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.