| Requirements for Papers 1 and 3:
These papers will provide a critical analysis of health messages contained in a film, television show, or interactive games and other media. You will need to choose a film for the first assignment and either a television show, interactive game or other media for the second. Prior approval of the topic by Professors Mayer and Richardson is required for both assignments. We are attaching a list of some films-- fiction and non-fiction at the end of this syllabus or you may choose yourself with instructor approval. You may not use material shown in class for these assignments.
The paper must list at least seven appropriate references/readings including at least 2 books or journal articles. Readings from class can be referenced but do not count as part of the seven. References such as IMDB do not count. The paper and bibliography for this project should conform to the specifications of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).
Writing should be well organized and grammatically correct. This should be a 10 page paper although slightly longer is acceptable (of text not including references) - double spaced pages. (11-12 point font, 1” margins). Use subheadings to delineate the components of your paper.
We are interested in your analysis of the health components of the material and how the media you selected presents this information. We encourage you to articulate your point of view with regard to the implications of how the health issue is portrayed. A discussion of the media decisions and media strategies is very important. For example you could do this by examining dialogue, character development, behavior, consequences of actions, and cinema techniques (lighting, location, camera angle, cinematography, movement, music, sound, art design, costume, editing etc.).
For the paper, you should consider the following issues:
How do the components of the media strengthen or diminish the story and the health information? For example, cinematography, sound, editing, production design, and structure.
Briefly summarize the plot.
What are the major and minor themes of the material?
What is the explicit information that is imparted and what are the implicit assumptions or values that the material communicates?
Who is the audience that the producers think they are communicating with?
From the class readings and your knowledge of health information and promotion, do you think the audience will come away with a better understanding of the topics in the film/show/game?
What other issues should have been raised that were ignored – or what should have been omitted?
Will the audience have more misunderstandings after viewing the film/show/game?
What might you have suggested to the film or media maker in terms of portraying better health information?
What is the context for the media – historical or otherwise.
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