MALS 6101 (Section 90): The Liberal Arts Tradition
Paper Two: Media/Communication Analysis (5-7 pp, double spaced)
1. Film Analysis: Citizen Kane and The Social Network
Both Citizen Kane and The Social Network dramatize and reflect on the major communications
media of their day. Each film explores the rise to power, social influence, and personal limitations
of a dominant media figure; while Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane created the character of a
fictional newspaper mogul (based on William Randolph Hearst), David Fincher’s The Social
Network (written by Aaron Sorkin) took a somewhat fictionalized approach to the life of Mark
Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. Similarly, each film uses a fragmented and experimental
narrative style to highlight the interior world of its protagonist and the isolating effects of his
power. Finally, both films explore how technological changes in mass media both reflect and alter
the social context. Fincher himself has described his film as a “modern Citizen Kane.”
For this essay, compare the two films’ portrayals of the power and limitations of the major
communications media of their era. You will need to develop a strong thesis that will give shape
and focus to your essay. You might choose to focus on the films’ protagonists and their rise to
power, on contrasts and parallels between the medium of newspapers and social media as
portrayed in each film, or even on the experimental film techniques deployed by each director.
To offer a detailed and specific analysis of each film, you will need to view them more than once.
Be aware that visual images, music, scenes and dialogue all play key roles in creating a film
narrative, shaping the audience’s reactions, and exploring key themes. All these elements can be
used as evidence to make your case.
Finally, you will need to read at least some analysis of these films to craft a strong argument; this
can include film reviews, books and articles, and interviews with directors, actors, and/or writers.
Include at least 2-3 of these outside sources.
Note: Use MLA format for your bibliography. List films by their title. Include the name of the
director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names
after the director's name.
2. Meme Analysis
In his book The Selfish Gene (1976) Richard Dawkins originated the concept of the meme, a
cultural signifier (idea, constellation of images, or set of behaviors) that multiplies and replicates
itself within a culture, through a species of social evolution that is analogous to genetic evolution.
Just as genes are passed on from parent to child, often mutating and changing as environmental
conditions change (according to Dawkins), so too memes (cultural ideas) are also passed from
person to person, mutating and morphing as social conditions alter.
With the development of the internet and social media, such memes can spread and change with a
speed and efficiency unknown to previous generations. Thus, in recent years, the concept of a
meme has itself become a meme, often linked with faddish internet phenomena, from “silly cat
videos” to “top ten lists” and “internet quizzes.” For Dawkins and other theorists of memetics (the
study of memes), however, memes are serious business; some have argued that major religions
like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can be seen as memes in the broadest sense--transformative
concepts that alter values, beliefs, and behaviors.
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For this assignment, study and report on a significant meme that has altered and reshaped our
society, at least to some extent, in recent years. For our purposes (an analysis of 5-7 pages),
studying too broad a meme could be unworkable; similarly, exploring a meme that is too limited
and lacks social relevance will not offer a rich enough field for study. Significant memes arise to
meet specific social needs, fill gaps in our social fabric, and help to create new solutions, new
social constituencies, and sometimes new needs.
The following memes (in italics) have arisen in recent years and/or months, strive to address or
name social problems, desires or needs, and have a level of specificity that is suitable for our
analysis:
Parenting issues: tiger moms; helicopter parents
Social justice issues: marriage equality; “hands up, don’t shoot”; “I can’t breathe”;
cyber bullying; “je suis Charlie”
Quality of life: foodies; the paleo diet; sustainability; simple living
Entertainment communities: Jane Austen fan fiction and continuations: Star Trek and
Trekkies; gamergate; deflategate
Consider analyzing one of these memes or a comparable one. Note that some of these memes
seem very positive; others may be problematic or worrisome. To do so, you will need to locate 610 sites and/or sources that replicate this meme. Webpages, blogs, articles, movies, television
shows, and books may all be relevant, but at least half of your sources should come from the
internet, reflecting the speed with which memes can travel in our digital society.
Your analysis should consider the following: In your view, what is the social significance of the
meme? How does it address or reflect specific social problems, issues, desires, or needs? How
diverse are the iterations (instances and repetitions) of the meme? In other words, does it take
various forms, and how different are they? What do you find most interesting, hopeful, or
problematic, about the meme? Finally, as someone who has studied the meme carefully, how do
you see it developing in the future?
Note that your analysis should include a strong thesis about the social function of your meme,
specific evidence about its various iterations and instances (how it appears or is presented) on
various websites and/or other sources, and a thoughtful conclusion that both summarizes and
raises the implications or ramifications of your argument.
You may choose to include an appendix of visual images from various websites if relevant. You
will need to include a bibliography of the sources and sites that you have analyzed. Please use
MLA format.
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