Annika Wilcox
April 2, 2020
... about media from multiple perspectives: media as socially constructed, as influenced by profit
Students will demonstrate how media products can have varying interpretations and socializing
Small- and large-group discussion about the varying interpretations and socializing influences
and influence can have their message heard by a large number of people on social media.
· Provide a brief summary of part 2. Here, I like to stress again the importance of recognizing that media is produced by people and groups, often in the interest of profit, which shapes media content and concentration of media ownership (see summary slides).
Part 3 (~ 25 minutes)
· Tell the students that now, they are going to move on to complete the third activity. Cue up the film clip that you are planning to show. I like to show a clip from the film The Breakfast Club, where the students attempt to cover up for Bender (it shows the controversial scene of Bender looking between Claire’s legs). The link to watch this clip on YouTube is included in the attached PowerPoint.
· Before showing the clip, provide a brief introduction. I say something along the lines of “Now we are going to watch a brief movie clip and use it to think about varying interpretations and socializing influences of the media. This 3 minute film clip is from The Breakfast Club, a well-regarded and popular movie that came out in the 1980s.”
· Show the film clip
· Click to the discussion questions slide (titled “Film Analysis”). Have students discuss the discussion questions in their groups, and have each student (or group) write their answers down on a piece of paper.
· Completion of the answering the questions in groups and writing their answers should take students about 10-15 minutes.
· Then, initiate a full-class discussion about the students’ answers. Here it is helpful to write students’ contributions to each question on the board – especially for questions 2 and 3 – as there is greater potential for variation in responses.
· Key points about question 1 (assuming they are analyzing the clip from The Breakfast Club):
· In 1985 people might have thought of this clip as funny or might not have criticized it; in 2019 given the #MeToo movement people are likely to be critical of the sexism apparent in it.
· They might not have called this “sexual harassment” in 1985; whereas people are likely to see this as sexual harassment in 2019.
· Potential answers to question 2:
· Women may be more uncomfortable with and critical of this clip than men
· The clip shows a seemingly all-white cast, so racial minorities watching this might feel excluded
· It seems to show mostly middle- and upper-class kids, so people from lower social classes might feel that their experiences are not captured
· Potential answers to 2a:
· Dominant culture – because it is appealing to white upper/middle-class men. Arguably, it was also likely created by people who fit this profile (which ties back in the media as a social construct perspective).
· Subcultures – because it is showing kids challenging the principal (i.e. people challenging authority figures)
· Potential answers to question 3:
· Sexual harassment/assault is an accident; men can’t help doing it (it’s socially acceptable)
· “Boys will be boys”
· Men aren’t responsible for their harmful actions
· Sexist jokes are funny
· Women don’t have the power to challenge men who sexually harass/assault them
· Women should continue standing up for or supporting men who sexually harass/assault them
· Consequential because media is an agent of socialization
· Finally, offer a summary of part 3. I find it helpful to again highlight how our interpretations of media products are tied to individual identity, personal experiences, and time period, among other things, and that despite its varying interpretations, media can have consequential socializing influences that serve to reproduce society (see slide).
· Note: at this point in the semester, my class has already extensively covered media as an agent of socialization. However, if your class has not yet discussed this much, I suggest talking in more depth about what kinds of things the media socializes us to do (for example, how it socializes us to be concerned with “ideal” body types, beauty).
Part 4 (~10 minutes)
· Briefly discuss the slide showing the visual representation of perspectives on media or ask a student to offer an interpretation to the class. Highlight how these different perspectives help us to be critical and sociological consumers of media.
· If your students have learned about the three key theoretical perspectives earlier on in the course, you might ask them how these perspectives on media align with the theoretical perspectives. Go through one by one and ask what theoretical perspective each media perspective would align with.
· Media as a social construct and with varying interpretations supports a symbolic interactionist perspective, media as influenced by profit-seeking and concentration suggests a conflict theory perspective, and media as an agent of socialization can be seen as a functionalist perspective (if one argues that this socialization is necessary for society).
· If your students have not already learned about the three key theoretical perspectives, you can use this as an opportunity to introduce them, going through one by one and explaining how each media perspective would align with a theoretical perspective.
· Media as a social construct and with varying interpretations supports a symbolic interactionist perspective. This is because symbolic interactionism generally focuses on the micro level to consider the socially constructed nature of things and the subjectivity of meanings associated with social things.
· Media as influenced by profit-seeking and concentration suggests a conflict theory perspective. This is because conflict theory, in general, is concerned with social inequalities and power on a macro level.
· Media as an agent of socialization can be seen as a functionalist perspective (if one argues that this socialization is necessary for society). This is because structural functionalism, in general, is concerned with how different aspects of society contribute to societal functioning on a macro level.
· Finally, ask students to jot down the ‘main point’ they gathered from today’s class.
· Have them turn this in, along with their completed media consolidation activities, and their film analysis notes, prior to leaving. Collecting these materials will enable you to assess students’ meeting the learning objectives. I prefer to grade these materials on a credit/no credit basis, but they could also be graded based on accuracy.
References
Ferris, Kerry and Jill Stein. 2018. The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. 6th ed. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Free Press Research. 2018. “Who Owns the Media?” Retrieved July 24, 2019 (https://www.freepress.net/issues/media-control/media-consolidation/who-owns-media).
MediaSmarts. N.d. “Media Literacy Fundamentals.” Retrieved July 24, 2019 (http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/media-literacy-fundamentals).
Persell, Caroline Hodges, Kathryn M. Pfeiffer, and Ali Syed. 2007. “What Should Students Understand After Taking Introduction to Sociology?” Teaching Sociology 35(4):300–314. Sociological Perspectives on Mass Media: Data Analysis Activity
The following table and graph offer 2017 data concerning paid TV companies and radio companies in the U.S. (Source: Free Press Research. HH= households)
Table 1. Total Networks Owned and Reach of Companies that Broadcast Paid TV
1. Summarize the information presented in this table (focusing primarily on patterns in the number of networks owned and secondarily on their reach).
Table 2. Number of Stations Owned and/or Operated by Companies that Broadcast Radio
2. Summarize the information
presented in this graph.
3. Why do you think media companies are organized this way? How does this form of media organization impact the messages that are broadcast to a mass audience?
4. The first amendment protects the right to a free press (establishing freedom of expression). Based on these data, do you think “freedom of the press” is a real thing? Explain.
, and Profit
Concentration of ownership of TV networks and radio stations
Small number of companies own many ..."
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Subject Area(s):
- Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems
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Resource Type(s):
- Class Activity
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Class Level(s):
- College 200
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Class Size(s):
- Any
- Abstract:
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This resource synthesizes sociological insights and media literacy information (Ferris and Stein 2018; MediaSmarts N.d.) to create a "unit" on mass media comprised of three activities. The activities encourage students to build a sociological understanding of mass...