A proposal for television
Strassner Entertainment Group, LLC, 510 East Sutton Cricle, Lafayette, CO 80026
303-545-9955, FAX 303-545-6658
Marcie B. (Bunnie) Strassner (bunnie@fascinating.tv)
WGAw Regis. 1997 #817427
(C)1997 - Strassner Video
History doesn’t need to be dry and boring.
Most of the important passages in history were incredibly exciting when they happened…why can’t we teach it that way? With a vibrant, contemporary musical background and stars from film, TV and Rock & Roll, history can come alive (and kicking) for our audience.
Using ori/ginal locations and virtual reality sets, sophisticated animation, popular personalities and intelligent, funny writing, Hip Hop History sets the stage to gallop through the ages and make it as thrilling …curious… enlightening… magical… wonderful (as in full of wonder) as it should be.
At a time when parents are crying for good, substantial, educational programming, a whole group of viewers is being left out. Children from 8 to 15 have virtually no intelligent programming designed for them, yet they have the ability to understand more complex ideas and really appreciate the quality of information that will go into Hip Hop History
Hip Hop History will take the stale old facts of the past and liven them up with dramatizations, quirky stories that are not well known, exciting digital effects, humor and a constantly evolving interactive Website. We’ll take young teenagers and put them on location at the site of an historic event and let them tell the tale.
In addition, Hip Hop History will be a wonderful classroom tool, providing curriculum-enhancing video to spice up some of the drier passages. Every teacher’s dream.
Using the resources available at every library, college and university, the multitude of enthusiastic history teachers, writers and amateur history buffs, Hip Hop History will dance through the ages with a light touch, a keen eye and tongue firmly in cheek. The facts will be accurate, but the approach will be entertaining.
Hip Hop History Sample Episodes
1. The Eruption of Vesuvius - You can run but you can’t hide
The Mystery at White Sands - How big a bomb is too big?
Benjamin Franklin - A teenager in spirit for over 80 years
2. The Pyramids - No wheels, no trucks how did they do it?
Riverboats - A paddle and a steam engine changed America.
Madame Curie - It cost her life to discover radium
3. The Renaissance - Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Michelangelo
Civil War - Destruction of a way of life
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Let his people go
4. The Crusades - On a mission of death and destruction.
The Invention of Television - Good news or bad?
Cleopatra - 21 when she met Caesar, 39 when she died
5. The Coliseum - Gladiators, lions, screaming fans
The Roaring 20s - Parties, fringes and screaming fans
FDR - He led America to greatness from his wheelchair
6. Gods & Goddesses - Keeping track could be a real chore
World War I - From an assassination to a global conflict.
Catherine the Great -She brought Russia into the modern world.
7. 7 Wonders of the Ancient World - The Colossus, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana, The Sphinx
7 Wonders of the Modern World - Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Great Wall of China
Albert Einstein - the single wonder of the 20th century
8. Ancient Mariners - How did they go so far on those tiny boats?
The Sinking of the Titanic -How could they make such a mistake?
Mohandas K. Gandhi - The Great Soul
The Format…
Will be magazine style with 3 main segments and short bumpers and wraparounds. Each show will offer one story on ancient history (prior to 1700), another on modern history (from 1700 to the present) and a biography of some historical figure.
Hosted by…
Our 3D animated guides and/or their celebrity guests, we’ll present stories that will be part silly or serious recreations, part documentary and part visual excitement. The writing will bring all aspects into a cohesive and relevant context that gets all the facts straight but keeps them entertaining.
The Music…
Will be a mix of Hip Hop, Ska, Techno, Rock and other contemporary styles that will attract our viewers and keep them watching. Having guests from the music world will help to attract our audience. Music will be an integral part of our stories and, properly presented, even Beethoven and Wagner can be considered the “head-banger” styles of their day.
Marketing and cross promotion
An Internet Web Site
Offering the chance to interact with stories from the show, the Hip Hop History Website will give teens another, unique, resource for homework and an opportunity to have fun while they research and learn about specific eras or people. A truly interactive way to study events and walk through history.
Videos, CDs and DVDs
Hip Hop History videos, CDs and DVDs can be organized by show or by subject. If you need information on Egypt but there were several stories scattered over multiple shows, Egypt-specific collections can be ordered including the biographical segments that belong in that category.
Prizes and gifts
In response to our requests for stories/videos on history or biography, Hip Hop History will send prize winners to exciting historical locations around the world to report back for the show. Picture a 14-year-old at the Coliseum in Rome describing his or her feelings about bread and circuses or Christians and lions.
The development team for Hip Hop History is headed by Bunnie Strassner of Strassner Entertainment Group, LLC.