POP CULTURE ANALYSIS PAPER GUIDELINES
Communication Studies 440
Dr. Jenna M. Delgado
Spring 2024
The Pop Culture Analysis is due by May 15th, 2024 by 11:59pm via Canvas.
The paper must be 8-10 pages long. It must be typed in Times New Roman or Arial, 11pt font; doublespaced; have 1-inch margins; adhere to standard MLA style; and have a works cited page. The works
cited page is not included in the final page count.
Goals of Essay: The task of this assignment is to choose a piece of pop culture (such as a series, film, song, music video, viral social media content, an internet meme, online gaming, a best-selling book, a public figure, and so on). Then choose a course reading as an analytical lens. You will use the reading to critically analyze the ideological power relations embedded in the piece of pop culture; present the historical contexts, assumptions, or dominant narratives of power that underwrite those relations of power.
Specifically, you will look for how discourses of race, class, gender, post-coloniality, or de-coloniality operate within your piece of pop culture. The paper must reflect a strong understanding of the primary concepts/arguments of the course reading and your paper must develop an original argument about the pop culture piece using those ideas.
Rules on Structure, Argumentation, and Citations
1) Use the Critical Paper Outline below to structure your paper.
2) Use 8 rigorous sources to develop this paper, including 1 of the course readings.
3) The paper must be critical, analytical, and rigorous.
4) The entire paper must be based on peer reviewed scholarship, credible journalism, or technical texts.
5) All sources must be quoted within the text and cited in the works cited page, properly.
6) All citations must be in MLA format.
7) The objective of the paper is the practice of scholarly rigor and critical thinking.
a. Use clear and coherent argumentation.
b. Support your thesis and all subsequent arguments, statements, etc., with appropriate sources. Keep your argument consistent and avoid contradiction.
8) USE ONLY library research – the following types of sources:
a. peer reviewed scholarship
b. reputable journalism
c. technical publication
9) DO NOT USE the following types of sources:
a. Informative Websites (e.g., WebMD, affirmative couch, coveteur, etc)
b. Crowd Sourced Websites (e.g., Wikipedia, Reddit, Quora, etc)
c. Online References (e.g., Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, etc)
d. ANY documentary from ANY studio/distributor (e.g., Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, etc)
e. Broadcast, Cable, or Citizen News Reporting (e.g., MSNBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, KTLA, Channel
5, NewsNation, NewsMax, DailyWire, etc)
f. Subjective, unreliable, anecdotal information (e.g., information based on general assumptions, speculation, common sense, beliefs, subjective morals/ethics, private conversations, individual opinions, or personal observations, etc). Do not use the first person, “I” or “we” or “they” in this paper.
g. Interviews or field work; anecdotal information will not be accepted at all for this assignment.
For tips on how to navigate the proper sources, reserve an appointment during office hours with Dr. Delgado ASAP to learn more.
Pop Culture Analysis Outline and Structure
1) Part 1 (2-3 pages)
a) Introduce, detail, and describe the piece of popular culture you have chosen piece as if your reader is not familiar with it.
i) Describe the history/origins of the pop culture piece (of the genre, style, representations, etc).
ii) Describe the contemporary context/circumstances of the pop culture piece.
iii) Explain who creates or makes the pop culture piece.
iv) Identify and explain the level of popularity of this piece of pop culture (unit sales, social media followers, revenue made, use of security or bodyguards, size of audience for live events, etc).
b) Explain the supporters and how the fanbase or the number of supporters developed for the pop culture piece.
i) Explain who the supporters, fans, viewers, consumers, followers, etc., are of the pop culture piece.
ii) Explain what supporters are drawn to about the pop culture piece and how they generally find it.
c) Introduce your primary argument about the pop culture piece; explain the relations of power in operation in the pop culture piece. Explain the ideological discourses of race, class, gender, postcoloniality, de-coloniality, or performativity at play.
2) Part 2 (5 pages)
a) Explain the text (the class reading) that you will rely on to help build your analysis of power relations, including the primary arguments and major concepts of the class reading.
b) Analyze in detail the relations of power in the pop culture piece through the lens of the class reading:
i) Apply the primary argument and main concepts to your pop culture piece.
ii) Unpack in detail what we can learn about the relations of power in the pop culture piece by looking at it through the lens of the class reading.
iii) Detail the most relevant details of the pop culture piece’s impact to social relations of power.
3) Part 3: Conclusion (1 – 2 pages)
a) Summarize the main arguments of your paper.
b) Explain the broader implications of your argument and how this impacts marginalized members of society.
c) End by explaining the social significance of understanding the pop culture piece in the manner that you have analyzed it.