Seeing The Homeless

Seeing The Homeless:
An Analysis of Media Portrayals of Homelessness in America

Beggar. Bum. Single white man in ragged clothes, sleeping on a park bench or holding up a cardboard sign pleading for money, food, help. He is an alcoholic, he does drugs, he is unemployed, he is violent, he is mentally unstable. When we see him on the sidewalk or street we do not see a face, a person with a past or chance for a real future; he is just one of thousands who does not have a home. These are just some of the prevailing stereotypes that mainstream America holds for homeless people, established and reinforced by media and popular culture. As with any subgroup or fringe culture, homeless people have been stereotyped, categorized, and even caricaturized to the point where it’s almost impossible for anyone to have a wholly accurate understanding who they are and their situations in society.

The aim of this paper is to take a close look at how the media—from popular television to news to documentaries to the Internet—portray homeless people and homelessness. My initial assumption was that mainstream media and popular culture would generally support common stereotypes of the homeless, but through my research I found that the media both actively reinforces many of these stereotypes and at the same time works to complicate and resist these ideas. In “Images of the Homeless: Public Views and Media Messages,” a study that measured average people’s perceptions of homelessness, Lee, Link, and Toro (1991) found that people’s perceptions of the homeless do not always coincide with predominant stereotypes. In other words, the average person does have a more knowledgeable and accurate understanding of the situation of a homeless person in America. For example, the authors of the study asked participants about their perception of “deviance” in the homeless—deviant behavior including anything from perceived danger to mental illness to contact with the social justice system:

Because homeless persons who engage in counter-normative, peculiar, or otherwise eye-catching behavior are hard to forget, their presence might be expected to push informal estimates of deviance in an upward direction. This bias is likely to be reinforced by the selective emphasis of some homelessness research and media coverage on atypical—and hence vividly recalled—segments of the homeless population. Yet the deviance items provide little support for the exaggeration hypothesis…Once again, members of the public seem reasonably well informed. (p. 655)

My own research of media coverage of homelessness and homeless people confirm the findings of Lee et al. (1991). While many news stories do focus on the sensational aspects of life on the street, media has also been the main method for giving voice to homeless and exposing who they really are. There are many activist groups dedicated to improving the lives of homeless people, and documentaries and projects that seek to shed light on the lived experiences of these human beings.

The one medium that does seem to capitalize on the stereotypes of homelessness is television sitcoms. The two that I looked at, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and South Park, grossly exaggerate the stereotypes of the subculture for purposes of comedy and entertainment. Furthermore, the two main demographics of homeless people that are largely overlooked by mainstream media and even neglected in the stereotypes are homeless youth and homeless couples. There is some recent media exposure and advocacy about the plight of teenage homelessness, but little is said about couples and families who have lost their homes and live in shelters or on the street.

In their study of public views and media messages in relation to homelessness, Lee et al. (1991) reviewed a large-scale analysis by the Center for Media and Affairs of news coverage of homelessness. Although conduced between 1986 and 1989 and therefore relatively dated, the information gives a broad view of what topics the news channels covered over a significant period of time. The analysis examined all 103 stories that appeared over the three-year span in six national news sources: Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Report magazines, and the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts. According to Lee et al. (1991):

In the 103 stories, homeless policies, programs and services again receive the heaviest coverage, typically accompanied by assertion that government is not doing enough to solve the problem. Social and demographic characteristics constitute a secondary thrust of the stories; three-fifths of the homeless profiled in them are white, three-fourths are adults, and more than four-fifths are single. Few of the stories highlight manifestations of deviance, such as mental illness, substance abuse, and panhandling, or probe the causes of homelessness. When causes are mentioned, they tend to be overwhelmingly of the structural variety. The state of the housing market ranks first as a cited cause, followed by government inaction, labor market forces, and deinstitutionalization. In summary, the CMPA analysis finds media coverage of the homeless far from harsh, amounting to a “sympathetic portrayal of people in trouble.” (p. 673)

The news stories I looked at for this paper are in line with these findings. I also discovered a connection between the focus of the homeless news stories and the more sensationalist news topics of the current moment. For example, right now the economy and the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama are two highly covered topics on both televised news and in print. Most current stories about homelessness tied the subject to the larger issue of the economy, and one even tied it to a trip to Washington D.C. for an inauguration ball.

A USA Today story, “Hitting Home: New faces join ranks of the homeless,” begins with the story of Tracy Mosely, a single mother of five who’s “on the brink of homelessness after the house [she] rented for a year went into foreclosure and was sold at auction” (Armour, 2008). The story goes on to talk about how the middle-class could join the working poor as those at risk for homeless in the current economic crisis. The article closes by talking about the problem’s affect on public schools:

An estimated 2 million children will be directly affected by the subprime mortgage crisis as their families lose their homes to foreclosures, according to First Focus, a bipartisan children's advocacy group that issued the report. The April 2008 report indicates that foreclosures often result in disruptions to a child's education. (Armour, 2008)

Families, children, and single people were all addressed in this article; it succeeded in bringing the issue of homelessness “home”, in making it real.

A short NPR segment, “Homeless Still Struggle Where Success Triumphed,” addresses the irony of people stranded without jobs and homes in Dayton, Ohio, where there was once such a thriving job market. Noah Adams, the reporter, talks with a woman who challenges the stereotype that homeless people are in their present situations due to some fault of their own, be it physical or moral laziness. Kelly had a job at Rite-Aid, but once her car broke down had no way to get to work. She tried public transportation, but was physically assaulted when walking from the bus stop, and was too scared to go back. She’s now left without her job and without a home.

Two videos from CNN are examples of how a news story can seek to address and examine the issues of homelessness while at the same time reinforces some of the prevailing stereotypes of homeless people. The first video, “Homeless camp controversy,” tells of how a temporary shelter—a shantytown camp of sorts—built for the homeless by an advocate, was accidentally burned down.



Eddie, the video tells us, fell asleep and accidentally knocked over a propane burner, and the fire marshal is now going head-to-head with the advocate who built the huts and forcing everyone else to leave. The homeless stereotype that is reinforced here is that of a single male, living in a temporary camp, getting sloppy and causing destruction, and ultimately ruining the chance the other campers had for shelter and home.

The second video addresses one of the largest demographics of homeless in America: homeless veterans. In “Help for homeless vets” a single older white man is portrayed as the symbol of homeless veterans, and his story is one of survival and hope.



Again, however, some stereotypes persist. The man in this video was not able to help himself; he had to be rescued by a generous advocate. This ignores, or at least does not celebrate, the many homeless people who do work hard every day to earn money, buy food, and find a place to call home. This man is also an alcoholic, probably one of the most predominant stereotypes of homeless people available. However, the fact that he happens to be stereotypical should not take away from the authenticity of his personal story—it just means that critical viewers should be aware that this is not the life of all homeless veterans, or all homeless people.

When it comes to “hot topics” on the news, not a day goes by without discussing President-Elect Obama’s inauguration and upcoming presidency. This ABC news video, “Inauguration Seats for the Needy,” tells of how one rich man bought out a suite of rooms and a banquet hall for a January inauguration celebration. His guests? “Those who are marginalized, those who are terminally ill, our wounded veterans. And because we don’t want to exclude or leave out our young people we will have 300 person youth ball.” One-third of his guests will be the wounded, homeless, or abused; the rest will be staff from various charitable organizations. This video does present homelessness in a richer, more complicated light. While its subject is not a homeless person but rather a benefactor of the homeless, it gives hope to those who are in need by highlighting the impending administration’s inclusion of marginalized members of society—a welcome change.

The one medium of the media that has unabashedly taken the stereotypes of the homeless and used them to its advantage is popular television, specifically comedy and sitcoms. For the purposes of this study I viewed episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and South Park, both of which focused on issues of homelessness. The Philadelphia episode I watched is called “Bums: Making A Mess All Over The City.” It begins with a shot of a solitary white homeless man in an alley by the side of a dumpster, violating social norms and being generally lewd. When the show’s main characters “catch” him in the act, he just grins at them and shows no remorse for his behavior.



In this episode, the main characters of the show set out to “clean up the streets,” meaning that they want to dispose or get rid of the street people, the homeless. Where the homeless would go is not discussed. A clear dichotomy of “us” versus “them” is set up, with “us” being the clean, orderly, and safe, and “them” being the threatening, the violent, the unruly. When it comes to stereotypes the show paints no uncertain picture. The homeless person portrayed in this episode is rude and disgusting; he masturbates in an alley and then leers at the men and women who discover him. Here are all the stereotypes of fringe societal behavior that people often associate—correctly or not—with homeless people. The purpose is humor, but that begs some questions. Why are the homeless so easily, and so often, made fun of? What are the dynamics of power at play in this episode, and then in the larger societal context? And even though this television show is meant to amuse, how does it work to promote and reinforce the prevailing perception of homelessness in our culture?

The stereotype of the belligerent homeless is reinforced in the South Park episode I examined: “Night of the Living Homeless.” In this episode a multitude of homeless people—who look, walk, and talk like zombies—overtake the town, asking for change. The parents and townspeople are driven to the top of the community center for refuge, which is ironic considering that the community center is a place where people in need should be able to come for help. The boys seek out the “Head of Homeless Studies,” who actually dissects homeless people in his basement laboratory to see how they differ from “normal” people.

Significant in this episode is the writers’ use of language to label and stigmatize the homeless people. In true South Park manner, the depiction of the characters is exaggerated for humor, but the words themselves reveal many of the deep underlying stereotypes associated with the homeless. At one point one of the boys’ parents wants to go to town, and he’s stopped with the words: “You are getting into town, it’s completely overrun with these…things.” When the boys try to explain the homeless people’s behavior to the “Head of Homeless Studies,” he says: “Boys, boys! I don’t think you completely understand how the homeless function. Perhaps you should come downstairs. To my laboratory.”

Documentaries are a form of media that serve to expose less known or hidden aspects of subcultures. When it comes to homelessness, documentaries tend to focus on a specific issue or perspective and provide a more in-depth analysis than one might receive from a typical newscast. The two documentaries I studied focused a demographic of homeless people largely overlooked—homeless couples. The first is called Love In The Streets, and tells the story of a husband and wife who struggle to stay together without a home. They live in England, but the situation is similar in America—there are few shelter beds for couples.



The people in this documentary do participate in some stereotypical behavior, like drinking alcohol and loitering on the streets, but they show a strong devotion to one another that is virtually absent from the homeless person’s myth. Their dream is not just for a shelter but for a place where they can come home to, together.





This documentary presents a much more complicated image of homeless life than anything seen before. These women are young and smart, but they don’t have a home. They are in a committed relationship. They go everyday to a job, and work hard to improve their life situation. They make sure they look clean and nice so that no one will know they are sleeping each night on the floor of a shelter. If you sit by one of these women on a bus there’s little chance you will know she is homeless. This video also makes clear that there is a stark difference between people who live in shelters and those that are forced to sleep on the street each night. It might even be difficult to classify them as the same group.

Many advocacy groups and humanitarian organizations have utilized the media to disseminate their messages. Most often in the form of websites, these media resources serve to educate the public about the real causes of homelessness, the people who it affects, and the ways to alleviate it across the country and the world. One example is the National Alliance to End Homelessness offers a broad perspective of homelessness, including information on families, chronic homelessness, youth, veterans, and more. It includes links to podcasts, video, and other multimedia resources.

A recent advocacy group, Homeless Youth Television, parodies reality TV shows in order to highlight and “bring home” the message of teenage homeless. The site boasts shows like Project Runaway, My Street 16, Meal or No Meal, and Life Swap. At first glance the website even looks like a typical cable television channel—only at closer inspection do you see that the teenagers in the pictures aren’t wearing fancy clothes and the caption for American Idle is “Who has the talent to survive—and who will be sent homeless?” They even have previews for their new TV shows:

For more information please go to HomelessYouthTV.com

Click the link to be a contestant, and you’ll find a questionnaire that challenges your ability to tough it out on the streets. Supporters can “sponsor a show” by donating just a dollar. Organizations like this challenge the assumption that general all homeless people are old, and further complicates assumptions about who teenage homeless are.

In “Visualizing Homelessness: A Study in Photography and Estrangement,” Radley, Hodgetts, and Cullen (2005) study homeless people’s perceptions of their own worlds. They also offer keen insight into the reality of homeless life—the reality that exists beyond the stereotypes. Resisting the idea that homeless people are “lazy” or have somehow intentionally negotiated themselves into their present situations, Radley et al. (2005) claim that:

Research from the US has shown that, in spite of their vulnerability, homeless people are not merely passive. They attempt to improve, or at least sustain their lives through participating in a culture that fashions a material world, one that allows them to develop a sense of ownership…Acknowledging that homeless people may have an active life, in spite of being dispossessed of numerous advantages, has implications for defining their situation as being more than an undesirable point on a pathway. (p. 274)

My research of news media, television shows, documentaries, and Internet sites proved that there is no simple answer to the question of how the homeless is portrayed in popular culture. The stereotypes are challenged as often as they are supported, and good work is done every day to present a true, more holistic picture of homelessness and of the people who find themselves without a place to sleep at night. As with any media consumption, it serves viewers best to be critical and cautious, to keep in mind the goal and purpose of the specific media—sensationalized information in the case of news, humor in the case of television, empathy in the case of advocacy groups—and form judgments and opinions accordingly. What media can never do it tell us how to interact with and support the homeless in our own neighborhoods; that’s something we have to figure out for ourselves.

Reference List

Lee, B.A., Link, B.G., & Toro, P.A. (1991). Images of the Homeless: Public views and media messages. Housing Policy Debate, 2 (3). 649-682. Retrieved from http://www.mi.vt.edu/web/page/913/sectionid/580/pagelevel/2/parentid/580/interiorHPD.asp

Radley, A., Hodgetts, D., & Cullen, A. (2005). Visualizing Homelessness: A Study in Photography and Estrangement. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15. 273-279.

advertising

For this week's focus on advertisements, I decided to do an analysis of one of Wal-Mart's latest TV commercials. It's one of their holiday ads, and depicts a "typical" Mom thanking Wal-Mart's low prices for her ability to give her kids a Christmas "as big as their imaginations." It ends with the company's newest slogan: Save money. Live better.



Anyone who's paid attention to Wal-Mart advertising over the past few years or so will notice a big change--gone is the happy little yellow smiley face who bopped all over our television screens, announcing new roll-backs and discounts. Wal-Mart has gone for a classier look, and the new logo is a simple sun-like symbol that appears on the bottom right of the screen at the beginning of the commercial, and then again at the end. Has that made a difference in their sales? It certainly speaks to their audience--they are going after the middle class.

And the middle class is what this ad is all about. The family in this commerical screams "average" in every way. White mom in the kitchen. Two kids. Dad absent during the day but there in the background on Christmas morning. Everything stereotypical we might think about when we think of suburbanite families is here, all the way down to the cute house itself. It serves to comfort and assure--"these are the type of people that shop at Wal-Mart." This discount store is no longer for just the working class, the lower class--it's for you and me.

And Wal-Mart cares about your issues. The economy is bad, so you should shop where prices are low. Save money, live better, right? Don't sacrifice and buy less--just pay less for what you want. This ad is about the holidays, and starts with the young boy asking for all sorts of toys. The mom's line--"Thanks to Wal-Mart, I can give them a Christmas a big as their imaginations, even if my budget isn't"--adds to the value the ad is trying to place on the stuff they're selling. It's a great use of language, actually, because the word "imagination" makes it seem like the boy is being creative, when in fact he's just participating in the commercial. It makes the case to viewers that if the mom were to not get her kids all of the material goods they asked for, she'd be limiting their very dreams. All of this in a 30 second commercial.

The boy does get what he asks for of course--name-brand toys that have been "rolled-back" only at Wal-Mart stores. We see him playing with his rocket ship and robot in front of the Christmas tree, his dreams fulfilled. But where's the family now? It's the picture of the individual versus the community. Maybe I'm going a bit extreme here, but this is what the commercial says to me. For not too much money you can buy these specific toys to make this one boy happy. You don't need to spend time with him, think about limiting his material desires, or concern yourself with what the holidays might "mean" beyond gifts and goods. And you certainly don't need to worry about consequences of your low-price shopping.

Because there are consequences. Hundreds of studies have been done about the far-reaching and often horrible reprecussions of Wal-Mart, both to the individual and to the community. The company pays most employees poverty wages. When a store comes to town it wipes out local economies. Whole organizations, like Wal-Mart Watch, have been formed with the sole intent to protest the companies harmful practices and make the public aware of the impact of their buying decisions.

Wal-Mart's slogan, "Save money. Live better," paints a false picture. Or, it paints the picture that the company wants its customers to see--that by looking out for the self and paying the lowest prices available, we will have better lives. But as critical consumers we have to ask ourselves: the lowest price at what cost?

historicizing bob dylan

This week's assignment (b) is to choose a popular music "artifact" and discuss its historical significance. I decided to look at a Bob Dylan song, one because I love Bob Dylan, and two because his lyrics encourage listeners to think about historical context, to listen critically, and to consider larger thematic messages that transcend the time in which the song was written to speak to us here and now.

I picked "The Times They Are A-Changin'"--it has an obvious "social issues" message and the lyrics are actually very applicable to 2008, even though the song was released in 1963. Here is a live performance of the song (from 1976):



And here are the lyrics:

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

This assignment reminds me a lot of something I did in high school in my English/History block class during my junior year. Every Friday was "Enrichment Friday" and our teacher (my favorite teacher still to this day) had us look at music and movies as historical artifacts. He was the one who exposed me to Bob Dylan, to the Clash, Rage Against the Machine...all the bands and musicians who commented on the issues of their time. To this day I remember those lessons and those songs, which is a testimony to the powerful affect of bringing popular media into the classroom, and of teaching students to be critical learners not just of standard texts, but of the world.

"The Times They Are A-Changin'" was released in 1963, right in the heart of the Vietnam war and the Civil Rights movement. Arguably one of his most political songs (and albums), "The Times" reflects the issues of the day. But Dlyan wasn't always so comfortable with the label of "protestor," and not long after this album was released he began to distance himself from this out-spoken movement.

Dylan fans are across the board when it comes to this song--some love it, many others say it is one of his weakest, a sad response to his burgeoning popularity and the pressure to respond to the social issues of the time. According to one Dylan blogger:

"The Times They Are a-Changin'" is anything but a subtle song, but there is a certain art in that lack of subtlety; after all, Dylan has written songs without subtlety before, and none of those have the staying power of "The Times". But what that song has that the others don't is the scope and emotion-tweaking wordplay that appeals to all of us. "The Times", in its own finger-wagging way, aims to compress the feelings of a burgeoning youth disillusioned with the world they were about to inherit into three and a half minutes, and to many people it succeeded in spades. Whether or not you feel the same, at least you must admit that "The Times" provokes you, asks you to agree or disagree, and sparks debate over its merits that are ongoing to this day. That might not make a good song, but it certainly makes for one worthy of attention, and even of fame.

So no matter what your personal response to the song, you can't deny the power of the lyrics, or at least their relevance to Dylan's times. He speaks of the youth movement, the power of the populace, and the inevitablility of change. "You better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone"--hop on board this train or you'll be left behind.

Dylan distances himself and his fans from the "writers and critics," the "senators and congressmen," the "mothers and fathers." He emphasizes the great divide between generations, telling these mothers and fathers not to critize "what you can't understand / your sons and daughters / are beyond your command."

What strikes me most about this song it its complete ability to transfer to the issues of today. In fact, when I did a google search for the song, most sites that popped up were about the 2008 election. The times are changing. I feel, and certainly newspapers and columnists agree, that we are at the crux of a new age. Dylan's lyrics take on double meaning when we view them in light of our own contemporary issues of economic crisis, of electing the first African-American president, of confronting class issues, of recognizing and figuring out how to deal with our country's wounded status as a world leader. As it was over 40 years ago, the order is "rapidly fadin'."

When teaching this song in an English or English/History block classroom, I would ask students to study the text as critical readers, from various theoretical lenses, including Marxist, feminist critical theories. These perspectives would help them to understand and really get into the issues that Dylan was writing about, to put themselves in that time and place. Then I would have them brainstorm how these lyrics and ideas apply to today. Are these ideas universal, always present throughout the ages? Or have we cycled again to a time of significant change? And how do popular songs of today reflect similar themes?

local news analysis

Sorry this post is late--my internet is down in my apartment, and they can't seem to figure out what's wrong. Whenever things like this happen I realize how much I depend on technology, and how much that dependence bothers me, especially when things fail. Oh well, a double-edged sword.

My local news analysis was very interesting. I don't ever watch the 30 minute news shows--if anything I watch longer, more in-depth analysis of certain issues, mostly political. So it was a little bit surprising to me to see what stories were covered, and especially how little time they spent on each subject. I found myself wondering at the end, did I learn anything? Besides the weather?

Here's the play-by-play:

Kare11 News at 5: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008

NEWS Story #1: Economy (2 minutes)

• Number of Americans without jobs at highest level in 14 years—1.2 million
• Jobs in Minnesota taking a hard hit
• President-elect Obama focusing on economy and what he can do to hit the ground running.
• Companies likely to cut jobs through the holidays
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader asked for more help from the bailout.
• Obama wants to push through another stimulus package.
• “An enormous challenge facing two men at the crossroads of history.”
• Obama and President Bush to meet at White House on Monday.

CONSUMER Story #2: Less Junk Mail (10 seconds)

• Upside to economy
• Less by 95%

NEWS Story #3: Senate Race (1 minute)

• Race for US Senate in MN
• Coleman campaign tried to block 32 absentee ballots from being counted
• Denied for lack of jurisdiction
• Lawyer for Coleman says “pursuing assurance that there had been no tampering”
• Coleman leading Franken by 221 votes

CONSUMER/LOCAL Story #4: Children Deer Hunting (2.5 minutes)

• Used to have to be 12 yrs old to hunt, with safety training
• Now 10 and 11 yr olds without safety training can hunt with adults
• Met with families with children hunting.
• “Fabulous opportunity.”
• To get more kids interested in hunting before they get lured away by team sports, technology, or computers.
• Some think this age is too young to hold a toy gun, yet alone a real gun.
• Safety training is still required for full license.

NEWS Story #5: 8 yr old boy Killed Father (15 seconds)

• 8 yr old boy killed dad and another man in Arizona
• No disciplinary record or signs of problem

NEWS Story #6: Missing 3 yr old Florida girl (15 seconds)

• Thousands of volunteers from 30 states and Canada spent day looking for missing girl
• Hasn’t been seen since June
• Mom has been charged with kidnapping, manslaughter, etc.

CONSUMER Story #7: NWA Back in Service (30 seconds)

• 27 planes back on schedule
• Company audit had shown landing gear didn’t comply with FAA regulations
• No one ever in danger, all is back on schedule

CONSUMER/LOCAL Story #8: 5,000 War Vets (30 seconds)

• Winona Vet center got $1.4 Million renovation
• Will serve 5,000 war vets in Winona county

COMMERCIAL BREAK

CONSUMER/ENTERTAINMENT Story #9: Moms Like Me (30 seconds)

• Incentive to check out new website (screenshot of website)
• Contest with…PRIZES!!!
• Details of how to enter

ENTERTAINMENT/LOCAL Story #10: Linder’s Lighting Ceremony (2 minutes)

• Annual ceremony at gardening ceremony in St. Paul
• Over 150,000 lights
• Lots of families, reporter talks to the kids
• Inside is…booya? Some sort of secret formula drink. Hmmm.

NEWS/WEATHER Story #11: Flooding in Washington State (15 seconds)

• Heavy rain causing flooding in areas
• Bad news for people near river, but good news for salmon

NEWS/WEATHER Story #12: Snow in Duluth (15 seconds)

• Not rain but snow!
• Reported 2.5 inches
• Some jokes about salmon in Duluth…

WEATHER Story #13: Weather (4 minutes)

• Lake Effect snow
• 38 high, 32 low so far
• Windy, but will die down
• Radar screen, temps across the state
• Tomorrow…here comes the sun!

SPORTS Story #14: Sports (5 minutes)

• Gophers lose 29-6
• Why oh Why? Interview with players and coaches.
• More Big Ten Football
• College Football Ranks
• High School football in Minnesota

COMMERCIAL BREAK

CONSUMER Story #15: Posing Paws Pet Portraits (30 seconds)

• MN Valley Humane Society sponsoring pet portraits—get a picture with your pet for Christmas!
• Proceeds go to humane society

The half-hour news broadcast spent all of one minute talking about the Minnesota US Senate race, arguably the "hottest" topic in Minnesota politics at the moment. They did open with the economy, but although the newscasters mentioned the fact that Obama and Bush are meeting on Monday, they spent no time discussing this topic, unlike other longer news broadcasts, or news channels that focus on politics. The stories that got the most time were weather and sports. The other stories were definitely "sentational": murder and missing children. Also the hot topic of children hunting and holding guns at age 1o.

What I thought would be a great activity for students was something I was thinking about throughout watching this broadcast, and actually ties into one of our earlier assignments in this class. Who is the audience for Kare11's 5pm news broadcast? What is their positioning? What does their choice of news topics say about their audience, and also how does the way they cover the news position their audience?

One might argue that the audience of this half-hour news show IS more interested in weather and sports than national or even local politics. They don't want in-depth analysis or commentary, discussion or the presentation of different opinions. They want headlines. Three of the news topics involved children (the child killing his father, the missing girl, and the children hunting), and there was also coverage of "Moms Like Me," families at the lighting ceremony, and kids with their pets getting photos taken. To me, this says a lot about the audience of this show, or at least what the channel thinks the audience of the show is. Moms, families, etc.

I would have my students view a half-hour broadcast like this, but also maybe one on another channel to see if there's any ideological difference, if they can pick up on any of the "media bias" that everyone talks about. An obvious one would be to compare FOX to any other channel. Then I'd have them watch a longer broadcast, maybe on CNN, where broadcasters do go in-depth on issues, to analyze the difference. Then, like I did above, I'd have them talk about what each broadcast says about its "audience," the positioning, the stereotypes, etc. I can see this being a very interesting and relevant project in a media studies class.

yes we can

A few weeks ago I took a critical look at representations of politics in media, including the Democratic and Republican parties as well as Barack Obama and John McCain. This week I'm turing to YouTube, and have decided to focus solely on vidoes and clips about Barack Obama, specifically how the YouTube community has interpreted and spread the message: Yes We Can.

The Democratic party, and especially this election, is known for its grassroots organization. This is especially evident on sites like YouTube, where members constantly post original or remixed videos in support of the movement. Barack Obama's 2004 convention speech ignited the message of "Yes We Can," and four years later it a core part of his capaign of hope and change. What I find most interesting is how easy it is for people to internalize and personalize this message. Yes, it is about Obama and his campaign for presidency, but his supporters have obviously taken it to mean much more.

How does YouTube represent this message? The videos I found range from the professional to the very homemade. This first video by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas could be considered the "founder" of Yes We Can videos, and features celebrities speaking and singing to the words of one of Barack Obama's 2004 speech.



This video inspired many to create their own "Yes We Can" tributes, mixes, and original videos. What I noticed in all of them was that they are less about Obama as a person and more about the message of hope and change. The videos were about the people and their stories.

This is an a capella group that sings a version of the Yes We Can song. Much less professional than the first, it shows how the message is spreading on different levels:



Except for the very last image of Obama's circle/sun logo, this next video, titled "Yes We Can International" completely divorces itself from Obama the man and instead creates a powerful international manifest by translating his words into many world languages and giving them to real people: "Inspired by the Will I Am video, real people from all across the world take on Barack Obama's message of change and world unity."



This next video makes it personal--yes I can. Like the original will.i.am video, this one is shot in black and white, except for the Obama speech, shown in color on a small tv. Again, the message is optimism, hope, belief:



Returning to the original song idea, the next video is a grassroots response to the "hollywood" style of the will.i.am video. Here's what the YouTube video info says:

This live music video is the grassroots counterpart to the will.i.am Yes We Can video. Ariel Thiermann's original song was recorded live with Obama supporters. We challenge you to do the same and Sing for Obama! Find out how at http://singforobama.org/.

One woman wrote a song. Three women heard it and organized the Sing for Obama music video event. Four days later, over 200 Obama supporters came together to sing and the music video was recorded live. We challenge you to learn the song, make your own video and YouTube your own versions. Get creative. Make it your own. Yes We Can. Can You? Take the Sing for Obama challenge. Download the song and find out all about the challenge at http://singforobama.org/

The above video is a direct example of the power of YouTube--to comment, to create, to remix, to join, to speak. Here's another viewer's response, a simple acoustic version of the song. Here's his comment, which speaks to the "relationship" to the other video, and the immediacy of his response:

This project inspired me beyond words. I decided to figure out the guitar chords, print out the lyrics and record this version live, in one take on my laptop. I did this all within an hour or so of seeing the clip for the first time. This was a completely improvised musical performance; I did the best I could.

And finally, here's the message from Smokey:



What I learned most from this trip into YouTube was that it's sort of like a road, with many roads that lead off onto other roads. You start going in one direction, in my case with the original will.i.am video, which leads you in another direction, which leads you in another. If I'd started in another place, I would have found different videos altogether. But the videos I did find link together, they speak to each other on a common theme. They are in conversation.

I see myself using YouTube as a teacher for an exercise much like this one. I especially liked looking at the videos that "remixed" original concepts, that added personal interpretations, that dared to take the message in another direction. YouTube is an overwhelming landscape but one where much can be discovered about people's ideas and opinions. And taking another step back, I realize that this blog posting is a commentary on the message I've been examining all morning. I of course found many other videos that I chose not to highlight, and even my choices of what to post say something--this blog and the videos shown here are a critical "remix" of sorts. I know that today, at the end of a long and heavy election season, I needed to watch videos of hope. I chose, intentionally, not to analyze TV ads; I wanted optimism, not negativity; inspiration, not defeat or despair.

I am, quite clearly, a part of this message.

media ethnography - fan fiction

For this week's post I'm going to do a media ethnography study on Harry Potter fan fiction. My younger sister, who is now a freshman in college, was a big "fan" of HP fan fiction in high school, so I had the opportunity to ask her some questions about the practices of participants, as well as look at the sites, stories, and comments myself.

According to my sister, who for all the hours she spent reading fan fiction should be considered an expert, the best Harry Potter fan fiction site is the official Warner Bros site. Navigating to the message board and then the fan fiction site is sort of tricky, but here is a direct link. Incidentally, the "community" site hosts forums and message boards about everything from Harry Potter books to the movies to video games and trading cards, official "house common room" sites, as well as the fan fiction site.

There's no organization once you reach the fan site--each thread is a different story but they aren't organized according to subject, author, characters, etc., but only by most recent posting (and I believe that includes comments to the stories, which are added all the time). When I asked my sister how she chose which of the hundreds of fan fics to read, she said:

I would happen across a good one, that’s how it would start, and then I would stick with the author and follow what the author was reading and kind of go on a chain from that.

The site really is a community, and each poster establishes a profile and usually uploads a picture or graphic that appears along each of her posts. The first posting on a thread is usually the author's "rules", followed by the first installment of the story. The story I'll use as an example is one by ginnygirl18, and I chose to follow it because it had almost 4,000 replies and comments...a sure sign that it's good, according to my sister.

Hello everyone! And welcome to my brand new thread!

This is my second fic on these boards, so it's not the first time I've done this, but I'm still relatively new to the whole writing scene.

It's a Lily and James fic. It starts at the end of their seventh year, and follows them through the years after they graduate from Hogwarts. It's going to be quite different from my first fic, and I hope that you like it!

Rules (I know, booo, but there's only a couple)

1. Please, no swearing. There really is no need. And I don't want this deleted.

2. No advertising here. Unless you are a reader, and a regular bumper here, then I might just give you permission. I like to read other fics too, especially if the authors are taking the time to read mine. I like to return the favor.

3. Talk! It makes things much more interesting, and I like to get to know you a little bit. We had fun on my last thread, didn't we my lovelies?

That's it! Read away, and enjoy! I'll post after I get a couple of BUMPS!

Luv,

Amy

Lily and James fics are very popular because the authors have more freedom to expand the characters, use their imagination, and stray from J.K. Rowling's world. My sister said:

I preferred James and Lilly sotries, and it turned out that that’s mostly what people wrote about, because that’s what Rowling wrote about the least, so you can use the most imagination with them, you don’t have to be canon.

"Canon" means sticking to the facts, the real world of the Harry Potter books. Some fan fics are more canon than others, and some even invent new characters, which are called "original characters" or OC.

After ginnygirl18's post of her rules and the first installment of her story, the replies started streaming in. On these boards all replies are listed chronologically, and new installments of the story are just counted as another reply, so to read more of the story you have to tediously search through all sorts of comments and conversation. But to the true HP fan, it's worth it. Here are some examples of comments and replies on this thread:

jason_freddy:
Hi Amy!
How are you?
So new fic, eh?
Well I can't wait to start reading this!

- Jason

m.ikki.
I'M HEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!

It's okay, you can all relax, now. I made it. -squee-

AMY I'M SO EXCITED!


This is going to be absolutly THE. BEST.


Because I said so.


Wahoo! A post!

castine:
AMY!!!
So you're not here right now but hi!!
I loved the first post! So
BumpersZzZZzz!!
I am happy to have another thread to read :]
It was a good idea to post before you go because that first post seemed like it was setting up the actual story.
And then on sunday we get to read a much anticipated post!
However, I can't really help keep this bump'd because I shall be away too! On saturday I am going to the Youth Fair! :]
And hello to everyone else too! Its nice to know we'll all still have a place to chat.


Bumps!

Cas

titillandus88:
AMMYY!!!
Yes, the infamous orange font is BACK! muahahahaha! *ahem* right..

Well, I'm so glad you've started up again! *nods fervently* great start, this sounds so differnet from your last one, but still with all the old Amy goodness. YAY!

BUMMPPS!

(hello all you old lovlies + Jason...I'm Carly! *stick's out hand*.. we met breifly on Pippi's banner thread..
I think there's another new reader too, but i got too excited about posting and forgot who... sorry... anyway, i am looking forward to many a fun times and potatoes and such on this brand spankin' new thread! ^^

♥ Carly

I didn't copy them here, but posters often replied in conversation with each other, Amy often wrote back to each comment and new members to the thread, and an instant community seemed to form. I asked my sister about the relationships on the fan fiction sites, and she said:

On the boards for the stories people formed friendships and talked about their lives, in between posts of the story. I made a couple of friends, not like hardcore friends, but a girl names Sarah and another girl Remi.

Bumping, in case you're confused, is what what comments do to threads--they "bump" them up the "most recently posted" list, so that they're on the front page of the fan fic site. Fans can bump their favorite stories to get them best viewing space, so many comments I saw were simple one-word posts, or pictures or graphics.

--

The shared social agenda for the Harry Potter fan site seems two fold: for the authors of the post, it's to have an audience for their stories and to form a supportive and interactive community around their ideas and characters. For the readers and posters, it's to read more about their favorite fantasy world, and also interact with others who share their passion. But while the stories all had something to do with Harry Potter, even the non-canon ones that were allowed to deviate a bit, I found that the comments spent less time discussing the characters, plots, Harry Potter world in general, than the every-day lives of the commentators. It was much more about forming relationships than analyzing text. The fan sites provide a place for people to springboard off of a common interest but then develop their relationships onto many different planes.

The comments I posted earlier were from the very beginning of the thread, over a year ago, and here's a sample of what the group is talking about now, posted yesterday:

jamessiriuslover:
Hey guys!

Amykins, that last post was tre magnifique!

I loved it!

And - what the heck?! MIKKI?! Mikki was here?! For all of one minute! Omg! And I think its been two and a half years, Amykins. I think she's been gone for longer than one year. =(

So! We're talking about guys, are we? Well do I have the story for you!

This year has started and, well....I have a new crush.
And before the eyes roll and the sighs escape, let me tell you that it isnt a lovesick-puppy-dog thing. He's my really good friend, and its more of a friendship/attraction thing. I got my (first!) cell phone about a month and a half ago, and he and I have texted, like, every day since. Its a really sarcastic and joking kind of relationship, but its fun all the same. I've never knowingly flirted in my entire life, and yet my friends are telling me that I quite obviously do it all the time with him. And that he does it with me. The thing is, though, that he does that kind of thing with all his friends-that-are-girls. He's not a ****, though, at all.

And - and here's the plus - he's really good looking!

I know there is no chance of anything happening between us, because the kind of girls he normally likes, though they are all nice, are very different from me. The main difference being that they are all prettier than me. And before all you awesome VBFFs rush and say 'aww, you're pretty too, Lilly', let me assure you that I know I'm gorgeous. Lol. I'm just a different pretty than the raven haired, blue eyed beauties he usually likes.

But whatever.

We are friends more than anything. Thats what I'm always telling my friends. He is first and foremost my friend.

But congratulation Nette! I guess your out of the club, or soon will be anyway. Good for you! And happy-extremely-belated-birthday!

Bumps Amykins!

Lilly

Already there are responses to Lilly's post. She has a community, however abstract and virtual, that she knows supports her and is interested in her story, not only the romantic story of James and Lilly. I know from the hours I saw my sister spending on the computer, engrossed in the stories and with the comments, that there's something very real and important about these interactions, especially to those who participate in them.

media representation in politics

For the unit on media representations, I decided to take a closer look at the current presidential election (as, to be honest, it's often on my mind) and see how each candidate and campaign represents both itself and its audience, or in this case, voters.

Some questions I asked myself going into this were:

• what do the websites (Dem, GOP, Obama, McCain) say about the candidates, how they see themselves? how do the colors, logos, messages, words, etc. affect this representation?
• what to the websites say about the candidate's "typical voter"? who is the "typical voter" for each person?
• what do the candidate's ads and commercials say about them, and the people to whom they are trying to communicate?
• what are some of the reactions, in media, journalism, ect., to these candidates and their campaigns (knowing that by no means can I begin to cover it all...)

I got the idea for this analysis from a blog post I read about the two campaign logos--Obama's circle horizon and McCain's dash and star. I think it was a blog on Huffington Post, but I've searched and searched and can't find it, so to summarize, the author (who of course may have a bias) said that Obama's red white and blue logo has a broader appeal, as opposed to McCain's more military emblem, which he likened to the Chevrolet logo. The author also linked to this page, which shows how lots of different special interest groups like "Americans With Disabilities," "Environmentalists," and "Rural Americans" have adapted the basic Obama logo to reflect their own cultures.

I began by visiting the offical Democrat and GOP sites. Admittedly, I was confused when I went to www.gop.com and saw this:

Is Barack Obama the Republican nominee? But no...he doesn't look very trustworthy there, his name is all lowercase, and underneath I see that I can "click here to view the Joe Biden Gaffe Timeline." So this site is all about proving the negative on Barack Obama. But what if I want to learn more about my candidate, John McCain? I have to go the sidebar and do some searching and clicking. To me, this says that Republicans (the website's audience) are not looking to support their candidate, but are looking to trash their opponent, in no uncertain terms.

The Democrat site, www.democrats.org, also shows Barack Obama, but this time he's at a podium, looking proud:

This site seems to be more about the Democratic candidate, with a few headlines about McCain. The "audience" in this case would like to learn more about the candidate they support, and search and click for McCain if they so choose.

Democrats.org also takes advantage of a blue color scheme, with stars shooting out from behind the main screen, while GOP.com is a more somber dark red. Going back to some of the ideas taken from the previous logo discussion, the Dem site seems to be more hopeful and visionary, while the GOP site seems more solid. These representations speak well to each party's base.

Next I visited the websites for each party's candidate. John McCain's website follows the GOP theme of prominently featuring Barack Obama--in a negative light of course:

To be fair, the Obama "Acorn" ad is one of four screens that rotates: the others are all positive ads about McCain. This, not GOP.com, is the home of the presidential candidate. This great site shows how McCain's website has progressed over the course of his campaign. I'm glad he moved away from the all-black page--what was he going for there? Not every constituent was formerly in the military, or wants a candidate who is so bleak.

Moving to the issues, McCain's top three issues on his page are the economy, energy, and national security. This sort of belies the much-trouted idea of Republicans, that they vote according to their morals, which would have put "the sanctity of life" (read: abortion) and "the 2nd amendment" (read: gun rights) at the top. Have no doubt, these issues are there, and the position is clear. A McCain supporter believes in "winning" in Iraq, wants to privatize health care, and puts country first.

The Obama site is very very blue. It also displays four rotating ads: two of which are could be called "positive" Obama ads, and two "negative" McCain ads:

Interestingly though, and I think this is important, in the negative ads, McCain's name isn't highlighted, and his face is only shown in one of them (the Keating ad), and even then it's very small. These are obviously not meant to be loud attention-callers to McCain's character, but instead are about faulty policies and plans. They are subdued and even, if possible, respectful (as compared, at least, to the GOP site). Here's the progression of the Obama site over time.

When you navigate to Obama's "Issues" page, the first thing you see is the link to download the "Blueprint for Change." Change is obviously Obama's main theme, and speaks both of him and of his audience. He is young and visionary--his voters are often the same. But this representation is just like all representations--limited. The "People" site I mentioned earlier points to just a few of the many diverse groups that identify with this visionary leader.

The page lists the issues alphabetically, so there is no meaning to be read from looking at the order. It does include Civil Rights, missing from McCain's site, along with Women, Urban Policy, Poverty, Faith, and more. Missing is any mention of gun control or abortion.

The candidate's TV ads also have a lot to say about both who they are and the audience to whom they are communicating. McCain's recent "Who Is Barack Obama" ad paints his supporters as making the "safe" choice, and anyone who votes for Obama as "too risky," "too dangerous."



But what do these words say? What do they mean? Congressional liberals (read: any liberals) do not have America's interests at heart. This is not a matter of disagreement. This is a matter of good and evil. This ad divides, and it calls its listeners to take sides.

Obama takes the idea of "risky" and uses it a different way. He calls McCain too risky for your finances...but he doesn't insinuate that by voting for him you're risking your life.



This is a "negative" ad that takes real images and facts from newspapers and lets the viewer add it all up. Obama supporters can think for themselves and don't need fear and terrorism images thrown at them in order for them to make a decision.

So far, I haven't brought up the candidates' running mates, but the blog Racialicious.com ties in Palin's "hockey moms" and "Joe Six-Packs" in a posting titled "An open letter to white voters, or what McCain really thinks of you." The post brings in everything from Palin's euphimisms for White to the new GOP idea that bringing out Obama's middle name--Hussein--will scare voters away.

Carmen Van Kerckhove, the author of the blog, writes:

The McCain campaign is doing its best to paint Obama as a shadowy Manchurian candidate who is un-American, unpatriotic, dangerous, sympathetic to terrorists, and possibly even a secret Muslim (needless to say, that’s a bad thing in their eyes).

That much is obvious.

But what does their strategy say about what they think of you, the white voter?

Judging from their messaging, they seem to be stereotyping white voters as closed-minded, paranoid, naive, xenophobic, and just a tad bit racist.

And they are certainly connecting successfully with people who match this profile.

In terms of representation, I thought this brought up a very interesting point. Who are McCain's voters, in his opinion? If Palin were to answer, she'd say White suburbanites, and while this answer makes many people comfortable and happy and "safe"--it marginalizes and disturbes so many others. What about me? I'm White, but I'm not suburban, or a mom, and I've never played hockey. I don't drink six-packs of beer. And my neighbors are Black and Muslim. Why should I vote for you?

Obama's voters, on the other hand...well that's harder to define. They are the "People" on his site, and they are anyone who identifies with his message of change. Some people have claimed difficulty relating to Obama as a person, and to his campaign, so this might be a case where the definition of who is being represented is murky. But I wonder--is that such a bad thing? Is it better for representation to be undefined than narrow?

(As I'm sure any reader has noticed, I have my own political biases, but I did try and look at each site with a critical eye during this research).

examination of critical theories

The idea of teaching students how to think critically, and more specifically, how to view the media critically, is important to me. This also applies to teaching literature, as almost always think, discuss, and write about literature from the perspective of different critical lenses. But actually understanding the different critical theories and lenses and be difficult and somewhat confusing. Thinking “critically” is such a broad concept—we have to learn how to think more specifically from a feminist perspective, or Marxist, or postmodern. And all of these theories both have things in common and conflict. In my K-12 education I was never taught the different theories, never given the histories or context or vocabulary. It wasn’t until college when I embarked on an independent study in critical theory that I was able to finally get at what all this meant, and then I realized how much I had missed out on.

It’s important that we as teachers give our students access to these different theories, from Rhetorical/Audience to Postcolonial, because they all affect how we understand text (by which I include both books and media). One point from Beach that I thought was really important, yet seems almost absent in school, is a move from theory to practice: “It is important to go beyond critique to engage students in some proactive challenging status-quo practices. If they discover biased reporting in their local television news, they could then write a letter to the television news director…” (p. 33).

I think that audience analysis is a theory that will seem pretty intuitive or obvious to most students. It isn’t too much of a jump for us to think, Who is this person writing for? What is the intended audience? Who are they trying to reach with this message? This is a very good theory to begin with when talking about critical theories and discourse, as it applies to almost all literature and other media.

Semiotic analysis brings in the cultural perspective, examining the meaning of different codes and signs within texts. I think the most important thing for students to understand here is that these meanings are indeed culturally and socially derived.

Narrative analysis takes a closer look at the texts themselves and examines them in terms of how they function as stories. The structure itself is important, and students can think about how different genres affect text as well. I think this critical approach lends itself well to television and movies, as these often fall into archetypical patterns that are easy for students to examine and analyze.

Poststructuralist theory looks at language through binary classification, and asks the question, How do language categories affect perception? When we say that something is male or female, what does that mean? Black or White? Right or Wrong? I think this particular theory is perfect for adolescents, who are trying to discover their unique identities in a binary world. They are wondering who they are in the middle of categorical language, and can discuss the implications of being neither Good nor Evil, but somewhere in between.

The umbrella of critical discourse analysis includes discourses of class, race, and gender, although that most often is studied under the banner of Feminist theory. This theory takes a very realist approach to looking at social order, taking into account questions of power and identity. In my experience, this is one of the most fundamental of all the critical theories, and is important to introduce to students as they begin to think about worlds outside of their own lived experiences.

Psycholanalytic theory is relatively new to me, but is the idea that meaning is shaped by our own desires. I can see this theory as being relevant when working with adolescents, who have strong desires concerning what they want and who they want to be. How do these desires affect the meaning they derive from texts? How to advertisers, movie-makers, writers, etc., use these desires to provide adolescents with the characters, images, stories, that they know will be consumed?

Feminist analysis has moved beyond the binary idea of females vs. males to consider the broader question of society’s treatment of gender. Judith Butler, as explained by Beach, suggests that “we should think of gender as free-floating and fluid rather than fixed, but also constrained and limited by discourses of desire that position people to adopt different versions of the self” (p. 41). In this way she draws on psychoanalytic theory.

Postmodernism is probably the most confusing of all the critical theories. In fact, ask someone to define postmodernism, and most of time they won’t be able to tell you what exactly it is. Even the experts that study the theory disagree on its exact definition. What it is, for sure, is a reaction to modernism, the idea that master narratives are associated with progress, truth, human improvement, high art, science, and technology—the assumption that these narratives will all lead to happiness and fulfillment (Beach, p. 41). Postmodernism challenges all of that, undermining modernist notions of reality and truth, creating new ideas for what is meaningful.

The chart below, from Postmodernism and its Critics, is a good way of contrasting the two schools of thoughts, as well as the chart on the Po-Mo Page.

Contrast of Modern and Postmodern Thinking


I took a postmodern literature class in college, and we read books with disjointed narratives or alternative story styles, like Dave Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novels Maus and Maus II, and William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition.

A teaching idea for postmodernism would be to have students compare and contrast modern and postmodern works, to make their own charts, similar to the ones above. They might read a modern novel, by Henry James or Virginia Wolf, and compare it to a postmodern text. Another activity might be examining the narrative structures of a postmodern book and a postmodern film, such as Memento. If time allows, students can even create their own postmodern narrative, through storyboard or film, based on the themes they've charted.

Postcolonial theory takes a look at the broader world and examines how colonialism affects media texts and understanding. A good definition of this theory is found on the website Political Discourse:

Historians, literary critics, and social scientists use the idea of postcolonialism to examine the ways, both subtle and obvious, in which colonization affects the colonized society. Notwithstanding different time periods, different events and different effects that they consider, all postcolonial theorists and theory admit that colonialism continues to affect the former colonies after political independence. By exposing a culture's colonial history, postcolonial theory empowers a society with the ability to value itself.

This theory would be especially important when studying multicultural literature, or American literature of a certain time period or subject. It is similar in a sense to the critical discourses of race and class, which ask readers to examine how a certain perspective or worldview affects perception.

Students in a multicultural literature course might use the postcolonial theory to examine different texts and uncover hidden meanings. Any class reading a work from the canon, most often written by white males, can analyze the text for its postcolonial meanings. Exercises like these allow students to expand their worldview. In a media class, students can analyze popular TV shows or movies for themes and assumptions about colonized cultures. Even a show like Lost provides tons of food for thought and discussion.

In conclusions, while all of these cultural theories may seem daunting, each is a useful tool for inquiry into texts, both literature and broader media texts.

film analysis

I am going to being this week’s assignment on Film Analysis by looking at a clip of the popular TV series “The Office.” This show is filmed almost like a documentary and is known for its unique camera styles, film angles, and for the ways in which the characters interact with the camera, alternately ignoring its presence and then looking directly at it or speaking to it like in an interview or confession. Throughout the show the camera functions almost as a character unto itself.

In this scene Jim and Pam are talking at Pam’s reception desk about the possibility of her moving in with him. The cameral angle alternates from a medium shot of the front of the desk, allowing the viewer to see Pam’s head and Jim’s back (in focus) with a wall obscuring part of the view (out of focus), and a longer shot from the other side of the desk, giving a closer view of Jim’s face and the back of Pam’s head (with file folders out of focus obscuring the view). All of this leads viewers to believe that the cameras are eavesdropping on the conversation from two different locations.

Throughout the scene the cameras (at both locations) move quickly from medium shots to close ups, and viewers can “see” the panning of the motion, again making us very aware of the presence of the cameras. The cameras are not steady but rather move as if held—all of this contributes to the aforementioned feel of the show as documentary. There is no music or soundtrack, which leaves the drama of the scene completely up to the actors’ dialogue and facial expressions. The Office is also known for using silent moments to comment on both characters and situations.

When Jim walks away from Pam’s desk, the camera doesn’t pan out to capture his face and whole body—instead we have a shot of his torso walking towards the camera (as if the person holding the camera couldn’t move out of the way in time.) The scene ends with a typical “break room confession” shot of Jim talking directly to the camera, saying “I am not kidding, (as if in answer to a question posed by the cameraman). “I got it a week after we started dating.” End scene.

As I mentioned, the techniques of camera, sound, and lighting of “The Office” are all intentional to create the feeling that this is a simple documentary of a real office situation. The lights aren’t fancy, there is no music, and viewers can “see” the movement of the cameras. It is typical for more “intimate” scenes like this one between Jim and Pam to be shot as if the cameraman is eavesdropping, from behind a corner or with file folders in the way. It all contributes to the feel of the show.

When teaching Film/Editing Techniques in my classroom, I would begin by having students look at still frames and then move onto clips and full-length films to compare and contrast different techniques and styles. I think it would important to expose them to different techniques, to develop vocabulary, and to talk about the different ways of analysis. I like the idea of having different groups focus on different elements—camera, audience, sound, lighting, sequencing, etc.—to see what each has to say about the film.

I agree with Beach (2007) when he says that: “students are most likely to learn to understand and critique use of film techniques through engaging in their own digital video productions” (p. 21). Of course different schools have different resources, but even if students are only able to map out stories using storyboards, I think doing is the most useful way to learn this area of media literacy. I also like the idea of creating comics using Comic Life or other software—the way that each frame allows the viewer to see the action and how the creator has to really think about each scene, the action, lighting, angles, and characters. Overall, even though this is not my area of expertise, I think film has a lot of potential for student creativity and ingenuity.

Shot-by-Shot Analysis of Martin Scorsese AmEx Commercial



Shot 1: Establishing/Extreme Long Shot, shows One-Hour photo and Martin (from the back) standing at counter, talking to employee. “What was I thinking? What was I thinking?”

Shot 2: Close-up, Martin’s face, presumably looking at employee.

Shot 3: Medium shot, from the side, showing both Martin and employee. Martin’s still talking rapidly.

Shot 4: Close-up, employee. Looks bewildered and turns to look at another drug store employee who is standing in the distance behind him.

Shot 5: Close-up of photographs in Martin’s hands.

Shot 6: Medium shot, over Martin’s shoulder, focusing on employee silent but looking stunned at Martin’s incessant ranting.

Shot 7: Close-up of photographs and Martin’s hands, going through photos one by one and talking about their faults.

Shot 9: Medium shot, Martin (right of frame with store behind him).

Shot 10: Medium shot, employee (left of frame with counter and stock area behind him). Employee blinks rapidly.

Shot 11: Medium shot, Martin holds up photograph to camera (presumably to employee). “What do you think?”

Shot 12: Medium shot, employee. Martin’s hand and photograph partially obscure employee’s face. “It’s pretty,” he replies, hesitantly and a bit unsure.

Shot 13: Medium shot, Martin. Nods as if disappointed.

(a skip, I think the YouTube commercial was edited)

Shot 14: Medium shot from the side, Martin with his back to the employee saying: “I’ve lost the narrative thread.”
Shot 15: Medium shot, Martin at counter again. “Unavoidable, I’ve gotta re-shoot.”

Shot 16: Close-up, Martin’s hand putting an American Express on the counter and employee sliding over four new film cartons.

Shot 17: Close-up of employee sliding American Express through register with the words across the screen: “The Official Card of Perfectionists.”

Shot 18: Extreme Long Shot, same view as beginning of commercial but with Martin leaving the store on his cell phone, asking his 5-year old nephew if he’d like to turn 5 again. Words across the screen: “The Official Card of the Tribeca Film Festival.”

The whole commercial is very fast, with shots lasting only seconds, mimicking Martin’s rapid speech. The employee speaks only a few words but his emotions are registered on his face and by his actions.

why teach media studies? a rationale.

Here's my rationale for teaching Media Studies in a district that has changed curriculum with a new focus on "back to basics" academics:

The district’s focus on improving test scores and achieving adequate yearly progress, emphasized and enforced by national and state standards, has forced teachers and administrators to reconsider current curriculum and budget allocation, especially in the subjects of language arts, math, and science. While reflection and change is often positive and prevents districts and schools from becoming too comfortable or mired in the past, in this case I believe that the district’s decisions concerning curriculum change have been made for all the wrong reasons and will negatively affect student learning. The No Child Left Behind act has moved the focus of education from acquiring knowledge to passing test. The harried emphasis on “back to basics” learning—meant to help students pass high-risk standardized tests—leaves no room for extra-curricular learning that is just as essential to adolescent development as is formal reading and writing, math and science. Specifically, the new Language Arts curriculum as devised by the district, which all high schools are required to follow, provides no time or resources for Media Studies. Teachers are “encouraged to utilize technology within instruction,” but this is by no means equal to a course of study that educates students about not just technology but other media including but not limited to film, advertising, music, news, and the Internet. No one—especially no educator—can argue that we live in a digital world, and it is a disservice to our students to send them out into that world without providing them with the tools, resources, and knowledge for them to thrive and succeed.

Students need many skills beyond the two-dimensional, or “basic” skills, that are outlined in the new proposed curriculum and assessed in standardized tests. Although I do not argue that we are accountable for providing our students with the skills and knowledge for them to successfully pass such tests and achieve all standards, we do owe them more. A Media Studies component to the Language Arts curriculum would provide students with many of the multiple literacies necessary to be successful participants in contemporary society. Skills that students practice in Media Studies include: making connections as means of constructing knowledge, practicing inquiry-based learning, participating in cooperative and collaborative learning, developing problem-solving strategies, building social relationships in digital spaces, and engaging in critical inquiry. While none of these skills can be easily evaluated with a multiple-choice test, they undoubtedly help students make the connection between “academic” learning and real life, between school and home, between what they learn as students and who they will become when they graduate. Instead of teaching to the test, we should equip our students with the skills necessary to apply knowledge to any situation, including standardized testing—Media Studies does that.

The Media Studies component of the Language Arts department would teach students to be critical learners. The curriculum would include units on how to evaluate the media for authenticity and bias, students would participate in a simulated debate over a current event using blogs and wikis to write about issues and key figures, and students would be encouraged to be creative and imaginative with digital tools throughout the class. Students already use digital tools throughout most of their day, and if these resources can be harnessed to increase motivation in student learning, it is our job as teachers to make sure that they are. A re-allocation of time and moneys to provide for Media Studies curriculum will improve student learning in all areas—including standardized tests—as it is the kind of course that provides students with the knowledge they need to be successful in all walks of 21st century life.

media studies in schools

The first issue that’s brought up in the reading for this week (Beach, Chapter 1) is whether or not teachers should show movies in class. More specifically, the chapter gives the example of a schoolboard members arguing that viewing film is a “low-level skill,” and that schools should focus on teaching “high-level skills” such as reading, writing, grammar, etc., in standard forms. The schoolboard member thinks that teachers use movies to fill time, not to actively teach. Although I’ve had my fair share of substitute teachers who popped in a video for lack of a lesson plan, such use of media is not “media studies” in its truest form. Media studies means actually studying the movies, or podcast or website or blog, critically and analytically just as you would study any other text. I think it is narrow-minded to assume that movies are categorically “low-level.” If we only looked at romance novels to judge the quality of books, couldn’t we say the same thing?

I think the real issue is how media is presented to students, how teachers use it to address certain issues or teach themes, topics, ideas. Some of my favorite memories of high school are when my Language Arts and History teacher (we had an interdisciplinary block schedule) used song lyrics and movies from the Vietnam War era to help highlight different themes from books we were reading, both “classics” and contemporary novels. By no means were the songs and films “low-level.” We critically analyzed the lyrics, just as we would a poem or novel, and my teacher taught us how to view film as a “text” as well. Now, years later, the idea of text has opened to include so much more than just music and movies. The opportunities to incorporate the internet, podcasts, advertisements, blogs, vlogs, and other forms of communication into Language Arts curriculum are endless and very exciting.

One of the main reasons I want to become “media literate” and incorporate media studies into my teaching is because the students are already there. Kids walk around texting, listening to their iPods, they spend hours on MySpace and Facebook. To ignore this reality is to fail to acknowledge the present, and as Beach says, “the marginalization of media in the curriculum ignores the centrality of media in our lives” (p. 2). Acceptance of technology doesn’t have to lead to the demise of the book—I am sure that the printed word on paper will never disappear. But most kids love technology, and incorporating it into the classroom is a sure way to increase motivation, participation, and engagement.

Another idea I find fascinating is that the brains of kids raised in the digital age are actually neurologically different than those of older generations. According to Beach, “some neurologists and cognitive scientists posit that…multimediating in the bedroom culture has changed the neural networks in kids’ brains so that they prefer to learn in new and different ways” (p. 2). This research has direct implications for teachers, as we are the ones who must now teach in new and different ways. Furthermore, “it is also the case that this multimediating requires active, as opposed to passive, uses of media” (Beach, p. 2). No longer are kids meant to sit and watch a movie—they are actually wired to engage film, to analyze it, to dissect it and talk about it and apply it to their lives. What once might have been a “low-level skill” is no more. Media has become a legitimate part of our lives, and in school curriculum.