Media Criticism Interpretation of Media
What is Media? TV Radio and Sound Recordings Internet Film Magazines Newspapers Books
What are Artifacts? In Archeology Tools, weapons, or ornaments In Media TV or radio shows, music, books, newspaper or magazine articles, cartoons, or movies
Analyzing Artifacts Historical backdrop Immediate context Linguistic set (denotation/connotation) Medium’s credibility Viewer perspective
Interpretation of Media Choose an event or cultural artifact Develop a theory or interpretation Analyze the media’s portrayal of the event or artifact Write a thesis driven essay using artifact analysis for support of interpretation
Analysis of Spigel’s Essay What is the thesis? How are the following genres used to support the thesis? Dramatic Series Talk Shows Documentaries Special “Events” Cartoons What is the conclusion?