Soothing an Old Wound

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to classes in Fall 2012.

Hollywood is a glittery factory town. It's not so different from Hershey, Pennsylvania where you can tour the chocolate factory, buy chocolate souvenirs, walk the same streets as people who work in the chocolate industry, and so forth.

But Hollywood is different in that it profoundly shapes--and is shaped by--culture and politics. The Hollywood Blacklist was an artifact of the virulently anti-Communist post-WWII era. This NPR story tells of an attempt to explain and bring to closure a troubled time in the history of the Hollywood entertainment industry.

Questions...

•What are all the ways that media destroys people, or at least their careers?

•Does the Internet make it easier to destroy careers, or does it make it easier to respond?

•Is big Hollywood entertainment diverse, or is it elitist?

Game as Teacher

This is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in August 2014.

Some believe video games teach us how to shoot people and steal cars. Others believe it can teach us to type. But can a game teach us about a distant culture, to understand their lives and the challenges they face? National Public Radio reports.

Questions...

•Are video games a mass medium? Why or why not?

•Do video games tear down stereotypes, or build them up?

•What are some of the things that games can teach?

•What types of experiences can be taught through games?

•What Mass Comm 101 lessons could be taught through a game?

Sage on a Stage

Is the college classroom really necessary? Why not have a studio, some slick software, a behind-the-scenes production assistant, and a lot of students interacting through monitors. This is one vision of the future of education coming out of Harvard University. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Who has tried Distance Education (DE)? Is it as good as the physical classroom?

•What types of students are a good fit for DE?

•Would Glendale College students be a good fit for the type of DE that is being tried at Harvard?

•TV news anchors look and act a little different than newspaper reporters? Might we see some differences between classroom and DE professors?

•How will education be technologically different in 20 years? Will all education be DE?

•What careers will open up with the expansion of DE?

LA Times Field Trip, Sept. 22

Our Los Angeles Times tour guide asks that we limit the size of our groups. THIS SIGNUP LIST CLOSED ON SEPT. 16.

Witness to Murder

Some MC101 students post videos of their new car or their graduation ceremony or their vacation. But a few take things much farther by making sure a body camera is rolling while they maim or kill. Is this an instance where mass media filtering of what we see is a good thing? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Why do a few people record their violent acts? What do they get out of it?

•Do violent videos encourage further acts of violence? How else might the audience react to these videos?

•Most reputable news organizations did not show the video recorded by the killer of two TV journalists. Were they right do that, or were they wrong? Why?

•What limits, if any, should YouTube and other online video platform have on violent videos?