3-4 pg paper

Communication 300

Reflection Paper

Instructions for Assignment 1: Reflection Paper (15 % of final grade)

This paper needs to be 3-4 pages in length, typed, double-spaced with 12 point font and 1” margins, and checked for grammar and spelling. Be sure to use proper citation practices. The paper is due in class AND via Turnitin by the beginning of lecture, at 9.30AM on Thursday, February 13.

No late submissions will be accepted unless you have established permission from the professor. Incomplete submissions, i.e, either the online submission is missing or the hardcopy is missing, will be considered late submission. Late penalties, as specified in the syllabus will apply.

For this Reflection, you are asked to do three things:

First, explain either Plato or Aristotle’s arguments about the function of entertainment in culture. Second, reflect on and discuss the implications of either Plato or Aristotle’s (whoever you chose above) arguments on our understanding of the function of entertainment in culture (see below). Finally, engage one other author—Dyer, Boorstin, Huizinga, Van Zoonen, or Jones—we have read in class. What would they say about the function of entertainment in culture? And in what way are their arguments similar to or different from Plato or Aristotle?

Here are some questions you might consider when thinking about the implications of Plato or Aristotle’s (Note: pick Plato or Aristotle, not both) argument about function of entertainment in culture:

· How does the author’s theory reflect a moral judgment about entertainment?

· How does the author’s theory reflect their stance on, for instance, the depiction of violence in entertainment media, especially in programming targeted towards children?

· How does the author’s theory suggest about the power of entertainment?

· How can we situate the meaning of the theory within the binaries of art/entertainment, politics/entertainment, serious/entertaining, and real/unreal?

· How can questioning the arbitrariness of binary thinking such as “politics or E” help us understand the relations among entertainment, power, and culture?

· What does the theory examined imply about the power dynamics involved in the relationship between audiences and entertainment?

Remember: This is NOT a think-piece or an op-ed. It is an academic response. Please be explicit in defining terms and clear in your explanations, clarify your assumptions, and provide the rationale for your thought process and the authors’ arguments.