Analyze the content, form, theme, and genre of popular cultures texts across a v

Analyze the content, form, theme, and genre of popular cultures texts across a variety of media
Evaluate the historical evolution of popular culture and the ways in which it reflects and shapes society
Examine how messages are constructed using character, narrative, and audio/visual cues
Explain the impact of common popular culture themes on perceptions of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, socioeconomic class, and ability.
Length: 3-5 pages
Step One: Select a Text
Re-watch, read, listen, or view your popular culture text again.
Choose one group represented in the text.
Look overview each step of conducting a representation analysis and take detailed notes on what you observe.
Step Two: Representation Analysis
Introduction Paragraph
Provide a brief summary of the text you selected.
Add an overview of the analysis you’re conducting.
Second Paragraph
How can this group be defined and described based on their presence OR absence in the text?
Behaviors: What are their roles in society (work, family, relationships, etc.)? What do their roles, relationships, words, choices, actions, and reactions say about them? Are they active or passive? Are they acted upon? Do they have agency?
Appearance: Clothing, accessories, hair, props, style, size, weight, posture, etc.
Values: Do they value work, family, relationships, possession, power, money, status, etc.? What do they value as appropriate, necessary, & desirable?
Third Paragraph
Compare and contrast this representation to other media portrayals of this group:
Compare: How is it similar to what you usually see in media? Specific texts?
Contrast: How is this different to what you usually see in media? Specific texts?
Frequency: How often does this type of representation occur? Specific texts?
Step Three: Relationships and Portrayal
What are the relationships like between the ethnic & racial group and the “other” group?
Relationships: Who does the audience root for, relate to, and see as “good” or as the “hero”? Who do we want to see solve the problem? Why is that? Does this group have an independent identity or an identity only in relation to the other group?
Power: Who has power and what kind of power is it (political, professional, physical, sexual, relational, etc.)? Is this power long-term or temporary? Does this hierarchy create oppression, stereotypes, or caricatures? Who has the most screen time?
Action: Who is active and who is passive?
Overall, does the text provide a negative or positive portrayal of this group? Both? How so?
What are the implications of these portrayals of this group?
How might the audience be influenced by these portrayals of this group?
How, if at all, does this text help or hurt this group’s social standing?
Step Four: Theoretical Lens
Select one theory from the lectures to apply to your analysis by:
Defining the theory
Explaining the theory in your own words
Apply the theory to your analysis by connecting the definition and explanation to what you’ve observed in your popular culture text.
Step Five: Societal Perspective
In your final thoughts in this assignment, address two of the following questions:
Does your text comment on, make judgements about, or inform an audience about a culture or subculture of popular culture?
If an audience member only has this text to view society, what conclusions could they draw from the text?
How does the approach to the narrative work for the contemporary audience? Would the text work well for a different audience in a different time?
In what ways does your text fail to or succeed in reflecting society today?
Does your text use a trend that has shaped or is shaping our society?
What choices in the arrangement and prominence of the pop culture text connect to every day experiences in the United States? What aspects of the arrangement and prominence do not make sense in every day experiences in the United States?
Explain the significance of intertextuality in your text. Why do these connections to other texts stand out? How does intertextuality build a subculture around the material in your text (for example: familiarity in that world such as phasers in Star Trek)?
What do your symbolic, equipment for living, and hegemony/ideology analyses say about life in the United States today? Are the messages relevant? Irrelevant?
Other: societal question of your own