Cultural Criticism Assignment: Cultural Studies Perspective

Cultural Criticism:

 

My primary goal in this assignment is to get you to look at a text from a cultural studies perspective.  I am interested in seeing how you are able to discern the cultural norms and beliefs inherent in the text and to identify the basic ideological tenants to which it subscribes.

 

Your assignment is to write a 3-4 page paper analyzing a media text from a cultural studies prospective.  Choose a text that is manageable, such as a commercial, an episode of a scripted or semi-scripted television show, or a short film.  Pay particular attention to what the text tells us about society.  Focus on issues such as ideology, race, class, etc.,  (Do not focus on gender for this assignment, as we will use a specific gender analysis next week)

 

Ask yourself questions such as:

 

1) Are the class representations stereotypical?

2) Are the race representations stereotypical?

3) Does the media text reinforce dominant views about society?  Does it challenge them?

4) What, if any, dominant ideology does the text reinforce/challenge?  (i.e. does the text reinforce the notion of the “American dream?”)

5) Whose interests are served by the representations found in the text?

 

 

As always, papers should be typed, double-spaced, in MLA or APA format.  Pay special attention to the mechanics and form of your paper.