Warner Bros. has a lot riding on the release of “Justice League” next weekend following a rocky start for several franchises and a flurry of reports that's left fans uncertain about future films.
Despite all this, analysts expect the superhero team-up movie to be a blockbuster. But better reviews, and a warmer response from audiences than some prior DC cinematic universe movies have garnered, could help vault “Justice League” over a major milestone.
“The difference between ‘love' and ‘like'” could mean hitting $1 billion worldwide at the box office — or not, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.
While last year's “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” were both commercial successes worldwide, lukewarm reviews weighed on U.S. earnings, and neither managed to surpass $1 billion.
“Justice League” picks up where “Batman v Superman” left off. Following the death of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman recruit a team of heroes to fight an impending threat to the earth.
For DC, “Justice League” is a crucial piece of the puzzle, because the film is expected to establish several new characters who will star in spin-offs, including the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. It's also a test of DC's pivot from the grim and gritty tone of its first three films, to the hopeful, more light-hearted style of “Wonder Woman.”
Over the past month, tweets about the “Justice League” trailers have been 35 percent positive and just 4 percent negative, indicating that previews are generating the right kind of interest, according to marketing technology firm Amobee.
‘Fairly irresistible'
The release caps a choppy year, during which Warner retooled its DC comics strategy, modeled after the path Disney plotted for its multi-billion dollar Marvel superheroes series.
Fan websites breathlessly chronicled a steady drip of rumored cancellations, revised release dates and mixed messages from stars and filmmakers about which films would link up. Just this week, leading man Ben Affleck seemed to cast doubt about how long he'll play Batman.
While there's been much hand-wringing in the fan community over these reports, the typical movie-goer is more likely to take “Justice League” on its own merits, said Dergarabedian.
“The clarity of vision hasn't been consistent, and I think that can be confusing to true fans,” he told CNBC. “But an average viewer says you've got Aquaman and Wonder Woman and all these great characters in one movie, and that seems fairly irresistible.”
Those estimates should be closer to $135 million, argued Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “Justice League” dovetails with Thanksgiving weekend, and faces little competition until “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” premiers in mid-December, he noteed.
Bock also anticipated little blowback from Affleck's links to Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal. “Justice League” is somewhat inoculated because it will draw fans of the individual characters, as well as movie-goers eager to see Wonder Woman in action again, he said.
Some Twitter users demand Ben Affleck step down as Batman one month before ‘Justice League' debut
“The great thing for Warner Bros. is there's something for everyone there, and that will help expand the brand,” he told CNBC.
Yet if “Justice League” wows audiences, there's no upcoming DC movie to capture the goodwill dividend, at least not immediately. The next release is “Aquaman,” which Warner pushed back to December 2018.
In contrast, Marvel Studios will follow up this month's hit “Thor: Ragnarok” with “Black Panther” in February, “Avengers: Infinity War” in May and “Ant-Man and The Wasp” in July.
Nevertheless, Jonathan Cohen, principal brand analyst at Amobee, thinks Warner Bros. is doing the right thing by stepping back and focusing on the quality of each movie, rather than trying to match the Marvel playbook at all costs.
“Once their house style is more codified, those connective flourishes will likely start organically reappearing in their superhero films,” he said.
No one would ever accuse the Marvel Cinematic Universe of being dark and serious, but with Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel goes into full-comedy mode, crafting their funniest film to date. Perhaps finally realizing how inconsequential and dry the Thor films have been, Marvel hired What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople director Taika Waititi and let him go wild. The results are laugh-out-loud funny, albeit with a caveat: Thor: Ragnarok cares more about landing a great punchline or sight-gag than it does about plot.
Is There Such Thing as Too Much Fun?
But perhaps we’ve reached a point with the MCU where plot doesn’t really matter anymore. Thor: Ragnarok’s overwhelmingly positive Rotten Tomatoes score (93% as of this writing) and bonafide box office success certainly seems to suggest so. This is slightly troubling. Even more so when you realize that Ragnarok has all the makings of something truly magnificent: a talented director, an incredibly charming cast, a pop art-infused color scheme that looks like it’s a combination of the art of Jack Kirby and parade of pinball machines lined-up on a boardwalk at sunset. Yet despite everything Ragnarok has going for it – and it has a lot – there’s a curious lack of weight to all it. The film’s fun nature is charming, but it reaches a point where you start to think Ragnarok is having almost too much fun, if such a thing is even possible.
Approaching reviewing Thor: Ragnarok this way seems like a journey down a dangerous path. “Can’t you just let the movie be fun?” might be the automatic reply to almost any criticism leveled against the film. Sure. There’s nothing wrong with fun. But is it really asking too much to want more? The Thor films have always been the weakest entries in the MCU. Even the troubled production that was Ant-Man delivered a more rewarding experience than the previous Thor films. Part of this can be chalked-up to tone. Thor is an inherently comical character, and star Chris Hemsworth has impressive comedic chops. But it took three films for Marvel to fully embrace the comedy elements of Thor.
The first Thor film, helmed by Kenneth Branagh with a Shakespearean touch, is a world removed from Ragnarok. It’s stuffy and dour in comparison. The ever-shifting tone of Thor plays hell with the character; we’ve now settled on Thor as a dumb blonde, a handsome oaf who is heroic when he’s not bumbling about. It suits the character well, but you can’t help shaking the sense that Marvel has had no idea just who they want Thor to be up until now.
These problems would be a lot less of a concern if this were the first entry in the series. But it’s the third. And what’s more, the film knows it’s the third entry: there’s literally nothing going on here to make Ragnarok stand out on its own in terms of storytelling. If you were to go into Ragnarok without having seen any other Thor or Marvel movie, you’d be absolutely lost as to what the hell is going on here. That’s weak storytelling. It’s the sort of approach that entrenches Thor: Ragnarok firmly into a middle-of-the-road bit of entertainment. It’s a brilliant distraction, but it could be so much more.
That said, when Thor: Ragnarok is working, it’s working really well. This is due almost entirely to the cast, who are individually stellar, and even better when working together. Almost every member of the main cast here has their own moments to shine, with some shining brighter than others. Even if Ragnarok’s script had been worse than it ultimately is, the film would still be worth it because it gave us the opportunity to spend time with these actors playing these characters. If only they had been able to come together in a better film.
“So much has happened since I last saw you!”
Thor: Ragnarok finds Thor, the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) returning to Asgard after a failed quest to locate missing Infinity Stones (remember those things?). Before his homecoming, he’s had a run-in with the demonic Surtur, who warns Thor that he will bring about Ragnarok – the destruction of Asgard and the Gods. Thor mostly laughs these threats off, defeats Surtur, and comes home to find Asgard much changed. Heimdall (Idris Elba), the former guardian of the Bifrost, has vanished and been replaced by the bumbling Skurge (Karl Urban). Thor’s father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) has forgotten his duties and spends his days lounging about. There’s a reason for this: Odin is actually Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in disguise.
Almost instantly (Thor: Ragnarok is allergic to taking its time), Thor and Loki head to earth to find Odin. Along the way, they encounter Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a funny sequence that nevertheless feels absolutely pointless to the film itself as a whole, but is simply in place to tie-into the post-credit scene at the end of Doctor Strange. After their brief sojourn with Strange, Thor and Loki locate Odin, who warns them that their evil sister Hela (Cate Blanchett), whom they never even knew about, is going to return soon. Then he promptly dies.
Before we have any idea what the hell is going on, Hela arrives, smashes Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir, and sends Thor and Loki flying off into the galaxy. Hela arrives at Asgard and swiftly begins a reign of terror, assisted by a somewhat reluctant Skurge, who both wants to be powerful and famous but also clearly has qualms about murdering his fellow Asgardians.
Thor ends up on Sakaar, a planet strewn with garbage, and is quickly captured by the drunken Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson, phenomenal), who transports a confused Thor to the palace of the planet’s head honcho, the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum, at his absolutely Jeff Goldblumiest). The only way Thor can win his freedom is by taking part in the Grandmaster’s gladiatorial matches and fight the Grandmaster’s mysterious, deadly champion. While still super-strong, Thor is hammerless, and thus not nearly as powerful as before. He agrees to fight anyway, and grows furious when he learns that Loki is on the planet too, living as a free man after having wormed his way into the Grandmaster’s good graces.
Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Heimdall has returned and is rounding up Asgardians and hiding them safely away from Hela, but it’s only a matter of time before Hela catches up to them. The only hope is for Thor to return and save the day.
Back on the Sakaar, the Grandmaster’s champion turns out to be none other than the Incredible Hulk, who doesn’t seem to remember Thor and promptly beats the shit out of him. Thor survives the brawl, however, and eventually convinces Valkyrie, a former Asgardian, to help him escape to save Asgard. The Hulk, transformed back into Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), comes along as well. Loki, ever the trickster, tries to turn on Thor, causing Thor to leave him behind. But since the MCU can’t decide what the hell they want to do with Loki, the character eventually has a change of heart and follows after Thor to help.
Back on Asgard, Thor and his new team – jokingly dubbed The Revengers – battle against Hela and her zombie army. Skurge has a change of heart, rebels against Hela, and is killed for his troubles. Thor is able to summon up his powers of thunder and lightning to best Hela, but she eventually proves too powerful and ends up causing Thor to lose one of his eyes. With all hope seems lost, Thor realizes the only way to stop Hela is to destroy Asgard completely. Loki unleashes Surtur, the demon from the beginning, who swiftly destroys Asgard as Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Hulk, Heimdall and the surviving Asgardians head off into the galaxy aboard a huge ship.
Because That’s What Heroes Do: The Good
Valkyrie, Valkyrie, Valkyrie! Everyone in Thor: Ragnarok is a hoot, but let’s talk about Valkyrie, shall we? It cannot be overstated how wonderful Tessa Thompson is here. Thompson’s star has been on the rise ever since her break-out role in Dear White People, and with Thor: Ragnarok she gets to flex her acting muscles in a big blockbuster setting. A brawling, boozing ass-kicker, Valkyrie is now the best hero in the MCU. Valkyrie has a tragic past: she was once a warrior on Asgard, but Hela destroyed her entire army of female warriors, and left her disillusioned. Her arc in Ragnarok involves the character slowly coming around to be a hero again. Truth be told, there’s not a lot to Valkyrie on paper. What makes her so memorable, so remarkable, is Thompson’s charming, funny performance. The type of iconic scene-stealing that leads to deserved hyperbole. She’s like Han Solo and Snake Plissken rolled into one, and she steals every scene she occupies.
Thompson is tied for MVP of the film with Jeff Goldblum, who plays the sort-of-villain the Grandmaster. The best decision director Waititi made with the film is to point a camera and Goldblum and essentially tell him, “Do whatever the hell you want!” Goldblum has blossomed nicely into an elder statesman of weirdness, and he brings his distinct hemming and hawing to a deranged character with gusto. Every single thing Goldblum does here is incredible, garnering huge laughs with a wink or a nod. It’s a joy to watch him work.
Chris Hemsworth has great comic sensibilities. These have been teased with his Thor performances in the Avengers films, and exploited to great effect in Paul Feig’s unjustly maligned Ghostbusters reboot. Here, he gets to be funny throughout, while occasionally slipping into a more serious mode. But it’s the comedy that shines through the most, and Hemsworth portrayal of Thor as a dumb but ultimately noble character is charming.
The rest of the cast are also a treat. Mark Ruffalo’s constantly befuddled Bruce Banner is a lot of fun, and he and Hemsworth have surprisingly great chemistry together. Hiddleston’s Loki is good too, although his appearance here feels extraneous (more on that later). Cate Blanchett gets to ham it up as Hela, but she’s perhaps the performer most underserved by the script.
A brief word on Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins’ role here is little more than a glorified cameo, and his death scene, as written, is not nearly as emotional as the screenplay seems to think it is. But Hopkins sells it so well, bringing pathos and sadness to a throw-away part that could’ve easily been a quick bit of check-cashing. It’s a testament to his talent that he elevates the moment above the slapdash nature it truly is.
As mentioned a dozen times already, Thor: Ragnarok is funny. It’s funny as hell, in fact. This is less a superhero movie and more of a high concept comedy, loaded with jokes and physical humor that almost always lands. You can thank the hilarious Taika Waititi for that, who brings his comic sensibilities firmly into the MCU, with fabulous results. Waititi even gives himself a scene-stealing part as Korg, a laid-back rock monster. The comedy is what elevates Ragnarok above the other Thor films, and what also helps hide the threadbare story. You’re too caught up in hysterics to pay attention to how muddled the script by Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost is.
The score, by Mark Mothersbaugh, is a synthwave dream, and the cinematography, by Javier Aguirresarobe, is often vibrant and eye-popping. This all combines to make Thor: Ragnarok one of the best-looking Marvel films, free of the parking lot gray color scheme that seems to be so prevalent in most of their other adventures (although Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 still reign supreme in the Marvel cinematography department). Honestly, overall, Thor: Ragnarok is colorful, comedic fun. There’s nothing to hate here. But that doesn’t mean it all works.
Like Smoldering Fire: The Not-So-Good
What the hell is Loki’s purpose in the MCU at this point? Not even the filmmakers seem to know. Late in the film, when Banner and Loki come face to face, Banner says, “Last time we saw you, you were trying to kill everyone. What are you up to these days?” “It varies from moment to moment,” Loki replies cheekily. Ha ha, get it? This character is kind of pointless and the film is acknowledging it! Hilarious.
Look, Hiddleston is very good at playing this part. He brings the right touch of aristocratic smugness to the role, but continually bringing Loki back again and again reeks of little more than fan service. The Avengers had Loki willing to commit genocide. Here, he’s mostly comic relief. That’s baffling. You could argue it’s character growth; that he’s evolved from the evil murderer he was to a more playful trickster, but it doesn’t quite work. He doesn’t seem like he’s evolved at all.
Villains have never been the MCU’s strongpoint. This was a problem that could’ve possibly been resolved in Ragnarok due to casting alone. Cate Blanchett is one of the best actresses working today, and giving her a chance to strut her stuff and ham it up as Hela, the Goddess of Death, adorned in a set of crazy antlers, was promising. Alas, while Blanchett gives it her all, Hela as a character is severely underwritten, to the point that there are long stretches of the film where you might completely forget about her.
Why does Skurge, a secondary character, have more character development and more of an overall arc than the main villain of the film? Skurge goes from comical bumbler, to hesitant accomplice, to ultimate hero. Yet he’s almost inconsequential to the plot, unlike Hela, who is supposed to be driving things. It’s disappointing. In truth, almost everything that happens on Asgard is disappointing here, and you get the sense that the film would’ve triumphed completely had it just removed Asgard entirely.
The problem is that at its heart, there are two different movies here. One is about Thor saving Asgard. The other is about Thor on the Grandmaster’s planet, regaining his confidence. These two would both work best on their own, but don’t quite fit together here. They could work, of course, if the script was willing to let them unfold organically. But there’s no room to breathe in Thor: Ragnarok. The opening section alone moves at a breakneck speed, jumping from one location to the next, with the hopes of quickly setting everything up without stopping to think. It’s exhausting. I’m all for brevity in Marvel movies, and superhero movies in general, which tend to be lengthy, bloated affairs – but Ragnarok is pushing it.
While the comedy that prevails all through Thor: Ragnarok is welcomed, there are times where the film is too frothy for its own good. At the end of the day, this film is about the end of Thor’s world. At least, his world as he’s known it for so long. One of the final scenes involves Asgard being blown to smithereens – a moment that should be played as tragic, yet is handled with a joke (an admittedly funny joke, but still one that seems out of place). The overall takeaway is that Ragnarok cares most about getting laughs, and everything else has to take a backseat to that. It’s an uneven balance.
Waititi’s skills as a comedy director are unquestionable – he’s one of the best in the biz. His action direction skills, however, leave a lot to be desired. The action scenes in Ragnarok are terrible. Even the big Thor/Hulk battle that was teased in all the trailers is lackluster and disappointing. There’s a scene where Hela quickly kills a bunch of Asgardian soldiers that is so devoid of energy and excitement that it almost looks unfinished – that perhaps this was just a special effects demo test that made its way into the final film. Ragnarok would’ve been better served if it had just found a way to forego action entirely and focused 100% on the banter.
Phase 1 of the MCU had a distinct problem: the films seemed like all set-up, with little individuality. It’s a problem Marvel has mostly gotten over recently, but Thor: Ragnarok finds them completely back in that set-up mode. Almost everything that happens here feels secondary to the fact that this is leading into Avengers: Infinity War, particularly the ending, which has Thor cruising off into the galaxy. The MCU films that work best are the ones that can stand on their own, as their own individual experiences, where cross-promotion is almost secondary. Ragnarok is not one of those films, and it suffers a bit because of that.
Beyond Asgard
Ultimately, Thor: Ragnarok is critic-proof. The film is already a hit, and also one of the best-reviewed MCU films to date. The simple fact is, people loved this movie. That’s fine. This is pinnacle escapism, at a time when escapism is much needed. This is the film equivalent of an exciting amusement park ride. When you’re on it, the thrill is there – excitement mingled with the sights and sounds of the carnival grounds whooshing by. Then you step off the ride, and move on, and the excitement fades. The memory dulls. The real world comes seeping back in.
Still, it’s almost impossible to dislike Thor: Ragnarok. The cast is too wonderful, the jokes too funny. It’s hard to fault any film that gives Jeff Goldblum a chance to do his thing while also making Tessa Thompson an even bigger star. This is ultimately the best of the three Thor films, but that’s not saying much. One almost wishes this had been the first film in the series, with a script more fleshed-out to set things up for future installments. Instead, as the third, it suffers, and grows ultimately forgettable.
Yet more adventures with these characters would be welcomed. Thompson’s Valkyrie in particular needs an entire franchise of her own, one where she can step out in front to be the lead rather than a supporting player. Hemsworth’s Thor is also worth spending more time with, although Ragnarok seems to confirm that the character works best when he’s a team player rather than a lead. While Ragnarok is focused on Thor, it’s never entirely Thor’s movie. It belongs, instead, to everyone – to the wonderful cast of vibrant, funny characters. Perhaps the real lesson here is what all these wonderful elements really needed is a better script; a script that was worthy of the performances.
Where does Thor: Ragnarok fit into the ever-growing ranking of the MCU? Somewhere in the middle. It’s funny enough, colorful enough, and entertaining enough to strike a chord, but it’s ultimately hollow. It’s a beautiful bauble on display that’s a treat to look at, but one that fades from memory as you move on to something else. In the end, I wanted more from Thor: Ragnarok. Perhaps that was foolish of me.
Long before the cameras started rolling on Thor: Ragnarok, the concept artists at Marvel Studios got together to do what they’ve always done: something Walt Disney called “plussing.” It’s basically a series of brainstorming sessions in which scores of possible designs are drawn up. “The thinking behind it is there isn’t a right answer,” says Jake Morrison, a Marvel vet who’s supervised visual effects on all three Thor films. “And any concept that you can [make] better, you should.”
During the plussing process, even a character like Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, who thundered about for four movies prior to Ragnarok, gets design adjustments. But when it comes to a new character like Cate Blanchett’s Hela—the Goddess of Death, and the first female villain of this cinematic universe—the number of alternate designs literally climbs into the hundreds.
“There’s never a moment where everybody is standing there, patting themselves on the back, and going like, ‘Wow, we made something incredible!’” Morrison explains. “Everybody is always going like, ‘How can we improve it? What’s a better version of this?’ So what that means is the sky’s the limit—especially when you have a character [with] a magical component.”
The social-media feeds of Marvel concept artists Andy Park and Ryan Meinerding are littered with character designs that didn’t make it to the big screen. (Did you know that Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 used to be yellow and more bug-like? Or that Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron was once Marvel’s literal golden boy?) Soon enough, they’ll probably show off nixed versions of Hela, too—once Marvel gives them the O.K. to release these alternate designs.
Morrison, who typically comes aboard a Marvel film as early as pre-production, describes the process of designing Hela as “a crazy free-for-all.” Why? Blame (or credit) the script: “She has to get stabbed in the suit, and then the suit heals around it. There’s a moment where her cape absorbs bullets . . . there were moments where we actually had the antlers”—their affectionate nickname for Hela’s battle headgear—“turn into face-mask shields and stuff like that, almost like samurai-style outfits.”
The team was initially inspired by the comic-book imagery of Jack Kirby—what Morrison describes as “the Kirby crackle” of lightning that illuminates a darkened Asgardian sky. But with Taika Waititi aboard Ragnarok, the director wanted to take the film in another direction: more Flash Gordon 2 than Thor 3. “Taika actually took all us heads of the departments into a screening room, and sat us all down, and had us watch Flash Gordon at one point,” Morrison says. Luckily, Kirby also dabbled in sci-fi stories like Amazing Adventures and World of Fantasy—so the team turned to those for inspiration as well.
Hela also comes with some baggage in the form of her very own dire wolf. In Norse mythology, the end-of-days that is Ragnarok involves a giant wolf named Fenrir devouring the sun. That doesn’t happen in Marvel’s interpretation of the concept, but our villain does get Fenris, a 35-foot-tall black beast with glowing green eyes.
“Having just done Ant-Man for two years, I can tell you that scale is one of the biggest challenges in any sort of storytelling,” Morrison says. It’s a matter of perspective: a movie can’t just blow up a standard-sized wolf because it would look fake, largely due to the amount of hair on a normal dog.
“So what happens is you have to maintain this plausible deniability where you go, ‘Well, actually . . . Fenris’s hair is maybe a little thicker than a normal dog,’” he says. “And then all of a sudden you end up with—and I’m just gonna pull numbers out of thin air—if you end up with, like, 10 million hairs on a typical dog, all of sudden you’re gonna have like 200 million hairs on this dog, because you can’t just make the hairs bigger.”
Courtesy of Andy Park/Marvel Studios.
The first image to be released from Ragnarok was concept art of Hela, antlers extended and standing with her back to the viewer as she prepares to unleash hell on the soldiers of Asgard. This became a keyframe for Marvel, a benchmark of sorts the production team used as a guide for the rest of the sequence.
“You start with that artwork, and then literally we start to do choreography with our stunt department,” Morrison says. The biggest question they had to answer: how does Hela fight? “Is it more of a wushu style?” Morrison asked himself. “Does she spin? We know she’s got to throw out these blades one after another, so maybe it’s more like wushu—but instead of holding the knives, you’re throwing the knives.” These questions help form the basis for the character’s own unique “language” of movement, he says, which the stunt team can feed off of.
For this film, Marvel developed what Morrison calls “the smallest, active motion-capture markers that have been made yet.” Instead of wearing the standard gray motion-capture suit, the crew placed those markers all around Blanchett’s Hela costume. The Oscar winner and her stunt double, Zoë Bell, were then filmed performing the majority of the sequences, and their movements influenced the C.G.I. wizardry that would come in post-production.
Her invasion of Asgard was a particularly tricky sequence that went through three fundamental reconstructions. “At one point, it was one continuous shot. I kid you not,” Morrison recalls. “We went a long way down the path with that . . . and actually it was a revolving camera as she tracked through and killed everybody.” In the end, though, they completely re-edited the sequence because they found it more “percussive” broken up.
Another challenge? The scene in which the wolf Fenris fights a hero in a waterfall, which was particularly difficult for the V.F.X. artists: not only did they have to animate millions of hair strands, but each needed to look convincingly damp. No wonder Morrison called the scene “absolutely cracked.” In the end, all their work comes back to the idea of plussing: “There’s no sacred cow, that’s for sure,” he says.
As a world language teacher, I’m always trying to find ways to leverage digital learning strategies to immerse students in the Spanish language and find engaging, meaningful experiences to be able to hone their language skills.
Game-based learning using Minecraft gave me the opportunity to design worlds where students can work and play together while communicating in Spanish.
I was inspired to use Minecraft while taking a course at Boise State University from Chris Haskell called “Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds.”
During this time, I learned that it is important to allow students to not only experience the gameplay, but also be able to contribute to it. To that end, many of my Minecraft worlds have been designed and created by students.
Getting Started with Minecraft in Your Classroom
For the other world language teachers interested in Minecraft in their classrooms, but are not sure where to begin, start with a short project.
For example, if you are teaching vocabulary and phrases related to describing a city or town, have your students write a paragraph in Spanish (or your world language of choice) describing their favorite city in the world.
From there, have them create parts of that city in Minecraft, narrating (in Spanish, French, etc.) a screencast tour throughout their city. Lastly, enable students to publish their screencast to an authentic audience via YouTube or even your learning management system (LMS).
At Wabasha-Kellogg High School, we use Schoology’s LMS. Using this, students are able to share their adventures and highlights with each other through the use of a Media Album, as well as comment on each other’s posts.
This also helps the students create a digital portfolio of their accomplishments in class and in-game.
How to Rev Up Game-Based Learning
While I’ve been happy with the results of these Minecraft projects in my classes, much more is possible to help push the boundaries of game-based learning and second language acquisition. One example would be creating a world where students could role-play the part of Spanish speaking citizens by starting a new civilization.
For more than a month, a group of students and I worked during lunch and after school to create what would become a multiplayer, role-playing game called “El Mundo de Leyendas.”
Together, we created a set of laws that govern this world, starting with our “golden rule”—every communication must take place in the Spanish language.
Each week students were tasked with a set of quests to complete, designed to challenge them to work together to first build and then defend their civilization against monsters.
The vocabulary and phrases were scaffolded — a process in which I demonstrate how to solve a problem and then step back — to keep students immersed in the Spanish language, while still being able to communicate and play the game.
In my class, students were also given the choice to learn within “El Mundo de Leyendas,” or continue to work on traditional assignments. This option resulted in a near 50-50 class split.
This afforded me the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of game-based learning using Minecraft on second language acquisition.
Measuring Game-Based Learning vs. Traditional Learning
With the game-based learning in my classroom, student engagement was up with a 100-percent completion rate of assignments (versus just over 70 percent of traditional assignments).
The most impressive part of this success was that the game-based learning students outpaced their peers by at least one level, and sometimes even two levels in the modes of interpersonal communication and presentational speaking.
One of my students commented to an administrator, who asked why they thought that Minecraft was so effective in the Spanish classroom, “It’s the closest thing to being dropped in a country where everyone speaks Spanish.”
Students who completed the game-based learning units were more likely (80 percent) to take another year of Spanish either at the high school level or the university level than their traditional assignment peers (40 percent).
Minecraft is the perfect environment to allow students to express themselves more freely and spontaneously in the Spanish language.
If you would like to learn more about my Minecraft journey, check out my classroom’s YouTube channel. Also, take a look at my Minecraft lesson plans.
Minecraft meets museum in the de Young's latest exhibition – a virtual recreation of the ancient Mexican city Teotihuacan, designed with help from a Marin teenager.
The Minecraft recreation is part of the de Young's “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire” exhibition, featuring artifacts from the Mesoamerican metropolis located 25 miles northeast of Mexico City. The wildly popular video game enables museum visitors to virtually walk the streets of the now crumbled city, before time wore its pyramids and pathways down to ruins.
The map marks the first time an American art museum has employed Minecraft – a block-building game released in 2011 – in its digital outreach efforts, de Young officials said.
Trevor Fox, a 14-year-old San Marin High School student with a knack for Minecraft, assisted in the creation of the digital map, which features major Teotihuacan landmarks like the Moon and Sun pyramids.
Photo: Courtesy Of The Fine Arts Museums Of California
A group of Minecraft developers and streamers have organised a series of events to raise money for disaster relief. LoveTropics’ first event will raise money to assist with relief efforts in Puerto Rico following this summer’s hurricanes.
LoveTropics is a weekend-long livestream marathon featuring a collection of Mojang developers, as well as Minecraft streamers, YouTubers and modders. Donors will be able to play alongside the streamers on a private server. The effort was inspired by Tropicraft, a topical Minecraft mod itself inspired by a trip its creators took to Puerto Rico in 2011.
Charity efforts will be donated to DirectRelief, who have been working on relief efforts throughout Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria landed in September. LoveTropics is hoping to raise $3,000 over the weekend of November 10-12. So far, two of the creators of Tropicraft, as well as streamers Darkosto and Wyld, and four Mojang developers, will be featuring over the weekend. LoveTropics’ stream will kick off at 20:00 GMT on Friday, November 10.
