Suggested media topics for presentations related to Chapters 6, 8, 9 and 12 (scheduled for Classes 16 and 20.)

[For media and crime, it would be possible to analyze how crime is portrayed as news (newspapers and TV news bulletins), or as fiction (movies, TV dramas, manga). Many of the topics below could allow you to focus on crime. For example, you could look at the main narratives used in a crime drama.]

Cinema:
1. What are the main narratives that are used in movies? (Make a list, with examples.) Are the same narratives found in both American and Japanese movies or are there clear differences? Are the narratives found in movies similar to those found in other media or different? What reasons might there be for these characteristics?
2. Look carefully at the first few minutes of any movie. How long does each shot last before an edit changes it to another shot? What effect do you think the film editor was trying to achieve? Why? What is the soundtrack? Does it match the visuals and the way they were edited. (You could compare the first few minutes of different movies...)
3. Choose a movie star who is often featured in the media. Collect as much information about him or her as you can from as many different media as possible (including different parts of the same media, for example different newspapers or different TV channels) over a period of a week. Is the information all based on the same story? Do different media report the same story in different ways? Is the representation positive or negative? Does it encourage people to watch movies in which the star appears or not?
4. Choose a movie that will soon be released. How is it being promoted? (You will need to look at trailers in movie theaters, but also at references to the movie, or to stars appearing in the movie, in newspapers and on TV.)
TV:
1. What are the main narratives that are used in different types of TV programmes (for example, news bulletins, documentaries, sports programmes, quiz shows and dramas? (Make a list, with examples.) What reasons are there for the narratives that are used? Are particular narratives suited more to one type of programme than another?
2. Choose a famous TV personality. Collect as much information about him or her as you can from as many different media as possible (including different parts of the same media, for example different newspapers or different TV channels) over a period of a week. Is the information all based on the same story? Do different media report the same story in different ways? Is the representation positive or negative? What effect does it have on the TV personality's career?


Newspapers (includes crime):
1. Look at the front page of several newspapers for the same day. You should have at least one newspaper from a country other than Japan. (The easiest non-Japanese newspaper to buy is probably the International Herald Tribune, but the libraries at both Hiyoshi and Mita have non-Japanese newspapers.) What are the news values behind each story on the front pages (in other words, why was the story chosen for the front page)? Do all the newspapers have similar news values? Arte there any stories that are missing (either from one newspaper, or from all the newspapers)?
2. Choose a controversial news story. Examine how it is treated in a variety of newspapers. Do all the newspapers cover the story in the same way? (How much space do they give to it? Are there editorials or comments from experts as well as straight news articles?) Are the straight news articles objective or biased? Is the overall coverage balanced?
3. Choose a controversial news story. Examine how it is treated in at least one newspaper and on at least one TV channel. What differences/similarities are there between the way in which newspapers and television present and analyse the news? What are the strong and weak points of the two media in dealing with important news stories? Is one media more balanced in its treatment than the other?


Magazines:
Choose two magazines with different audiences. You could choose one magazine aimed at young men and and one aimed at young women, or one aimed at females under 20 and one aimed at females over 20, or one aimed at young Japanese women and one aimed at young American women... Compare the front covers, and the contents. What are the differences and similarities?


Comics:
1. Choose two comics with different audiences. You could choose one aimed at children and one aimed at adults, or one aimed a young women and one aimed at young men. Compare both the illustrations and the story lines. What are the differences and similarities?
2. If you are feeling quite ambitious, you could look at the popularity of Japanese comics (or animated films) in another country, or at the popularity of a particular Japanese comic/figure outside Japan. As a first presentation, you could perhaps introduce the activities of manga clubs in American universities such as MIT, or analyse why an animation director was chosen as one of Asia's heroes (click on him for more details) by Time in 2006.

Music:
1. Choose a performer or band that is popular at the moment. What information about them is available on the various media? (Is there a connection between the media where they are featured and the media company that they belong to? For example, do they belong to a company that is linked to the television channel where they usually perform?) Judging from the information that you have obtained, why are they popular? Are they targeted at a particular section of the audience? What image are they trying to create, through their music, clothes etc.? How is this image linked to the way in which they are represented by the media? Are there any ways in which they try to attract the attention of the media? How do they influence their fans, for example in terms of fashion?
2. Compare and contrast some music magazines. Who buys them and why? Is there any clear relationship between the people who are expected to buy the magazines and the type of advertisements in them? What sort of information is given in the magazines? Is there a clear link between the contents of the articles and the advertisements? Are there references to other media in the magazines? Why, or why not? Is there any link between the ownership of the magazine and the musicians who are featured? (You could probably do something similar with television programs about music.

TV News (includes crime):
1. Analyse the media language of several different news bulletins, either bulletins on the same channel at different times of day, or bulletins on different channels at the same time of day. Pay attention to the way in which the bulletins begin and end (including the use of music), the design of the set, the appearance of the news readers or readers (including their body language) as well as to the actual items of news. However, you should also list the news items, their order etc.
2. Choose a controversial news story. Examine how it is treated in at least one newspaper and on at least one TV channel. What differences/similarities are there between the way in which newspapers and television present and analyse the news? What are the strong and weak points of the two media in dealing with important news stories? Is one media more balanced in its treatment than the other?