Discussion (200 words)
1. What are some of the main claims of critical theorists about popular culture and the media?
2. How does critical theory explain racial and ethnic stereotyping? How/why is stereotyping harmful? Please provide specific examples of racial/ ethnic stereotyping. Post one item of relevant supplemental material.
3. Describe examples of the different types of norms operative in popular culture, and how these are related to the process of social control.
4. Analyze culture within individual, social, historical, political, economic, and global contexts.
Assignment (3 pages)
1) Select a movie: For this assignment, you will need to select one movie. Even if it is a movie you have seen before, you need to re-watch the movie with a critical eye towards the social construction of reality and illustrations of other sociological/cultural concepts.
CHOOSE ONE ONLY:
2) Analyze the movie: After watching the movie, you will write a 3page review, consisting of:
a) 1 intro paragraph noting the relevance of the movie to the course
b) 1 page description/summary of the contents of the film
-How was the story presented? i.e. flashbacks, sequential, from a particular character's point of view, etc.
-What was the intention of the film and/or filmmaker? Was this intention fulfilled or met?
-Did the way the movie was produced and presented affect the content?
-Were there specific scenes or occurrences, which stood out as being essential to the development of the story and/or to your understanding of it?
-Major substantive points of the movie?
-Any secondary points made?
-Any 'unintentional' results of the movie?
c) ½ page in which you discuss how popular culture themes were constructed in the movie use at least 3 examples
d) 1 page in which you use at least 4 sociological/pop-cultural concepts covered in this course to analyze the movie (cite class materials as you do so)
e) Analyze which issues emerged as the strongest...as the weakest?
f) Briefly compare the popular culture themes in the movie you watched for this assignment to another movie you have previously seen that had similar themes.