Media Analysis #3

DUE March 29, 2025 (11:59pm, EST)
10% | 100 Points  

This assignment is designed to help you develop your skills in evaluating mass media content by analyzing a different types of media messages. Choose one of the below topics, and respond to it with as much depth of thought as possible.  Be sure to demonstrate that you have been studying the appropriate lesson(s), lessons applicable to the topic. Be sure to cite (quotes and/or phrases) the work that you are analyzing.  Be sure to provide complete source information. The format of your response may be any one of the following:

  1. a 1000-1500 word essay
  2. a 3-5 minute video (in which you talk and/or show items, such as images, quotes, charts, graphs, etc.)
  3. a 30-50 slide print presentation (made with Google Slides, MS PowerPoint, or something similar, that combines printed words with images, quotes, charts, graphs, etc.)

Choose ONE topic:

  1. Consider the video, The Transformative Power of Video Games. Also consider the video, “Why Modern Gaming Is Dying“. What are YOUR thoughts about the individual and/or social power of video games? Required: In addition to making use of these two videos as sources, you must also make use of Mary Louise Pratt’s “Arts of the Contact Zone,” and at least three sources from any lessons covered thus far that are applicable to this analysis (for example, you could use two sources from the “Artificial Intelligence” case study and three sources found in the lessons); that’s a total of six works.
  2. Consider the article, “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.” (Kevin Roose, 2 Sep. 2022, The New York Times). Roose writes, “A.I.-generated art has been around for years. But tools released this year — with names like DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion — have made it possible for rank amateurs to create complex, abstract or photorealistic works simply by typing a few words into a text box.” Provide an analysis in which you consider why artists aren’t happy about an A.I.-generated picture winning a prize (cite the article) and discuss why you do or do not agree with them. Required: In addition to making use of Roose’s article, you must also make use of at least five sources from the case study Artificial Intelligence and any lessons covered thus far that are applicable to this analysis (for example, you could use two sources from the “Artificial Intelligence” case study and three sources found in the lessons); that’s a total of six works.
  3. What is the difference between community media experience and personal media experience? Choose a video game and cite examples that support your explanation(s). Try to go into as much detail as possible. Be sure to provide reference/link information for the examples you select. Required: In addition to making use of your selected video game, you must also make use of at least five sources found in either the case study “The Power of Video Games & Virtual Environments on Culture“, Lesson 6—Media and Play, and/or any lessons covered thus far that are applicable to this analysis (for example, you could use two sources from the Lesson 6 one source from “The Power of Video Games & Virtual Environments on Culture, and one more source found in another one of the lessons studied thus far); that’s a total of six works.
  4. Consider one of the below advertising case studies:
  5. In her March 30, 2022 article of Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson provided a history of how media is regulated in the United States.  In the article, she traces the history of regulation, along with providing an analysis of the current reliability of news media.  (Notice that she backs up her analysis with numerous sources.) More recently, according to NPR’s David Folkflik, “More than 75,000 digital subscribers to The Washington Post have cancelled since its owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that he would radically overhaul the paper’s opinion pages to reflect libertarian priorities and to exclude opposing points of view,” (February 28, 2025), and David Shipley (the Washington Post’s opinion editor) has just resigned in response to this change in policy. What is your understanding of how media is regulated, or not regulated, in the United States? What sort of power does media have over a politician’s image? Required: In addition to making use of Richardson’s article and Folkflik’s article, make use of at least four sources (a total of six works) from either of these two lessons:

How to Submit Your Work to Me

You have several options:

  1. a 1000-1500 word essay
    1. Via KSU Google Document (see “How to Use KSU Google”).
    2. As a well composed email (sent to clrobins@kent.edu).
    3. As a document (PDF or a word processor document) attached to an email sent to me (clrobins@kent.edu)
  2. a 3-5 minute video (in which you talk and/or show items, such as images, quotes, charts, graphs, etc.)
    1. Via KSU Google Drive: upload it to your Drive account and then share it with me (clrobins@kent.edu)
    2. Via YouTube as an unlisted video
    3. Microsoft One Drive
    4. Dropbox
  3. a 30-50 slide print presentation (made with Google Slides, MS PowerPoint, or something similar, that combines printed words with images, quotes, charts, graphs, etc.)
    1. Via KSU Google Drive
    2. Microsoft One Drive
    3. Dropbox
    4. Convert the slides to a PDF and attach that to an email to me

Once I have received an email–either with the assignment attached or with notification that you have shared it with me–I will send you confirmation of receipt for that assignment, usually within 48 hours of receipt.

How Your Work Will Be Evaluated

Your assignment will be evaluated for clarity of thought expressed, and it must be thorough—fully responding to the topic. It must demonstrate critical thinking skills, particularly as they are tailored to the communication parameters of the medium/media under analysis (media literacy skills).

RUBRIC

An A level assignment follows the assignment directions fully.  It responds to the chosen topic fully, with demonstrated depth of thought and logic. The communication is coherent (clear images, complete sentences,…).  The communication has a professional tone.  The assignment demonstrates having gone through the lesson(s), as well as having thought deeply about the content of what is being taught.

A B level assignment follows the assignment directions fully.  It responds to the chosen topic fully, with some demonstrated depth of thought and/or some logic. The communication is mostly coherent (clear images, complete sentences,…).  The communication has a professional tone.   The assignment demonstrates having gone through the lesson(s), as well as having thought considerably about the content of what is being taught.

A C level assignment mostly follows the assignment directions, but not completely. It responds to the chosen topic, there is not much demonstrated depth of thought and/or  logic (the depth of thought is weak or vague). The communication is mostly coherent (clear images, complete sentences,…).  The communication has a mostly professional tone.   The assignment demonstrates having gone through the lesson(s), but not much more (not much thought put into it).

A D level assignment  barely follows the assignment directions.  It responds to the chosen topic, but the depth of thought is weak or vague, and it might wander off topic. The communication is sometimes incoherent, difficult to follow.  The communication may or may not have a professional tone.  The assignment does not demonstrate a lot of thought or having gone through the lesson(s).

An F level essay doesn’t really follow the assignment directions.  It fails to respond to the chosen topic in any sort of coherent and meaningful way.  Communication is mostly gobbledygook.