Journal #8: Exploring Difference

After reading "Glee and Social Change" by Alyssa Davis, try to recall an experience like Davis's when a TV show, movie, or real life interaction changed the way you think about some other individual, group, or social issue? What do you think was responsible for the change? Please explain.

Journal #7: Borderlands

After reading "Our Wall" by Charles Bowden, describe what the wall signifies for the people on the Mexican side of Naco versus what it signifies for people on the US side. How effective do you think it is to separate people by walls (for example, the Berlin Wall, the Israeli/Palestine Wall, the US/Mexico Wall)? Please explain your answer.

Journal #6: Some Thoughts on Technology

In her article, "Digital Demands: The Challenges of Constant Connectivity," Sherry Turkle argues that continual connectivity to technological devices has ruined peoples' abilities to "think complicated things," be still, and experience solitude. After reading Turkle's article, do you agree or disagree with her claims? Please explain your answer.

Journal #5: Evaluating Advertisements

The two advertisements featured above both feature the same product (body wash); however, each one employs a different strategy to appeal to audiences and sell the product. What are the differences between the two approaches? Which advertisement do you think is more effective? Why?

Journal #4: Examining Beauty Through Media

Can advertising campaigns, like the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign featured above, alter the image of physical beauty in America? Do you think the Dove ad debunks the stereotypes of what physical beauty should look like for Americans? Is the definition of beauty changing in America? Please explain.

Journal #3: The Social (Media) Revolution

In "Engaging Youth in Social Media: Is Facebook the New Media Frontier?" Greenhow and Reifman conduct a study to see if young people would use a space like Facebook to critically engage in news reading and translate this involvement into real-world actions. Do you find using online sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, to be an effective way for organizing social or political movements? What do these sites afford that non-digital communications don't?  Have you ever or would you likely join an online social or political action group in the future?

Journal #2: The Hollywood Blockbuster

In her essay, "Defending Goliath: Hollywood and the Art of the Blockbuster," Manohla Dargis discusses a cultural divide with serious intellectual highbrows on one side, who dismiss blockbuster movies such as The Lord of the Rings or Spider Man, and "ordinary viewers" on the other side, who like these kinds of movies. Do you think this divide is accurate or do people bridge this divide? Which group would you identify with? Discuss some of the movies you enjoy to support your answer.