Web Exercises

Part I: A Cultural Studies Approach to Media: Theory

Code in Television Title Sequences

This is an effective exercise at the start of the semester to get students to look closer at media codes and how they work, especially within the economic, technical, esthetic, and cultural milieus.

1. In class, bring up a number of title sequences to popular television programs, both past and present, on YouTube. There are many available and some suggestions include (but are not limited to) M*A*S*H, Gimme A Break!, The Jeffersons, True Blood, Dexter, The Sopranos, Little Mosque on the Prairie, All in the Family, and Mad Men.

2. Engage in a class discussion about the different codes that students notice in the sequences paying attention to things like gender, race, socioeconomic class, body size, and cultural/religious symbols. Ask them “Do you notice common themes between network shows and premium programs? What is different” and “How have they changed?”

3. Choose one sequence to analyze in depth. Discuss how the codes in this sequence might relate and preview the type of program in store for viewers and how those codes have meaning with culture and/or political economy.

Media Ownership V2.0

This can be done in class if students have access to the Internet or at home as an individual exercise.

Refer to this website below, which contains seven short articles on the Paramount Decisions. Also refer to the article on media conglomerates from NPR.

1. Assign students to read the articles on the Paramount Decisions and then the short article/chart from NPR.

2. Break the class in half. Have one-half closely examine the tactics of the Hollywood Studios prior to the Paramount Decisions, like block booking, vertical integration, and highly consolidated ownership and control. Have the other class examine the NPR chart.

3. Lead a discussion of the questions: How have the dynamics in the media landscape changed? How does concentrated ownership of media entities affect the diversity of their content?

50 Shades of Romance?

1. Assign students to read the article by Radway. And then have them read this article from The Guardian about the novel “50 Shades of Grey.”

2. Do a Google image search for “Romance Novel Covers” and display in class.

3. Ask students to look at the images and think about them in relation to Radway’s article and the piece from The Guardian.

4. Use the following questions as discussion prompts:

  • Why do you think “50 Shades” has subsumed traditional romance literature?
  • What does the enticement of more explicit sex in “50 Shades” say about readers?
  • Is “50 Shades” misogynistic as compared to romance novels?
  • How do different books distinguish themselves from one another?