other movies that have stereotyped the Middle East and/or used non-Middle Eastern actors as main characters.

10. Write out as a direct quote the sentences that represent their best or strongest evidence. Describe why you think this is their strongest evidence.
“But over the last century, Hollywood has produced over 900 films that stereotype Arabs and Muslims – a relentless drumbeat of stereotypes that influences public opinion and policies.” While Alsutany describes a number of movies in her essay, stating the number of films about the Middle East or set in the Middle East with problematic stereotypes helps me to see the extent of the problem.