English 098
Bellah
The Boob Tube
Audience
Your audience will be your sensitive and intelligent classmates who occasionally
go to the movies or watch television but who have read Wine's, Mayer’s and
Hamill’s essays and now have doubts about their ability to enjoy these pastimes in
the future.
Context
Bill Wine, in his "Rudeness at the Movies," humorously describes the thoughtless
actions he frequently encounters in movie theaters, from loud talking to
"malodorous perfume." He laments the decline in audience etiquette in our time
and puts the blame on the television watching experience, which isolates people
in their homes and makes them unprepared for the more social environment of the
theater. Hamill and Mayer also point fingers at television, but in their articles they
accuse it of dumbing down people and making them anti-social and passive.
Topics
Choose one of the following:
1) In spite of the distractions that Wine mentions in his essay, people still go to
the movies. Why? In a short paper of approximately 500 words, explain why
people still pay to see movies in theaters instead of - for example - staying home
and watching television or watching movies through their DVD players. One
possible reason for going out to the movies is to get out of the house for a change.
Think of others to add to your paper's analysis.
2) Hamill and Mayer claim that television watching is inferior to reading because
it does the thinking for the viewer, suggests the appropriate emotional response,
and emphasizes surface appeal over depth, conflict over analysis. Is television
really so damaging to viewers? In a short paper of approximately 500 words,
discuss the positive aspects of television watching over, say, reading a newspaper
or magazine article, a novel, or a poem?
Writing Strategies
Both topics require short papers that involve analysis. The first asks you to
identify and discuss the reasons people still go to movie theaters; the second topic
asks you to identify and then discuss the reasons that television may be superior to
other media in delivering information or entertainment. Each paper, therefore,
requires you to analyze a subject for reasons.
In the opening paragraph of your paper you should introduce the subject and
assert the main point of your analysis. You might state something like, "In spite
of the rude behavior of most audiences, there are several reasons why people still
enjoy going to the movies." Or you might state, "Television, not books or
newspapers or magazines, is the better source of information and entertainment.”
Whatever your main idea might be, it must be expressed in a single sentence near
the beginning of your paper.
The paragraphs following your opening then identify the reasons or causes you've
discovered and explain or discuss them. Devote one paragraph to each reason.
Identify your reason in the first sentence. Offer explanations and examples of it
in subsequent sentences to complete each middle paragraph.
The paper should have at least three paragraphs, but the length depends upon the
number of reasons or causes you identify and the fullness of each example's
development.
Presentation and Due Dates
Your finished paper, typed, double-spaced, and originally titled, must be turned in
on _______________. It must be submitted in a pocket folder accompanied by all
drafts and peer-editing forms. The mandatory peer-editing session is scheduled
for _______________. No incomplete or late papers will be accepted. Papers
without the required peer-editing or improperly formatted will be returned
ungraded. No arrangements for peer-editing outside of class will be allowed.