FINAL EXAM REVIEW

The final exam will take place on Tue, 12/18 from 6-8pm.

The final exam will cover chapters 2, 10, 13 and 15 from Media Now and the article Media Control by Noam Chomsky. Be sure you have read AND understood all of the required materials. The exam will contain five questions: two short answer; one SMCR diagram; one Analysis Diagram; and an ethics-related essay.

Use the following handouts to help you study for the final exam.

EXTRA CREDIT: Metropolis

Due Friday, December 14th.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) is a landmark science-fiction film. Not only is it a powerful statement on the melding of man and technology, but it also comments on the consequences of violent social revolution (specifically looking at the recent Bolshevik revolution in Russia just ten years before). Eighty years later, Metropolis continues to resonate with viewers. Why? What important message(s) does the film communicate? What techniques does it use to present its message(s)?

Here are a few helpful links about the film:

• Read the full script here.
• Here is an article about the print released in 2001.
• Read an article about the film at UNESCO here.
• Here is a great site all about Metropolis.
• Visit a really cool virtual Metropolis tour here.
• Here is the official site of the reconstructed version.

JOURNAL TEN: Advertising

DUE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH.
In honor of International BUY NOTHING DAY!, we will end our journals with an evaluation of our lives as consumers. Your assignment is divided in two parts. The first part is a personal reflection that you will not post on this blog. The second is your analysis of the relationship between spending and advertising. This you will post.

Part One: After visiting the ADBUSTERS site and reading The Empire of Debt, do an inventory of how much you spend each day, month and year. How much do you spend on essential products (like food and housing)? How does this amount compare to non-essentials (like movies and books)? Remember that it is not necessary to post this portion of the assignment. Record your answers in a notebook or offline journal.

Part Two: What is the difference between a need and a want? Were your purchases influenced by advertising? If so, how? What kinds of advertising campaigns influence you most? What ad techniques are most effective on you? What ideologies do you buy?

JOURNAL NINE: Engineering Public Opinion

DUE TUESDAY, NOV. 20TH

Visit The Living Room Candidate site. Select and view one presidential campaign commercial. Read Media Control by cultural critic Noam Chomsky. After reading the article, use Chomsky's theory to analyze your commercial.

Answer the following:

• What reality/worldview does the commercial represent?
• How is this representation used to engineer public opinion regarding the candidate?
• What cinematic techniques (audio, camera angles, lighting, etc.) does it use to "manufacture consent"?
• What rhetorical devices (appeal to emotion; appeal to authority; etc.) does it employ?