Ronald Bononno
Teaching For Health
Dr. Inglis
12-18-2012
Media Influence On Alcohol
Rationale:
From 1998-1999 alcohol use was shown on television in 77% of all
programming (AU Gov). The display of alcohol in the media today is so constant
that society does not even notice when it is right in front of them. At any given time
you can see a character on a television show or even a cartoon holding an alcoholic
beverage or wearing a shirt with an alcoholic symbol. It can be just as easy as
product placement by placing a magnet displaying a beer company on a refrigerator
in the background of a television show. Instances like this are no coincidence.
Companies pay television shows to place their product in the hands of different
television stars. If there is a bottle of grey goose sitting out on a table, it is likely that
grey goose has paid for the television show to use their vodka in that show opposed
to one of their competitors.
The saddest part about this is that today’s children and adolescents are
watching television at an alarming rate. Eleven to thirteen year olds watch 27.7
hours of television a week on average, while 14-18 year olds watch for 20.2 hours
per week (National Research Council). That is a tremendous amount of exposure to
regular alcohol use on television. They need to be aware of what they are seeing on
television both consciously and subconsciously. The purpose of this lesson is to
educate students on what they see on television and in movies as well as what they
hear on the radio or in music.
Target Audience:
12th Grade
Core Curriculum Standards:
2.2.3.B.4 Identify products that contain alcohol.
2.3.4.B.4 Summarize the short- and long-term physical and behavioral effects of
alcohol use and abuse.
2.3.6.B.4 Determine the impact of the use and abuse of alcohol on the incidence of
illness, injuries, and disease, the increase of risky health behaviors, and the
likelihood of harm to one’s health.
2.3.6.B.5 Determine situations where the use of alcohol and other drugs influence
decision-making and can place one at risk.
2.3.12.B.3 Correlate increased alcohol use with challenges that may occur at various
life stages.
Time Required:
45 minutes
Goals:
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For the student to learn about product placement involving alcohol
For the student to learn to process what they see and hear in entertainment
For the student to learn how alcohol use can be avoided or substituted for
something else
For the student to learn how to interpret music and alcohol use
For the students to learn more about alcohol then what they have seen on
television
Objectives:
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The student will be able to identify, correctly, when alcohol is being used for
advertising purposes in television and movies
The student will be able to speak intelligently about the uses of alcohol and
the way it is portrayed in television, cinema and music
The student will be able to accurately decipher song lyrics and understand
what the real message being sent to the listener is
Content:
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Statistics about alcohol consumption
o How often it appears in television
o How often adolescents watch television
o How likely they are to try alcohol as a result
Examples of how companies advertise to a younger population
o Commercials
o Super Bowl
o Sponsorships
o Cartoons
o Music
Examples of how companies advertise subconsciously
o Product placement
o Sports
o Clothing on television movie
o Language
How other substances can take alcohol place
o No alcohol
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o Food
o IndyCar
o Soda
How often alcohol is used in music
o Song titles
o Names of artists
o Meaning behind the music
Materials:
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Whiteboard
Dry Erase Markers
Handouts
Projector
Computer
Students must bring a device with internet connection
Activity:
Class will begin when the students walk into the classroom and take their
seats. The teacher will be in the front of the classroom preparing to begin the day’s
icebreaker. When the class is in their seats and are quiet the teacher will begin by
writing a type of alcohol on the board. For instance the teacher may write the word
beer. Students will then raise their hands and say the first word that comes to mind
when they heard or saw the word beer. The teacher will write down the many
words and comments and then they will move onto a new word, which can be, wine,
vodka, or tequila. The teacher can also use different terms like 30 pack, shots,
chugging. The students will continue to make first word associations until the
icebreaker is nearly complete. When the students have expelled enough words at
the teacher’s discretion they will then talk about where they think these opinions
came from. Students in class will likely have many opinions about alcohol, but they
may not realize where these opinions have stemmed from. The teacher will begin to
discuss how many of these opinions may have come from television, movies or
music. The teachers and students will discuss how accurate this portrayal may be
for this individual class.
When the icebreaker is completed, students will then prepare for the day’s
lecture. The teacher will turn the projector on and begin the lecture using todays
PowerPoint. The PowerPoint will have five slides.
Slide 1
The first slide will begin with the statistics about alcohol in the media. The
slide will talk about how often alcohol is depicted on regular television. This will
coincide with the statistics of how often adolescents watch television every week.
Those two statistics will combine to share how likely it is for someone to drink after
watching characters do it on television. The purpose of this slide is to help the
students be aware of what they are watching on television and display the
intentions of that specific show.
Slide 2
Slide two will talk about how alcohol is used in advertising. It will talk about
the tactics used and how effective those tactics are. The slide will talk about how
effective blatant commercials are. The slide will also talk about what time and
during what show the commercials are being utilized, like during the super bowl.
Alcohol is also used in obvious sponsorship like on the hood of a NASCAR car or for
different types of giveaways. Alcohol is also sponsored on the clothing of individuals
in television and movies. This slide will show how the different logos for hard
alcohol and beer show up on many of the students’ favorite television shows.
Slide 3
Slide three is important because it is going to talk about different ways
alcohol is used in advertising in a subconscious manner. Many times a box of beer is
conveniently placed in the background of a scene. Or a character is drinking an
alcoholic beverage conveniently with the label facing out perfectly for the audience
to see. In some cases like in the movie Fast and the Furious, the cast will discuss
drinking beer, but will mention that they only drink Corona. Situations like that are
not always written into a movie script, the beer and spirits companies pay it for as
an advertising ploy. Students need to be aware of this so that they are not tricked by
this scheme when they are of age.
Slide 4
The fourth slide will talk about alternatives to alcohol use in advertising and
media. The slide will give examples about how non-alcoholic beverages can be used
to promote winning and a positive attitude. Alcohol is often treated as a reward or
cure for stress. The slide will give students alternatives measures to seeking reward
and for stress relief. Often, movies depict games involving excessive alcohol
consumption, like the movie Beerfest where the characters take part in a modern
day beer Olympic battle. The slide will suggest ways to play these games without the
use of alcohol.
Slide 5
Slide five will begin the segue into today’s task. The slide will talk about how
music lyrics heavily involve alcohol consumption. The slide will focus on songs with
alcohol or stages of drunkenness in the title (Gin and Juice, Pass the Courvoisier,
Tipsy), or persons that talk about drinking in their chorus. It is important for
students to see the relation to drinking in the music they may be listening to. The
hope is that students will see that the music they listen to is influencing their
decision to drink or not. Most high school students prefer to make their own
decision and will likely not appreciate the type of brain washing that goes on in
music.
After the PowerPoint concludes, the days activity will begin and the students
will be in groups of three. The students were told prior to this class that they were
to bring in a device with Internet access. They are allowed to bring a laptop or a
tablet of some sort. Smart phones are permitted, but will be frowned upon. If the
students forgot to bring a device other than their cell phones, it will be allowed
however the students will not be able to gain full credit for the activity. If for some
reason a student did not bring a device into class, they will be grouped with
students who did. At this point all students have these devices but there are a few
who do not. For this reason points will not be deducted if a student does not have a
device. Students will look online for songs in any genre that talk about alcohol. They
are to decipher the song and explain to the class what the song is talking about. They
are also going to replace lyrics involving alcohol with something healthier. The
replacement words are expected to be fun and silly. Extra credit points are
rewarded if the group decided to sing their new version of the song rather than just
read it off the paper.
When all the students have presented their explanation and new version of
their songs they will return to their seats for process questions, using the
experiential learning cycle. The teacher will do this to gauge the level of
understanding and learning the students took away from the day’s lesson. Students
will talk about what we accomplished in class and what new information they have
learned as a result of today’s lesson.
Students will then be given homework. They will keep track of how many
times they see beer, wine or hard alcohol in the media or advertising in the
community. The students are to keep a tally of these occurrences. The students will
then bring in the checklist and the class will be able to decipher, firsthand how often
alcohol is displayed in everyday life. They will also get to see which spirit is shown
the most.
Process Questions:
1. What was learned in todays lesson?
2. In what ways was the activity useful to you?
3. How did the class react to the results of subliminal advertising?
4. Why do companies hide the advertising of alcohol?
5. How will you watch television differently after today?
6. How could you use information in today’s lesson outside of class?
7. What was the point of also using music in today’s lesson?
8. In what ways was technology useful in today’s lesson?
9. What are questions that still remain about alcohol in the media?
Evaluation:
Students are evaluated on participation. Participation will be measured today
by the students. The students will be asked to write a small paragraph about
something a classmate had said in class that day. Students will also write about how
their group work with the music search was distributed throughout the group. If
students complain that some students did not participate, that student will be
watched for participation purposes during the next lesson. Students will also be
graded on homework. Students who do their assignment will receive full credit.
They must show their checklist along with a note of where they saw each alcoholic
beverage. The conversation in the following class will also contribute to the
student’s participation grade. Students will be graded on the songs that they select
and edit in the days task. They will be assessed on how they transformed the song
and on the song that they chose. Although songs that talk about alcohol usually
contain questionable lyrics the students are expected to pick a song that talks about
alcohol and is classroom friendly (ie. Red Solo Cup). No curse words are allowed
during the activity or else the grade will be lowered.
Alternative Plan:
If the classroom Internet connection is down and the students are unable to
search for songs on their web devices, the teacher will already have songs that they
picked for the class prepared. The teacher will have these song lyrics printed and
ready to distribute to the class. The students will be able to use these handouts to
complete the task for that day.
Adaptation:
 Students that have trouble reading will be able to follow along with
the PowerPoint via pictures, they will also be able to participate in the
task because it requires hearing and writing.
 Students that have writing troubles will rely on their classmates
during the task to do that part of the work and the PowerPoint’s will
also be available online so that note taking should be at a minimum.
 Students with vision problems will be seated in the most convenient
seat, making it easier for them to see.
 Students with social problems will enjoy the group work and will be
given a task to do by themselves that will eventually contribute to the
overall group.
References:
"Alcohol." Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Australian
Government, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2012.
National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on
Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking; Bonnie RJ,
O'Connell ME, editors. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective
Responsibility. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2004. 11,
Alcohol in the Media: Drinking Portrayals, Alcohol Advertising, and Alcohol
Consumption Among Youth. Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK37586/