Alternative Media Analysis
- 12pt font (Times New Roman or Arial), double-spaced, default margins and line spacing.
- Meaningfully include at least two scholarly resources not on our syllabus.
o Please cite these references at the end of your essay (MLA or Chicago style).
o This will be helpful for scholarly resources:
http://libguides.gatech.edu/c.
Part 1: Explain and define your alternative medium.
- Select a medium that is NOT television or film.
- This section must explain in detail the formal qualities of your medium.
o You do not need to list every single formal quality of your medium, but please describe
some of the key ones
o Think of our chapter on film vocabulary (mise en scene, lighting, editing, etc.). What are
some of the vocabulary of your medium?
o You may define these in-text or you may list them like a glossary, but I will be looking for
your use of these terms in your paper.
- You may, additionally, describe your topic is an alternative medium per other criteria.
o e.g. “Mosh pits are a kind of dance, but they are also their own medium because…”
o You must base your argument in the formal qualities of your medium.
o Scholarly resources and/or interviews will be needed to support these claims.
Part 2: Do a semiotic analysis of a text from your alternative medium.
- You may do this analysis on a text from the medium itself OR of a representation of that medium.
o e.g. you may analyze a specific experience of being in a mosh pit OR a mosh pit as it’s
represented in a different medium, like the documentary The Decline of Western
Civilization
- I expect your analysis to use the vocabulary we have learned in class.
o e.g. signifiers, connotation/denotation, codes, myths.
- An example of a strong semiotic analysis can be found here:
https://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/
Part 3: Do an ideological reading of your text.
- Is your text ideologically dominant or radical? Or something else? (e.g. subversive,
propagandistic)
o Use your semiotic analysis to support your claim.
- What power structures are being maintained or naturalized? Which ones are being challenged?
How?
. You may also connect your analysis to your own personal experiences.
Solution Preview
Adidas Impossible is Nothing Print Campaign
Part 1
Apart from the TV commercials, Adidas conducted a print campaign for its “Impossible is Nothing” mission to reach a broader audience around the world. This promotion featured Chinese athletes in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (Macleod Par 1). One of the visual images shown below was part of the publications that helped spread the message of support and victory in the games.
Figure 1: illustrates Sui Feifei, a Chinese Basket baller who plays with Sacramentio Monarchs, held by supporters while scoring. Retrieved from http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2007/impossible-is-nothing-in-china/
The above media’s design is in such a way that it emphasizes certain mentalities and perspectives of the public when it comes to sports. However, there are other ideologies represented by its creative visualization which can be explained by the basic terms of visual elements. The mise en scène in this is through the arrangement of the characters and props to connect an audience to the main illustration (Jain & Subhadip, 176).
(1,806 words)