Movie Analyze

Order Description
For this assignment I want you to watch one of the movies listed below and read)”The
Leader Community” by Joseph Raelin and “The Work of Leadership” by Heifetz and
Laurie. Then I want you to craft a five page essay that ties together the articles, the
movie, and this unit of the course. The overall goal of this assignment is to show that you
can apply theory from this unit to practice. (You may include elements from other units to
help contextualize theories from this unit, but my goal is to assess your mastery of the unit
learning objectives in this assignment) FONT SIZE
I will ask you to do an interaction analysis for assignments 3 and 4, however as you choose
your movies, for one of the selections, I want you to choose a movie with a protagonist of
the opposite sex, or one that features a protagonist of a different sexuality, race, or ethnicity.
Thus, for the three interaction analysis assignments, two may be of leaders “like you” and
one must be of a leader who is of the opposite sex, or culturally different in some way from
you.
The specific objectives are for you to:
• Demonstrate an understanding of elements of leadership and followership in action
• identify the elements of communication in the movie that transact leadership in
groups and organizations
• Evaluate what the most salient elements of leadership are (pertaining to this unit)
represented in the movie
• Draw on your knowledge base to analyze a series of interactions pertaining to
leadership
• Synthesize the required text, additional readings, and elements of the movie to show
that you can debrief leadership encounters in a meaningful way using concepts
raised in this unit.
As you debrief the movie bear in mind
• you may focus on one or more characters
• you may focus on one or more situations/encounters
• you may compare and contrast characters/situations
• you may evaluate communication and or behaviors in context
• you can take whatever approach you think will demonstrate the knowledge gained
from this unit exemplified in one or more communication encounters
Movies are listed on the following page.
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Continuing Education – GIS The University of Iowa
Rationale
I want to explore as many ways to reach students as I can – to present learning
opportunities that will maximize the possibility that course material will seem “real” –
relevant, vibrant, exciting, and infinitely worth pursuing in your quest to become a more
theoretically grounded, reflexive, and competent leader. Since many of the students in this
class have limited experience of leadership in organizations, I am offering a type of
mediated ethnography to create “a level playing field” so that inexperienced students have
appropriate material to draw on to craft their essays.
Movies
You can obtain these movies from libraries, rental stores, Netflix, or a venue of your choice.
Synopsis text from IMDb.com
School of Rock (2003)
A wannabe rock star in need of cash poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school, and
tries to turn his class into a rock band.
J. Edgar (2011)
J. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the FBI for nearly 50 years, looks back on his
professional and personal life.
Avatar (2009)
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn
between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Invictus (2009)
Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to
unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995
Rugby World Cup.
Milk (2011)
The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay
rights and became California’s first openly gay elected official.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues,
an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.
Malcolm X (1992)
The biopic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader.
Take the Lead (2006)
The real story of a Latino dance teacher who believed in the talent of a group of problem
kids.
Pitch Perfect (2012)
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school’s allfemale
singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas
take on their male rivals in an intervarsity competition.