What is a blog? How do you subscribe to a blog?

I've searched the Internet and I think the following videos do a great job in explaining basic blogging concepts (blog, reader, rss feed, etc.). After watching these videos you'll be able to subscribe to this blog and perhaps even start your own blog. Let me know if you do.

My Approach to EE - Reverse Engineering

I am interested in studying past stories (on TV & film) that have tried to treat health and social ills. I'm focusing specifically on the social ill of prejudice (racism, etc.). I am attempting to reverse engineer these programs to see what can be learned.

To reverse engineer is "to study or analyze (a device, as a microchip for computers) in order to learn details of design, construction, and operation, perhaps to produce a copy or an improved version." (Dictionary.com)

Put another way: Reverse engineering is "The analysis of a completed system in order to isolate and identify its individual components or building blocks" (Sci-Tech Dictionary).

I am analyzing television programs and films in order to learn their structure in hopes of bettering our understanding of entertainment education. What can we learn from past programs?

See also: Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia, Reverse Engineering (ComputerWorld), Reversing by Eilam (p. 3-4), Reverse Engineering by Raja (p. 2-5), "A Methodology for Reverse Engineering," "Reverse Engineering: A Roadmap," "Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) about Reverse Engineering" (see specifically: What is reverse engineering? How does reverse engineering differ from other types of engineering? What stages are involved in the reverse engineering process?)

Stephen Duncan on Theme

Duncan (2006) identifies five types of story conflict themes:
"1. Man versus Man
2. Man versus Nature
3. Man versus Self
4. Man versus Society
5. Man versus Fate" (p. 26-27).
In individual movies the screen writer "puts a face" on the abstract titles. Nature = Jaws.

"The next step is to find the one word that is the theme of the story. Then, find a cliche that best articulates your one-word theme" (p. 27, Duncan's emphasis).

Duncan gives the following example from Shrek: "Tolerance: Don't judge a book by its cover." [Very relevant example for this particular research blog.]

"Every single scene in these films explores the one-word theme in some way, whether it is a pure exploration, antithesis, or an unusual facet of it" (p. 27).

Duncan also identifies some common sources for themes (in cliche form): the Bible (e.g., from Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt not kill.").

According Duncan a writer can establish a theme in two ways in a script (i.e., physical and metaphysical). The "physical central question" is: Does the protag accomplish the task (e.g., catch the killer). The "metaphysical central question" takes the form of "spiritual, humanistic, universal" question (Can true love conquer all?) or a "hypothesis"/"thesis". Example from Chinatown: Main character says early on "Only a rich man can get away with murder" (p. 28). What does Duncan mean here? I'm not sure I understand the distinction made here between the metaphysical question and the hypothesis. A hypothesis can be easily be turned into a question. Violence begets violence. Will more violence continue. ???

According to Duncan a writer can also establish a theme by using the "moral imperative" approach. The protag and associated characters must accomplish a task because it is the right thing to do, for the greater good, etc.

Duncan says the theme should be established within the first 10 pages of a typical film script by "using a thematic device" (p. 53).

Howard: Theme vs. Thesis

According to Howard (2004) a story's theme is "the aspect of the 'human dilemma' that it will explore (p. 131). Two examples he gives are jealousy and ambition. We could also add hate as an example. He stresses that there are no verbs or value judgments in a theme as he defines it.

Howard makes a distinction between a theme and a thesis. "Once a verb is added, once value judgments are hung onto a theme, then it becomes a thesis that the story is obligedto prove." (p. 131, emphasis mine).

In an earlier post (Theme According to Epstein) we covered the example "Hate kills". Note the verb and the value judgment here. Human dilemma + verb = value judgment.

Howard seems to preach against this verb/value judgment approach to theme. "This is a deadly, story-killing mistake. it skews the story away from art or entertainment and puts it squarely in the realm of propaganda.... A story saddled with the chore of proving a thesis relegates all its characters to 'positions.' Their words and actions are subordinate to the author's goal of proving this thesis to be true." (p. 131).

Howard does admit that there must be a resolution to the story (hate kills, greed destroys a community), a writer does eventually make a statement, but the "statement should be buried in the action, in the moment of the resolution. It is there to be discovered..." (p. 132).

Finding Theme and Exploring the Theme with Howard

Howard (2004) suggests that a script writer should first do some writing and try to discover the theme in the early drafts by asking some questions: "what kind of change does your protagonist go through? What part of his life or being is challenged or threatened or transformed? How have you thought of ending the story? How do you want us to feel at the end of the story? Will it have a happy ending, a sad or tragic ending, or a bittersweet ending?..." (p. 132-133).

Note in this approach you don't start with a theme (or worse yet a thesis). The theme is discovered by the writer after some writing. So, you can't (according to Howard) start the writing process without a theme (or worse yet a thesis) in mind? Why not? Is it a waste of time to eventually discover the theme?

Howard also points out that other characters should relate to the protagonist in terms of the theme (p. 132, 421). If the story is about ambition and perhaps the protagonist lacks it. The antagonist would be very ambitious (perhaps an over-achieving sister). The protagonist's friends ("reflective characters") may "pull" or "push" him in different directions. So, other characters explore the theme (or reflect the theme) in their connection to the protag or in a subplot, the protag "carries [the theme] in a bigger way than any of the other characters. That means she has to learn or overcome, is more resistant to change" (p. 421).

Cultural Pedagogy

There may be a relevant link between pop entertainment ed and cultural pedagogy.
See:
http://books.google.com/books?id=3Fo6oLzOb5QC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=%22cultural+pedagogy%22+steinberg&source=bl&ots=VNL0LNkCKG&sig=w4wWIJZ0MgZi_39UnPwltE2lKsE&hl=en&ei=ncCoSfyvE8jdnQfTvdDkDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

http://books.google.com/books?id=X85J8ipMpZEC&pg=PA312&lpg=PA312&dq=%22cultural+pedagogy%22+steinberg&source=bl&ots=D0MaOaQ0ep&sig=52rX1Mhf35n4By4roIgxBBzSxxQ&hl=en&ei=ncCoSfyvE8jdnQfTvdDkDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result

Moritz on Theme in Scriptwriting

Moritz (2001) writes about the two schools of thought regarding themes in scripts. One school of thought says that you should have a clear theme before writing a script and another school of thought says you can find it later. Moritz takes that latter position. He says that having a theme before can actually get in the way of "the framing of a specific story..." (p. 25). It can stifle creativity he says "by being intent on checking that every bit of what you put down conforms to the line of argument in your premise" (p. 25, my emphasis). However, is this workable advice for an E-E researcher? An E-E researcher begins with the argument that is being made, right?

Moritz seems to say in a good story, you'll discover the truth of your story, the theme as you work through your story.

Moritz suggests: "it's far more important to find out the way a story is going to go rather than worry too much about what it means" (p. 25).

Theme According to Epstein

Theme, according to Epstein (2002), is "the underlying, human question your story deals with. Your main character, stakes, jeopardy, and obstacles give us reasons why we care about how the story turns out. The theme gives us a reason why we should care" (p. 53, Esptein's emphasis).

Epstein also makes a distinction between good and great movies. Great movies have a theme, while the "sheer popcorn entertainment" would not. If you want your movie to have "a lasting effect on people," then you want a theme (p. 53, my emphasis).

"What gives a picture a theme is that the major scenes in it touch in some way on the question the theme raises. It doesn't have to actually answer that questions" (p. 54). Epstein offers A Clockwork Orange as an example.

Some of Epstein's examples of movie themes:

• Bladerunner: "What does it mean to be human?"
  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: "Decency is enough to defeat corruption."
• Star Wars: "Faith can defeat empires."
• American History X: "Hatred kills." [This one is highly relevant to this research blog.]

"If you are working with a theme, then try to make each scene tell a truth about the theme. All the main characters, with their goals and their flaws, should in some way reflect the theme... Your theme comes to light in their conflict with one another" (p. 55). Interesting verbs he uses: "reflect" and "comes to light." I would use the verb "show," but what does that mean? How exactly do your put theme into a script?

Epstein writes that the theme should "underlie the story," and not "come to the surface" (p. 55). "Let the story take care of the theme. You don't need characters to talk about the theme" (p. 56). So, I guess, it should be built into the plot, not something that is beat over the head in dialogue. Is this the most effective way to persuade an audience? Does this approach work?

Howard, 2004

Howard, D. (2004). How to build a great screenplay : A master class in storytelling for film. St. Martin's Press.

Carlson, 1985

Carlson, J. M. (1985). Prime time law enforcement : crime show viewing and attitudes toward the criminal justice system. Praeger.

Duncan, 2006

Duncan, S. V. (2006). A Guide to Screenwriting Success: Writing for Film and Television. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Moritz, 2001

Moritz, C. (2001). Scriptwriting for the screen. Media skills. Routledge.

Epstein, 2002

Epstein, A. (2002). Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made. Holt Paperbacks: New York.

What are the ethical issues of promoting prosocial messages in popular media?

Brown & Singhal (1997) ask this interesting question. They are writing about all prosocial media, but what would be the ethical issues here? Would there be ethical issues to address when using popular media to promote anti-prejudice messages? In their book chapter Brown and Singhal explore the general ethical issues and suggest some guidelines for writers, producers, etc.

They write: "Producers of prosocial messages need an ethical framework for social influence" (p. 212). They go on to give the 7 ethical dilemmas that they writers, producers, researchers, etc. may face. They offer up a framework -- 7 dilemmas to consider.

1. prosocial development dilemma -- "how to respond to those who argue it is unethical to use media as a persuasive tool to guide social development"
   
2. prosocial content dilemma -- "how to distinguish prosocial from antisocial media content"
3. source-centered dilemma -- "who should determine the prosocial content for others"
4. audience segmentation dilemma -- "who among the audiences should receive the prosocial content"
5. oblique persuasion dilemma -- "how to justify the 'sugar coating' of educational messages with entertainment"
6. sociocultural equality dilemma -- "how to ensure that the prosocial media uphold sociocultural equality among viewers"
7. unintended effects dilemma -- "how to respond to the unintended consequences of prosocial media" (p. 212).

Borrowing on Lasswell's old maxim describing communication, Brown and Singhal summarize these dilemmas in one question: "Who is to determine for whom what is prosocial and what is not?" (p. 212)

O.K. let's look at these one at a time in the context of the anti-prejudice research discussed in this research blog. First, would it be unethical to use the media to fight prejudice (i.e., promote an anti-prejudice message)? Personally it seems to me to be unethical not to use the media. If you see injustices in the society shouldn't you do what you can to help right the wrongs (including using the media)? I guess maybe the problem is in what is an injustice and who determines that. Are there some types of prejudices that it would be unethical to fight because some groups of people would not see the message as being prosocial? What can be said of these more specific examples: a TV program that fights racial prejudice and a TV program that fights gay prejudice? If a group in society did not see a TV program that fights gay prejudice as acceptable (or prosocial), then the producer of the message can found to be unethical? In terms of a TV program that fights racial prejudice, what if a group, say the KKK, objected to TV program, would that then mean the creators of the TV program committed an unethical act?

In a short paragraph about this Brown and Singhal only bring up the example of abortion. Would a TV program that promoted a pro-abortion message offend a segment of the audience and thus be unethical? Is prejudice different than abortion?

More on this later.

Brown & Singhal, 1997

Brown, W. J., & Singhal, A. (1997). Ethical guidelines for promoting prosocial messages through the popular media. In G. Egerton, M. Marsden, & J. Nachbar (Eds.), In the eye of the beholder: Critical perspectives in popular film and television (207-224). Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

Tammy Bruce and "Barkie"

I like to yell at the radio. One way to guarantee this is to listen to right-wing talk radio. I was listening to Tammy Bruce on the way home today and I kept hearing her refer to President-Elect Barack Obama as "Barkie." I've done some searching on Bruce's site and find at least two references to "Barky" and "Barkie." I understand this can be said to be short for Barack, but... Is it just me or are others bothered by this? Does this sound awfully close to "darkie?" Is this an example of conscious or unconscious deniable racism? Am I reading too much into this?

It is especially helpful to think of this in the context of other examples from talk radio. Over the summer and through the fall, Rush Limbaugh refered to Obama as a "man-child." He didn't refer to him as "boy," but what is a "man-child?" Listen to some of this on Joe Lyles' podcast.

I'll post some more on the Limbaugh example a little later. Stay tuned.

A Secret Education

"Industrially produced fiction has become one of the primary shapers of our emotions and our intellect in the 20th Century. Although these stories are supposed to merely entertain us, they constantly give us a secret education. We are not only taught certain styles of violence, the latest fashions, and sex roles by TV, movies, magazines, and comic strips; we are also taught how to succeed, how to love, how to buy, how to conquer, how to forget the past and suppress the future. We are taught, more than anything else how not to rebel" (Dorfman, 1996, ix).

Cited in Cortes, 2000, p. 22-23

Dorfman, 1996

Dorfman, A. (1996). The Empire's Old Clothes: What the Lone Ranger, Babar, and Other Innocent Heroes Do to Our Minds. Penguin (Non-Classics).

Cortes on Plato and Poets

Cortes (2000) also comments on Plato.
"This is hardly a contemporary idea. After all, Plato recognized the power of fictional narratives when he asserted, 'Those who tell the stories also rule the society.' In his Republic, he expressed particular concern with the impact on children."
The focus of Cortes' book is on children.

Lewis & Jungman, 1986

Lewis, T. J. and Jungman, R. E., editors (1986). On Being Foreign: Culture Shock in Short Fiction, An International Anthology. Intercultural Pr.