Critical Analysis of Wartime Rhetoric - David For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with the war record of the United States government throughout our nation’s history. The founding fathers of this nation, as well as those presidents who have followed their lead, in a struggle to create and sustain a strong central government, often used rhetoric that appealed to the values of property-owning men – the wealthiest and most politically strong segment of the population – to make the case for war against a laundry list of enemies including England, Native Americans, secessionist movements, anti-Capitalist conflicts, and even pro-democratic conflicts. The purpose of this essay is to examine the wartime rhetoric of the leaders of nations, and how those arguments are often logically flawed, and appealing to irrational hopes of the public. My struggles are fundamentally rooted in my sense of what is ethical, fair, and just. Too often, I feel, we learn our nation’s history from the texts written by the winners in these conflicts. This one-sided perspective tends to present a pro-war rhetoric that attempts to establish a false dichotomy of the United States central government as strong, right, benevolent, and harbingers of freedom, as opposed to the other side who typically gets labeled as vigilante, terrorist, above the law, radical, etc. In the following clips, I’ve included footage from several pro-war speeches made in the past 60+ years. Most of these speeches were made by American presidents, but to broaden the perspective I’ve included an example of a speech given by Adolf Hitler, included in Leni Riefenstahl’s pro-Nazi film The Triumph of the Will. The purpose of its inclusion is to recognize the similar appeals that leaders of nations make when attempting to establish a pro-war rhetoric. As you may witness, many of these messages include coded, if not direct, ethnocentric points of view that establish an us/them dichotomy supporting the use of aggressive force to rid the world of the inherent evil perpetuated by the other. Frequently, these speakers attempt to evoke the notion that there is some divine force, or God, that supports their side in this war. First, I’ve included a well-known speech, familiar to anyone interested in American history. On December 8, 1941, United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke to the American public about the way that Pearl Harbor, on the previous day, had been “suddenly and deliberately attacked” by the Japanese military. Roosevelt claims that this day was a “date that will live in infamy”. Making the point that the attack had clearly been deliberately planned, he claims that the “Japanese government [had] deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continual peace.” He provides a laundry list of attacks against other peoples that the Japanese military had also made during the past 48 hours, noting that we were not the only victims against a common enemy. He also states that “the facts of today and yesterday speak for themselves” – this suggests the inevitable, singular interpretation that we are expected to make of this event, that war is the answer. Further, he states, “No matter how long it will take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win.” Clearly, he’s attempting to evoke the religious character of the American public. For some reason, I felt that this speech had been filmed as well as recorded for radio broadcast. But in this YouTube clip, the author presents images that correspond with the content of F.D.R.’s speech. The audience can see anti-Japanese propaganda, as well as advertisements that encourage the buying of war bonds, and to “Avenge December 7th”. This final message certainly evokes my memory of recent attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
Next, we see a speech given by Hitler, taken from Riefenstahl’s The Triumph of the Will. The point in this inclusion is to provide a historical comparison to those messages presented by other American presidents. While Hitler’s ethnocentric vision of a “cleansed” Germany has been universally condemned, his rhetoric is remarkably similar to other speeches we hear made by our own president. In particular, this clip focuses on a speech invoking the national character of the German people, and the character that will live on in the youth of the nation. He states, “We want to be one people, and you, my youth, are to be that people. In the future there must be no ranks or classes, and you must not let them begin to grow in you. We want to see one nation and you must educate yourselves for it.” Here, he asserts the need for unity during a time of war, the vision for a future where the German people are free from class definitions, as well as a benevolent sort of fatherly love. Further he claims, “[the German people] must be peaceable and courageous at the same time.” Also, he evokes the symbolism of the Nazi flag being “torn from nothing,” meaning that this government had been established by the hard work of the German people in a spirit of revolutionary initiative. I feel that all of the above messages are present among most speeches given by U.S. presidents. Much of the time, Hitler appeals to the vanity of his people – a surefire way to gain their wholesale approval. Also, throughout this clip, Riefenstahl contrasts pans of the sweeping crowds of people saluting their leader to medium close-ups of Hitler. Certainly this suggests his authority, and the sheer numbers of those saluting him portray a wide-spread approval of his messages.
Next, in a speech given November 3, 1969, Richard Nixon appeals the “Silent Majority” of the American people. This term was created to distinguish a widespread socially conservative public in the United States from the politically radical, leftist ideas of a minority of vocal irrational students and protestors. Here, we only see a brief segment of his speech in defense of his administration’s efforts to end the war in Vietnam. He stresses the importance of “winning” the peace, as opposed to losing it. While he neglects to provide any details about how he intends to follow through with his promise to end the war, he argues that it is imperative that Americans present a unified show of support for his plan. Without this unity, Nixon implies that those Americans would be responsible for their own defeat and humiliation. Following is a transcript of this clip: So, tonight, to you the great “Silent Majority” of my fellow Americans I ask for your support. I pledged in my campaign for the presidency to end the war in a way that we could win the peace. I have initiated a plan of action which will enable me to keep that pledge. The more support I can have from the American people, the sooner that pledge can be redeemed. For, the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate in Paris. Let us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States; only Americans can do that. In this clip, from a speech given on March 2, 1962, John F. Kennedy deliberates upon the difficult, but carefully measured choice to continue testing of nuclear arms. Appealing to the public capacity to fear the perceived enemy of the Soviet Union, Kennedy states, “Until mankind has banished both war and its instruments of destruction, the United States must maintain an effective quantity and quality of nuclear weapons. . . [and that] only through such strength can [the United States] be certain of deterring a nuclear attack, or an overwhelming ground attack.” Indeed, he suggests that the only way Americans might survive as a people and nation would be through the continued development and production of nuclear weapons. This decision was apparently made while the United States and the United Kingdom were “negotiating in good faith in Geneva, the Soviet Union callously broke the moratorium [by testing nuclear weapons].” He speaks of the Soviets as secretly making preparations for these testings, and that they represented “new threats and new tactics of terror”. And while the Soviets tested these weapons mostly in the atmosphere, the United States had determined to minimize the radioactive fall-out by testing underground, and over the Pacific Ocean under the appropriate weather conditions. This distinguishes the United States’ concern for the environment as opposed to a callous, conniving Soviet Union. Given the historical context of this speech, Kennedy did not need to focus his attention on the evil of the Soviet Union, as that had already been established through a series of events following the aftermath of World War II. Last, we can examine a speech given by President George H. W. Bush on September 11, 1990. Here, Bush argues for why the United States has decided to drive Iraqi military from the nation of Kuwait. He distinguishes Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, as a “dictator” who “systematically raped, pillaged, and plundered a tiny nation. . . [subjecting] the people of Kuwait to unspeakable atrocities, and among those maimed and murdered: innocent children.” Bush contrasts these images with a “small and helpless” Kuwait whose people have been “brutalized”. He appeals to how the decision to go to war against Iraq had been “taken into accord with United Nations resolutions, and with the consent of the United States Congress,” thereby distinguishing these efforts as legitimate and not aggressive. The clip ends with Bush attempting to appeal to the American public’s hope for a peaceful, lawful future – “a New World Order – a world where the rule of law, not the law of the jungle, governs the conduct of nations.” Further, he insists, “Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq, but the liberation of Kuwait,” and that this would not be a repeat of the American war in Vietnam. Regardless of my own political opinions, I hope that this essay helps to distinguish how government leaders appeal to our sensibilities when leading us into war. Although war has the potential to be an inherently tragic decision for all those involved, it is typically portrayed as heroic, inevitable, and necessary for the future security and peace of the world’s peoples. Too often, I feel, the media drops the ball when given the opportunity to critically analyze the logical fallacies of these pro-war arguments, leaving the public with too little information to be truly informed on the subject. This suggests the potential for new Web 2.0 technologies to open up forums for sharing factual information, critical analysis, and new ideas when the issue of war arises. These new technologies might be used to support or challenge efforts to lead the public into war. Hopefully, the public will learn to use these technologies to meet their best personal interests. Critical Analysis of Gender Roles in Television Sitcoms - Genevieve Either at home or in class, students will watch episodes of (or excerpts from) According to Jim, King of the Hill, Still Standing, King of Cartoons through the Decades by Angela This activity will allow students to engage with something most all of them loved at one time or another - cartoons! By extracting a couple of cartoons from each decade, students will come to understand how society has shaped childrens television and the characters that all of us know and love. This activity lends itself to studying multiple critical lenses and topics - ranging from family structure (Flinstones, Jetsons, smurfs?) to heros (Captain Caveman, Scooby-Doo, Mighty Mouse) to relationships (Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Rocky and Bullwinkle) to more contemporary cartoons (Powerpuff Girls, Pokemon, and whatever other cartoon are out right now). The could be a group activity or individual. Being technologically saavy students, I would have them create a powerpoint presentation (or for the super computer oriented kids - iMovie) to present to the class. It would be interesting to combine this activity with Chris' in order to see if Disney itself has a certain social/political agenda different from Hanna Barbara or some of the other big cartoon makers. Critical Analysis of Propaganda--Brianna and Sara An activity that could fit into a social studies curriculum and/or an English one would be a critical analysis of propaganda. Propaganda from various eras and in various media forms could be set up as stations around a classroom. Students would then “gallery walk” around the room and complete a worksheet with questions for each station. Students would be asked to look at who produced the propaganda, who is the intended audience, how was it used, identify symbols, etc. As an extension exercise, students could then try to find current examples of propaganda, such as advertisements, the news, perhaps even examples at school. They would be asked to answer the same type of questions from the gallery walk for the current example they chose. --Critical Analysis of Magazine Ads --Elizabeth and Steve M. This activitiy would involve having kids bring in old magazines and simply look at the ads. There are so many different critical lenses that you could adopt in order to analyze advertising, that this activity could have a plethora of outcomes. First, we would obviously have worked with the different lenses and the kids would have an ample working knowledge of how each critical approach views any given text. Then the kids would be free to select an ad of th-- eir choice and analyze it in terms of their approach. They would do a short, informal write-up describing the ad they chose, the lense they chose, and giving supporting evidence of their findings. In addition, students could identify who the target market of this ad was and what it said about how the marketing agency's perception of that group of people/what it was supposed to make them think as consumers. - - Critical Analysis of Class by Crystal Bieter As part of my Holocast unit, students analyze class as seen in the 1930's. I share with them the class definition which best suits this in-class study which is looking at a person's social rank. We then would discuss as a large group what different classes we have in our communities, our nation, our society, our school. I then put them in groups of four and then pass out different colored sheets of paper. I then would state that those with yellow colored paper are the Jews, those with white colored paper are the soldiers, those with green sheets of paper are the high ranking officials such as Adolf Hitler and Henrich Himmler, etc. They then would be expected to write a summary of what life would be like for them living in this particular class during the Holocaust. What would their living conditions be like, what rights would they have as a citizen or as an individual etc. Students would then have a chance to share their summaries with the class. Once this was done, I would talk a little bit about the history of genocide looking at Turkey, Cambodia, Bosnia, Iraq, and Rwanda. Next I would address a follow up question: How did these topics surface during the Holocaust and are they still present in the 21st century? I would then give them a little background on Sudan and then play the video "Working Class Hero," by Green Day. I would have them really listen to the message and the lyrics. When it is done I would have them look at who the working class hero is, what the message was in the video, etc. What do you think about the camera shots chosen? Did you think that they chose the right format, selection of scenes? Who was the intended audience and why? Ultimately following up with an assignmnet of how we can promote change globally. Critical Analysis Activity: I'd like to someday teach a unit or class on post-apocolyptic visions in literature and film. One activity that I think would be really neat would be to have students find an example of "apocalyptic thinking" from a source in the media. Examples could be historic or modern; such could be examples of Cold War and nuclear holocaust depictions, or modern day "Bird Flu Pandemic" representations. The criteria for this would be that the example needed to come from some news or otherwise "non-fiction" or journalistic sources. Students would find a counterpart to their example in fiction, film, or myth. Comparing the two versions of apocalyptic thinking would guide students towards seeing the construction of this thinking as both part of our cultural myths, but also a real and contemporary fear. It would be valuable to have students attempt to draw conclusions about what role apocalypse plays in our culture and how that has changed, evolved, or stayed static over the years. There is a wealth of source material out there to draw from, and a wealth of literary/film/mythic examples to draw from as well. The comparison would be best posted online as film examples and media examples could be easily integrated with student writing. ---Mr.M. For some critical analysis examples, particularly related to teaching literature: go to the Teaching Literature.org site and Chapter 10: Activities Media Education Lab: high school media literacy activities Media Education Lab: Middle school media literacy activities Kid Nation reality TV show: Creating little capitalists Government/group's propoganda Freedoms Watch (pro Iraq War group) YouTube: Freedom's Watch: pro-Iraq War ads [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom's_Watch#_note-10|Congresspedia: analysis of the Freedom's Watch pro-Iraq War ads] Energy Tomorrow: Energe IQ video: people's knowledge about energy Energy Tomorrow: position on oil exploration Secure Our Energy: in favor of off-shore drilling near Florida City Pages: Al Franken versus Norm Coleman ads Minnesota: EdWatch: \"Alerts\" on IB implimentation How the Pentagon will eliminate the war reporter through virtual war: Critical Analysis of T.V. Stations by Nathan This activity will help students critically analyze different T.V. stations. Students will be instructed to pick three different stations, i.e. Fox, MTV, and Discovery Channel. They will then make a short list of programs that each channel broadcasts. They will then assign the appropriate analytical labels to each show: response theory, rhetorical analysis, feminist criticism, semiotics, poststructuralist/postmodern/postcolonial analysis, cultural analysis, etc… Students can then compare the different shows on the different stations, which will lead to a comparison of the different stations. What audience is each station created for? Who is likely to advertise on each station? What new show would you pitch to each station? Disney, or is it? by Chris I don’t know if anyone has posted this already, but I think it would be fascinating to have students watch films that are thought of as the definition of innocuous. Namely, the Disney films. I would teach my students multiple lenses and have them analyze the sacred video tomes of their youth in a new light. Whether it’s class in Aladdin or gender roles in Little Mermaid, students will have a wealth of issues to construct a theoretical critique. I think this will help the students realize the underlying messages that are contained in every text or video and how they influence our world-view. I think it would be great for students to analyze a single movie through multiple perspectives. Perhaps I would seperate the class into small groups, each with a particluar lens. We would then watch the film and the students would "dig into" the video. Students would then present their findings to the class. Critical Television by Meaghan Similar to Annie's activity, this would involve already teaching the basic critical lenses to a film and media class. Students would then view episodes of three current, 30-minute comedies of differing styles. For example, Scrubs, The Office, and Two and a Half Men. As a class, students would first discuss style differences, such as camera usage: Scrubs uses a single camera, The Office a documentary-style handheld, and Two and a Half Men the more traditional 3-camera shooting. Each student will then be required to take notes on an episode of each show by means of a single lens. These may be assigned, randomly passed out, or chosen by students. They must then evaluate each show by that specific lens and present to the class which shows most and least represent the causes of that lens and why. For example, from a race discourse, which show best represents reality, and which is the most biased? Or, which best demonstrates a postmodern view, and what comes up short with the others. multiple lenses. First, introduce students to a variety of different lenses, including the semiotic approach, gender/class/race discourses, and postmodern. Take time to view film clips or TV clips that they are familiar with and discuss as a class how to analyze them using each view. This could be done as a unit or as several mini-lessons that occur throughout the course. After students have had an introduction to each lense, have them bring in the lyrics to one or two of their favorite songs. Have them read the lyrics and analyze them using at least two different approaches, and have them support their analysis with specific lines from the song. Then, have the students form groups and let them share what they've found about their songs. As a group, students could decide on one song that had an especially good analysis, play the song for the whole class, and explain their analysis. ANALYZING MAGAZINE MEDIA ACTIVITY: By eve Here is a short activity that will help student start to become critically aware of magazines. Gather a wide range of magazines, and remove anything that gives away the title. Have students write down characteristics of the magazine: ads, layout, features, articles, style. Have them analyze all the information and have them guess the title of the magazine or the magazines target audience. What things gave it away? How was “details” different the “better homes and gardens” or even “time.” How does the target audience influence the flavor or style of the magazine. What stereotypes, racism, or sexism can the students find. Now go through each lens of critical analysis (that is appropriate for the age of group, as presented in chapter 4 of teaching media literacy .com) and further develop a critical analysis of the magazine. Analyzing media perspectives by Jessie An activity that students can do is to compare the way that multiple sources present the same story. The students can use online news sources such as the UK's The Guardian, blogs, as well as mainstream news sources. Through looking at the differing sources, the students should seperate the facts of what has happened with the spin that the media source puts on the story. For example, The Jena6 story has been presented very differently across different sources. The students should present their own interpretations. Are news sources inaccurate or biased because of racism or sexism, or are the viewpoints simply different perspectives? This would work well surrounding a story that reflects something in a novel that the students are reading for class. For example, the Jena6 story is very applicable to To Kill a Mockingbird. The students will conclude with presenting the critical lens that they feel works best in this case and justify their viewpoint. After this, the class can discuss. Analyzing Stereotypes in Billboards By Maggie An interesting project might be to leave an open topic to the students regarding the area billboards. The activity would be to pick a billboard they see and discuss some of the stereotypes they use and how it appeals to a certain audience. For example, Teachingmedialiteracy.com uses the example of beer ads to discuss how women and men are portrayed. How are other ads portraying people in a stereotypical manner? For me the one that always stuck out was the Marlboro ad with the cowboy and how he rode his horse into the sunset in an adventure-seeking and noble-man-type way. The students would write a paragraph saying what stereotype the ad uses and three reasons why they think that. The students can then share this in class the next day. Critical Analysis of Newspaper Articles Katie Noack Newspaper articles give us the facts, right? The purpose of this activity is to analyze what newspaper articles tell us about our society. Students bring in a current newspaper article and then pick one of the critical approaches to use for analysis. This can be done individually or in small groups. After the article is analyzed using one approach, students switch articles and analyze again using the same approach. Then individuals or groups share the results of their analysis and compare with person or group who analyzed the same article using a different approach. What's in a theme song? by Lisa M. Theme songs and opening sequences in television shows play an important role both in "branding" a show and setting the tone for what's about to happen. Shows that stay on-air for several seasons may change their theme several times, or they may leave it exactly the same. It would be interesting for students to research how changing or not changing a theme song and/or openning sequence affects viewership. Students would probably work in pairs or groups for this project. They could either choose or be assigned to two shows that have remained on-air for two or more seasons. One of the shows should have a theme song that has changed one or more times (such as The Cosby Show), and the other show must have kept the same openning sequence for its entire run (such as Days of our Lives). If data were available about the actual numbers of viewers for each show over the course of its seasons, students could cross-reference that with the theme changes to see if there is a correlation or causation. If such data were not available, students could make hypotheses about what demographics the producers were aiming at with each theme, how those changed (or didn't), and why they might have changed (or not changed) the theme. Feminist Analysis Women's Magazines Faking the Feminine This course blog contains examples of feminist film analysis of popular culture/film gender representations: Blog, Women’s Studies 3307, Feminist Film Studies WOST3307: Media representations of women See also the Feisty Femmes blog Analysis of Media, Government, and the Iraq War "The Power of Nightmares" explores the rise of the neocons in the US, and the Muslim fundamentalists in the Middle East over the past half century. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1037.htm News Broadcasting and Critical Analysis Jarrett Lundquist and Nate Buck The way in which we have decided to teach critical analysis would be by having students examine issues of credibility in nightly news broadcasts. Students would be prompted to think about all of the different news broadcasts that they have seen and asked whether or not any of these news broadcasts appeared to be sensational in nature. Then, after defining and discussing sensationalism and identifing those qualities that make up a credible news report the kids would be asked to watch each type of program. For instance, they would watch a program like Dateline and compare this to a program like the Jim Lehrer News Hour. If possible, the kids would watch each show report on the same topic, but this would not be necessary. In the end, the main goal would be to have the kids distinguish credible news from sensational news and demonstrate their new level of critical understanding through a simple activity of their choosing. They could write a compare and contrast paper discussing the two programs, they could rewrite the sensational news story using credible methods, or they could produce their own news broadcast presenting stories to their classmates in credible or sensational ways depending upon the reaction which they wish to evoke from their peers. Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Print-Feminine Analysis by Alma Mendez I begin by teaching my students definitions and examples of how women are portrayed in print beauty and food advertisments. We break it down by categories, such as focus on body parts, camera angles and positioning of the body and how these aspects have implied messages that dehumanize women into objects for advertising. We then discuss gender roles of women and men, what is expected of each group and how is this protrayed? What is the relationship between the advertisments and gender roles? We then move into TV, and music videos? We view a couple of music videos that I tape from MTV and BET. We discuss how women are portrayed in the music videos. Is this a realistic portrayal of women? What are the messages being portrayed? Did you find it offensive in anyway? Usually I have the girls speak first, in a fishbowl format, to let them have the chance to say what they want, the boys listen. The boys get a chance to respond to the girls comments only. Then we switch, and let the boys speak. The girls respond. Then we talk about changes that both groups feel that need to happen and how that could be done. Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Print Media by Mary Voigt In a geography class I may have students make a postcolonial analysis of print media about Africa. The simplest way for me to introduce this to them is to ask them to tell me what they think of when they think of Africa. Then Europe. Then after looking at picures of Africa, I would ask a series of questions about what they see in the pictures, like: What do you see in the images? Who is shown? Where do you think these people are from in Africa? What are they doing in these pictures? Then after looking of pictures of Europe, I would ask them to answer the same questions (changing Africa to Europe). Then we would discuss what the differences are. Then we would look to see how what they already believed about Africa and Europed matched what we saw in the pictures, then discuss the connection (is this an accident? why would they match? etc.) Lastly, I would ask them if they like St. Paul. I'd pair them up by their answer. Then I'd ask them to tell me three places they would photograph in St. Paul. We'd discuss their different answers. Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Print Media by Emily Peckskamp and Sarah Thomes To help students begin to think critically about media, have them look at a text with which they are already very familiar. Many students have grown up with Walt Disney's cartoons and are very familiar with the stories that they tell. If they aren't, they can still get a lot out of this activity by knowing that these movies are designed for children's viewing. It would be eye-opening for them to analyze one of these films through critical lenses. A great movie to show would be Peter Pan to analyze the portrayal of Native Americans or women in the film. Assign groups of students different critical lenses (i.e. feminist, semiotics, postmodernism, etc.) and have them have notes on a viewing of the film from this perspective. Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Print Media by Ligia Hernandez In order to introduce them to crictical analysis I would explain teh different types of techniques that marketing experts use to create theier ads. I would tell my students to open their minds into believing that not everythingthey see or read is true or real. After we discuss the reasons why some media experts use the techniques and why, I would have them look at a series of pictures of print ads. They would choose two and explain why these two ads caught their attention. Then they would go on and analze the use of techniques. For homework they would go home and look through magazines, newspapers, and billboards and choose an ad that strikes them. They would have to write a paragraph analyzing the ad, to chare with the class. For further activity, I would have them think about a message that they want to share. Then write down: Hwo do they wnat to share it with, why, what techniques would they use...and then they could create their own print ads and share them with the classs. Here is an example of the PPS I prepared to show them: Look at Files :Critical Analysis Print Ads Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Print Media by Justin Crum and Rebekah Ignatowicz To teach how to critically analyze specific media text, we would first create a simple outline of the different approaches and discuss it with the students. After the different approaches are clear to the students, we would pick an example topic such as alcohol and adolescents and show the students a slide show of advertisements that might attract adolescents to alcohol. Together as a class, we will discuss how the advertisements do this by using the different critical analysis approaches. After going over this as a class, the students will have time to go to the library and search both online and in magazines for advertisements of the student’s choice. The students will have to write a paragraph analysis using different approaches for three advertisements, demonstrating their understanding of the lesson. The students then can form pairs and create their own advertisement along with a paper in which they critically analyze their own advertisement. Activity for teaching Critical Analysis of Specific Media Text by Greg Gustafson I'd show my students different still images and ask them what their first reaction is upon seeing them. The images I'd show would be ones meant to trick them at first, but ultimately get them to start thinking critically. One would be of a bodybuilder whose name escapes me now, but who is gay. After the students said what they thought about the picture, I would reveal to them this information, and it would hopefully open up their eyes to the idea that you can't just take things exactly as they look. You can't be so quick to assume things. I feel that little activities like these are instrumental in teaching students to think critically. Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of Specific Media Text Sarah Staples and Katie Houlihan Creative Writing using magazine pictures: In this activity students will gather pictures of people from magazines around their same age and gender. With this picture, they are going to create a story using only the picture to create this person in their story. By using a critical lens these students will attribute characteristics of power, wealth, healthy lifestyle, poverty, disease, unhealthy lifestyle to their character. After writing their short story, students will present their story to the class. After all of the students have presented, students will get into small groups and talk about how these ideas influence their views of people in regards to gender, class, and race. By doing this it is my hope that students will realize that you can't count on the media to present the realities of the world. Campaign Lenses S. Speicher & K. Newstrom Students will break into small groups. Within the group, they will come up with a campaign slogan for student council president (one of the students can play the candidate running for office in case they want to add face to a slogan). They will make posters with pictures and text. Then, they draw “lenses” at random and critically analyze the other groups’ slogans using those lenses. They can either keep the same lens for all of the groups they analyze or they can rotate lenses for different groups. This would be particularly useful and interesting during campaign season when there are a lot of campaign ads on television. You can either let the students know that they will be critically analyzed or not. It could be interesting to see if what they had envisioned as an unbiased, raceless, genderless, etc slogan really is. TV Comercial Analysis Nathan Schultz & Dan Richarson The class starts out by watching selected sections of the film Killing Us Softly about images of women in advertising. Students are then divided into small groups. Each group recieves several magazines. Students are asked to find ads that contain images of men and women and to identify the roles that men and women play within those ads. Each group creates a list of the roles that men play in the ads they found, and a list of the roles that women play in those same ads. Each group presents an ad to the class. The class discusses the following questions: what is the typical male/female relationship portrayed in the ads? What insecurites/fears do the ads encourage? Core idea from Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice Volume 1, pg. 82 Teaching Critical Analysis Theresa Haider & Jennifer Sellers To teach critical analysis of media, I would first have students watch an episode of Hogan Knows Best, a VH1 reality show chronicling Terry “The Hulk” Hogan’s everyday life with his two kids and wife. After the class watches the show, I’d have a large group discussion about the values shown in the show. Students would probably recognize values like family togetherness and respect for one’s elders, along with values relating to financial success, physical strength, and the acquisition of material things. I would have them determine what the desired responses, beliefs, or practices are that the audience might come away with, according to what the producers of the show chose to portray. Next, I would contrast this show with one like According to Jim, which is a sitcom depicting the life of Jim Belushi and his fictional wife and children who live in Chicago, IL. Students would watch this show and engage in the same discussion as above. Finally, students would write a paragraph or two from the perspective a person who has been influenced by each show and explain the values they have learned or how their attitudes have been changed since viewing the show. Critical Viewing and Analysis of Documentary Karen Keller and Abbey Weis This critical viewing activity may be used with many different documentaries but likely will challenge the students' ability to decipher bias and logic if a documentary that has bias in it is used. A documentary without a discernible position will not assess students' analysis skills as rigorously as there is no position to be supprted with evidence or logic. I have used Outfoxed, a documentary that slams Fox News for its alleged lack of journalistic approaches and balanced reporting. Other possibilities include Super Size Me, a critical look at the effects of fast food on our health, or Bowling for Columbine, a decruntruction of violence in America and its origins, depending on the grade level and teacher's ability to show rated R material. The worksheet attached here requires students to look at a handful of impoartant elements of critical analyses: PURPOSE, AUHTORITY, LOGIC, EVIDENCE, AND GAIN. Ideally student will be able to judge the veracity and value of the documentary's information and position. Teaching Critical Analysis Lisa Seppelt and Adam Iverson Goal: To teach Critical Analysis using small groups Lesson: Students will break into small groups and each small group will get a colored copy of the same print advertisement. While in groups, students will receive their explanation of a specific lens (semiotic, audience, etc.) Small groups will be responsible for teaching the class what their respective lens' are and how they apply to the given ad. By the end of the lesson, students will have been introduced to each lens and will be able to see how the lens has been applied to the same advertisement. Critical Analysis Activity Andi Larson Students could watch a variety of music videos making comments while viewing each one . They should note the activities of males and females in the music videos, the clothing, camera angles, colors used, the content or message of the lyrics, the content or message of the video. By comparing and contrasting the analysis of these videos, students will gain insight into the variety of messages that the producers are sending to the viewers. The Hidden Messages in Advertising: A Critical Analysis Activity** -Katie Borcherding Objective: To analyze the hidden symbols in advertisements Students will first watch Killing Us Softly 3, a video by Jean Kilbourne that illustrates the hidden messages being sent in advertising, especially regarding women. Then students will go through a single magazine and choose five different advertisements. Students should try to find a variety of ads, some with positive messages, some with possibly negative messages. In each ad, the student must find a hidden symbol or meaning in the picture or text. This will be explained in a one paragraph essay for each ad. The students will explore the reason behind the message, its effect on the buyer, and whether it is culturally negative or positive. They will link the messages to cultural issues such as sexism, anorexia, low self-esteem, rebellion, alcohol, etc. The paragraphs should include a detailed description of the ad as well. Finally, the students will create a product and design their own ads using images and text. These ads will be based on a positive message such as equality, freedom, health, good decisions, etc. The ads will be showcased throughout the school building. Killing Us Softly 3 -Jean Kilbourne (clip from YouTube) Considering Critical Approaches in the Classroom (Lisa Holton) In considering all of the approaches as described by Beach in chapter 4, I had a difficult time separating them. Theory and analysis by definition are not one sided endeavors. I do not think that any of these approaches or concepts exist without influence from at least one or two of the others simultaneously. For example, one cannot consider a strictly rhetorical approach where images and symbols are responsible for initiating thoughts or action from the watcher/reader without understanding the semiotic concepts that a culture must share an understanding of such codes and our definitions of these codes are created, considered, and acted upon depending on our other lenses and level of cultural understanding. And so, while I selected postmodern and critical discourse analysis to discuss and ‘mull’ in this post, I will probably, inevitably, be touching on most of the other approaches as well. In seeking to better understand the concepts behind postmodern theory, I went to the course website and found an excerpt from Postmodern Theory, Critical Interrogations by Steven Best and Douglas Kellner. (http://www.uta.edu/huma/pomo_theory/ch1.html). In one section, Best and Kellner distinguish between modern theory and post modern theory: “Modern theory…is criticized for its search for a foundation of knowledge, for its universalizing and totalizing claims, for its hubris to supply apodictic truth, and for its allegedly fallacious rationalism.” While, “postmodern theory provides a critique of representation and the modern belief that theory mirrors reality, taking instead `perspectivist' and `relativist' positions that theories at best provide partial perspectives on their objects, and that all cognitive representations of the world are historically and linguistically mediated.” In looking at the foundations of these two concepts, the first thing I noticed was this is the center of the ‘to teach media or not to teach media’ debate. If our schools are searching for ‘truth’ and wanting to instruct our students in a skill set of non-changing information, then we are approaching education with a ‘modern’ (relative to the term, not the time) approach. This is archaic and pointless to my mind. All the “experts” on education inform us that we should be producing THINKERS not walking books of quotes. I see this all the time in my classroom; some of my brightest students may not have solid skills or memorization of facts, but they are independent and creative thinkers who the system sees as failures and I see as our future because when there isn’t a book about how to live in the future, this group will be able to figure it out! If, on the other hand, our schools are seeking to teach with a ‘post modern’ approach, we would be focusing on teaching the concept of ‘understanding’ as a relative and evolving concept. Media sits in the crosshairs of modern theory because media doesn’t have a set definition, truth or modality. It is flowing and lives relative to the culture and people who create it. By taking Best and Kellner’s understanding of postmodern concepts, we can see that teaching media and analyzing it, with whatever theory or lens is appropriate, will only be our best understanding at that current moment that is still ‘historically and linguistically mediated’ by our relative understanding and modes available to us. If we continue to push the envelope in schools and understanding that postmodern concepts allow our students to explore and think and create as individuals in the moment and not seeking to attain a prescribed set of skills to be ready to live, we will be creating thinkers and learners for the future. The approach of our schools can also be seen in a critique of Richard Weaver about rhetoric written in 1963. 1963! It is shocking to know that a trend noticed over 40 years ago is still a part of us today. In the journal Rhetoric/CompositionBill Bolin considered the piece by Weaver and includes excerpts from his piece. (http://enculturation.gmu.edu/5_1/index51.html)One that struck me was Weaver’s observations on what was ‘important’ to Americans: “as we moved into the twentieth century, society had become less interested in people's abilities to discover truths about themselves and more interested in people's abilities to invent, test, and evaluate.” He goes on to note that “we have become too readily seduced by the idea that everything of consequence can be observed and measured, that everyone, along with the school children of the 1950s, is rushing toward science and math at the expense of the humanities. Consequently, we are comforted by expressions such as "Many scientists believe" or "According to a recent study." We still bow to these phrases today rather than thinking independently—much to our detriment! Those who have broken out of this and challenge these notions are not always welcomed, but they are the pioneers. Some of the most worthwhile concepts to consider cannot be measured or evaluated, but that should not determine their worth. If I were to teach using a postmodern theoretical approach to media, I would look at censorship, the existence of media courses (as discussed above), and how the acceptance of media has changed. Media is postmodern in concept, but the bodies responsible for its dissemination are not. The FCC and other control bodies seek to allow only a set stream of ‘acceptable’ information and formats through to the general public. I would encourage discussion and consideration on how and why the internet has been so wildly successful. What are the advantages and disadvantages of not having a governing body for the internet? Is it fair to apply pencil-paper laws to a cyber world—what rules should/do apply in a cyber world? All of these concepts would be looked at in the context of understanding the strength of a forward movement and that even the ‘old guys’ of news or consumerism who do not like to follow trends have all added websites or e-mail addresses in an effort to reach people but do not fully embrace the abilities of the medium. Secondly, critical discourse analysis is a fascinating concept to me. Before reading Beach, I would have said that all analysis, by my definition, fits into his definition of ‘critical discourse analysis.’ The concept that everything is relative to your lens or experiences is at the heart of any analytical discussion. We cannot debate or consider something effectively until we put it through our own filters. That having been said, there are plenty of filters already applied to media that our students need to become aware of. Without a doubt, I would teach the concept of critical discourse analysis in my classroom. I would hope my students could become skilled at understanding their own positions and learn to NEVER discredit another person’s opinion because thoughts and experiences are relative and can only be understood based on our own lives. Any commercial for a nonprofit organization (United Way, Feed the Children, etc) would serve as a great jumping off point. We could consider their initial reactions and consider the emotions and thoughts that the scene evokes. We could then walk through what it is about their OWN experiences that dictate the way they understand the commercial and the likelihood that they would take action. By looking at this, we would begin to see how personal experience plays into decision making when it comes to ‘consumerism.’ We would then consider the lens used to MAKE the video. What were the camera angles like? High shots? Low shots? Soundtrack? All of these things were predetermined to focus the watcher to use a certain lens. Why do they use a shot of a little child sitting below the camera looking up? They don’t do this to empower the CHILD, do they? An important concept to challenge with this kind of approach is the idea that video is objective or that photos or film can stand alone and be interpreted in any way. Few things are further from the truth. Specific decisions were made when that film or picture was created. The motivations may not be negative, but there were motivations and filtering decisions made by the artist/creator. Our students need to consider these and learn how their own lens dictates what they seek and how they understand the media (both created and creating) that they encounter. This chapter was mentally challenging to me because it worked against some predetermined notions I had about analyzing and considering media. I have a better understanding of how all of these factors work together but that there is worth in considering them individually as well.
Analyzing Songs by Annie
This is an activity that could be used to teach critical analysis using
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