“Founding Fragments: Freemason’s Snuff Box” (Smithsonian)
“The Crystal Palace,” University of Houston
“Founding Fragments: Mr. Peanut” (Smithsonian)
“Cheese Powder: A Brief History” (New Yorker)
“The Phone That Could Not be Killed” (New Yorker)
“Puffed: The Magic of Cereal” (New Yorker)
Questions for your group:
- How do the filmmakers balance an affective (emotional) dimension with secondary research?
- How does the pace of the video affect your experience?
- Does the video inspire a sense of resonance or wonder toward an object? Which one, and why?
- How is watching the video different from encountering an object “in person”?
- What role does the soundtrack play? What about the voiceover?
- How does the story create a beginning, middle, and end?
- How is a story different from an essay? Can both convey the same information?
- What would you do differently if this were your story?