Communication Essay

Media Analysis Mid-Term Essay

Pick a popular culture media artifact such as a song, music video, movie, book, TV series/episode, etc. Then pick one of the following methods of analysis and write a paper of no more than 2000 words using that method of analysis to examine the selected artifact.

*Your paper should have 12 pt. font, double-spacing, standard margins, and should follow MLA guidelines for citation and formatting.*

How to know you’ve done a good job:

· You’ve not only answered all of the questions below, but you have interjected your own critical questions into the discussion of the artifact.

· You have moved beyond simply identifying concepts. You have begun applying concepts critically in innovative ways that are not currently present in our readings or our in-class discussions.

· You have edited your paper for any grammatical errors, style, and voice.

· You’ve cited at least three (3) sources in MLA format. These sources can be scholarly or popular sources.

Available types of analysis

1. Marxist Analysis (Chapter 2):

a. Why choose this prompt?

i. Because you like thinking about how capitalism affects media production.

ii. Because your media artifact says something about the means of production, challenges norms of labor relations, or explicitly mentions class.

iii. Because patterns of media ownership and strategies of profit maximization are important to you.

b. What does this form of analysis entail?

i. Explaining why a Marxist analysis is the best way to critically analyze the media artifact.

ii. Writing about how the media text influences/exposes the relations and forces of production.

iii. Commenting on profit motive and locating the profit motive within the media artifact. How does profit motive create/effect/change the artifact?

iv. Explaining the affective/bodily aspect of consumption that is related to this media text.

2. Rhetorical Analysis (Chapter 5):

a. Why choose this prompt?

i. Because you like thinking about how symbols and meaning affect media messages.

ii. Because your media artifact is rich in meaning, and leaves the viewer to question whether there is more than apparently stated by the artifact.

iii. Because you value discussions about how intention of authors and perception of audience interact.

b. What does this form of analysis entail?

i. Identifying the symbols, meanings, and rhetorical strategies present in the work in question.

ii. Critically analyzing meaning on the level of rhetoric. A key question to answer here is how the media interacts with the viewers/consumers of that media. Affect and bodily interactions are especially relevant for the scope of this class.

iii. Unpacking the different layers of meaning within an artifact and analyzing how they interact to create a complex piece of rhetorical text.

3. Cultural Analysis (Chapter 6):

a. Why choose this prompt?

i. Because you like thinking about how culture, ideology, and media interact.

ii. Because your media artifact says something about a culture or cultures, and you want to identify and analyze that message.

iii. Because you think a particular part of your media artifact contains an argument about how culture should be. This argument can be explicit or implicit. Look at the beginning of Chapter 6 if you need help.

b. What does this form of analysis entail?

i. Identifying and analyzing the cultural messages and effects of your artifact. Does your artifact say something implicitly or explicitly about a culture? Does it propose changes, affirm, or criticize that culture or cultures?

ii. Commenting on the ideology contained within the material, attitudinal and social aspects of the media artifact. This can include myth, doxa, and hegemony.

iii. Arguing about what type of social reality the media artifact seeks to create and if that is a good thing or not.

If you have any questions let me know. I feel that this is a very detailed outline for any paper you might write for this assignment. Your book contains sample essays beginning on page 351 as well.