ENG 102 Women Representation on Media TEDTalk Essay
ENG 102 Women Representation on Media TEDTalk Essay
In a 5- to 7-page essay, you will select a TEDTalk on any topic of your choice and compare and contrast it to a work of art of your choosing that engages the same image. Your essay must argue which work extends the argument about the image by writing a comparingcontrasting argumentative essay. Compare and/or contrast this image. Determine how the works portray the image as similar or dissimilar, how the works reinforce or undermine each other’s depiction of the image, how they assert one may be problematic, or how they extend or alter the image or critique the image. Then consider, examine, and engage what the image represents in and beyond the film. Your task is to identify an angle, choosing what about the image you want to interrogate in terms of the work. For example, consider an image like the older woman in drag as depicted by Tyler Perry as Madea in Madea films or Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire and comparing/contrasting it to a TEDTalk about the portrayal of women in media and entertainment. Then, follow the line of questioning as you compare and contrast this image. How is the figure of the older woman complicated because of the actors’ performances? What does it mean that the actors are men portraying not just women but matriarchs? Are these realistic images of women or stereotypes? Does gender impact the effectiveness of the film’s message? Are there cultural implications built into these images and the portrayals that impact an audience’s response? Is their dragging discounted because the films are comedy? Are there boundaries that should not be crossed in portrayals of women’s or gender identity? Is there a cultural sanctity to the image of the matriarch, or is that why she is made comical? What are the implications of such films on American psyches? What messages are reinscribed because of the image and the actors’ portrayal? Parameters: Your TEDTalk can be on any topic and given in any method. Your chosen work of art can be a film, TV show, album, song, novel, poem, short story, play. Whichever work you choose must be something that you have seen, heard, or read within the last six months. You must use five peer-reviewed secondary sources to support and refute your argument. One source will support you, and the other will refute you. You may decide which side your other three sources take. Your sources must be from books, expert interviews, lectures, speeches, newspapers, reputable magazines (i.e. The New Yorker), essays, articles, and/or websites. The sources must be valid, relevant, and reliable; therefore, Wikipedia is not acceptable (it never is). If your source is a website, it must have an author who is identifiable, credible in the subject matter and provides a bibliography for the information to be verified. The sources must have been published within the last 10- 20 years. You must use summary, paraphrase, and quoting when incorporating your sources. Consider using one source to help frame (offer context) to your topic and how you will argue your perspective.
