Here is my recommended song for this post.

In tune with our previous unit on the Manhattan Project and the introduction of the famous Cold War. We started a unit some time ago based around the 1950’s in America.

The 1950’s was a very interesting time for America. It was seen as a Golden era, everyone was happy, the economy was booming and everyone had money in their pockets. Underneath though tensions were high and many people got caught up in the rise of the Cold War. Starting with the Korean War and continuing on to the House of Un-American Activities Committee hearings. During our learning on the various events that unfolded in America during that time we read a book about the Salem Witch Trials called “The Crucible” on top of that we prepared for the annual Winter Exhibition in which we, since being in grade 11, did a humanities project based around these topics. That’s a lot isn’t it? It still came together in the end to be a great exhibition that was a lot of fun but not without its fair share of stress.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz4YaRez95w

Lets let’s start at the beginning though.

We had ended the Manhattan Project Project and our teachers were heading off on a trip. So we were given a package of activites to go through and when they returned we had to present a Keynote pitch on the Berlin Blockade and show our understanding of both Soviet and American perspectives and come up with a plan of action in which to proceed.

It turns turns out some students from the UBC teacher college was touring the school and the PLP program so we also pitched to them. I was in a group with Robbie, Ryan, Ethan and Calum. We had the idea that the Americans should be prepared for military action against the soviet blockade but begin to be diplomatic at the beginning and see where a peaceful path would lead.

After the pitch we set into the exploration and research part of the unit. We watched videos on the 50’s did paragraphs and class discussions on central themes and events that occured. During that time we also read “The Crucible”. Now I’m not a big fan on plays, especially Shakespeare, and I found this one to be hard to follow. Overall though I thought it had some great insight and relation to the 50’s. (The play was written by Arthur Miller in the 1950’s and it was based off of the communist scare and the “Witch-hunt” happening across America) The story put into perspective that history tends to repeat itself.

We also discussed some of the current politics going on in America and found some relations from the current “witch-hunt” to the 1950’s communist hunt as well.

After going through all of this it was now the beginning of December and the exhibition was looming over our heads. Our task was to, as a full class team, create a immersive, audience engaging presentation based around the 50’s and incorporate the various themes from the time. We had to plan and decide on the topics and different parts of the presentation, write the script and build and prepare the entire set up.

We used our gym as the presentation space and we created 6 scenes that followed a storyline taking our audiences through the 1950’s and talking about the double layering of the time between happiness and fear.

It took us three weeks to plan, build and rehearse the story. It was a real push at some times but there is a benefit of having an 18 person team. I was assigned to the script team and given the role of Senator McCarthy.

Mccarthy was famous during that time for handling hearings in which many people were accused of being communist spies. McCarthy was a very aggressive person when it came to these trials and he was often seen yelling and being an arrogant person. Of course it was going to be a fun role to play.

With the script, we spent a lot of time editing and piecing together the 6 scenes and trying to craft a story out of multiple events. We went through many drafts and revisions, especially in my scene as it was the ending, until finally we reached completed script.

As a team we all worked really hard in those short 3 weeks to build, rehearse and get things ready for the night of the exhibition. During that time we also came up with a name for it, as a tribute to a ride we all went on when we went to Florida (Carousel of Progress), Carousel of Communism.

On the day of the exhibition there was a basketball game that took place between lunch and 3:00 so the majority of the class was there and as soon as the game finished we rushed people out and began the set up. We had hit some bumps on the road though. The biggest one was the wall that cut the gym in half.

Our gym can divide into two sections by an electronically controlled wall. We were relying on the wall to cut up the gym for lighting and organizational purposes. Of course, because I’m pretty much cursed with having some sort of problem occur moments before a giant presentation, the wall wasn’t working. So instead, since I brought a bag of rope, we rigged a wall (sort of) replacing the space of the electronic wall. We used some spare curtains, stands and moveable boards to create a ramshackle wall that turned out to work just fine. Although it took a solid 2 hours to do and make sure it would stay up, it was still a success.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vmkE7oOSE9s

Then came time for people to walk through.

Since my segment was at the end I had some extra time to rehearse my gavel skills but then it came time for me to interrogate the Guide, one or two people leading the audience through the presentation. My script was based around me yelling at the accused asking about small pieces of evidence the audience collected throughout their journey and ultimately accusing them of being a “filthy Communist”. Then Joseph Welch (a lawyer who tarnishes McCarthys reputation when he goes after the military during the communist trials) swoops in and says that I accused them on barely any substancial evidence and that they are free to go.

It was definetly a fun role to play. I got to yell at people and do some improv. Once I had to talk about red jello and how the fact they ate it proved they were communists.

After my segment of the exhibition the audience then travelled into a hallway that tied everything together. On the walls we projected a video of trump saying witch hunt over and over again. Our general theme and the main thing we were trying to convey was that underneath the beautiful setting of the great 1950’s a “witch hunt” was going on that was like many before it and after it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=M5eCF2_2Mm8

The exhibition was a lot of fun to do. I enjoyed working with the entire class and producing something I, like the rest of my peers, am proud of.  Like every project it had its ups and downs but in the end it turned out great. For next time though I want to focus on putting in 100% or close to it every time I work on a unit. I found I was fluctuating between working hard and not really working hard throughout the unit. Although I still learned a lot I found that at some points I was just a little bored. So next time I need to work on finding the things that interest me and allowing them to keep me working hard throughout the unit.