Complete the 5-step critical process for the following prompt. Select a prompt and then complete all of the steps listed. Answer each step fully and completely and support with credible sources as needed. Include at least 3 properly cited quotes, anecdotal evidence, data/numbers and other examples to support your argument or point-of-view. Proper college-level writing is expected. Proof-read for proper mechanics and grammar. This final assignment should be at least 1,000 words, though you should feel free to go longer if need be. Please do not exceed 1,200 words, however. THE BLOCKBUSTER MENTALITY In Module 7, we noted Hollywood’s shift toward a blockbuster mentality after the success of films like Star Wars. How pervasive is this blockbuster mentality, which targets an audience of young adults, releases action-packed big-budget films featuring heavy merchandising tie-ins, and produces sequels? Complete the tasks within each step and when you have finished all five, submit your complete 5-Step Process to your instructor in a single document. Remember back to the 5-step critical process in Module 1 where you analyzed ‘low culture’ and ‘high culture’ or back to your midterm. You will use those same steps for this assignment to analyze and reflect on one of the media you have learned about. You can see the steps listed again here: Description: Paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study. Analysis: Discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage. Interpretation: Asking and answering: ‘What does that mean?’ and ‘So what?’ questions about one’s findings. Evaluation: Arriving at a judgment about whether something is ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘mediocre’, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical ‘bigger picture’ resulting from the first three stages. Engagement: Taking some kind of action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens and watchdogs to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment. Description: Consider a list of the all-time highest-grossing movies in the United States, such as the one on Box Office Mojo (Links to an external site.). Analysis: Note patterns in the list. For example, of the thirty top-grossing films, nearly all of them target young audiences. Nearly all of these top-grossing films feature animated or digitally composited characters or extensive special effects. Nearly all of the films also either spawned or are a part of a series. More than half of the films fit into the action movie genre. Nearly all of the Top 30 had intense merchandising campaigns that featured action figures, fast-food tie-ins, and an incredible variety of products for sale; that is hardly any were ‘surprise’ hits. Interpretation: What do the patterns mean? It’s clear, economically, why Hollywood like to have successful blockbuster movie franchises. But what kinds of films get left out of the mix? Hits which may have had big-budget releases but lack some of the other attributes of blockbusters, are clearly anomalies of the blockbuster mentality, although they illustrate that strong characters and compelling stories can carry a film to great commercial success. Evaluation: It is likely that we will continue to see an increase in youth-oriented, animated/action movie franchises that are heavily merchandised and intended for wide international distribution. Indeed, Hollywood does not have a lot of motivation to put out the kinds of movies that don’t fit these categories. Is this a good thing? Can you think of a film that you thought was excellent and that would have probably been a bigger hit with better promotion and wider distribution? Engagement: Watch independent and foreign films to see what you’re missing. Visit the Sundance Film Festival site and browse through the many films listed. Find these films on Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, or iTunes. Write your cable company and request to have the Sundance Channel on your cable lineup. Organize an independent film night on the college campus and bring these films to a crowd. Explanation & Answer: 1000 words Tags: gross profit lack of motivation Public recognition Cable News Network merchandise advertising User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool’s honor code & terms of service.
Reference List: Basic Rules
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
This resource, revised according to the 7th edition APA Publication Manual, provides fundamental guidelines for constructing the reference pages of research papers. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (7th ed.).
Note: Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we’ve highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red.
Formatting a Reference List
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page “References” in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.
Basic Rules for Most Sources
- All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
- All authors’ names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
- Authors’ first and middle names should be written as initials.
- For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin with “Smith, J. M.”
- If a middle name isn’t available, just initialize the author’s first name: “Smith, J.”
- Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors (this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors). Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
- Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
- For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
- When referring to the titles of books, chapters, articles, reports, webpages, or other sources, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.
- Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See section below.
- Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).
- Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.
Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals
- Present journal titles in full.
- Italicize journal titles.
- Maintain any nonstandard punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its title.
- For example, you should use PhiloSOPHIA instead of Philosophia, or Past & Present instead of Past and Present.
- Capitalize all major words in the titles of journals. Note that this differs from the rule for titling other common sources (like books, reports, webpages, and so on) described above.
- This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources’ titles do not.
- Capitalize the first word of the titles and subtitles of journal articles, as well as the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and any proper nouns.
- Do not italicize or underline the article title.
- Do not enclose the article title in quotes.
- So, for example, if you need to cite an article titled “Deep Blue: The Mysteries of the Marianas Trench” that was published in the journal Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication, you would write the article title as follows:
- Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.
- …but you would write the journal title as follows:
- Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication
- So, for example, if you need to cite an article titled “Deep Blue: The Mysteries of the Marianas Trench” that was published in the journal Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication, you would write the article title as follows:
Please note: While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.
