Fall07 week two

Lecture Notes: Week two

Monday:
Purpose – highlight and expand upon key ideas from text and disc, add personal understanding

Class business: website for this week, syllabus, student interview, social networking inventory, homework?, return papers,

Review main ideas and critique of Cultivation Theory (see previous lecture notes)

- implication about cumulative effect, we get jaded, gets pumped up (advertising, violence, sex, pushing the envelope)

Bowling for columbine – correlation vs. cause

1) Mediated communication: compare and contrast interpersonal and mediated communication model, spend time on graphic on page 8

Weekend experiences with mass media

2) “Communication is foundation of culture” definition of culture – culture is learned, does a fish know it is wet? Are we fish? paradox: culture limits and liberates us, paradox: media reflects and defines culture – the importance of children and culture

Activity: word association

Handouts – how communication practices define cultural behaviors and standards, bounded cultures: college students

- cultural storyteller – what it means to be human, what is normal, what draws human attention, theater masks of comedy and tragedy, can this be connected to sex and violence, multiple points of access – Shakespeare and Jon Stewart

- cultural forum – gays inclusion in society (despite cross dressing of Shakespeare and Jack Benny)
- technology

- money: two ways to make money in media: subscription and advertising,

historical examples: phone – controlled/regulated monopoly, public good (free speech and government interference), neutrality

newspapers: subscription based at first, many small newspapers, economics of scale, general interest regional newspapers and advertising

tv versus cable: content limitations, free vs. tiered pricing, (audience as consumers or product?), advertising and public space

Internet:

All adds up to “responsibility”

3) Media Literacy – definition, Media as Text, course syllabus, what media literacy is not

Who holds journalism accountable, quality control? Does admitting mistakes impact credibility (contrast with other professions – politician, teacher, religious leader, boss, parent) (disc)

Homework –

For Friday: Heros and violence worksheet

For Monday: read media bias and propaganda to page 33

Media tracks 18 and 19

Wednesday:

Purpose: To detect cultural patterns within media images

View Mickey Mouse Monopoly (the importance of children and culture, disc: “all media is educational”, good parent or not? “market values are not family values”)

Use of textbook vocabulary – genre, convention, production values

Complete class Tree TMap

Critique of video

Friday:

Purpose: To find cultural values in media images

Heros and violence worksheet – what about villains , group discussion

View commercials through the ages for generational differences and cultural values