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Communications · Studypool

Pop Culture Analysis

Post ID: 3459717

Overview

Paper: target 4 – 7 pages (longer is okay, shorter likely will be insufficient). Any font that is professional (no cartoonish or cursive fonts, but Times New Roman, Cambria, Calibri, Arial…normal fonts). Double spaced please!! MLA style, works cited page.

Goals of Analysis: The task of this assignment is to choose a piece of pop culture (such as a series, film, song, music video, viral social media content, an internet meme, online gaming, a best-selling book, a public figure, and so on). Then choose a course reading as an analytical lens. You will use the reading to critically analyze the ideological power relations embedded in the piece of pop culture; present the historical contexts, assumptions, or dominant narratives of power that underwrite those relations of power. Specifically, you will look for how discourses of race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. operate within your piece of pop culture. The project must reflect a strong understanding of the primary concepts/arguments of the course reading and your paper must develop an original argument about the pop culture piece using those ideas.

Rules on Structure, Argumentation, and Citations

  • Use the Critical Paper Outline below to structure your paper.
  • Use 3-4 rigorous sources to develop this paper, including 1 of the course readings. (see attached course readings)
  • The objective of the project is the practice of scholarly rigor and critical thinking.
    1. Use clear and coherent argumentation.
    2. Support your thesis and all subsequent arguments, statements, etc., with appropriate sources. Keep your argument consistent and avoid contradiction.
  • USE PRIMARILY library research - the following types of sources:
    1. peer reviewed scholarship
    2. reputable journalism
    3. technical publication
  • YOU MAY USE ONE MAX of the following types of sources:
    1. Informative Websites (e.g., WebMD, affirmative couch, coveteur, etc)
    2. Crowd Sourced Websites (e.g., Wikipedia, Reddit, Quora, etc)
    3. ANY documentary from ANY studio/distributor (e.g., Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, etc)
    4. Interviews or field work; anecdotal information from a subculture you know.

Pop Culture Analysis Outline and Structure

  • Part 1 Background: (1-2 pages if writing essay or 1-2 slides, 2-3 tiles)
    1. Introduce, detail, and describe the piece of popular culture you have chosen piece as if your reader is not familiar with it.
      1. Describe the history/origins of the pop culture piece (of the genre, style, representations, etc).
      2. Describe the contemporary context/circumstances of the pop culture piece.
  • Explain who creates or makes the pop culture piece.
  1. Identify and explain the level of popularity of this piece of pop culture (unit sales, social media followers, revenue made, use of security or bodyguards, size of audience for live events, etc).
  1. Explain the supporters and how the fanbase or the number of supporters developed for the pop culture piece.
    1. Explain who the supporters, fans, viewers, consumers, followers, etc., are of the pop culture piece.
    2. Explain what supporters are drawn to about the pop culture piece and how they generally find it.
  2. Introduce your primary argument about the pop culture piece; explain the relations of power in operation in the pop culture piece. Explain the ideological discourses of race, class, gender, post-coloniality, de-coloniality, or performativity at play. (if alternative form, this should be its own slide or tile)
  • Part 2 Analysis: (2-4 pages if writing essay)
    1. Explain the text (the class reading) that you will rely on to help build your analysis of power relations, including the primary arguments and major concepts of the class reading.
    2. Analyze in detail the relations of power in the pop culture piece through the lens of the class reading:
      1. Apply the primary argument and main concepts to your pop culture piece.
      2. Unpack in detail what we can learn about the relations of power in the pop culture piece by looking at it through the lens of the class reading.
  • Detail the most relevant details of the pop culture piece’s impact to social relations of power.
  • Part 3: Conclusion (1 page if writing essay)
    1. Summarize the main arguments of your paper.
    2. Explain the broader implications of your argument and how these impact marginalized members of society.
    3. End by explaining the social significance of understanding the pop culture piece in the manner that you have analyzed it.