Media reaction paper

You will complete ONE brief media reaction paper that compares and analyzes representations of crime found in popular media. According to Beirne and Messerschmidt (2015), most Americans get their knowledge of crime from mass media. However, mass media depictions do not always reflect the reality of crime. Some crimes, criminals, and victims are over-represented while other crimes, criminals, and victims are underrepresented (or absent altogether). As such, mass media does not merely describe or (mis)represent the reality of crime — they help construct it by reinforcing crime myths.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to think critically about the powerful and prevalent cultural messages that surround us in our daily lives. By working to better understand what our culture says to us through the messages we consume, we can better understand the social construction of crime and how society shapes the way we view crime, criminals, and punishment.

This assignment serves as a mini-research paper designed to foster critical thinking skills and application of course materials. You will accomplish this by writing a brief content analysis paper examining the messages surrounding crime inherent in a specific media source. You must show evidence of using course readings to guide your analysis. You must cite the lectures and readings, especially the Media and Crime lecture. You are not required to list any additional academic sources, but it is always encouraged. Papers will be a minimum of 2-3 pages (not including reference page), Times New Roman, font 12, double-spaced, and follow ASA Guidelines.

INSTRUCTIONS:

To complete this assignment, you will conduct a sociological analysis of the construction and portrayal of crime, criminals, and/or punishment presented in either a movie or a television show. First, start by identifying the source you used and justification for doing so. Also, inform me of the outlet that you watched it on (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) It would be best to do this project at home, with the “luxury” of pausing and rewinding the movie/show in order to record observation notes. You are free to choose any source. If you choose a movie, please report how long the movie lasted (ideally a 2 hour or longer movie). If you choose a television show make sure to watch 1.5 hours-3 hours of that show. This ensures you observed enough material to properly analyze and respond to prompt:

Provide your sociological analysis of the media by incorporating the key points from the media source in a logical manner. Your analysis should demonstrate the ​ability to make connections between class discussions, readings, theory and the media​ source you choose. You will ​analyze the media source for specific sociological perspectives and examples of terms from the course thus far. This is ​NOT merely a summary or a review of the content, but instead the media source should be used to provide evidence of your media source constructed ideological images of crime and punishment, crime messaging, themes of crime and punishment, fear of crime, the performance of crime, etc.

You may choose to expand upon the messages with examples related to the portrayal of crime and/or criminal stereotypes, labeling, discrimination, status differences, and/or cultural hegemony.

Below is a list of suggested questions to respond to when analyzing your media source:

– What are some of the images conveyed about crime in the mass media source you selected?

-Compare and contrast the main ideas/themes related to crime. For example, how are “criminals” dressed, treated, presented?

-What type of representation is shown? Who are the main characters? Who has the most screen-time? Who has the most speaking time? Remember side characters can have screen time but not necessarily contribute to the plot (such as “token” characters).

-Does it reinforce crime myth?

-Does the media source perpetuate stereotypes about particular groups? Consider intersectionality (race, ethnicity, gender, and/or social class) in your analysis.

-Does your media source provide explanations for why the crime was committed? If so, explain and provide context.