Reflecting on the research papers

First, a quick overview of the papers: twelve students wrote about television, making that the most popular topic. There were five papers about advertising, four about music, three about film, two about video games, one about sports, one about book publishing, one about politics, and one about otaku.

Overall, the quality of your research and writing was excellent and I've learned valuable information that I plan to share with future students. Truth be told, some of the things I learned disturbed me. Nonetheless, I'm grateful to have learned them. I could share some fascinating facts from each and every paper, but I have to finish grading so I'll limit myself to a couple of examples.

1.  Jeremy E. Uecker studied married couples versus single individuals and found that being married or engaged "curbs drunkenness, and married adults, especially those who marry at ages 22 to 26, are more satisfied with their lives" (emphasis added). Thanks to Katherine Harper, who cited this information in her paper about A Wedding Story and similar reality TV shows.
2. When methamphetamine was first introduced it was not an illicit drug. Japan used meth commercially and Britain and Germany used it to increase the effectiveness of their soldiers. Thanks to John Huffman who cited this information in his paper about Breaking Bad.

In this last blog post, I invite you to reflect on what you learned about your specific media text and/or the "bigger picture." For example, did you find any great new sources? Did you uncover any new information that made you rethink your original plan for the paper?

So, what have we learned about Disney?

In the last final chapter of Understanding Disney, Wasko quotes Disney critic Henry Giroux:

Challenging the ideological underpinnings of Disney's construction of common sense is the first step in understanding the ways in which corporate culture has refashioned the relationship between education and entertainment, on the one hand, and institutional power and cultural politics, on the other.

In other words, a critical understanding of Disney is part of a more general critique of corporate and consumer culture.

Building on the quotation from Giroux, can you cite any specific examples of how corporate culture has refashioned the relationship between education and entertainment, either here at JMU or at other schools you've attended?

Mickey Mouse Monopoly

Based on the film and your own knowledge of Disney, answer one of the following questions:

• Do you think gender stereotyping in Disney is more pronounced in the depictions of male or female characters? Cite specific examples.
  

• Is racial/ethnic stereotyping in Disney more pronounced for any particular minority group(s)? Cite specific examples. 
  

• How have portrayals of gender and race in Disney films changed over time?   

• How would you assess the overall effectiveness of this documentary? Were there any points that you found particularly strong or weak?

Celebration, Florida

(Photo: http://www.celebrationhomesales.com/)    

Cultural critic Naomi Klein calls Disney one of the world's most successful super-brands (No Logo, Media Education Foundation, 2003). Not only does it sell ideas and lifestyles, it also stretches and spreads its brand across the pop-cultural landscape.

Please answer one of the following questions:

• What do you think Klein means when she calls Celebration, Florida the achievement of Disney's “brand nirvana”?
• What ideas, values, and lifestyles does Celebration represent? What do you think it would be like to live there?
• Can you think of any other company that has achieved “brand nirvana”? If so, please explain.

Dissecting Disney

Analyzing Disney can be a tricky business because the man and his company have attained such a mythical (almost sacred) status in American popular culture. According to Janet Wasko, "taking a critical stance toward the company that has created the happiest places on earth may be considered overly pessimistic, not to say downright un-American" (p. 3). Wasko's Understanding Disney and the documentary Walt Disney--Secret Lives dissect the Disney myth and provide a more complex and less flattering view of the man, his personal biases, and his business practices.

Answer one of the following questions:

• Do you think Mr. Disney's attitudes toward women, minorities, labor unions, and Communists shaped his company's identity and mission? The content and quality of its films? If so, how?
• Do you think a basic knowledge of Mr. Disney's political activities during and after World War II is relevant to understanding the Disney Company's past and present? Why or why not?

Thesis statement or research questions

At the heart of your proposal (due Nov. 7) is a thesis or research questions about your selected media text. They serve as tools in the research and writing process, helping you articulate an argument that you will develop and support with specific evidence in your final research paper.

Here are examples of effective thesis statements by previous SMAD 373 students.

• The Fox Network's television show COPS is considered one of the pioneers in reality television. However, when researched more closely it becomes evident that COPS shows more of a detrimental depiction of unreality than it does the actual day-to-day life of a police officer. The show clearly misrepresents crime and race, and does so in a way that deceives viewers into believing that they are watching a documentary when, in actuality, they are being manipulated by producers who are only concerned with the bottom line.
• The year 1982 saw a major convergence of soda pop and popular entertainment. Coca-Cola, one of the largest corporations in the world, purchased Columbia Pictures, one of the major studios in the world's most beloved hybrid of art and commerce. The Columbia-Coke partnership yielded a number of blockbuster movies, and for some years was a triumph of synergy for both companies. While not every film made under the decade-long ownership was steeped in product placement, there was enough for it to negatively effect the quality of Columbia's films. Films like Murphy's Romance, and to a lesser extent Tootsie and The Big Chill, demonstrated that Coke's self-promoting in Columbia's films was excessive.

As you can see, each statement makes an argument that is original, not self-evident, and supportable through research and analysis rather than merely opinion.

Write a paragraph that introduces your topic and articulates either a preliminary thesis statement or preliminary research questions. Of course, you can expect your statement or questions to evolve and change as you continue your research and writing. I will respond individually to each post and I invite you to contact me directly if you would like additional feedback.

Please note: this blog post is due on Friday, November 2.

Midterm Essay

Write a five-page essay (double-spaced) based on The Insider and at least one other source. Be sure to analyze and engage critically with the ideas in your sources rather than simply citing them. Here are two excellent sources (a Vanity Fair article and a PBS Frontline website) that you may find helpful.

• "The Man Who Knew Too Much" 
• Inside the Tobacco Deal

Your essay should address one of the following topics:

• Corporate America. Variety reviewer Todd McCarthy called The Insider a "detailed analysis of the ferocious power, implacable arrogance and ultimate vulnerability of corporate America." How does the film represent corporate America? Which characters speak on behalf of corporate interests, and what personal qualities and values do they possess? How do the film's story lines and plot twists dramatize the conflicts between corporate interests and the public interest? Which side prevails by the end of the film?

• Whistle-blowers. After Jeffrey Wigand finally decided to go public on 60 Minutes, he found himself "sued, targeted in a smear campaign, divorced, and facing possible incarceration." Meanwhile, CBS killed Lowell Bergman's segment with Wigand's devastating testimony, though it was clearly newsworthy. How do the filmmakers develop the characters of Wigand and Bergman, two reluctant whistle-blowers in their corporations? What motivates them to tell the truth at great risk to their careers, families, and lives? 

• Your own topic. Come up with your own set of questions about The Insider. For example, you might want to examine which facts were changed in the film for dramatic effect or how Brown and Williamson tried to restore its corporate reputation. Be sure to connect your analysis with relevant concepts from our class readings such as corporate values, news journalism, the public sphere, and structural trends in the news and "infotainment" industry.

Use the questions listed above as a starting point, but feel free to expand your analysis beyond these questions. A hard copy of your essay is due in class on Monday, October 8. If you have any questions about the assignment, please post them here and I will do my best to answer them in a timely manner. Please note, however, that such comments will NOT count toward your five required blog posts.

The Insider

Based on the first half of The Insider (viewed in class this week) and The Insider Review in Variety, answer one of the questions below.

• The opening scenes reveal little about why and how Brown & Williamson fired Jeffrey Wigand. Instead, the film intercuts between scenes of Lowell Bergman working on a "60 Minutes" interview in Lebanon and scenes of Wigand's life after he lost his job. Is this an effective storytelling technique? What do we learn about the two men?
  
• As the story unfolds, we learn that Wigand is the "witness who has been betrayed, and Bergman is the righteous crusader who has been hung out to dry." Does this story have clear-cut heroes and villains? If so, who are they?
• The Variety reviewer calls the movie "borderline pretentious"? What does he mean? Do you agree? He also writes that, "at 157 minutes, pic feels at least 20 minutes too long." Do you agree? If so, what parts would you cut and why?
  

Fox News: Who Reports? Who Decides?

 
THE CORPORATION (Canada: Zeitgeist Films, 2004) explores the rise of "the dominant institution of our time." It includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Milton Friedman - plus case studies and strategies for change.

Chapter 17 ("Unsettling Accounts") tells the story of Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, investigative reporters turned whistle-blowers. Akre and Wilson were fired by the Fox News television station they worked for after refusing to change their investigative report on Posilac, a Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) made by Monsanto. Their research documented potential health problems of drinking milk treated with the synthetic hormone. When threatened with legal action by Monsanto, Fox demanded that Akre and Wilson rewrite the story, and ultimately fired them. They sued Fox under Florida's whistle-blower statute and proved to a jury that the story Fox wanted them to air was false, distorted or slanted. The jury awarded Akre $425,000. Fox appealed, arguing that lying to the public over the airwaves was a violation of FCC policy, but not prohibited by law. The jury verdict was overturned and Akre lost her award. Akre and Wilson became liable for Fox's $1.8 million court costs, later reduced to $200,000.

Please answer one or more of the following questions:

• Fox News has a slogan, "We report, you decide." Based on the Jane Akre and Steve Wilson story, who decides what stories get aired on Fox News? Do viewers have the information they need to make good decisions?
• Where do you turn for important news about environmental and health issues?

Beyond the Broadcast Model

Chapter 2 in The Business of Media describes how the emergence of digital media in the 1990s moved the industry beyond the broadcast model pioneered by radio and television. "Rather than a limited number of media products supported entirely by advertisers targeted to a mass mainstream audience, the new media landscape featured many more media outlets producing content for smaller niche audiences available via various fee structures" (p. 63).

Bite-sized media sales and subscription services are two common fee structures. The first strategy lets consumers buy a single film viewing ("on demand" cable TV) or a single song download (iTunes). The second strategy charges a monthly fee for access to hundreds of TV channels (cable or satellite) or a vast catalog of films and TV programs delivered to the subscriber's home (Netflix).

• In your view, does the digital model offer audiences more diverse content than the broadcast model? More diverse perspectives? A freer flow of information?
• Please cite specific examples to support your position. 
• Compared with the broadcast media model, does the digital model have any disadvantages?

The Music Industry

Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music (Media Education Foundation, 2002) analyzes four gatekeepers that control the flow of music to consumers: radio, MTV, touring, and retail.

• Thinking back to 2002 (when this film was made), who were your favorite musicians? Were your choices influenced by the four gatekeepers identified in the film?
• Now think of your current musical choices. Who are the gatekeepers today? Do radio, MTV, touring, and retail still matter?

For more information about the company that dominates the touring industry, read Rolling Stone's special report on Ticketmaster.

For more background on the music industry, check out the website for the PBS-Frontline documentary The Way the Music Died.

SMAD 373 Blog: Intro and Guidelines

This blog is a forum for extending our class discussions. On Monday or Tuesday I will publish a new post relevant to the week's topic. Student responses to that week's post are due at midnight on Friday. Each student should submit at least five blog posts during the semester.

There are three types of comments that you should consider posting.

• Introductory comments. These are your own reactions and ideas, generated as you consider the course discussions, readings, and videos.
• Response comments. These comments respond to the posts of your classmates or to a discussion question posed by me. Simply saying "I agree with ..." does not represent a good post--unless it is followed with some substantial, original content and ideas.
• Questions. These help to clarify the concepts or ideas raised in the class discussions, readings, or videos. Questions can be useful for everyone, provided you first demonstrate how you have attempted to make sense of the issue in question.

Blog posts should meet certain basic criteria:

• Posts should be professional and free of spelling errors and grammatical errors. Do not use any text speak such as lol, thx, imho.
• Please stick to the issues and remain civil and polite--even when others offer opinions with which you disagree. Make every effort to stay on topic. Above all, avoid personal attacks.
• The use of outside materials (for example, a book, magazine, or website) will increase your ability to comment with greater insight and knowledge.
• Posts should be substantive. A few words or sentence fragments are rarely useful in an online discussion. 

Thank you in advance for contributing to our online discussions.