Category Archives: Discussion Questions

Discussion questions for 5/7

How do we study popular culture?  How do we balance the need for analyzing social impact (via ideology studies for instance) with a recognition of the productive power of consumers to make meanings and values differently from academics?  Where do you fall in the spectrum being debated in our final readings concerning populism vs. pessimism?

Discussion questions for 5/5

Almost Famous offers a number of representations of popular culture and its relationship to consumers, critics, and social norms. What theories have we studied this semester that deepens our understanding of the film, either in the world it represents or how the film itself functions in the more contemporary cultural moment?

Discussion Questions for 4/30

To conclude our discussion of Manchurian Candidate, how do you respond to the book’s analysis of the film’s representations of race, sexuality, and gender? How do you characterize these approaches in the context of our course? And are there any issues from the film that you think the book neglects to analyze?

Discussion questions for 4/28

The first half of Jacobson & González’s book focuses on the contexts from which The Manchurian Candidate emerged. How do these contexts alter your understanding of the film? Are there additional contexts that seem missing in their analysis? And given the various approaches to popular culture we’ve studied, what theoretical models or ideas do you think are underlying their contextual analysis?

Discussion questions for 4/23

The readings by Stam and Hall focus on how we might study race as a category of analysis and differentiation within popular culture. What arguments from their essays seem most pertinent and engaging? What other theories do you feel they are building upon? And how might you apply these ideas to understanding Bamboozled?

Discussion question for 4/21

Today’s readings explore a model of discursive analysis, exploring how a field of knowledge molds behaviors and social power within the poststructuralist approach following Foucault.  What do you think of this method of analysis for exploring cultural practices?  Where are the weaknesses or limitations of this approach?  Do you see other ways to explore these cultural issues, or other applications for this methodology?  [Note – just because one of the articles is written by Professor Mittell, don’t feel the need to temper your criticism or offer excessive praise…]

Discussion questions for 4/16

Both of the episodes of The Simpsons and Twin Peaks we viewed could be considered postmodern.  What facets of these shows speak to the concepts of postmodernism as explored by Storey, Baudrillard, and Jameson?  How does postmodern theory help understand these examples of popular culture or our society at large?  What are the limitations of this approach?

Discussion questions for 4/14

Today’s readings focus on the practices of fans of different forms of popular culture, from Star Wars to Twin Peaks to The Beatles. How do you see fan practices relating to broader issues of popular culture consumption? Are fans completely atypical consumers, or just extreme versions of “normal” consumers? And how does DeCerteau’s theories of everyday life help us understand fandom?

Questions for Will Brooker

First off, as you read Brooker’s final chapters, be sure to checkout some Star Wars fan films. TheForce.net has a huge collection, and I’d particularly recommend Troops, which he discusses at length. This link has a number of “slash vids” that are more typical of the female fan community he profiles. Also, the “Chad Vader” series is great – episode #1 is below:

[youtube 4wGR4-SeuJ0]

Please post any questions you have for Will Brooker here by Monday night at midnight our time – I’ll ask him to reply Tuesday morning in the UK, so hopefully some responses will be waiting for us for class.

(Note that posting a meaningful question for him counts toward your online participation requirement, as does the discussion questions for Tuesday…)

Discussion questions for 4/9

Brooker, Press & Livingstone, and Ang outline a range of approaches to studying media audiences. Which of these issues and possibilities strike you as particularly useful for understanding consumption of popular culture? What troubles do you see arising from these methods? How might these ideas help explain or explore the consumption practices fictionally represented in Purple Rose of Cairo?