Response Assignment
There are several "response" assignments for the semester. Read directions carefully.
Due Monday 04 February
In a response assignment, something provokes you to "imagine" or "contemplate" an idea or issue. Your "response" is your presentation of that idea or issue.
Responses are not exactly formal, but an organizational pattern should be present, as well as a thesis, clear topics, and clearly stated details. Grammar and mechanics should also be polished. 1st person is okay to use in a personal response, but it is not proper in a formal paper.
Please TYPE all responses. In order to "practice" MLA format, make sure you have a header in the upper left hand corner, a centered title, 1 inch margins, times new roman font, and use appropriate spacing, indentions, etc.
Response Assignment 2: Due M 04 February
Topic: Media Violence
The Assignment: What are your thoughts on Violent Media? Is violent (fictional) media to blame for real violence in society? Does violent media have redeeming qualities, or should it be censored? Do you tend to agree with Jones, Leo, or Manson about violent media? How are these essays relevant right now?
You will use the readings in Chapter 2, as well as the article by Marilyn Manson, to convey your thoughts on violent media. Think of how to take a creative approach to this subject. Because this is a response paper, you may use first or third person. Your essay should be 5 paragraphs and 2 pages in length. It should be typed, double-spaced, and in 12 point Times New Roman font. It should contain a header and title and should follow MLA format. Each paragraph should contain at least 5 complete sentences. Each body paragraph should contain at least 1 correctly cited quote from the readings in chapter 2, and there should also be at least 1 from Marilyn Manson’s article as well . So, you are citing 3 sources-- the Manson article, the Jones article, and the Leo article. You need 4 quotes minimum but can have up to 6.
Do not place long quotes in short papers! You need to "trim" the quote and blend it into your own sentence. Long quotes of 2 or more sentences are not appropriate for such a short essay. Furthermore, quotes of more than 3 lines require special citation format.
Remember what you learned about incorporating quotes: Use your identifying tags or blend them into your sentences.
Challenge: Think outside of the box. BE CREATIVE.
Think about how the articles might have swayed your opinion. Remember, you may choose to present some personal reasons here-- maybe you grew up watching horror films or playing video games? Or, you can be objective about the reasons. In a personal response, like a blog article, you have many options. When you are developing your answer, consider the following:
· Beginning: How is violent media defined? What constitutes “violent media”? Start with a hook, and make sure you define "violent media."
· Are there consequences of violent media? What are they? OR, are there benefits? What are they?
Your thesis will address the prompt from above (the blue questions) . You may choose to focus your essay based on which aspect of the prompt "speaks" to you.
· Middle: Can exposure to violent media be good for people (kids or adults)? When? Why?
· Are artists in any way responsible for real violence in society?
· Why might people find violent media enjoyable (it makes up a large part of the entertainment industry)? Do they have a right to enjoy it?
· End: Is censorship ever warranted? To what degree? Who decides?
There are many different ways you can approach the answer to this question; I have kept it general and open-ended on purpose. However you choose to address the topic, just make sure your response is organized and detailed.
Another way to organize the paper is to have an introduction which defines violent media and sets up the topic, then devote each body paragraph to an article you read (example: body 1-Leo, body 2-Jones, body 3- Manson), and conclude with your own thoughts/analyses of the topic. However, if you do this, be careful NOT to summarize the articles! You can provide a summary in ONE sentence, then go on to ANALYZE the argument and apply it. Use quotes and examples to get your point across. Try to use concrete, descriptive language [ROCK words, not PEBBLE words.]
Make sure you use some logic based evidence-- it is easy to remain emotion-based with a topic like this. Avoid absolutes like "always" and "never," and avoid hasty generalizations. Your goal is to convince your reader that your point of view is valid and worthy of consideration; in order to do this, you must have a good working knowledge of the subject. Read your articles carefully.
Here are some tips to remember:
· Body paragraphs should begin with clear topic statements.
· Sentence structure should be varied.
· Organize your ideas.
· Pay attention to grammar.
· Remember to indent your paragraphs.
· Don’t forget your header.
· Center your title.
· Write neatly.
· Do not use phrases such as “this paper will be about” or “in conclusion”.
Do not pepper your essay with "it my opinions" and "it seems to me..."
Use ROCK words, not PEBBLE words. [Pebble words are generic and meaningless; the most common pebble words I see used are "thing" and "it."]
· Give yourself a few minutes to outline your thoughts.
Internal Citation Format:
Remember that all quotes are worked in as part of your own sentence; no quote should ever be left "hanging". Internal citation includes author's last name and page number inside parenthesis; if you mention the author's name in the sentence that you are quoting, then only the page number is necessary within the parenthesis.
Examples:
"We send the message to our children... that their craving for imaginary gun battles and symbolic killings is wrong" (Jones 39). Jones is saying that it is wrong to tell kids that their feelings of rage and aggression are unnatural or wrong. INCORRECT
*The above citation is incorrect because the quotation is not worked into an original sentence. It is hanging.
Jones argues, "we send the message to our children... that their craving for imaginary gun battles and symbolic killings is wrong" (39), but at the same time, the feelings of aggression and rage are only natural. The world of video games, television, and toys allows them to express their natural feelings through healthy imaginary play, rather than through real violence. CORRECT
* The above citation is worked within a bigger sentence;
it is introduced, quoted, cited, and explained!
* Notice the ... within the quote. This is how you punctuate the quote if you've taken words out of the original sentence.
* Blend or use identifying tags!
CITE YOUR TEXTBOOK in a Works Cited Page. You need a separate citation for each article you use. Because you are citing more than one work from the same source, you cite this in a special way. Here's an example from pg. 484 in your grammar book; substitute your sources for these samples-- just plug in your information, and your format should be correct.
Cite the Marilyn Manson article appeared in Rolling Stone magazine on May 28, 1999. You will need to correctly cite this with the author, title, date, etc. Here is the link: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/columbine-whose-fault-is-it-19990624
You can find format info. in your textbook in chapters 9-11 and on this website on the link to those chapters.
Example of how to cite more than one work from the same anthology/textbook:
Kennedy, X.J. , and Dana Gioia, eds. LIterature: An Introduction to Fiction. 10th ed.
New York: Longman, 2007. Print.
Merwin, W.S. "For the Anniversary of My Death." Kennedy and Gioia 877-78.
Stevens, Wallace. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Kennedy and Gioia
880-82.
**The first entry is the book itself. The next 2 are the selected readings from the book that are cited in the paper. Sources are listed in ABC order.
Example of how to cite an article from a magazine you accessed from online:
Manson, Marilyn. "Columbine, Whose Fault is It?" Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone online. 24 June 1999. Web. 25 January 2013.
Author, "title of article," title of magazine, title of website, date published, Web, date retrieved.
Response to "Media Violence" by Marilyn Manson
Sample Response Essay:
Harmful Imagery or Creative Inspiration:
How Freddy Krueger Turned Me into an English Major
In 1984, two 7 year old girls sat in the front seats of a movie theater, their parents several rows back, watching Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street; I was one of those little girls. I sat mesmerized as this burned boogeyman approached each of his victims, in their dreams, attempting revenge for his horrific murder years before. Today, it would be a lot more difficult to justify a 7 year old seeing such a film, but back in 1984, it was fairly commonplace. People view the world as more complicated nowadays; perhaps they look at the past and all its atrocities and feel that if something is done differently, then the future will somehow look different. One perception is that media violence is a root cause of such atrocities, and perhaps the absence of such fictionalized imagery will achieve a different result. So far, from what I can see, it isn’t working.
Violence is inherent in human nature; we do not have a violent society because we create violent imagery. On the contrary, we create violent imagery because real life allows us to imagine it. As Marilyn Manson notes in his famous 1999 article on the Littleton, Colorado school massacre, “Times have not become more violent, they’ve just become more televised” (par. 2). Real murders do occur in society; the U.S. Census Bureau estimates approximately 2,000 murders by stabbings from knives or other sharp instruments per year. Because people legitimately fear being “cut,” the premise of A Nightmare on Elm Street is able to be imagined, and the film has been able to find an audience. It would then be ridiculous to blame Wes Craven for a stabbing murder since this kind of crime existed before his film, just as it would be ridiculous to blame a musician or comic book author for causing the issues they only seek to highlight through their art.
Not only are these examples of “violent” media not the cause of crime and chaos in our society, but in more cases than not, they may actually serve to curb societal violence. The great philosopher Aristotle posited that fictionalized tragedy, often presented violently, is cathartic for humans; in other words, it allows us to purge our negative emotions in a safe and manageable way. Professor Joe Sachs explains that fear can be like a poison for our emotional well-being, and “it would be good to flush this feeling from our systems, bring it into the open, and clear the air” (par. 1). He continues, “this may explain the appeal of horror movies, that they redirect our fears…” (par. 1) and release us from real-world anxiety. In the same sense, a pulsating rock anthem can actually calm an angry teenager down and offer them the realization that they are not alone in their feelings, and a young boy who is teased for being unmanly or shy can find confidence by imagining himself as Peter Parker, just waiting for his Spider Man moment. Granted, these stories of violent media leading to the triumphant “coming of age” of thousands of teenagers each year isn’t as fashionable a story to tell as the one about the one extremist who took his or her love of rock music, comic books, or horror films too far and committed a crime, but aren’t they as valuable?
Watching horror films and listening to rock music did not turn me into a violent murderer; it did, though, foster my intellect. By listening to protest anthems and reading controversial books, I was able to piece together an historical perspective that cannot be learned from a textbook alone. Because I became so well-versed in popular media, I learned the art of making connections between texts and examining the themes and messages imbedded within the media. Understanding that Freddy Krueger offers society a warning about rogue justice or that his story bears resemblance to that of the antagonist in Fritz Lang’s M is an important skill that I have because of my initial exposure to and my eventual passion for controversial media. Therefore,when I hear “teachers begging parents to keep their kids away from “junk culture”’ (Jones 37), my question to them might be what defines “junk,” and who decides upon the definition? To many, Freddy Krueger would be part of that “junk,” but to the 7 year old who sat in that theater in 1984, he was the inspiration behind her career in the study of stories, characters, and the meaning behind them.
Artists should never be blamed for societal violence; in most cases, they are merely holding a mirror up to the reality that already exists or providing catharsis for emotions we are already suppressing. While it may be true that there are some examples of violent media that have no intrinsic value but to be violent for violence sake, it is also true that most controversial media was created, as Marilyn Manson famously commented, to “challenge people’s ideas in a world that is watered-down and hollow” (par. 9). The burden for deciphering that value falls to each one of us. Furthermore, the confines of our personal intellect, our capacity for accurately interpreting the message in the media, and what we do with that message, is not the responsibility of any artist.
As Freddy Krueger hones in on his final victim Nancy, she fights back. As a 7 year old girl, I didn’t only watch a monster out to kill his victims; I watched a teenage girl use her mind and every ounce of her strength to render her attacker powerless. I’ve watched A Nightmare on Elm Street countless times since my first experience with the movie back in 1984, and every time I watch it, I learn something new. I long for the day when Halloween trick-or-treaters again come to the door in hockey masks, holding sickles, or sporting ratty red and green sweaters rather than the cartoon characters, furry zoo animals, and bubble gum pop icons that are so popular today. Without the violence in the media, without the controversy, we are in danger of entering a future devoid of creativity and imagination. But more importantly, we risk entering a future with a generation devoid of the knowledge to cope with the very real problems in the world and the very real emotions they will inevitably experience as result of it. I’d bet that for every child Freddy Krueger has harmed, he’s produced a thousand artists, writers, and English majors.
Harmful Imagery or Creative Inspiration:
How Freddy Krueger Turned Me into an English Major
In 1984, two 7 year old girls sat in the front seats of a movie theater, their parents several rows back, watching Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street; I was one of those little girls. I sat mesmerized as this burned boogeyman approached each of his victims, in their dreams, attempting revenge for his horrific murder years before. Today, it would be a lot more difficult to justify a 7 year old seeing such a film, but back in 1984, it was fairly commonplace. People view the world as more complicated nowadays; perhaps they look at the past and all its atrocities and feel that if something is done differently, then the future will somehow look different. One perception is that media violence is a root cause of such atrocities, and perhaps the absence of such fictionalized imagery will achieve a different result. So far, from what I can see, it isn’t working.
Violence is inherent in human nature; we do not have a violent society because we create violent imagery. On the contrary, we create violent imagery because real life allows us to imagine it. As Marilyn Manson notes in his famous 1999 article on the Littleton, Colorado school massacre, “Times have not become more violent, they’ve just become more televised” (par. 2). Real murders do occur in society; the U.S. Census Bureau estimates approximately 2,000 murders by stabbings from knives or other sharp instruments per year. Because people legitimately fear being “cut,” the premise of A Nightmare on Elm Street is able to be imagined, and the film has been able to find an audience. It would then be ridiculous to blame Wes Craven for a stabbing murder since this kind of crime existed before his film, just as it would be ridiculous to blame a musician or comic book author for causing the issues they only seek to highlight through their art.
Not only are these examples of “violent” media not the cause of crime and chaos in our society, but in more cases than not, they may actually serve to curb societal violence. The great philosopher Aristotle posited that fictionalized tragedy, often presented violently, is cathartic for humans; in other words, it allows us to purge our negative emotions in a safe and manageable way. Professor Joe Sachs explains that fear can be like a poison for our emotional well-being, and “it would be good to flush this feeling from our systems, bring it into the open, and clear the air” (par. 1). He continues, “this may explain the appeal of horror movies, that they redirect our fears…” (par. 1) and release us from real-world anxiety. In the same sense, a pulsating rock anthem can actually calm an angry teenager down and offer them the realization that they are not alone in their feelings, and a young boy who is teased for being unmanly or shy can find confidence by imagining himself as Peter Parker, just waiting for his Spider Man moment. Granted, these stories of violent media leading to the triumphant “coming of age” of thousands of teenagers each year isn’t as fashionable a story to tell as the one about the one extremist who took his or her love of rock music, comic books, or horror films too far and committed a crime, but aren’t they as valuable?
Watching horror films and listening to rock music did not turn me into a violent murderer; it did, though, foster my intellect. By listening to protest anthems and reading controversial books, I was able to piece together an historical perspective that cannot be learned from a textbook alone. Because I became so well-versed in popular media, I learned the art of making connections between texts and examining the themes and messages imbedded within the media. Understanding that Freddy Krueger offers society a warning about rogue justice or that his story bears resemblance to that of the antagonist in Fritz Lang’s M is an important skill that I have because of my initial exposure to and my eventual passion for controversial media. Therefore,when I hear “teachers begging parents to keep their kids away from “junk culture”’ (Jones 37), my question to them might be what defines “junk,” and who decides upon the definition? To many, Freddy Krueger would be part of that “junk,” but to the 7 year old who sat in that theater in 1984, he was the inspiration behind her career in the study of stories, characters, and the meaning behind them.
Artists should never be blamed for societal violence; in most cases, they are merely holding a mirror up to the reality that already exists or providing catharsis for emotions we are already suppressing. While it may be true that there are some examples of violent media that have no intrinsic value but to be violent for violence sake, it is also true that most controversial media was created, as Marilyn Manson famously commented, to “challenge people’s ideas in a world that is watered-down and hollow” (par. 9). The burden for deciphering that value falls to each one of us. Furthermore, the confines of our personal intellect, our capacity for accurately interpreting the message in the media, and what we do with that message, is not the responsibility of any artist.
As Freddy Krueger hones in on his final victim Nancy, she fights back. As a 7 year old girl, I didn’t only watch a monster out to kill his victims; I watched a teenage girl use her mind and every ounce of her strength to render her attacker powerless. I’ve watched A Nightmare on Elm Street countless times since my first experience with the movie back in 1984, and every time I watch it, I learn something new. I long for the day when Halloween trick-or-treaters again come to the door in hockey masks, holding sickles, or sporting ratty red and green sweaters rather than the cartoon characters, furry zoo animals, and bubble gum pop icons that are so popular today. Without the violence in the media, without the controversy, we are in danger of entering a future devoid of creativity and imagination. But more importantly, we risk entering a future with a generation devoid of the knowledge to cope with the very real problems in the world and the very real emotions they will inevitably experience as result of it. I’d bet that for every child Freddy Krueger has harmed, he’s produced a thousand artists, writers, and English majors.