DWF Teaching Companion for Media Studies

8/4/2019 DWF Teaching Companion for Media Studies

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A Guide toUsingDivided We Fallin Media StudiesCourses

Thank you for downloading this

teaching companion for the

documentary film, Divided We

Fall. We are excited to offer you

this resource and hope that you

find it valuable and easy to use.

The activities in this lesson are

guidelines to inspire your

teaching; they may be applied

flexibly. Visit our website http://

www.dwf-film.com/for more

lesson guides, multimedia, and

supplemental resources. If you

have any questions about this

guide, please contact Jodi Elliott

[email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.participate.net/educatorshttp://www.participate.net/educatorshttp://www.participate.net/educatorshttp://www.participate.net/educators


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Intended AudienceThe activities in this guide are designed for college level Media Studies and Communications courses. They

may also be adapted and used to facilitate discussions about stereotyping or media literacy for high school

students or general audiences.

Lesson ObjectivesUpon completion of the lesson, students will be able to:

Recognize the presence of stereotyping in media

Analyze media messages and draw conclusions about how different target groups are portrayed

Evaluate the impact of media messages on audiences and on their own understanding of the world

Additionally, the lesson facilitates exploration of these questions: What is media? What role does the media

play in perpetuating stereotypes? How has the media affected my own understanding of people or groups

who are different from myself?

Teaching TipsEmploy this lessonbefore students have watched Divided We Fall.


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Activity 1

25MIN PHOTO PREVIEW

Intro This warm-up activity should be completed before showing

students the film Divided We Fall. The purpose of this activity is

twofold. First, to identify the stereotypes and preconceived ideas

students may have developed based on images presented in themedia. Second, to encourage students to deconstruct these ideas

and analyze the factors that may have contributed to their

development.

1 Begin with the photos of Sikh men included in Handout 1.

Reproduce them in a way that will enable you to show them to the

class one by one (in a Powerpoint presentation, on screen, or

printed out).

2 Before you show the students the images, tell them to take out a

piece of paper or their journal. Explain to students: In silence, write

down anything that comes to mind as you see these differentimages. Write anythingbad, good, or neutralthat pops into your

mind. Alternatively, tell students draw a line lengthwise down the

center of their notebook, making two columns. The left-hand

column should be labeled what I see and the right-hand column

should be labeled how it makes me feel. Students should record

what they notice about the images in the left-hand column first, and

afterwards jot down their perceptions and feelings about the images

on the right. Encourage students to jot down everything that comes

to mind, and not to filter or process their thoughts.

3 One by one, show the class each picture. Allow them approximately

15 to 30 seconds to process each image. After you have shown allof the pictures, allow students extra time to record any thoughts

they may not have had time to write down as the images were being

displayed. If you chose to have students use the chart, this would

be the time for them to fill out the right-hand column and process

how the images or their perception of the images made them feel.

Once they are finished, lead the students in a discussion about what

they wrote. You should anticipate that many of them will write down

terrorist or turban or September 11th. It is also possible that

students may offer more accurate and specific answers such as a

Sikh man or Siddhar. Record student answers on a blackboard or

screen for all to see.

3

Written by Irene Yeh and Marisa Jackson Hedges. Produced byMindgate Media

2011 New Moon Productions. All rights reserved
http://mindgatemedia.com/http://mindgatemedia.com/


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Activity 1 (cont.)

25MIN PHOTO PREVIEW (CONTINUED)

4 Begin a discussion around the recorded answers. The primary goal

of this discussion is for students to realize that the media affects

what they know or dont know about the world. Questions for

discussion might include:

How many students wrote the same thing?

Now that youve had a chance to process your initial thoughts,

how do you feel about what you wrote down?

Do your ideas accurately describe the images? How would you

know if they do not?

If what you recorded is inaccurate, where do you think your ideas

came from?

Where are we exposed to stereotypes, prejudice, negative

attitudes, and discriminatory behaviors?

If a student accurately recognized the images of Sikh men, you

may want to ask: Where did you learn about Sikhism?

Encourage the class to compare how their accurate and

inaccurate ideas were learned.

5 Show students clip 1:08:38 to 1:09:01 from the film, or read out loud

Valaries monologue from that scene:

I see somebody with a turban, I say hes a siddhar, hes a Sikh

man. Hes like my uncle, hes like my brother. Hes like my

grandfather. I know him, we come from the same place, he probably

speaks Punjabi. He says the same prayers that I do.

Then, ask students:

How is Valaries response similar to or different from the

responses of people in this class?

What factors influence how we responded to these images? What

factors influenced Valaries response?

What factors influence how we respond in general to images of

unfamiliar people or groups?

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Activity 2

45MIN IMAGE COMPARISON

1 Photocopy and distribute to students Handout 2 which includes two

images from the film. Explain to them that both are images that

might appear in the news media. Instruct them to write an imaginary

caption for each image. Give students 2 to 3 minutes to create theircaptions.

2 Ask students to share their headlines aloud or post them on the

board for the class to read.

3 After they have shared, have them compare and contrast the

photos. Questions you might pose include:

What messages are being sent by these photos?

How are they different? How are they similar?

Which looks like the images you have seen more frequently in the

media? How do the words chosen for the headline impact your

understanding of the image?

Why might a media outlet choose to introduce its audience to the

story of Sher Singh and not man with the flag? How might this

decision impact our understanding of Sikh Americans?

4 Show students the short film The Psychology of Hate, available on

the Divided We FallDVD and website, which features Stanford

social psychologist Joseph Brown. Ask students for their reactions

to the clip.

!

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Optional Assignments

REINFORCING LESSON CONCEPTS

1 Media Analysis Project. This assignment expands beyond media

portrayal of Sikhs and encourages students to analyze the way

media portrays other target groups. This long-term media analysis

project is outlined for students on Handout 3. There are severaltarget groups listed on the assignment sheet, and the instructor can

assign students one or multiple target groups. Once the project has

been assigned, encourage students to use a variety of media

sources and to follow them over a period of time. Students should

document the media they have viewed on the sheet provided.

2 Magazine Collage. This assignment ask students to analyze U.S.

media portrayal of the Middle East (or another geographic region or

target group). Ask students ahead of time to bring old news

magazines and newspapers to class. You may want to procure

several of these materials yourself in advance. Instruct students to

cut out any image they can find that relates to the Middle East.Students should not filter their findings; any and all images should

be clipped. After providing sufficient time to gather the pictures,

instruct students to paste the images together on a big sheet of

paper to make a large collage. Post the collage so that all students

can view it and analyze what common themes they see. (Typically,

the images students find of the Middle East will be of a violent

nature and the activity will lead to a discussion).

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Handout 1PHOTO PREVIEW ACTIVITY


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Handout 2Using your imagination and the information you can observe in the image, write a caption for the

news article that might accompany each of these images in the newspaper. You can also write a

caption for the photo.

What are the similarities between these images? What are the differences? Which are you more likely

to see in the news media? Why?

!!

!

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Handout 3MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT: TARGET GROUP REPRESENTATION

The purpose of this assignment is to increase your awareness about the presentation of target groups in the

media. The essential questions you will investigate are:

What patterns or trends are found as target groups are being portrayed?

What television channels or newspapers are particularly good or bad at portraying target groups?

How does the medias portrayal of this target group affect societys perception of that group?

For the next 8 days, please search for media representations of the target group you have been assigned.

Examples of media sources include, but are not limited to, print and online news, radio, television, magazines

cartoons, literature, art, and performing arts. You are responsible for writing a 2-3 page description and

analysis of what you found. Additionally, you will report your findings to your classmates.

Your assigned target group is circled below:

Muslims and/or people of Arab descent

African Americans

Jews

Sikhs

Latinos/Latinas/immigrants from Spanish Speaking countries

High School dropouts/persons not formally educated

Asian/Asian Americans

English as a Second Language (ESL) persons

Immigrants Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender

Poor, Working Class, People on Welfare

Native Americans

Women

Keep these concepts in mind as you research:

1. All media messages are constructed.

2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.

3. Different people experience the same message differently.

4. Media have embedded values and points of view.

5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

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Handout 3 (continued)MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT: TARGET GROUP REPRESENTATION

Questions to consider during your research and analysis:

What are the news stories associated with your target group? How are members of the target group

portrayed? (one dimensionally, with complexity, etc.) Are they portrayed as sad/happy/heroic/helpless or

a combination?

Do certain recurring images or stories seem to represent your target group?

What techniques are being used to attract your attention?

What does it mean if you see little to no representation of your particular target group? How would you

feel if you were a member of this target group?

Who is telling the story about the target group? Is a member of the target group telling the story? Are

members of the non-target group telling this story? What does this mean?

What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?

In what genres are they portrayed? Are they in positions of power?

From the perspective of the networks/and or producers, who is the target audience for the programming? Are there stereotypes that you can identify in this representation?

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DATE MEDIA ANALYZED (LIST CHANNELS, PERIODICALS, ETC.) TIME SPENT

Handout 3 (continued)MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT: TARGET GROUP REPRESENTATION

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DWF Teaching Companion for Media Studies

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