Author Names:
Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos
Activity Objective:
Students will examine and then use an example to develop their own brief research plan for studying a mass media artifact.
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The strongest arguments in cultural studies draw on the three types of cultural studies research: 1) textual analysis, 2) audience studies, and 3) political economy.
Develop a brief research plan for studying a mass media artifact, such as a musical artist, a movie franchise, a television series, a cable channel, a nationally syndicated radio talk show, a magazine, or a popular Web site or app. We will demonstrate how this might be done using the Fifty Shades of Grey film series on the following slides.
Textual analysis. Study the movies using the critical process—description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Make sure to discuss the major themes of the film narratives and how they are enacted.
Audience studies. Interview fans of the movies, asking why they like the movies, and what the movies mean to them. How do audience members make sense of the themes (revealed in your textual analysis) of love, romance, happiness, gender power, wealth, and domination? Who are the main audience members of the movies?
Political economy. Research the industry that brought these films to the screen. How did the original book become a best seller? Why was the book adapted into a movie? How profitable are the books and movies? Why were the films released around Valentine’s Day? How did the marketing plan try to engage the audience (described in your audience study)?
What artifact would you study? By using all three approaches of cultural studies, researchers should have a more robust understanding of the meaning of a media artifact in American (and global) culture. Create your own brief research plan for the artifact of your choosing using each of the three approaches, and record your ideas in the boxes below.
Use the space below to answer the following question.