ENG 2D: Rubric for Magazine Cover

Here is the rubric for anyone who is attending Track & Field today (either competing..good luck!..or volunteering). Remember the magazine cover is due at the beginning of tomorrow’s class.

Design Your Own Magazine Cover Rubric

ENG 2D: Continuing Our Investigation of Media

Before the weekend you viewed ‘The Merchants of Cool’, and I would like to discuss your thoughts after viewing the film. Specifically the last question I had you answer – who creates youth culture? Do you think it is the youth themselves, or corporate America?

The documentary showed the great lengths some companies will go to in order to make sure their message is received effectively. Now we are going to view a quick ten minute film titled “The Bully Dance”. This is a great example of how media can be produced in many different ways, and as long as the message is clear it can still be effective for its intended audience. You will be provided a handout with questions to answer as you watch. We will look at these answers after viewing the film.

It is important that we realize that the media provide us with much of the material we use to build our picture of reality, and we all “negotiate” meaning according to individual factors at the time (personal needs, family and cultural background, whether we are having a good or bad day). Think about what this tells you about how “real” our society is. Do we really hear about everything going on in the world?  Alisa Miller shares the news about the news.

Since you will be working on your assignment over the next couple days I will introduce you to it today. Let’s go over the handout and look at what you will be doing. Now that you know more about your assignment, it would be a good idea to have some more practice with some of the things that you will have to include. Everything on the front cover of a magazine has a purpose for being there – it has to sell the issue. Magazine covers contain article headlines as well, but why do certain headlines make it onto the cover over others? This is what you have to take into consideration with your assignment.

I will provide each person in your group with a different magazine cover.  On the back there is a magazine title – your job is to spend the next 15 minutes creating 4-5 headlines to put on your cover based on which magazine you have. Here are the four magazines:

Rolling Stone – music

Time – news features

Seventeen – aimed at teen/adolescent girls

People – tabloid, gossip magazine

Once you have done this, spend the next 5 minutes in your groups discussing the article’s you came up with and give explanations for why.

ENG 2D – The Merchants of “Cool”

Today you are going to be watching an excellent documentary that looks at the never-ending cycle of what is “cool” among teenagers. The media try to impose their values on us – they try to tell us what we should think is cool…but is it really?

Before you begin watching the film, take out a piece of lined paper and title it “Merchants of Cool”. In your groups, take 2 minutes and come up with a definition of what you believe “cool” means in society. Everyone in the group must write the answer down.

Next you will watch the documentary. It is divided into four clips, and at the end of each clip you will take five minutes to answer 2-3 questions (don’t worry about writing them down) before the next clip begins.

*Depending on how well you work on these questions in class, they will either be collected at the end of the period, or taken up on Monday.

Clip #1 Questions:

1. Give two reasons why corporate America has targeted teenagers.
2. To what extent is a typical teenager exposed to advertisements? What types of places do you see advertisements geared toward teenagers?
3. What does “cool hunting” mean? Why is it important for corporate America?

Clip #2 Questions:

1. Marketers know that kids do not like them. What strategy do they use to approach teenagers?
2. What is the reason for Sprite’s success with teenagers?
3. Did the marketers get it right? Do they really know you and think the same way as you?

Clip #3 Questions – after watching this clip, I want you to answer these questions in your groups. Make sure each member records the answer in their own notes.

1. The media only look into what the most typical, ordinary teenager would want. Does this reflect all teenagers? Why or why not.
2. Does the “mook” (macho, adolescent male) really exist in society? If so, did they exist before media made them “cool”?
3. Read the following quote: “MTV market researchers don’t call it “human” research or “people” research, they call it “market” research.” How does that make you feel as someone who is targeted by these researchers?

Clip #4 Questions:

1. What does the image of Britney Spears signify? What message do you think it sends to girls about body image?
2. It’s no secret that advertisers promote standards of beauty and thinness that are almost impossible for the average woman to attain. Would you say that this is true for men as well?

Final Discussion Question – spend the remainder of class answering the following question in 1-2 paragraphs.

Who creates youth culture: the youth themselves or corporate America?

If time: Alisa Miller shares the news about the news. Think about what this tells you about how “real” our society is. Do we really hear about everything going on in the world? Something to think about over your long weekend! Have a fun long weekend everyone.

ENG 2D: Evaluating Messages in Media

It is important that we understand a few key concepts for this unit. They will guide us through to the end. First and foremost, media construct reality.

We build our understanding of the world through the media. Our picture of reality is based on these media texts that have been pre-constructed already. They have attitudes, interpretations and conclusions already built in. It is our job to be able to recognize the messages that have been placed in the media to persuade us one way or another.

 

To start, I need you to have a few definitions in your notes. Call it “Key Terms for Media Studies”

1. Purpose: media texts are produced with a specific intention. Some examples include to persuade, inform, entertain, or sell a product or idea.

2. Audience: group of consumers the media text was created for (e.g. children, teenagers, men, women). Different audiences may respond differently to the same piece of media.

3. Construct: media text that appears to be a “reflection of reality” but is really shaped and given meaning through many decisions. These texts are designed to keep the audience interested in it.

4. Overt Message: messages in the media that are expressed openly – not hidden or secret.

5. Implied Message: messages in the media that are not evident – suggested but not actually stated.

6. Values: media messages communicate explicit and implicit values. They can influence people’s attitudes, behaviours and values.

 

We already know what type of elements are needed to effectively reach an audience in media, but today we will look at the types of messages that are being sent to each audience. Overt and implicit messages are in every form of media whether it is television, radio, movies or print. Now you will take a look at a variety of advertisements and media forms to identify the messages in each.

Implicit messages are present in television as well. News broadcasting channels also convey their own messages onto the public.

ENG 2D: Purpose & Audience in Media

As we continue with our unit on media studies, let’s review what we learned yesterday. When going through the various magazine/movie covers that each group looked at, we noticed that all the elements (e.g. typography, imagery, colour scheme) come together to serve a certain purpose.

Whether it is to sell an action movie by creating a movie poster with bolded font the colour of red, and imagery of skulls and guns above a group of some of the biggest action stars in Hollywood or a magazine cover – every piece of media is geared toward a certain audience.

Today you will continue to work on creating media with a certain purpose and audience in mind.

What I Want You To Do:

For the next 5 minutes, come together in your group and finish your dialogue for your commercial. Remember what to include:

• A 30-second time limit with some dialogue
• A clear pitch aimed at the target audience you were assigned
• Language/images that appeal to your audience specifically

Once complete, spend the next 15 minutes filming your commercial with the guidelines above in mind.

 

With your commercial complete, I want you to pass your PED to the group beside you. I have provided you each with a handout of questions to answer while watching each commercial. You will only watch 3 commercials – identify any strengths and weaknesses (but remember to be nice) We will discuss your findings after you have watched the third video.

This is important to have in your notes, and has some great examples of purpose and audience in advertisements.

Now… let’s hear some RANTS!

ENG 2D: MEDIA STUDIES!

Today, I become your teacher! Over the next two weeks we will start and finish a unit looking at…

MEDIA!!

At the end of our time together (next week already), you will hand in an assignment I have created that is going to be a lot of fun. You will be given more information next week and we will have two work periods to finish it (I’ll let you in on a secret: it has something to do with magazine covers).

So why are we looking at this you might ask?

•   In our media-saturated world, children and young people (that’s you)—in fact, all of us—have to be able to read the messages that inform us, entertain us and are sold to us daily.
•  Our future will be dominated by mass media and communications technologies. It is important that you understand how the mass media influence society.                       

Let’s begin! Every form of media has its own rules and conventions. You’ve already looked at some forms and conventions in the past. During Macbeth you looked at imagery, and just last week you looked at parts of speech in grammar. Now, you are going to look at some magazine covers and movie posters to identify how the conventions of magazines shape your understanding of them.

Each group will be given a different magazine or movie cover. In your notes, take the next five minutes and analyse the image you’ve been given. I want you to focus on what the following three things tell us about your cover:

1. Typography (simply – the art of arranging fonts/words on a page)

2. The image itself

3. Colour scheme

Once you are done we will look at each picture and you will present your findings.

…What do the differences between some of these covers tell us about their intended audience?

Now it’s your turn to try it!! All media forms are created for an intended purpose and audience. In your groups, I want you to come up with a 30-second commercial for a cell phone. You will include: some dialogue, a clear pitch, camera angles/shots. Here is the catch: you will be assigned a specific target group that you have to sell this cell phone to. The target groups are:

1. Teenagers                   2. College/University Students

3. Parents                      4. Seniors (65+)

Tomorrow you will use your PED’s during class to film your commercial! Take the rest of class to work out your commercial.