On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch
Writing, Film, Television and More!
Chapter 2: Authorship on The Monkees: Who Wrote The Monkees and what was that Something They Had to Say?
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Coming Spring 2016 – Click for more info!
Monkees Question of the Moment: Did you even think about the writing when you were watching The Monkees? Did you think they were just making it up as they went along? A lot of people did.
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
In memory of the anniversary of the loss of Davy Jones in 2012 I wanted to post this newscast by Diane Sawyer where she spoke of the news as “startling bulletin” which came across her desk in the newsroom that day (February 29, 2012). Sawyer then proclaimed “He is still that forever young and sunny singer from The Monkees who made more than one generation want to sing along.”
The question I ask in the book is why would a serious journalist (not merely an entertainment reporter) consider news of the death of a former teen idol ‘startling’ unless she, too, had once been among his fans? To me it speaks volumes about how he – and The Monkees – effected all our lives.
You can join The Monkees Discussion on my Why The Monkees Mattered Facebook Page
Chapter 1: Sweet Young Thing: Contextualizing The Monkees with a Short History of Teenagers on Television
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Coming Spring 2016
Monkees Question of the Moment: What did The Monkees teach you about being a teenager?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Here are some of the books I use to teach the History of Screenwriting in the MFA in Screenwriting Program for Stephens College. I’ll touch base on each of these books individually – their strengths and weaknesses (as I see them and as the students have reported them to me in class discussions) over the next few of weeks.
What are your favorite screenwriting History books? It’s a trick question because few film history books focus on screenwriting. They mostly focus on business moguls, directors and actors. But because this is an MFA in Screenwriting, the program Director, Ken Lazebnik, and I decided the writers who come through the program ought to have a deep understanding of the screenwriters who came before them.
We know our new 4-volume encyclopedia Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection is not the kind of thing an average person purchases based on size and cost (though I remember a pre-internet time when door-to-door salesmen still hawked the Encyclopedia Britannica and my mom bought a copy to help me do well in school and get to college).
In this modern world, if you want to help Peg and I (and all the students who can benefit from learning about all these wonderful women who helped shape American culture) consider passing a copy of the attached flyer out to your local public or university librarians (in print and/or via email) and ask if they will order a set for their branch.
Thanks!
Click to download the PDF flyer, ready for printing or attaching to an email
“Sarah Kemble Knight (April 19, 1666 – September 25, 1727) was a teacher and businesswoman, who is remembered for her diary of a journey from Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to New York City, Province of New York, in 1704–1705, a courageous and unusual adventure for a woman to undertake on her own.” — Wikipedia
Learn more about Sarah Kemble Knight in Woman in American History
Christa McAuliffe (first civilian teacher in space), Judy Resnik (first Jewish person and 2nd American female in space), Kalpana Chawla (first Indian woman in space) and Laurel Clark. I wrote about these female astronauts in my Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space back in 1998 – by then Challenger had happened – but Columbia had not. Worth taking a moment to remember their dedication…
I’m excited to announce that the 4-volume encyclopedia I’ve been working on with my friend and colleague Peg Lamphier for the last two years — Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection has now appeared in the ABC-CLIO Spring Catalog.
We’d like to thank the many colleagues too numerous to mention who contributed to the research and writing!
Ask your local public or university library to order a set!
Link: Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection
Amazon.com: Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection
Thanks to Dan Kammer, the Library Director at Stephens College, for including a display of my publications in an exhibition of work by various faculty members this month. It looks great – and hopefully the students will be intrigued enough to stop by and read some of the books – or use them for research in their own academic adventures!
Though I teach One-Hour Drama I thought it would be cool to highlight the fact that for the first time ever the 3 finalists for the Thurber Prize for Humor Writing are all female. The prize is named after James Thurber of Ohio who wrote The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and years of New Yorker cartoons (even after he went blind!).
We should be reading these women:
Roz Chast, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
Annabelle Gurwitch, I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50
Julie Schumacher, Dear Committee Members
link: Thurber Prize for American Humor
![Diane Sawyer’s Obituary to Davy Jones 2012 [Video]](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/davey-jones-abc-857x198.png)
![Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [Book]](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Women-in-History-Cover-Image-201x198.jpg)
