What elements are essential for creating consensus-building narratives? How are they seen here?

Posted: March 8th, 2022

Term Paper.Analyze one of the films, through the lens of theories and approaches examined in the course.
Length: 1500 words, double space (excluding references). APA documentation style.
Other film options not covered in class.
Eyes on the Prize (2010) Civil Rights Movement
Crude (2009) American Oil Companies
E-team (not available on Youtube) Emergencies team, investigative reporting
Eco-pirate…the story of Paul Johnson, whale activist (not available on youtube)
Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower (Hong Kong activist) (not available on youtube)
Never Cry Wolf
Invictus
Citizenfour
Hadwin’s Judgment (environmentalist, not on Youtube)
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, about an environmentalist activist (on Youtube)
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (about a Chinese activist artist) on Youtube
Coffee: The Drink that Changed America (on youtube)
Nike sweatshops: behind the swoosh (short independent doc on youtube)
The True Cost (doc on the clothing industry) on Youtube
The Economics of Happiness (going local) good doc on Youtube
1. How do the visual implementation, moving and still images, camera angles, editing, and other visual and cinematographic elements serve the director’s intention to raise awareness OR how does the visual construction and composition of this video serve propaganda/ideological purposes?
2. What elements are essential for creating consensus-building narratives? How are they seen here?
3. What ideologies are present?
4. We say that communication involves ethical decisions. Look at one of the films and discuss the ethics involved, as far as how the key players are communicating their message. OR, discuss the ethics of how the film makers are framing the cause/the people involved.
5. Persuasion. How is this film persuasive or not? What persuasive tools are being used.
6. Choose a controversial image and discuss it from different perspectives, applying Standpoint Theory, Attribution Theory, and other topics covered in the course such as power, perspective, gaze and symbolism.
7. How are images used in politics? OR Choose a key political leader and discuss how images of him/her are used by parties of differing political persuasions.
8. We say that communication is always fraught with noise that gets in the way between the sender and the receiver of a given message. Discuss the noise involved in this film’s communication.
9. How do we see the parameters of Habermas’ public sphere in this film?
10. What communication errors do social movements typically make? What works? (you may choose a specific movement covered in class, and assess what worked/didn’t work).
11. Discuss relational communication in social movements.
12. How have the images, symbols, words present in the film been re-coded over time? How have the years changed how the film is seen?
13. Consider the movement showcased in the film. How do you see a knowledge gap? How is it being filled?
14. What is the role of mass communication/communication technology?
Examining the films as storytelling. Choose one or more questions below and answer in essay form.
1. What is not being told or seems intentionally ambiguous, versus what is intentionally being shared? What is being hidden?
2. Who is the hero/who is the villain and how are these distinctions created? How is the enemy created/described?
3. What is evil/what is good? What are the values/fears/morals involved?
4. What assumptions or shared values (with the viewer) is the documentary relying on?
5. Inter-textuality: How does the story they are telling fit or relate to other stories?
6. Symbols and signs: What are the symbolic actions, words, or things?
7. What language is being employed to reinforce identity and agenda?
8. How does the story frame the cause and help make sense of it?
9. What blind spots does the film have? Is anything intentionally left out/ambiguous?
10. What are the intentioned narrative and the potential antenarrative?
Participation in online discussions – 10%; throughout the semester
Points will be awarded for active participation in discussions. .
Ground rules:
You are strongly encouraged to participate in all real-time classes to fully grasp the course from a holistic perspective. This will greatly enhance the learning experience and help you in preparation for the mid-term and final exams.
The Course Outline is an agreement between students enrolled in CMN4172 and the lecturer. Students are expected to attend classes regularly, read all of the required readings, take notes, and participate actively in class discussions. In-class participation may boost your grade by compensating grades up to 10% of the final grade. Class participation is not merely expressing an opinion; it requires thoughtful, creative, and informed verbal input. Your class contribution to the subject matter will be reflected in your final mark.
An absence from any examination or test, or late submission of assignments due to illness must be justified. Reasons such as travel, employment and misreading the examination schedule are not accepted. Attendance will be taken sporadically. If you miss more than four classes, you may be barred from the final exam.
Marks cannot be improved by doing additional work after a grade has been submitted.
Attending class is the single most important thing you can do to achieve good results.
Students who disrupt the class by talking out of turn (private conversations) will be asked to stop and/or asked to leave.
Please note: You MUST be in class to participate in class activities. If you participate from elsewhere, or enable another student to do so, this is considered to be academic fraud.
Absence from an examination must be justified in writing no later than five working days after the exam. The Department and the Faculty reserve the right to accept or reject the reason offered for absence. A student is not allowed to write the final exam if he/she has not attended at least 80% of all classes. A proof of justified absence should be provided to the professor within 24 hours
Finally, this is a course on Intercultural Communication. I will do my utmost to make it engaging and relevant, but I also expect conversation. I expect to learn a lot from you. Furthermore, no matter where you come from, your gender, sexual orientation, demographic, religion, vaccination status, or political persuasion I want you to feel free to voice your considered opinion in this class. I will do my best to facilitate an even playing field. I expect us to all learn together.
Emails and Communication:
 Please write CMN4172in the subject line when emailing me. Otherwise, your email may go unnoticed if you fail to include the course code in the subject line;
 Always sign your first and last name and student # at the end of the email;
 If at any time something seems unclear, have general questions/comments, or have other concerns, please “raise your hand” during the online classes or get in contact with me during my Office Hours. The sooner we address any potential issues, the sooner we can resolve them.