Thinking Critically About Pop
Culture: Representations of Women
and LGBT People
Quickwrite #4
• Based on all of the readings we have done so
far, do you think that the way the media and
the entertainment industries represent (or fail
to represent) minorities has real world
consequences for real people in those groups?
Why or why not? Feel free to respond to a
specific quote from one of the readings if you
would like.
Portrayals of Women and LGBT People
in the Media
• What is the “larger conversation” that each of these
authors is a part of? What are some of the
assumptions that these authors respond to?
• What are some of the “big claims” that each of these
authors makes? Identify one “big claim” and be ready
to talk about it and your reaction to it.
• How do these authors support those claims? Was their
support convincing?
• What were your reactions to these articles? Did you
find places where you agreed? Disagreed? A little of
both? Why?
Some Questions that Will Help You on
Essay #1
• As you analyze the pieces of media that you
have chosen in order to support a claim you
are making about pop culture and diversity,
ask yourself:
– What are the main values that are being put
forward as “correct” or “normal” by this piece of
media? Are these values particular to any one
group? Are there any groups whose values/ideas
are poorly or unfairly represented?
Some Questions that Will Help You on
Essay #1
• Do you notice any patterns in the representation
of diverse groups in the media you chose, or
patterns in the representation of the one
minority group you chose? If so, what do you
think those patterns mean? Why are they
important?
• Is there anything missing from the portrayals you
are researching? Is there anything complicated
that is made simple? Any subtle differences that
are glossed over? What are the consequences of
this over-simplification?
Tentative Topics for Essay 1
• Based on our brainstorming, spend the rest of
the class narrowing your topic. Be ready to
tell me what your tentative topic is for essay 1.
Give me as much detail as you can about the
question you will be exploring. (You should go
into all of our essays with a question you are
researching/exploring, not a topic upon which
you have already completely made up your
mind.)