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Creating Culture
Module 2, Activity 1.5 - The Media and Culture
Student Page
(teacher lesson for this page)

Introduction:

You will look at an issue which is hotly debated in Canada and review the media accounts over time. After discussing the issue and agreeing on basic principles, you will apply these principles to journalism and create a response stating your position.

Activities:

Task One - Trek through Time
Group together with two or three other students. Each of you will choose at least 2 clips from the CBC Archives that relate to public perceptions of homosexuals. Make sure at least one clip is from the radio and one is from Television. No one in the group should do the same clip as anyone else. Select from a number of different time periods so that you can discuss the way the perception of the public has shifted. Once you have completed watching the clips, join your partners in discussing the clips.

Each person should summarize the clip that he viewed and explain what time period it was when the views were expressed. As a group, your job is to discuss whether or not it is appropriate for homosexual marriage to be legal. At least one person should represent each side of the argument, and discussion should be based on logical argument and evidence.

Once you have finished discussing the issue, it is time to reach consensus.

What is consensus?

Consensus is when all members of a group have agreed to a certain principle. Consensus does not occur if anyone gives in or you agree to disagree. It only occurs if a controversial issue is discussed until everyone is in agreement on the position the group will take.

Task Two - Thought Police
George Orwell says that "if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought". He argues that what we say, particularly through mass media impacts the way we can think about an issue.

Objectives:

You will be able to
- consider how electronic media, including the Internet, have changed journalism and will continue to affect it in the future
- understand the concepts of stereotyping and ethnocentrism
- speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
- speak to clarify and extend thinking
- listen with purpose and concern for ideas
- recognize a speaker's attitude, tone, and bias
Resources:

- archive clips on the Internet
Task Two Continued. . .
You are going to investigate if Orwell is right. Go back to the clips that you listened to or watched. As you are listening, record the nouns or adjectives (names and descriptions) used to characterize homosexuals. Write down all of the words, and then the overall idea of the journalistic piece. As a class, create a timeline representing public attitude towards homosexuals based on portrayal in the media. Discuss what words are used now in the media and why.
binder How do you think the words we use and the media we use affect our thinking?
Task Three - Reflective writing
A news story on television is typically less than 3 minutes as is a music video. The internet allows people to do many things at once and skip around for information that they need. Some people theorize that today's youth jump from idea to idea or have short attention spans because of the media they are exposed to. As a result they have pushed many cultural trends like text messaging and internet chats. Do you believe this is true? In your notebook, write a response to this argument. Be sure to use specific examples from your life.
 

Last Updated
May 26, 2005

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