March 29

MdSt 20: Mar 29 Viewing class and discussion of media log idea…

  1. We began the class with a discussion on some improvements on media logs. They were handed back to students and most are doing a good job of their entries. Some common suggestions were to create a list at the beginning of the book to list the types of media they will cover and then start checking them off as they investigate those types of media. Another comment would be to lengthen some of the entries; some students are just summarizing what an ad or song says but they have to then pick it apart and analyze some of the meanings behind it or possible objectionable content.
    Media logs have not gotten any marks so far. Taking them in for checking has only been to monitor who is doing the work consistently, offering suggestions for ways of improving, and is also meant to be a type of accountability to make sure students are doing it enough that they will not fall behind.
  2. We discussed one of the topics I have posted in the Media Log Ideas blog section. There was a show on CNN the other night that followed and documented the lives of doctors and nurses of combat hospitals in the war. It raised some questions with me in viewing some of the images, such as the doctor implying that he calls his son every morning before the son leaves for grade school. I can’t quite believe that soldiers are allowed cell phones and can call home at their convenience. I found some of the images questionable and considered, even, that it may have been a staged setting. The question then is “for what purpose and to what target audience” – parents of soldiers, middle-aged, middle-class Caucasian voters who predominately are the viewers of the chanel CNN? Just questions for the kids to chew on.
  3. We continue viewing some clips on violence in the media and its possible effects. To ensure no one is under the impression that I am trying to promote the idea that violence we see in media is directly responsible for the violent crimes committed on occassion by teens, I have a few clips there as well to show the alternative view, that video games cannot be blamed and are often blamed with faulty reasoning. There are always two sides to the argument.
  4. Students handed in their reflections they had written while we viewed the clips during the last few days.


Posted March 29, 2007 by Waldner in category Media Studies 20

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