Arts and Ideas
In an essay of at least 4 pages, please address the following:
1. Using analytical skills practiced this semester, choose and analyze a single character, a show, or a genre of television show and analyze what your subject represents societal issues and values in the real world, today.
If you choose a character:
How does the character stand for our values today? How and why do we find him/her entertaining and what does that reflect about us? Why is the character so popular? Why is the show so popular? What does that tell us about society today? How is the character relatable? How is the character an idealized version of our wants and needs? Where, outside of this singular show, do we see the same values represented in other shows? In other entertainment media? In society today? What effect does this show/character and those like it/him/her have on society? Find a creative way to quantify its effect.
If you choose a show or a genre of television show:
Use a social lens to analyze and discuss the significance regarding the rise in popularity of a particular television show or a genre of contemporary television (i.e. competition reality show, procedural medical or police drama, male or female-centric sit com, celebrity or “live together” reality show, the “equal opportunity offender” comedy show, etc.). The more specific you are regarding the genre, the more effective your analysis of the societal/cultural climate and its causes that led to its rise in popularity. Choose a show that, upon analysis, reflects interesting trends in societal values. Your goal should be to use this show genre as an example representing larger patterns taking place in society, today. Upon analyzing this kind of television, we should be able to learn about ourselves. What does this type of television reflect about us, in society today, as individuals and as a collective?
This, being the final essay for our semester, should reflect your abilities in critical analysis, the development of an original perspective, essay/paragraph development, supporting evidence (logic, examples, quotes, facts, stats) and the effective use of it, and argument.
Use your skills and experience analyzing art and literature, to use discuss values, implications, beliefs, trends of behavior that are present today, how they reflect the tenor of society, how they arise from our collective wants and needs, and what effects such values are having on society today.
Remember, critical perspectives don’t just define the concept; they evaluate it for worth, impact, effectiveness, bias, and/or context in an effort to gain a unique perspective—to come up with an original argument based on something intriguing about the concept discussed. Dig deeply into this subject matter to reveal something unique, something new, something interesting. Avoid the self-evident—the obvious.
Your essay should be written to illustrate and illuminate issues, beliefs, societal trends in values, and patterns of behavior that are prevalent in society today.
This is a cause and effect essay. Be sure your essay addresses the societal causes (what’s going on in the world today) that caused this show or genre of show to be so popular. Similarly, be sure to explore what effect this show and shows like it have on societal values—on how we act, think, and what we care about.
Be sure to incorporate authoritative sources—quotes and stats—to help defend your social commentary, your argument.
