Format: 5 pages (double spaced, 12-point font, standard margins) minimum and 6 pages maximum. Do not deviate from your spacing. That is, once you begin your essay the entirety of the essay will be in double-spaced formatting only. Please do not triple space etc. between paragraphs. Be sure to indent when beginning a new paragraph. Your essay must have consistent font use throughout your essay. If you must cut and paste be certain it is made consistent with the rest of your essay. Your essay must adhere to either an MLA or APA formatting (be sure to look this up if you are unfamiliar), your essay must include a separate title page (that also includes a word count) and bibliography page, and neither of these are included in your page total requirement.
Bibliography: You are required to use, consistently and throughout your essay, a minimum of three academic sources and a maximum of five. This is strict. Part of your score is based on your research, and it is up to you to find, investigate, and determine whether a source is applicable. That is, this is a sociology course and as such you need to find sources that are sociological in nature. Start on the TMU library site and begin typing in the keywords you identify as central to your essay.
Please choose one of the following topics:
1. You People (Netflix, 2023)
Keywords: performative social activism, critical race theory, social conflict theory, forms of “difference”, encoding and decoding.
2. Beckham (Netflix, 2023)
Keywords: social class, globalization, masculinity, celebrity, identity and the body, the public and the private, documentary cinema
3. Frances Ha (Netflix, 2011)
Keywords: gender, coming of age, friendship, youth culture, feminist film theory, intimacy, difference
4. Funny Pages (2022)
Keywords: gender, coming of age, friendship, high school, youth culture, social conflict theory
5. The Pursuit of Happyness (Netflix, 2006)
Keywords: critical race theory, social class, masculinity, social conflict theory, power
6. Closer (Netflix, 2004)
Keywords: social conflict theory, gender, social class, masculinity, power, feminist film theory
7. Barbie (2023)
Keywords: feminist film theory, gender, queer theory, performance, power, encoding/decoding
8. Generation Z and Social Media and Activism –
Keywords: the 1960s, Civil Rights, Feminism, Queer Rights, protest, civil disobedience (the past) and social media, online communities, social activism online, performance, the “Black Square” controversy, gender, race and sexuality, youth culture, counter-hegemony, capitalism, discrimination
9. Only Fans and Online Sex Work: Gender, Sexuality, Social Media and Capitalism –
Keywords: feminist theory, social conflict theory, the gender wars, capitalism, sexism, patriarchy, micro-celebrity, counter-hegemony, power, autonomy, “slut shaming”, toxic masculinity, dominant culture
10. Women, Sports, Social Media and Trolling Culture –
Keywords: gender, queer theory, feminist theory, misogyny, sexism, dominant culture, anonymity, power
Research and Bibliography:
Informally speaking, the bibliography often separates students who enjoy the challenge of research and producing a critical essay from students who see the course as “just an elective” and simply find whatever sources are most easily located and use them once or twice. Spend some time on the TMU library website. You are required to do academic research and there is NO shortage of sources applicable to each topic listed. Lastly, I mark your essay objectively and optimistically: if you take the assignment seriously, ensure you follow every instruction, produce a well written essay that communicates to me critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, a competent use and inclusion of your bibliography, and finally, a desire to examine the topic while including course content, you will do just fine.
Purpose: You are required to research and write a critical essay examining the topic of your choice from a sociological perspective in which you examine the central issues you see as most pertinent. Avoid first-person, avoid flowery celebrations such as ” _______” and avoid the phrase “I think.” You are writing a critical essay that examines the sociology of popular culture.
