Media Analysis

Step 1: Choose your subject.

Pick one piece of media containing visual material to analyze. This can be a television commercial, a movie trailer, or a printed advertisement from a newspaper or magazine. Be sure to give me either the printed advertisement or a link to your commercial or movie trailer when turning in your rough draft.

Step 2: Describe your material.

1. Tell me if you are analyzing a television commercial, an ad from a newspaper, an ad from a magazine, or a movie trailer. If you're writing about a commercial or an ad, name the product being sold and the company/brand that makes it. If you choose a commercial that advertises a new movie, please name the movie.

2. Then, describe what you see in the ad or video. If you're analyzing a commercial or movie trailer, give a brief synopsis of what happens in the video. If you're analyzing a magazine or newspaper advertisement, describe the images and/or words that you see. Remember to only focus on the important details-you do not need to tell me everything.

Step 3: Analyze your material.

In this step, I want you to look deeper into what you see. Think back on how we analyzed the music videos, commercials, and magazine ads in class as a guide to how you should approach this step. Here are just some of the things you should be thinking about when analyzing your material:

• What is being sold? Is one specific product being promoted, or is the ad designed to promote a brand?

• What is the message of the ad/commercial, and how is this message being expressed?

• What kind of images do you see? Are colors being used to create a mood or atmosphere? What is the message being conveyed by these images?

In short, I want you to pick apart the images that make up your piece of media and describe their message. Look at specific details, and describe how they form a message, or claim, about their product. Support all of your claims with specific details.

Step 4: Tell me why this advertisement "works".Who is the audience? Think about the demographic (age, gender, race, social class, etc.) of your audience, and describe how the ad is appealing to this group. Is the advertisement using stereotypes, or fighting against them? What does this ad "say" about American culture and the culture of the specific audience? What values does your advertisement use?