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My topic is this “The Idol” (these are the sources to watch)
Please watch the video and read the arcticle
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/
Essay #5-Academic Research Paper: Pop Culture and Society
Length: 6-8 pages. Worth 150 pts.
Write an essay that examines an aspect of today’s popular culture (movies, music, television, etc.) through the lens of society (race, culture, class, sexuality, gender, etc.), and create an argument about how you believe that area of pop culture has an effect on reality. The essay must incorporate ideas presented by the Merchants of Cool and/or the Generation Like videos seen in class and must include at least four outside sources (not including the information from the video). Choose an aspect which interests you or that you perhaps know a certain amount about.
Sources
You must quote, paraphrase, refer to, or summarize ideas from at least 4 sources in your essay, and you must use MLA style documentation. Of these 4 or more sources, do not cite general encyclopedias (especially Wikipedia!). You may use specialized encyclopedias sparingly (like The Encyclopedia of Psychology.) At least two of your sources must be peer reviewed academic journal sources (for instance The Journal of Popular Film and Television or any other such sources).
Even more so with this essay, I encourage you not to use too many sources from the Internet.
Use sources to back up or explain your own ideas. Do not rely too heavily on one or two sources, simply regurgitating what they’ve told you. Rather, you must characterize your concept in an original way and use other people’s facts/opinions to lend authority to your idea. In general, paraphrasing other people’s ideas is preferable to quoting too much. Remember, your thesis should be your own.
Choosing a Topic/Argument
To begin, move towards an area of popular culture that you find most interesting. For instance, if you are a music buff, you might want to analyze a genre of music or perhaps the body of work of an artist; if you are known for your great knowledge of movies, gravitate around a particular movie or movies, a director’s work, or a cinema genre, etc. You’ll need to focus on a specific example or two within the pop culture area you choose to focus your analysis carefully. Your focus must also be on CURRENT pop culture (of at least the last twenty years or so) – analyzing, for instance, movies of the 1950’s is interesting, but unless you are doing it in lesser contrast to current movies, it does not apply to this paper. I’m more interested in your appraisal of current society and pop culture.
After finding your area of pop culture analysis, next look closely at it and choose the societal viewpoint(s) that you wish to analyze it from. How is an area of society represented in your pop culture example(s)? Try to limit your viewpoints – a paper looking at the cultural, sexual, racial, and class structure aspects of Keeping Up With the Kardashians is definitely trying to do too much. Limit your analysis to one (or at MOST two) of the cultural viewpoints. We will talk more about this in class.
Finally, craft a specific argument related to the last two elements. Explain how you believe your area of popular culture reflects some area of society, but also discuss those effects and how far-reaching they are, either positive or negative (or both?). For instance, discussing the racial aspects of a movie like Get Out and identifying how the movie discusses race is one thing, but you must go further and talk about how the movie connects to society and how it might go “beyond the screen” to the viewing audience. In what measureable way does your topic relate to, affect, or influence reality? Does the media make a statement or present a specific message about society, either purposefully or otherwise? How or why?
You must view the Merchants of Cool and Generation Like videos to help understand this essay! Your research should be varied and you must incorporate terms or ideas presented by the video – even if you disagree with them. We will discuss these in class after viewing.
This paper should not be autobiographical! Don’t fall into the trap of retelling your own encounters with racial or gender prejudice – you are analyzing popular culture in general. You can talk about how you fit into society personally, but it shouldn’t go further than that.
Successful papers will:
Have a limited enough scope (both in terms of choice of subject and analysis) to be thorough
Offer a thoughtful analysis of the pop culture aspect and attempt to bring something new to the table
Craft a specific argument covering your area of pop culture, related to how your area of society within your area of pop culture is discussed/presented and explain how it has an effect on the real world
Utilize your detailed research information to lend credibility and specifics to your existing argument
The worst papers…
…don’t focus carefully enough. Be sure you are confident with your thesis before diving in
…only focus on a basic concept – Be sure you get your topic approved – this is a multi-dimensional paper.
…merely regurgitate a superficial website or other such source. Websites are often written by nonexperts or simply offer very introductory, superficial information. They’re a good place to find introductory material and references, but unless the website is accredited or highly specialized, it’s likely not a good source to rely upon.
Grading Breakdown
100 points for the essay.
As always, your writing is graded for thesis, thoughtfulness, organization, and sentence-level excellence. You must meet the minimum page count requirement to get a “C”.
25 points for evidence of intelligent research.
Remember 4 sources is a minimum; more helps. However, finding a few excellent sources that are particularly relevant to your topic is better than finding 20 silly, superficial references. At least 2 of your sources must be from peer reviewed journals related to your topic and/or argument. Think outside of the bulls eye of your argument and find some sources that allow you to bring new connections or ideas to your topic! I grade research based on evidence of the following:
o Depth: excellent, meticulous research on one subject, drawing from cutting edge, sophisticated sources such as the latest research journals. How far beyond superficial facts did you get?
o Creativity: resourceful and innovative research; perhaps even information from unusual sources including interviews, local experts, podcasts, documentaries…?
o Scope: research that’s impressive for its sheer volume of appropriately used sources. If you gather material from far and wide, that’s an impressive display of research scope. However, if your research all comes from Time magazine, for instance, that’s not very impressive.
25 points for correct use of MLA style.
Be meticulous about following the CURRENT MLA guidelines for both in-text references and in your Works Cited page. Open your textbook and copy the format exactly. Plan to spend a couple of hours on this. Most students do not cite sources enough. ANY idea that is not “general knowledge” must be cited; any wording you borrow you must quote and cite. Even your paraphrased material MUST be cited. Every page in your paper will probably have several in-text citations. As before, PLEASE come to me with any questions on this!
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