Chapter 4. Chapter 4
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Media Literacy Activity: Music Genres and American Society and Culture
Activity Objective: In this activity, you will apply the critical process to explore the role of one music genre in American society and culture.
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Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Reviewing the Critical Process
Developing a media-literate critical perspective involves mastering five overlapping stages that build on one another. Let’s review the critical process you’ll be using below:
Description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study
Analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage
Interpretation: asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings
Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages
Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Description
Choose one music genre. Here’s a list modified from Grammy Award categories: Alternative Bluegrass; Blues; Classical; Contemporary Christian; Country; Dance/Electronic; Folk; Gospel; Jazz; Latin; Musical Theater; New Age; Pop; Rap and Hip-Hop; Reggae; Rock; R&B and Soul; Urban Contemporary; World Music.
Use the space below to answer the following questions.
1. What comes to mind when you think about that genre? What songs, albums, artists, lyrics, images, etc.?
2. List at least 10 ways (or as many as you can) that the music genre of your choice has had an influence on American society and culture.
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Analysis
Next, use the information you gathered about the genre of your choice to find patterns in the music genre of your choice.
Use the space below to answer the following questions.
1. Has the genre had an influence on particular areas of society or culture?
2. Has the influence of the genre changed over time? If yes, how?
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Interpretation
Through the following questions, interpret the role of the music genre of your choice in our society and culture.
Use the space below to answer the following questions.
1. How might you view some of the influences as positive, negative, or mixed? Can negative influences be reinterpreted as positive, or vice versa, depending on one’s cultural or political perspective? How would another generation interpret these influences?
2. Are any of the positive and negatives related to the same themes or issues?
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Evaluation
Now, let’s explore what your view is.
Use the space below to answer the following questions.
1. Do you think the genre has had more of a negative or positive influence on American society and culture?
2. What would American society (e.g. media institutions) and American culture (e.g. values) be like without the genre?
3. How do you think the next generation will interpret the genre?
Media Literacy Activity:
Music Genres and American Society and
Culture
Engagement
Let’s take action! At the end of your exploration of one music genre, reflect on what you’ve learned.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
Provide three samples of music from the genre you chose, which you think had a positive or negative effect on American society and culture. Explain your reasoning.