I teach a 500-level course that is somewhat similar to what you want to do. It is organized around the reading list that follows. (References to "Berger" are to A.A. Berger's __Media Analysis Techniques __.) I also show a number of films and TV shows in the class. Reading Assignments for BCA 503 Poindexter Fall 1993 September 14, 1993 Lippmann, Walter. The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads. In Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann, pp. 1 - 33. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1960. Eliot, T.S. Tradition and the Individual Talent. In Criticism in America. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1924. Mencken, H.L. Criticism of Criticism of Criticism. In Criticism in America. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1924. September 16, 1993 Marc, David. Beginning to Begin Again. In Demographic Vistas by David Marc. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. Sykes, A.J.M. Myth in Communication. Journal of Communication Vol 20 (March 1970), pp. 17 - 31. September 21, 1993 Berger. pp. 3 - 31. Poindexter, Mark. Tri-Level Analysis: Television Stories, Myths and Ideology. Presented at Narrative of the Human Sciences Conference, University of Iowa, July 7, 1990. Glasberg, Ronald. The Archie Code: A Study in Sexual Stereotyping as Reflective of a Basic Dilemma in American Society. Journal of Popular Culture 26:2 (Fall 1992), pp. 25 - 32. September 23, 1993 Farquahr, Judith An American Horror Myth: Night of the Living Dead. Semiotica 38 (1982). 1 - 15. Mondak, Jeffery J. The Politics of Professional Wrestling. Journal of Popular Culture 23:2 (Fall 1989), pp. 139 - 149. Holmes, John R. The Wizardry of Ozzie: Breaking Character in Early Television. Journal of Popular Culture 23:2 (Fall 1989), pp. 93 -101. September 28, 1993 Cohen, Esther and Sophia Menache Holy Wars and Sainted Warriors: Christian War Propaganda in the Middle Ages. Journal of Communication 36:2 (Spring 1986), pp. 52 - 62. Brown, Jane D. amd Laurie Schulze. The Effects of Race, Gender and Fandom on Audience Interpretations of Madonna's Music Videos. Journal of Communication 40:2 (Spring 1990), pp. 88 - 102. Brockway, Robert. W. The Masks of Mickey Mouse: Symbol of a Generation. Journal of Popular Culture 22:4 (Spring 1989), pp. 25 - 34. September 30, 1993 Berger, pp. 56 - 76. October 5, 1993 Babener, Liahna. Patriarchal Politics in Fatal Attraction. Journal of Popular Culture 26:3 (Winter 1992), 25 - 33. Rohrkemper, John. Fatal Attraction: The Politics of Terror. Journal of Popular Culture 26:3 (Winter 1992), pp. 83 - 90. Poindexter, Mark. Fatal Attraction and the Grammar of Kinship. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 10:1&2 (March 1989), pp.65 -72. October 7, 1993 Kottak, Conrad Phillip Star Wars and the Wizard of Oz: Structural and Psychological Analysis of Popular American Fantasy Films. In Researching American Culture by Conrad Phillip Kottak. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982. Payne, David. The Wizard of Oz: Therapeutic Rhetoric in a Contemporary Media Ritual. Quarterly Journal of Speech 75 (1989), pp. 25 - 39. October 12, 1993 Fry, Carrol L. and J. Robert Craig. Track of the Cat: Freudian Symbolism and Values Transmission in Two Versions of Cat People. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 8:3&4 (Aug.1987), pp. 269 -277. Poindexter, Mark. Beyond Libido: Psychoanalysis, Cat People and Val Lewton. October 14, 1993 Karp, Walter. Where the Do Gooders Went Wrong. Channels 10 (March/April, 1984). Bandura, Albert, et al. Imitation of Film-Mediated Aggressive Models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 66:3 (1963), pp. 3 - 11. Bleich, Susan., Dolf Zillmann and James B. Weaver III. Enjoyment and Consumption of Defiant Rock Music as a Function of Adolescent Rebelliousness. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 35:3 (Summer 1991), pp. 351 - 366. Zillmann, Dolf, James B. Weaver, and Elizabeth S. Luttrell. Perception of Threatening Events in the Emotional Aftermath of a Televised College Football Game. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 36:1 (Winter 1992), pp. 75 - 82. October 19, 1993 Berger, pp. 77 - 95. Sapolosky, Barry S. and Joseph O. Tabarlet. Sex in Primetime Television: 1979 versus 1989. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 35:4 (Fall 1991), pp. 505 - 5 16. Selnow, Gary W. Solving Problems on Prime-Time Television. Journal of Communication 36:2 (Spring 1986), pp. 63 - 72. October 21, 1993 Yang, Ni and Daniel Linz. Movie Ratings and the Content of Adult Videos: The Sex-Violence Ratio. Journal of Communication 40:2 (Spring 1990), pp. 28 - 42. Weis, William L. and Chauncey Burke Media Content and Tobacco Advertising: An Unhealthy Addiction. Journal of Communication 36:4 (Autumn 1986), 59 - 69. October 26, 1993 Helmer, James. Love on a Bun: How McDonald's Won the Burger Wars. Journal of Popular Culture 26:2 (Fall 1992), pp. 85 -97. Katz, Elihu. The End of Journalism? Notes on Watching the War. Journal of Communication 42:3 (Summer 1992), 5 - 13. Ogan, Christine. Listserver Communication During the Gulf War: What Kind of Medium is the Electronic Bulletin Board? Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 37:2 (Spring 1993), pp. 177 -196. October 28, 1993 Schudson, Michael. Historical Roots of Consumer Culture. In Advertising in Society by Roxanne Hovland and Gary B. Wilcox. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books. *** LRO (This is a very long reading so you should be sure to allow yourself plenty of time for it. You should also note that it is available only at the library reserve desk. You should probably take a look at it a week or two before it is due-- and, perhaps make a copy of it-- rather than waiting until the day before it is due.) November 2, 1993 Berger, pp. 32 - 55. Mantsios, Gregory. Class in America: Myths and Realities. In Racism and Sexism, P. Rothenberg, ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988. Gerbner, George Ministry of Culture, the USA and the "Free Marketpalce of Ideas". In Media/Reader: Perspectives on Mass Media Industries, Effects and Issues by Shirley Biagi, pp. 335 - 339. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1989. November 4, 1993 Berger, pp. 99 - 136. Dates, Jannette L. and William Barlow. Introduction: A War of Images. In Split Image by Jannette L. Dates and William Barlow, pp. 1 -15. Washington, D.C: Howard University press, 1990. Dates, Jannette L. and William Barlow. Conclusion: Split Image and Double Binds. In Split Image by Jannette L. Dates and William Barlow, pp. 455 - 459. Washington, D.C: Howard University press, 1990. November 9, 1993 Entman, Robert M. Modern Racism and Images of Blacks in Local Television News. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 7:4 (December 1990), pp. 332 -345. Gray, Herman. Television, Black Americans, and the American Dream. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 6:4 (December, 1989), pp. 332 - 345. November 11, 1993 Poindexter, Mark. Subscription Television in the Third World: The Moroccan Experience. Journal of Communication 41:3 (Summer 1991), pp. 26 - 39. Kottak, Conrad P. Television's Impact on Values and Local Life in Brazil. Journal of Communication 41:1 (Winter 1991), pp. 70 -87. November 16, 1993 Spangler, Lynn. A Historical Overview of Female Friendships on Prime - Time Television. Journal of Popular Culture 22:4 (Spring 1989), pp. 13 -34. Philip N. Myers, Jr. and Frank A. Biocca. The Elastic Body Image: The Effect of Television Advertising and Programming on Body Image Distortions in Young Women. Journal of Communication 42:3 (Summer 1992), pp. 108 - 133. November 18, 1993 To be announced November 23, 1993 To be announced November 25, 1993 To be announced November 30, 1993 To be announced December 1, 1993 Source critique due. Be prepared to discuss yours in class. December 7, 1993 All papers are due.