Media Analysis Term Paper Assignment
Instruction
The purpose of this term paper is to give you an opportunity to
develop and hone your critical analysis skills and to practice identifying the
influence of theory on our cultural understandings of crime. Virtually all
crime-related media can be analysed in terms of ideas found in criminological
theory.
Here are the steps you should follow to write your assignment.
1.
Choose a cultural artefact that provides a representation of a
specific type of crime — this can be a movie, a television episode, a book, a song,
a videogame, a news story (written, video, or audio), or any other media
portrayal of crime. If you are uncertain about your choice of media, please
consult the professor. Watch/read/listen to your chosen media carefully.
2.
Following your introductory paragraph, provide a brief,
descriptive synopsis of your chosen cultural artefact, identifying the
main storyline, characters, issues. If your artefact is short enough to be
included in its entirety (e.g. song lyrics or a news article), please append it
to the end of your paper (in addition to the synopsis). If your artefact is
freely available online, please provide the URL in your reference page.
3.
Provide a theoretical analysis of the media, identifying the kinds of
theoretical or ideological assumptions that are being made by the creators of
the artefact. Explain how theory can be used to create a more thorough
understanding of the piece. Some of the questions you might consider
(You don’t have to address all of these and may choose to reflect on other
questions):
a.
What criminological theories can we see reflected in the media
representations of crime, and how? Are there theories that could usefully
inform our analysis of this material, and how?
b.
Who are the intended audience of this media and how are they
expected to respond to the story/messages/entertainment?
c.
What cultural assumptions, values, beliefs are represented
(explicitly or implicitly) in the media?
d.
How does the media form, itself, affect the representation and the
message(s)? (i.e. how does the fact that it is video, or text, or a 30 minute
tv spot versus a 2 hour film change the way we react to the information?)
e.
Does the media representation pose any ethical or moral dilemmas?
Refer to the course
readings and to other criminological/academic literature to support and augment
your analysis.
4.
Conclude your paper by briefly summarizing the main
points/arguments. You should also briefly discuss how these kinds of
representations of crime might affect laypeople’s (i.e. NOT criminology
students’) understandings of crime and deviance in contemporary society.
THE FINE PRINT
Your assignment will be typed, in 11 or 12 point font,
double-spaced, with one inch margins on all sides.
In-text citations and reference page will be in APA format. If you have
questions about how to properly cite sources following APA conventions, please
consult the following library resource: Laurier library citation styles.
Your assignment will be a maximum of 12 pages, double-spaced,
NOT INCLUDING cover page, reference page(s), and the media source appendix, if
applicable.
Submit your assignment to the relevant dropbox on
MyLearningSpace by 11:59 pm ET on the due date- Day 7 of week 12.
Late assignments will not be accepted unless you have made a
prior arrangement with the professor.
MEDIA ANALYSIS TERM PAPER PROPOSAL &
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
VALUE: 15% OF FINAL GRADE
DUE: DAY 1 OF WEEK 5
(11:59PM)
The research proposal must
1.
Identify the cultural artefact (source) that you intend to analyse
and provide a brief description of it (e.g. what kind of source is it, what
type of crime does it describe or discuss, when was it published/released,
etc.) Give me as much description as you think I need to get a good sense of
what you will be analysing.
2.
In a brief paragraph identify 1 or 2 theoretical perspectives that
you might use to analyse this source, and discuss why you
think these might be good perspectives. I know that you have not yet learned
all of the theories that we will be discussing in the course, but I encourage
you to look at the syllabus and to google some of the theories to see if you
can identify 1 or 2 that might be useful for your paper.
3.
Provide a working annotated bibliography with 6 academic sources
that are not course readings that you think will be useful to help you analyse
your source. Please note: an annotated bibliography includes a brief, concise
summary of each article, with some indication of how this article will be
useful for your paper (one-two paragraph maximum for each article). DO NOT
merely reproduce the article abstract! You should present the reference in APA
format and the annotation (1-2 paragraph description) should follow the
reference directly.
4.
Be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, with
one inch margins on all sides.
5.
Provide appropriate in-text citations and references in APA
format. Please note that your annotated bibliography is a sufficient reference
list for this proposal – you do not have to include a separate reference list.
For information on how to properly use APA format, please
see: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
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