Overview
Discussion 1:
The readings from the last two modules have covered conflict theory (Karl Marx) and critical theory (the Frankfurt School). Write an initial post that addresses the following: In what ways are the ideas of Karl Marx and/or the Frankfurt School manifested in your film? Explain how and why. Justify your argument by giving specific details and rationale tied directly back to the ideas of conflict theory and critical theory. Identify specific scenes to illustrate your ideas. For example, does your film illustrate Marx's idea that fetishization attributes magical qualities to commodities? Does your film endorse Theodor Adorno's claim that "the culture industry perpetually cheats its consumers of what it perpetually promises"?
Discussion 2:
The reading in your required module resources defines and describes institutional discrimination. For example, when an organization discriminates against an individual or a group, this is institutional discrimination. Some argue that brutality inflicted by police against African Americans is institutional discrimination. In your discussion this week, reflect on the inequalities you read about regarding race, ethnicity, and gender. In your initial post, think about the ways in which these inequities are institutionalized. Examine either a racial/ethnic group or a gender/sexual orientation group though the lens of institutionalized discrimination. Describe the types of discrimination and why it is institutionalized, and pose a reason for its existence. It helps to make a distinction between individual discrimination and structural, or institutionalized, discrimination.