CJ_461_Media_Criticism_Project_3_April_17_Eth

April 7, 2011, Media Criticism  CJ 461 CTU  Derrick Key, Lindsey Behm, Jeremy Ports, Michelle Rippie, Patrice Vigil, Oscar Bernal, Bibi Deitz, Kara Dana:

April 7, 2011, Media Criticism  CJ 461 CTU Derrick Key, Lindsey Behm, Jeremy Ports, Michelle Rippie, Patrice Vigil, Oscar Bernal, Bibi Deitz, Kara Dana This article contains information on Sara Bragg's observation on a teacher using poor teaching methods to her student when it comes to critical thinking . Review of Sara Bragg "Perverse and Improper Pedagogies: The Case of Freddy’s Fingers and Russell’s Head”

About the Author:

About the Author Main points on the Article are: What the teachers roles are when teaching young adults about being skepitcal and using morals when viewing the media. The goal of the teacher should be allow the student to think critically about what they are viewing. What she found was that the teacher's inexperience was causing more harm then the media in question. The teachers must have prior knowledge before instructing the teens rather then blindly giving them information. Sara Bragg often debates the problem of media violence and how it effects teenagers...

Messy Realities:

Messy Realities She targeted the young white woman teacher and the group of working-class, sixteen-year old British students. Kate the Teacher- was chosen because of their similar ethical  political views. Kate's choice was to teach media to the poor and working class students.

Project #3-April 17/Ethics and Criticism:

Chapter 16 in Critical Approaches to Television and “Perverse and Improper Pedagogies: The Case of Freddy’s Fingers and Russell’s Head” by Sara Bragg Project #3-April 17/Ethics and Criticism This image produces the notion of sex.  Notice how the female's legs are spread wide open.  The angle at which the phallic symbol rises can be described as an erection waiting to penetrate the female counter-part. Also, with the female sleeping in this shot, the audience definitely get the feeling of stalker and prey. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/QHpdUQGOYgM " frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Values are: Those qualities of behavior, thought, and character that society regards as being intrinsically good, having desirable results, and worthy of emulation by others. -People use their values when criticizing media, in this case the scene has no moral values, and portrays sexual assault.:

Values are: Those qualities of behavior, thought, and character that society regards as being intrinsically good, having desirable results, and worthy of emulation by others. -People use their values when criticizing media, in this case the scene has no moral values, and portrays sexual assault.

Critical Television:

Critical Television The scene of Freddy is one of many that is criticized becasue of its multiple interpretations that can have negative meanings to people, like if a woman saw the film and was raped in a bathtub, she would have strong fear from this scene and would harshly criticize it. It is the meanings films portray that are criticised and looked at to evaluate how the media affects people individually.

Television Ethics, and Criticism:

Television Ethics, and Criticism Approaches to Moral Reasoning Perverse and improper pedagogies: the case of Freddy's fingers and Russell's head Hollywood as a "teaching machine" Hollywood as a "teaching machine"

Project #3-April 17/Ethics and Criticism:

Project #3-April 17/Ethics and Criticism Chapter 16 in Critical Approaches to Television and “Perverse and Improper Pedagogies: The Case of Freddy’s Fingers and Russell’s Head” by Sara Bragg Please view parts of Nightmare on Elm Street posted at the following address on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mnNpqc7rXA Review of Sara Bragg, Perverse and Improper Pedagogies: The Case of Freddy’s Fingers and Russell’s Head” by Sara Bragg

Slide 9:

Morals: Modes of conduct that are taught and accepted as embodying principles of right and good. Morality: A system of determining right and wrong that is established by some authority, such as a church, an organization, a society, or a government. We also find Freddy's knives as a phallic symbol in the movie.  We have seen this symbol portrayed in many ways and with many desired weapons.  In most cases, the killer carries a weapon which represents an external confidence and power.  This confidence and power are often placed in the symbolism of a phallus and, thus, we touch upon the topic of the male slasher seeking out the female victim.

Popular Films and Ethical Dilemmas:

Popular Films and Ethical Dilemmas Moral considerations never go away or lose their relevance. Because we never stop being social creatures, the moral dimensions of life are both inevitable and permanent. Human life is saturated with moral considerations, moral judgments, moral categories, and practical moral reasoning.

Slide 11:

‘Ethical criticism’ refers to the inclusion of an ethical component in the interpretation and evaluation of art. Ethics: The process of determining right and wrong conduct. Ethical System : A specific formula for distinguishing right from wrong .

Slide 12:

Unethical: An action or conduct which violates the principles of one or more ethical systems, or which is counter to an accepted ethical value, such as honesty. Non-ethical considerations: Powerful human motivations that are not based on right or wrong, but on considerations of survival and well-being, such as health, security, love, wealth, or self esteem. Concepts Non-Ethical Considerations: Defined above, non-ethical considerations are important because they are often the powerful impediments to ethical conduct, and the cause of many conflicts of interest. Non-ethical considerations are many and diverse, and include: The need and desire for shelter, health, wealth, fame, security, self-esteem, reputation, power, professional advancement, comfort, love, sex, praise, credit, appreciation, affection, or satisfaction The desire for the health, comfort, safety, welfare and happiness for one's family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, an co-workers The pursuit of vengeance or retribution Hunger, lust, pain, ambition, prejudice, bias, hatred, laziness, fatigue, disgust, anger, fear · …and many more Ethical Dilemma: This is an ethical problem in which the ethical choice involves ignoring a powerful non-ethical consideration. Do the right thing, but lose your job, a friend, a lover, or an opportunity for advancement. A non-ethical consideration can be powerful and important enough to justify choosing it over the strict ethical action. Ethical Conflict: When two ethical principles demand opposite results in the same situation, this is an ethical conflict. Solving ethical conflicts may require establishing a hierarchy or priority of ethical principles, or examining the situation through another ethical system. Ethical Gray Area: Gray areas are situations and problems that don't fit neatly into any existing mode of ethical analysis. In some cases, there may even be a dispute regarding whether ethics is involved. Reciprocity: The ethical system embodied by The Golden Rule, and given slightly different form in other religions and philosophies. It is a straight-forward way of judging conduct affecting others by putting oneself in the position of those affected. Reciprocity should always be available in any ethical analysis, but it is frequently too simple to be helpful in complex ethical situations with multiple competing interests. Absolutism: Absolutist systems do not permit any exception to certain ethical principles. The champion of all absolutists, philosopher Emmanuel Kant, declared that the ethical act was one that the doer was willing to have stand as a universal principle. One principle of absolutism is that human beings can never be harmed for any objective, no matter how otherwise worthwhile. Absolutism has the advantage of making tough ethical calls seem easy, and the disadvantage of making debate impossible. One sees absolutism reflected today in the controversies over war, torture, abortion, cloning, and capital punishment. Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism accepts the existence of ethical conflicts and the legitimacy of some ethical dilemmas, and proposes ethical analysis based on the question, "Which act will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people?' It entails the balancing of greater and lesser goods, and is useful for unraveling complex ethical problems. Its drawback, or trap, is that utilitarianism can slide into "The ends justify the means" without some application of absolutist and reciprocity principles. The Gödel Incompleteness Principle: Czech-born mathematician Kurt Gödel proved that at the margins of any large logical system, such as arithmetic, or conceptual construct, such as Newtonian physics, problems would arise that could not be solved without going outside the system itself. If the system were enlarged to include these problems' solution, it would lose its integrity as a system. Hence all systems must be incomplete. In ethical terms, Gödel's liberating discovery means that no one ethical system will work for every problem, and that the fact that such a system does not solve a particular problem does not mean the system is invalid. Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon first identified by Leon Festinger. It occurs when there is a discrepancy between what a person believes, knows and values, and persuasive information that calls these into question. The discrepancy causes psychological discomfort, and the mind adjusts to reduce the discrepancy. In ethics, cognitive dissonance is important in its ability to alter values, such as when an admired celebrity embraces behavior that his or her admirers deplore. Their dissonance will often result in changing their attitudes toward the behavior. Dissonance also leads to rationalizations of unethical conduct, as when the appeal and potential benefits of a large amount of money makes unethical actions to acquire it seem less objectionable than if they were applied to smaller amounts.

Definitions and Concepts for Ethical Analysis:

Definitions and Concepts for Ethical Analysis http://mediaelectron.blogspot.com/2008/11/visual-analysis-of-mediated-images.htm l

Questions to be asked while analyzing a visual from Ethical / Moral Perspective...:

Questions to be asked while analyzing a visual from Ethical / Moral Perspective ... 1. Does the taking and displaying of the picture fit the social responsibility of the professional involved? 2. Has anyone's rights been violated because of nightmare? 3. Does the display of the image meet the needs of the viewer? 4. Is the picture aesthetically appealing? 5. Does the picture choice reflect moderation? 6. Does the professional choice reflect empathy for the subjects experience? 7. Could a professional justify the choice if he/she didn’t know which of the parties (subject, shooter or viewer) he/ she would turn out to be? 8. Does the visual Image cause unjustified harm

pedagogyis the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching the art or science of teaching; education; instructional methods.:

pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching the art or science of teaching; education ; instructional methods. Criticizes the pedagogical issues of common methods of teaching  visual media via textual analysis. Excerpt from a class discussion of the horror film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'  Possible rhetorical moves to claim status and material resources for cultural studies pedagogy; Criticism on critical pedagogy. Hollywood as a "teaching machine"

Slide 16:

Critical pedagogy assumes that popular media plays a "formative role in shaping the social identities of youth" and tends to present audiences as victims whose subjectivities, desires, dreams, and "artificial needs" have been "forged" and "constituted" by the media.

Bottom line :

Bottom line Bottom line decisions are too often made based on money, rather than the effect on people's lives.

Conclusion:

Conclusion “Analysis is ego-driven. The main thing is that it always reveals the person making the analysis -- not really the piece itself˝ ~ David Lodge It’s a cyclic process. You will find below four images. You may undertake a visual analysis, based on what you have learnt so far: