Page 141 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 5

a. Afternoon talk shows
b. News roundtable television shows
c. Local newspapers

Record the guests and topics that appear on programs in the selected
genre over a one-week span.

a. What patterns emerge with respect to the topics addressed on
these shows?
b. What attitudes with respect to these topics emerge?
c. What inferences (conclusions) can you draw on the basis of your
data gathering?
4. Examine an area of cultural preoccupation as it appears in a par-
ticular genre:
a. Sex
b. Consumer culture
c. Appearance
d. Other

What messages are conveyed with regard to these cultural pre-
occupations?

5. Conduct an analysis of a subgenre, focusing on the following:
a. Cultural preoccupations
b. The role and functions of these preoccupations in subgenres
c. Attitudes toward the topic/issue/preoccupation expressed in
subgenres
6. Select a sample of programs belonging to a particular genre and
conduct a genre analysis, focusing on worldview.
a. What kind of world is being depicted?
b. What kinds of people inhabit this world?
c. Are people in control of their own destinies?
1. Is there a supernatural presence in this world?
2. Are people under the influence of other people?
d. Does this world present an optimistic or pessimistic view of
life?
1. Are the people in this world happy?
2. Do they have a chance to be happy?
e. What is the definition of success in this world?

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