Resources
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how media has an Affect on people
Chomsky, N. (Director). (1992). Manufacturing consent, Noam Chomsky and the media [Documentary]. Canada: Necessary Illusions.
The film is a Canadian documentary about the noted American linguist/political dissident that was based on his book that he co-authored with Edward Herman. The documentary analyzes corporate media's role in propaganda and how the economics of publishing influence how the news is presented. The corporate media world is only focused on profit and furthering the agendas of the powerful groups or individuals in society. The film is very beneficial for students because it displays how the media can persuade peoples’ opinions by manipulating the sources. It is an excellent film to use while teaching critical media literacy in the classroom as it uncovers the skills students need to deconstruct the media and uncover biases and distorted facts.
Watch online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci_1Ghk0CIc
THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY
Katz, J. (Director). (2002). Tough guise [Documentary]. United States: Media Education Foundation.
Jackson Katz, an anti-violence educator, shows his audience how and why the media is responsible for the construction of masculinity and how it affects males and females. Katz argues that hyper masculinity is one of the leading causes of the ongoing violence in American society, especially the increasing amounts of tragic, mass school shootings .The film analyzes how society,
community, family, and the media influence the construction of masculinity. This is a great film to show in the classroom as it includes racially diverse subject matter that will cause students to evaluate their own participation in the construction of masculinity
and how it affects everyone in society, not just men. This film is also a good tool to teach advertising and marketing strategies of companies.
Watch a clip online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI
THE CONSTRUCTION OF FEMININE BEAUTY
Roberts, D. (Director). (2007). America the beautiful [Documentary]. United States: Distributed by Xenon Pictures.
The film provides a very critical eye to the unattainable images of female beauty that are portrayed in the media. These very images of perfection contribute to the astronomical percentages of women who suffer from low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders. The film causes the audience to ask deep questions about how and why the construction of female beauty started
and why there is such an obsession with this unrealistic ideal. The film follows the story of Gerren Taylor, who is a 12 year old girl
whose childhood is sadly being wasted because of her successful modeling career. Unfortunately, societal expectations of female beauty have gotten so farfetched that in order to fit the qualifications to be seen as the perfect woman, models need to have the body of a twelve year old. The film is a great tool for students to analyze gender issues and body image and to deconstruct the image of female beauty and how it affects everyone in society. This documentary can also be used to teach about companies advertising and marketing strategies.
Watch trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8i1kEje950
The film is a Canadian documentary about the noted American linguist/political dissident that was based on his book that he co-authored with Edward Herman. The documentary analyzes corporate media's role in propaganda and how the economics of publishing influence how the news is presented. The corporate media world is only focused on profit and furthering the agendas of the powerful groups or individuals in society. The film is very beneficial for students because it displays how the media can persuade peoples’ opinions by manipulating the sources. It is an excellent film to use while teaching critical media literacy in the classroom as it uncovers the skills students need to deconstruct the media and uncover biases and distorted facts.
Watch online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci_1Ghk0CIc
THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY
Katz, J. (Director). (2002). Tough guise [Documentary]. United States: Media Education Foundation.
Jackson Katz, an anti-violence educator, shows his audience how and why the media is responsible for the construction of masculinity and how it affects males and females. Katz argues that hyper masculinity is one of the leading causes of the ongoing violence in American society, especially the increasing amounts of tragic, mass school shootings .The film analyzes how society,
community, family, and the media influence the construction of masculinity. This is a great film to show in the classroom as it includes racially diverse subject matter that will cause students to evaluate their own participation in the construction of masculinity
and how it affects everyone in society, not just men. This film is also a good tool to teach advertising and marketing strategies of companies.
Watch a clip online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI
THE CONSTRUCTION OF FEMININE BEAUTY
Roberts, D. (Director). (2007). America the beautiful [Documentary]. United States: Distributed by Xenon Pictures.
The film provides a very critical eye to the unattainable images of female beauty that are portrayed in the media. These very images of perfection contribute to the astronomical percentages of women who suffer from low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders. The film causes the audience to ask deep questions about how and why the construction of female beauty started
and why there is such an obsession with this unrealistic ideal. The film follows the story of Gerren Taylor, who is a 12 year old girl
whose childhood is sadly being wasted because of her successful modeling career. Unfortunately, societal expectations of female beauty have gotten so farfetched that in order to fit the qualifications to be seen as the perfect woman, models need to have the body of a twelve year old. The film is a great tool for students to analyze gender issues and body image and to deconstruct the image of female beauty and how it affects everyone in society. This documentary can also be used to teach about companies advertising and marketing strategies.
Watch trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8i1kEje950
Corporate branding
Alaux, F. (Director). (2011). Logorama [Motion picture]. France: Autour de Minuit Productions.
This film won an Academy Award in 2010 for short film. The setting of the film is Los Angeles which is portrayed as a city that is made up entirely of corporate branding. At the beginning of the film the audience is fixed on discovering how many ads, mascots, and logos they can pick out, but by the end of the film you do not notice all the logos anymore. The film demonstrates that society is so desensitized to media that we do not even notice it in our daily lives. The film also targets the violence that is a tool used in ads and commercials to sell products as the villain in film is Ronald Macdonald whose is a kidnapper and mass killer. It is only sixteen minutes long and is a great film to show in the classroom as an introduction to corporate media and consumerism.
Watch film online:
http://vimeo.com/10149605
CONSUMERISM
Barbaro, A. (Director). (2008). Consuming kids [Documentary]. United States: Media Education Foundation.
The film gives insight into the practices and goals of the marketing and advertising world. Health care professionals, child advocates, and industry insiders uncover for the audience that children are one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world because of their purchasing power and purchasing influence over adults. Parents are more likely to buy products when their children ask for them, which is the most prominent reason why children have become a direct target of marketers and advertisers. However, the goal of these companies is much bigger; they strive to turn kids into life long consumers. The film raises urgent questions about the ethics of children's marketing and its impact on the health and well-being of kids.
Lastly, children are often overlooked as being manipulated or victims of media influence and the film shows students that no one is left untargeted by the media. In fact, it shows how they were targeted from the minute they were born.
Watch online:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/consuming-kids/
Leonard, A. (Director). (2007). The story of stuff [Documentary]. United States: Free Range Studios.
This animated documentary is a twenty minute film that teaches the audience about the lifecycle of goods and how it affects the environment. The film puts forth the environmental and social issues that are a direct cause of a society so centered around buying, throwing out, and getting new “stuff”. The film also explains how and why consumption got to be a way of life for society. The documentary promotes sustainability by moving away from the mindset of just being consumers. The film is inspiring and is widely used in elementary and high school classrooms as it urges students to think critically about consumerism and how it affects society which in turn inspires students to help create a more healthy and sustainable world.
Watch online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8
**Also see the website**
http://www.storyofstuff.com
A current popular song that can be used in the classroom:
“Wings” By Macklemore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yar8oOn64k
THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN THE MEDIA
Kilbourne, J. Killing Us Softly. (Vol. 1-4) (Documentary)
In the late 1960s, Jean Kilbourne began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women,eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs.
This film won an Academy Award in 2010 for short film. The setting of the film is Los Angeles which is portrayed as a city that is made up entirely of corporate branding. At the beginning of the film the audience is fixed on discovering how many ads, mascots, and logos they can pick out, but by the end of the film you do not notice all the logos anymore. The film demonstrates that society is so desensitized to media that we do not even notice it in our daily lives. The film also targets the violence that is a tool used in ads and commercials to sell products as the villain in film is Ronald Macdonald whose is a kidnapper and mass killer. It is only sixteen minutes long and is a great film to show in the classroom as an introduction to corporate media and consumerism.
Watch film online:
http://vimeo.com/10149605
CONSUMERISM
Barbaro, A. (Director). (2008). Consuming kids [Documentary]. United States: Media Education Foundation.
The film gives insight into the practices and goals of the marketing and advertising world. Health care professionals, child advocates, and industry insiders uncover for the audience that children are one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world because of their purchasing power and purchasing influence over adults. Parents are more likely to buy products when their children ask for them, which is the most prominent reason why children have become a direct target of marketers and advertisers. However, the goal of these companies is much bigger; they strive to turn kids into life long consumers. The film raises urgent questions about the ethics of children's marketing and its impact on the health and well-being of kids.
Lastly, children are often overlooked as being manipulated or victims of media influence and the film shows students that no one is left untargeted by the media. In fact, it shows how they were targeted from the minute they were born.
Watch online:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/consuming-kids/
Leonard, A. (Director). (2007). The story of stuff [Documentary]. United States: Free Range Studios.
This animated documentary is a twenty minute film that teaches the audience about the lifecycle of goods and how it affects the environment. The film puts forth the environmental and social issues that are a direct cause of a society so centered around buying, throwing out, and getting new “stuff”. The film also explains how and why consumption got to be a way of life for society. The documentary promotes sustainability by moving away from the mindset of just being consumers. The film is inspiring and is widely used in elementary and high school classrooms as it urges students to think critically about consumerism and how it affects society which in turn inspires students to help create a more healthy and sustainable world.
Watch online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8
**Also see the website**
http://www.storyofstuff.com
A current popular song that can be used in the classroom:
“Wings” By Macklemore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yar8oOn64k
THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN THE MEDIA
Kilbourne, J. Killing Us Softly. (Vol. 1-4) (Documentary)
In the late 1960s, Jean Kilbourne began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women,eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs.
Product placement, Advertising and Marketing
Spurlock, M. (Director). (2011). The greatest movie ever sold [Documentary].United States: Sony Pictures Classics.
This documentary describes product placement, advertising, and marketing; in fact, the movie itself is funded by product placement, advertising, and marketing. The audience is shown the complete marketing process and is taken behind the scenes to see how and why advertising and marketing companies target individuals. The students will enjoy this film because Spurlock utilizes an entertaining approach in the making of his documentary by using humor. In addition, the documentary does not aim to target certain people by making them feel guilty, as documentaries often do, but rather Spurlock simply makes things transparent to his audience.
**This documentary can be found on Netflix**
Professional Articles on Teaching Advertisements and Consumerism
1. Haas, Kay Parks. "Teaching About Consumerism Through Stories". English Journal 99(3). January 2010. 14-15.
This article discusses how you can teach about consumerism through the medium of stories and story telling. The author
provides some great examples of what kind of stories and novels you could use in your classroom. This is not only an option
in Social Science courses, but ELA as well. A novel study surrounding topics such as consumerism could easily be done on
one of the novels presented in the article.
http://search.proquest.com.cyber.usask.ca/docview/237312405?accountid=14739
2. Harste, J., Albers, P. "I'm Riskin' It: Teachers Take On Consumerism". Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 56(5). January 2013. 381-391.
This article looks at how teachers can use "counterads" in the classroom as a way to critically respond to ads. It also
examines the messages being conveyed by advertisements that teachers "talk back to" when incorporating consumerism
analyses in their classrooms.
http://web.ebscohost.com.cyber.usask.ca/ehost/detail?sid=7a67783e-b924-4b45-8a1a-6232cd33fe8c%40sessionmgr11&vid=5&hid=19
This documentary describes product placement, advertising, and marketing; in fact, the movie itself is funded by product placement, advertising, and marketing. The audience is shown the complete marketing process and is taken behind the scenes to see how and why advertising and marketing companies target individuals. The students will enjoy this film because Spurlock utilizes an entertaining approach in the making of his documentary by using humor. In addition, the documentary does not aim to target certain people by making them feel guilty, as documentaries often do, but rather Spurlock simply makes things transparent to his audience.
**This documentary can be found on Netflix**
Professional Articles on Teaching Advertisements and Consumerism
1. Haas, Kay Parks. "Teaching About Consumerism Through Stories". English Journal 99(3). January 2010. 14-15.
This article discusses how you can teach about consumerism through the medium of stories and story telling. The author
provides some great examples of what kind of stories and novels you could use in your classroom. This is not only an option
in Social Science courses, but ELA as well. A novel study surrounding topics such as consumerism could easily be done on
one of the novels presented in the article.
http://search.proquest.com.cyber.usask.ca/docview/237312405?accountid=14739
2. Harste, J., Albers, P. "I'm Riskin' It: Teachers Take On Consumerism". Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 56(5). January 2013. 381-391.
This article looks at how teachers can use "counterads" in the classroom as a way to critically respond to ads. It also
examines the messages being conveyed by advertisements that teachers "talk back to" when incorporating consumerism
analyses in their classrooms.
http://web.ebscohost.com.cyber.usask.ca/ehost/detail?sid=7a67783e-b924-4b45-8a1a-6232cd33fe8c%40sessionmgr11&vid=5&hid=19
analysis of the psych 20 curriculum lesson plan
This document is a critique to an existing mass media lesson plan found in the Psychology 20 curriculum.
Click for the PDF
Click for the PDF
Article Resources
Horn, Raymond A. Jr., (2003) "Developing a Critical Awareness of the Hidden Curriculum through Media Literacy"
This is an article every teacher who is teaching critical analysis of ads and consumerism should read. This article addresses the issue of politics, ideology and its implications of influencing the hidden curriculum. This article calls on the reader to consider ‘Why should educators become critically aware of the hidden curriculum generated by media?’ The article states that to become critically aware students need develop a vocabulary and knowledge base that will enable them to conduct critical analysis. It suggests students need to understand: hegemony, hierarchy, cultural capital, oppression, privilege, marginalization, and constructed and critical consciousness. With an understanding of these words the article suggests students will have a basis to do critical analysis. To become truly critically aware, we need to be able to let go of the hold that media has on us through its ability to manipulate our emotions.
Click to view PDF
Scharrer, Erica. "Making a Case for Media Literacy in the Curriculum: Outcomes and Assessment"
The article focuses on what Critical Media Literacy really is and the identification and potential assessment of outcomes associated with media literacy. Scharrer suggests that the best way to measure media literacy is the ability to deconstruct media rather than the ability to resist the influences of media.
http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/jaal/12-02_column/
This is an article every teacher who is teaching critical analysis of ads and consumerism should read. This article addresses the issue of politics, ideology and its implications of influencing the hidden curriculum. This article calls on the reader to consider ‘Why should educators become critically aware of the hidden curriculum generated by media?’ The article states that to become critically aware students need develop a vocabulary and knowledge base that will enable them to conduct critical analysis. It suggests students need to understand: hegemony, hierarchy, cultural capital, oppression, privilege, marginalization, and constructed and critical consciousness. With an understanding of these words the article suggests students will have a basis to do critical analysis. To become truly critically aware, we need to be able to let go of the hold that media has on us through its ability to manipulate our emotions.
Click to view PDF
Scharrer, Erica. "Making a Case for Media Literacy in the Curriculum: Outcomes and Assessment"
The article focuses on what Critical Media Literacy really is and the identification and potential assessment of outcomes associated with media literacy. Scharrer suggests that the best way to measure media literacy is the ability to deconstruct media rather than the ability to resist the influences of media.
http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/jaal/12-02_column/