Television Critique
(25 points total)
In 7-8 pages (typed, double-spaced, one inch margins, Times font), examine the production of ideology within a television program of your choosing.
Your paper must include:
- A catchy, clever title
- A clearly articulated thesis statement
- An introduction in which you lay out your major lines of argument as regards the ideological work of your show
- A body (see below)
- A brief conclusion in which you point to the political stakes and implications of your argument
The body of your paper must explore and expose the production of ideology by your television program. In order to succeed, you should be sure to:
- Clearly define and explain what you mean by ideology
- Identify key discursive practices and representational strategies (i.e. camera work, lighting, music, editing, narrative, format, characters, etc.) and analyze the subject position they work to create
- Support your claims with details and illustrations from your text
- Utilize our critical tools and concepts
Grading Guidelines
- Draft (10 points) Students will receive 10 points for turning in a full-length, comprehensive draft of their essay on time. Drafts will be evaluated based on effort.
- Thesis (3 points) Did your essay clearly state, develop, and argue convincingly a compelling thesis as regards the ideological work of the text?
- Writing (4 points) I evaluate writing primarily in terms of structure—from sentence structure to the overall configuration of your essay, including transitions between paragraphs/ lines of argumentation. In addition, I expect all essays to be proofread and thus free of typos, spelling errors, and punctuation mistakes.
- Detail (4 points) The thesis and supporting arguments must be backed up by detailed analysis of what you see to be key aspects of the text. In other words, did you illustrate how your argument is grounded in and emerges from your text?
- Theory (4 points) Did you effectively engage with our theoretical concepts and draw from course materials where appropriate? This essay should demonstrate to me that you are able to use our critical tools to decode the meanings and ideologies constructed by a television text.
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