Archive for month: May, 2020

This week’s readings and film tackle The Political Use of Film as “history making” and “propaganda”, and asks us to think about some pretty heavy concepts dealing with how Ideology is created and maintained- by means of the media and the construction of a sense of identity and history.

Read Chapter 9 “The Terrorist Event” pages 111-130, and Chapter 11 “Restrepo” pages 140-145.

We are skipping Chapter 10 and 12, but feel free to read them on your own if you like the book and the concepts.

There will be a Gloss for this reading as well, as it can get pretty heavy.This week’s film is a classic in media studies and political science: “Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media” : https://documentaryheaven.com/manufacturing-consent-political-economy-mass-media/ (Links to an external site.)

It is about the theories of Noam Chomsky, and was made with Chomsky’s support, but not by him. It essentially talks a lot about how a Society uses Mass Media to create an ideological worldview in its citizens- not just overt propaganda, but also subtle ways that preferences and beliefs are communicated. Chomsky focuses primarily on Western Countries and the US, because we rarely examine our own ideology and the ways our own societies work- it is too easy to say “oh, we don’t do that here”- but Chomsky’s main point is that ALL societies do this to a greater or lesser degree or in more subtle or a more overt fashion. In fact, in a Democracy, the use of power sometimes has to be more subtle since it has to “manufacture the consent” of the populace rather than simply control citizens the way a despotic government would.

Anyway, it is long, almost 3 hours, I would probably break it into 2 viewings. When watching, try to connect Chomsky’s ideas with the reading, and with things happening today—the film was made in 1992, and based on ideas mainly presented in Chomsky’s book “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media”, which was published in 1988.

1. Choose and post 1 example from modern news or media that serves as an example for both our readings and something mentioned in the film.

2. Take 1 Example used in Manufacturing Consent, and find an article or online reference written in the last 10 years about it. Use MLA to cite your sources in a Works Cited page.

Summarize the article or reference and compare it to what was said in the film. Has the representation of the event or idea changed? If so How, and why do you think? If not, why wouldn’t it have?

This whole assignment should be only about 2 pages plus your works cited page.

For the complete directions, return to Key Points 1 from module one.  This is the same assignment.

The key points.

1. Write a story for bulimia nervosa.
2. Write a story for Elkind’s adolescent egocentrism.  Elkind describes two kinds of egocentrism.  You may use either in your story but you have to clearly state which you are using.
3. Write a story for the social clock.

To get you started, I’ve written stories for each.  

Definition. Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder consisting of eating large amounts of calories and then purging them by vomiting, taking laxatives, or both so as to not gain weight. Sometimes instead of purging, the person fasts to purge the calories.

Example.  The key point is bulimia nervosa.   Sarah, who is 18,  locked herself in her room with a gallon of chocolate ice cream.  She sat on her bed and ate the whole gallon.  Soon after she finishes the ice cream, she goes to the bathroom, hangs her head over the toilet and vomits so she doesn’t gain weight. This is not an uncommon behavior for her.   When she first started binge eating, she had to put her fingers down her throat to induce vomiting.  But she has done it so many times that she can just think about it and she’ll purge all that she ate.  She has not told anyone what she does and as far as she knows, no one is aware of what she is doing.  Recently, she searched for bulimia on the internet and read about the side effects. This scared her and she is now thinking about telling her mother and asking for help. This is a story about bulimia nervosa because Sarah binge eats and then purges through vomiting to prevent weight gain..

Definition. There are two kinds of adolescent egocentrism – imaginary audience when adolescents are concerned that everyone is staring at some self-perceived flaw and that they are being judged for it; and personal fable – when adolescents believe they are unique and invincible. You have to choose one of the two for your story.

Example. The key point is adolescent egocentrism and I chose personal fable.  Seventeen year old Jamal is driving on the freeway faster than the posted speed limit.  He is passing cars regularly.  In a few miles, traffic slows down and the passing lane is not open for him to pass.  However, he’s determined to pass the slow traffic. He begins passing on the shoulder while still speeding until he is around the slow drivers.  He doesn’t think twice about the potential danger in his behavior because he believes he is an excellent driver.  He’s so good that he can control his car in these circumstances.  Passing gives him a rush and he doesn’t think anything bad like an accident will ever happen to him.  Things like that only happen to other drivers..   This is a story about Elkind’s personal fable because Jamal believes he can drive recklessly and nothing bad will happen to him.

Definition.  The social clock consists of a set of cultural norms that tell us when we are supposed to pass major milestones in our life. If we are in line with the social clock, we are said to be on-time.  If not, we are said to be off-time.

Example.  The key point is social clock and I chose off-time.  Thirty-four year old Albert is currently working part time at a fast food restaurant. Since graduating from high school, he has never had a full-time job.  For the first few years, he was living with his parents.  When he moved out, he starting staying with friends and sleeping on their couch.  When he outstays his welcome at one friend’s house, he moves on to another.  He is not looking for a full time job and is happy with his life.  He is not married and has no intention of getting married in the near future and maybe never. This is a story about Albert being off-time on the social clock because because in our culture most people his age have a full time job, are living on their own and most are married. 

Checklist for writing stories.  Use this to make sure you have included all the required content.

1. Looked up the key point in the text.
2. Wrote down the definition to make sure your story covers all the points in it.
   1. This is so you know what you need to include in your story. Do not include the definition in your post.
3. Started my story with a statement of the key point and did not include the definition.
4. Composed a story about people that includes all the parts of the definition from the text.
   1. My story has not been used in any of the class materials. It’s the topic that counts.  For example, if the text uses an example of school for a key point, you can’t talk about school again even if you change the story to a different kind of school.
   2. I included a reference if I paraphrased my story from another source.
   3. I included only one story for each point.
5. I Included the age of the person and it matches the age in the chapter where I found the key point.
6. Ended the story with a sentence saying how my story connects to the key point.
7. Checked 1-6 for each key point.