Part 1-

Media That Entertains

Discussion Title

Prepare: Media's role in entertaining has many implications and it should be given a great deal of consideration as we strive to become more critical consumers of media. Potter (2014) states, "Entertainment messages from the media follow formulas that are designed to attract our attention and condition us for repeat exposures." The formulas that he suggests in his argument must be closely adhered to if the goal of capturing and keeping the attention of the audience is to be reached. Read Chapter 10 of the textbook.

Reflect: The textbook discusses values that are embedded in entertainment media that are essentially transferred to audiences and reinforced as those modes of entertainment are accessed over and over again. Think about the entertainment media you typically engage in and consider three themes or values that you see represented in different forms of entertainment media.

Write: After reflecting on the entertainment media that you engaged in across the week, compare the values that you identified with those listed on page 223 of the textbook, and discuss the implications of them on individuals, groups, and society. Then, write a 250- to 300-word response that discusses your views. In your initial post, you must include at least one in-text citation from the reading material and an additional in-text citation from a scholarly source that you locate in the Ashford University Library or from another credible source. At the end of your post, include your name and a full reference for all sources cited in the body of your post. All citations and references must adhere to APA style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Check It! Your post must be submitted through Grammarly prior to submission.

Respond to Peers: After you have written your initial post, read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two others about the values they identified in entertainment media. Your responses should address them by name, be between 100 and 150 words in length, and you must include your name at the end of each response.

Part 2-

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Persuasive Media

Prepare: This week, you will need to engulf yourself in persuasive messages. It takes no real effort to do this. All you have to do is actually watch the commercials around your news and entertainment programs, pay attention to your surroundings, and really look at all of the pop-up ads on the websites that you visit throughout the week. You will also need to read Chapter 11 in the textbook. Then, choose oneof the articles to read:

High Culture/Low Culture: Advertising in Literature, Art, Film, and Popular Culture

Representations of Masculinity and Femininity in Advertising

Ethics and Advertising

Sexuality, Race, and Ethnicity in Advertising

"Subliminal" Advertising

Reflect: After completing the reading in the textbook and reading the article that you chose, consider the ads that you encountered throughout the week. Think about the elements of advertising (mentioned in Chapter 11 of the textbook) that really resonated with you as a result of your attention to advertising messages throughout the week. Then, think critically about the article that you chose and consider examples of advertisements that coincided with it.

Write: Once you have critically reflected on the readings and the advertisements, write a 250- to 300-word post that discusses your views. In your post, you must focus on one single element from Chapter 11 that resonated with you as it relates to your experience with advertisements throughout the week. Then, focusing on the article that you read, choose at least two examples of advertisements that related to what you read. Choose advertisements where you are able to include an image or link in your post to help your peers in understanding your example. At the end of your post, include your name and a full reference for all sources cited in the body of your post. All citations and references must adhere to APA style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Check It! Your post must be submitted through Grammarly prior to submission.

Respond to Peers: After you have written your initial post, read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two others about their experiences with advertisements during the week. Your responses should address them by name, be between 100 and 150 words in length, and you must include your name at the end of each response.

Part 3-

Analyzing Persuasive Media

For assistance completing this assignment, view the Media Literacy Skills video for an overview of media literacy concepts and tutorial for how to conduct your analysis.

Every day of our lives we are presented with some type of persuasive media. Many of us do not believe that we are influenced by these messages but, in reality, the influence can be quite profound. Persuasive messages are not always in the form of product advertisements. The messages can generate from political campaigns are even social issues.

This week, you will analyze an advertising campaign of your choice. This can be in the form of an advertising campaign, a political campaign, or a social issue campaign. You can find your favorite advertising campaign simply by doing a Google or YouTube search of a favorite commercial or company. You will want to view at least three persuasive messages from the campaign in order to complete an effective analysis.

For the analysis, you must:

Identify the author of the message.

Explain the creative techniques used to capture the attention of the audience.

Identify and explain the values and points of view that are contained within the message and those that are omitted from the message.

Discuss how different audience members may interpret the message.

Adhere to the Persuasive Media Analysis Template.

The analysis must:

Be a minimum of two pages and no more than three pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Include at least three sources from the reading for the week to support your ideas. The list of sources must be formatted using APA style.