The purpose of this assignment is to have you critically reflect on your consumption of popular culture using the materials covered in the course to assist you with your analysis.

Consumption of popular culture

Background: The purpose of this assignment is to have you critically reflect on your consumption of popular culture using the materials covered in the course to assist you with your analysis. If you wish, you can do additional library research and refer to outside academic sources (i.e., material that was not assigned in this course), but you are NOT required or expected to do so. Using the assigned course materials (e.g., readings, lecture notes, A/V materials, etc.) will suffice. Format: Assignments must be written as a standard academic essay. However, you are permitted to write in the first person (i.e., you can use ‘I’ in your essay). Essays must be typed (12 pt. font), double-spaced, standard margin size, and approximately 6-8 pages in length (between 1500 to 2000 words).

Consumption of popular culture

The page/word limit does NOT include the bibliography. All essays must include a bibliography and proper citations. You may choose whichever reference style you feel most comfortable using (e.g., APA, MLA, etc.). However, please be consistent with this and make sure that you use only one referencing style for the entire essay. Possible topics: For this assignment, you have three options. Choose ONE of the following: OPTION 1: Analysing advertising Find one advertisement or commercial (on the internet, in newspapers, in magazines, etc.) and analyse the texts (i.e., what is written or being said) and images found within it. What is being sold and who is the intended audience?

Consumption of popular culture

Is the ad or commercial selling consumers something more than just the product (for example, a particular identity, social status, or lifestyle)? If so, what is being sold? How are these ideas being conveyed through the texts and images found in the ad or commercial? What are the symbols, metaphors, and/or cultural references that are used to persuade the consumer to purchase the product? Be sure to attach a copy of the advertisement (or include the hyperlink to the website where the advertisement or commercial can be found) to your assignment. 2 OPTION 2: Analyzing your consumption of social media For this assignment, you will need to reflect on your consumption of social media.

Consumption of popular culture

Select one or two forms of social media that you consume on a regular basis. This could include (but not limited to) Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, etc. Why do you think you engage with these forms of social media? Is your sense of identity (in terms of how you see yourself and how you think others see you) and/or ‘community’ (in terms of feeling connected or a part of something) related to your use of social media? Explain. Do you see yourself as an active participant in both the consumption and production of social media? Why or why not? Lastly, are you at all concerned about your consumption of social media? Why or why not?

Consumption of popular culture

Marking rubric (total of 30 marks): 1. Quality of reflection and analysis (15 marks) a. Degree of clarity and insightfulness of reflection and analysis: Do the claims being raised in the paper make sense and are they clearly explained and well supported? (10 marks) b. Integration and use of course materials: Does the student effectively draw on relevant course materials to help with their analysis and/or to support their arguments? (5 marks) 2. Quality of writing (12 marks) a. Structure and organization: Is the essay neatly structured and clearly organized so that the reader can easy follow and understand what is being presented?

Consumption of popular culture

Does the essay have an introduction (with a thesis statement that clearly outlines what will be discussed in the paper), a main body, and conclusion? (6 marks) b. Overall coherence and focus: Are the transitions from one paragraph to the next logical, show an evolving central thesis, and clearly indicated with transitional statements or tags? (3 marks) c. Proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar: Is the essay free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes? (3 marks) 3. Referencing (3 marks) a. Proper citation: Are ideas that are taken from other people cited? And are the citations and references done properly? https://youtu.be/6-8u9m4oYBQ

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