W‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍rite an essay that examines an aspect of some specific area of popular culture from the last ten or so years (a movie, television show, etc.) through one or more of the following lenses: race, class, LGBTQ issues, and/or gender.

Are the depictions of race/class/gender/the LGBTQ community typical or atypical of contemporary mass media?

In other words, do they perpetuate or break stereotypes? How do you know?

The essay must incorporate ideas/theories presented in our class reading and must include at least six outside sources (two of which may be culled from the Critical Media Project pages). Choose an aspect which interests you or that you perhaps know a certain amount about. Sources Use sources to back up or explain your own ideas.

Do not rely too heavily on one or two sources, simply regurgitating what they’ve told you. Rather, you must characterize your concept in an original way and use other people’s facts/opinions to lend authority to your idea. In general, paraphrasing other people’s ideas is preferable to quoting too much. Remember, your thesis should be your own. Choosing a Topic Include typical depictions in your paper and research (the next websites are the depictions needed.)( , ( ( ( how are issues of race/class/gender/sexuality typically depicted? Are the depictions in your topic typical or atypical?

Provide evidence to support your assertions. This evidence will include scholarship about your wo‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍rk and specifics from your media. Discussing whole genres doesn’t work. Please don’t be the person who writes about Disney films, or action movies: this and topics like it are too big. After finding a specific show/movie/etc., choose the societal viewpoint(s) that you wish to analyze it from. Try to limit your viewpoints, though. A paper

looking at the cultural, racial, and class structure aspects of “Full House” is perhaps trying to do too much. Limit your analysis to one or two of the cultural viewpoints. This paper should not be autobiographical! Don’t fall into the trap of retelling your own encounters with racial or gender

prejudice – you are analyzing depictions in popular culture. You can talk about how you fit into society personally, but it shouldn’t go further than that. Paraphrased material MUST be cited. Every page in your paper will probably have several in-text citations. Length: A minimum of 1,500 words (5-7 pages). These pages can include your “Works Cited” page. The best papers are usually longer! You will lose substantial points for

turning in papers under 5 full pages! You may include a “Works Consulted Page” but this will not count toward your word count. HELPFUL LINKS