Media+Paper

Gender in Media As we’ve learned from our deconstruction of magazine advertisements, everything we buy and sell can somehow be linked to gender. Advertisements for products do more than just sell—they dictate social norms, telling us what is or is not acceptable in terms of beauty and desirability. They are powerful symbols of culture.  For this project we will move on to another form of media: television.

 • You will be randomly assigned a channel to watch. As you watch, you will fill out the attached log. Watch everything: commercials included! Write down what you perceive to be “gendered” moments: moments that make some kind of statement or comment about being male or female.

 • After completing the log, study it. Use it as the basis of a 3-4-page paper (complete with works cited—see the correct form for that in the Keables Guide) in which you analyze the content of your hours of television.

 • Your thesis for the paper will depend on what you see. It should be specific, though; tell me more than “This channel is degrading to women.” Think about who the channel is geared to, the products that are being sold, the ideas that are being sold. What’s the message here?

 • Attach the log to your draft for peer evaluation. It will be graded along with the paper.

 • You will share your findings in a short report to the class the day the paper is due.

 Think. Deconstruct. Think some more. How much are you affected by the messages on television?

Check out the wiki's Media page for resources. Look! [|A SAMPLE MEDIA PAPER]. This is the kind of analysis I am looking for. How TV is just as bad at masculinity as it is femininity. [|Another sample paper], this one a commentary on the new TV season.

Broadcast Television or Radio Program
Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of the series or program in italics. Also include the network name, call letters of the station followed by the city, and the date of broadcast. End with the publication medium (e.g. //Television, Radio//). For television episodes on Videocassette or DVD refer to the “Recorded Television Episodes” section below.

"The Blessing Way." //The X-Files//. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998. Television.

Commercial:

“Miller Lite Man Law: High Five.” Commercial. //You Tube.// 17 Nov. 2006

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MEDIA THESES