Equality Through Television

Marches, petitions, impassioned commentaries and even hunger strikes have been used as part of the drive for equal rights by oppressed groups through the years. But have the increased number of gay and lesbian characters on television played a role in the growing acceptance of LGBT people in real-life? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Why do TV shows affect the way we see the world?

•How does TV shape our ideas of what is normal or desirable?

•Name some LGBT characters on TV (including ads). How are they portrayed?

•Why has the increasing audience segmentation of TV played to the advantage of LGBT characters?

•Who is next?What group will gain greater acceptance, due in part to characters on television?

Going Out? Don't Forget Your Mask

Social Media companies--Facebook especially--love the advertising possibilities behind facial recognition technology. So if your photo is posted somewhere in social media, it's a good bet that it has been scanned. So when you are out in public, complete strangers with the right equipment may know who you are.

Is this the beginning of a new era in marketing, or the beginning of a totalitarian society? You decide.

Questions...

*Should the right to privacy include the right to not have your face scanned without your consent?

*What are some examples of how facial recognition will be used by advertisers? Do you find this type of advertising unfairly manipulative?

*How might facial recognition make us safer from crime? How might it lead to a totalitarian society?

*What do you hope happens in the Illinois case?

Friday Flix Cancelled

Your Humble Blogger received the following email this morning...

Due to meeting obligations, I'll have to cancel the Friday Flix screening of "The Party" tomorrow, June 5. My apologies!

Regards,
Michael Petros
Associate Professor, Media Arts Dept.

Because of this unforeseen development, Your Humble Blogger has created an alternate opportunity to get last-minute field trip credit.

All MC101 students are eligible to complete the following assignment for field trip credit (five points):

The ongoing saga of Bruce Jenner’s transformation into Caitlyn Jenner has drawn the attention of millions. For field trip credit, answer the following questions. Your paper should be 200-300 words. Turn it in on hard copy by slipping it under my office door (SG315) by 3 pm on Monday, June 8.

1. Discuss the notion of mass media and “agenda setting.” How is Jenner’s saga a prime example of agenda setting?

2. In regard to the criteria for what makes something newsworthy (from the newsgathering chapter), why is Jenner’s transformation a big news story? What news criteria apply to it?

3. One of the ways that advertising sells products is to glamorize them. Glamorizing a car sells cars, for example. Does the recent Vanity Fair cover (shot by arguably the world’s most accomplished portrait photographer, Annie Leibovitz) glamorize Jenner? Does it glamorize transsexuality? (You can Google the Vanity Fair cover.)