The following questions and activities are based on the order in which information is presented in the video.  The activities included here cover three different types of questions and assignments: basic review questions on information that is presented in the video; questions which deal with issues or events requiring further research; and assignments which require personal reflection on the issues being explored.  You may wish to view the video, or sections of it, more than once.  

The activities included here are only suggestions.  You may wish to adapt these for the students in your class.  Some of the questions might be best addressed in small group discussions or in a form of classroom debate; you may wish to extend others to include a specific action or participation in a campaign.  Obviously, it is important to use those activities that best suit the students and the curriculum. 

Some of the images and the information dealing with eating disorders may be disturbing for some students. After viewing the video, it is recommended that students have the opportunity to record their immediate, personal responses to what they have seen and heard.  A discussion should follow this writing time, allowing students to express their emotional responses to the video before they continue with any other questions. 

PART 1 – A Personal Perspective

1.  Sarah Taylor, a MuchMusic VJ, talks about the difference between her real life and appearance, and her work on television.  According to Sarah, what do people believe about what they see on television?  Do you agree that this is true?  Explain your answer with examples.

2.  Sarah believes celebrity culture has a particular focus with consequences for all those who consume it.  What does she think celebrity culture tends to focus on?  What does she think are the consequences of celebrity culture?  In Sarah’s experience, what do some people believe is necessary in order for them to have some kind of “place” in the world?  Do you agree with Sarah?  Is this especially true for young people?  Why or why not?

3.  a)  Sarah talks about how she felt as an 18 and 19 year old, when she could think about what she wanted to study, but more often thought about fitting into her jeans.   Are these concerns still a reality for young women today?  Are they mutually exclusive?  That is, do young women focus on their appearance at the risk of focusing on academic, or other more ‘serious’ pursuits?  Explain your answer with examples from your own experience.

b)  Describe whether or not you see evidence of the media’s influence among your peers.  Is this influence positive or negative?  How can you tell?  What criteria shape your response? 

c)  What media play the strongest role in your life?  Are there specific images or messages that have been very influential or powerful for you?  Have these images been positive or negative?  Explain.

PART 2 – Body Image and the Media

4.  Sarah travels to New York to meet with Eva Chen, Beauty and Health editor of Teen Vogue.  The editor acknowledges that their young readers are under a lot of pressure to be “perfect”.  At Teen Vogue, she states, they try to focus on beauty and health, and shoot “variety” and “off-beat” material as a way of expanding the definition of beauty. 

a)  Survey a copy of Teen Vogue and examine their editorial features closely.  Are there examples of “variety” and the “off beat”?    What definition of beauty does the magazine convey through the editorial content?

b)  What messages about beauty are conveyed through the advertising content in Teen Vogue?  What is the ratio of advertising content to editorial content?  Is there a relationship between the topics of articles and the products and images being sold through the advertising?  Explain why this may or may not be the case in either mainstream or alternative magazines.   

5.  The editor states that when it comes to the current obsession over body image “everyone should shoulder some of the responsibility.” 

a)  List the people, companies and organizations that you believe should take on some of the responsibility for the images of men and women that we see in the media today.  Is there evidence of this happening?  Describe specific examples of images of men and women that you believe are “positive”.  What makes these images different?  Where can these examples be found?

PART 3 – Eating Disorders and the Media

6.  Crystal, Devon, and Victoria talk about the challenges they have faced living up to a “perfect” ideal.  Select one of their stories and respond to the following questions: 

-What were the problems they faced?  How did they deal with their problems and concerns?  What were the consequences for them? 

-How did others around them react to their situation?

-What did Crystal, Devon and Victoria learn from their struggles? 

-What can we learn from their stories? 

7.  Devon talks to a number of male students about the images of women found in many music videos.  Many of these videos are controversial because, as the students state, the images are “over exaggerated” and sexual in nature. 

Analyze the messages and values of a music video of your choice.  Make your selection based on the availability of song lyrics as well as the video for the song.  Use the following questions as a guide for your analysis: 

a)  Identify the major visual images in the video.

b)  Examine the content of the lyrics.  Describe the ways in which the   images in the video relate to the lyrics and melody of the song.  To what extent does the video represent your interpretation of the lyrics? 

c)  Examine the technical components of the video.  Consider the use of color, lighting, editing (pace, juxtaposition, cutting on the beat), special effects, and the connection between audio and video components.

d)  Using the checklist below, interpret the ideological and value messages being presented.   Does the ad/video present the beliefs of one particular group?

-Who is in a position of power?  Who is not?  Who benefits as a result?

-Does the video exclude any groups of people or their beliefs?

-What stereotypes are used?  To what effect?

-What definitions of happiness, success, or morality are implied?    

e)  Determine the target audience.  Would the video have any appeal beyond this target audience? 

f)  Evaluate the video for its creative treatment of the song’s theme and for using video techniques in innovative ways, or conversely, for its use of visual cliches and formulaic gimmicks. 

g)  Write a review of this music video, summarizing your responses to the above questions. 

8.  Musician Chantal Kreviazuk has said that, “at this point, it takes a lot of guts to keep your clothes on.” What videos are available that present an alternative to those that contain sexually explicit imagery?  What makes these videos different?  What messages are being conveyed?  Do you think these videos and songs are effective?  Explain your answer with specific examples. 

9.   a)  Select song lyrics you like and prepare a storyboard for a music video that, in your opinion, presents men and women in positive roles.  What elements of the video can contribute to this portrayal? 

b)  If a video for this song already exists, compare your outline with the video that has been produced, noting differences and similarities in imagery and techniques.

10.  Musician Matthew Good has stated: “we’re entertained by nothing at all—by marketing.  Not art, literature, music, but by what has had the most money pumped into it—not necessarily what says anything in particular.”

What reasons might Matthew Good have for making this comment?  Can you think of examples in our culture that prove this statement to be true?  Are their exceptions to this in our culture?  Explain your responses with examples. 

11.  In what ways are marketers trying to target young people today?  Consider your roles as student, family member, resident of your community, etc.  Can you think of examples that would demonstrate whether or not these marketers have been successful?

12.  To what extent is it possible to resist the strategies of advertisers and marketers? Have you or your peers been successful in this kind of resistance?  Read several copies of Adbuster’s magazine, or visit their website at www.adbusters.org to investigate what “culture jammers” are doing today and why.   What strategies of theirs do you think are most effective?  Why?

PART 4 – Cosmetic Surgery

13. In the final segment of the video, we learn that some people turn to cosmetic surgery as a way of attaining an “ideal” body image.  List the examples from the video that are used to demonstrate this. 

 
14.  The video shows that when it comes to the images of beauty we see in the media, these images are often “re-made” to suit some predetermined beauty ideal.  This situation is often referred to as the “retouching epidemic”. 

a)  What changes are made to the image of the model in the video?

b)  Why do you think this kind of retouching takes place? 

c)  What impact might this kind of manipulated image have on women and how they see themselves? 

d)  Does your knowledge of retouching make you feel differently about the images you see in print ads and in magazines?

16.  Dr. Julie Khanna warns of the seriousness of cosmetic surgery and explains that if someone really wants a procedure, he or she has to be doing it “for themselves”, not for anyone or anything else.  She spends time with potential patients, talking to them about the risks involved, what their expectations are, and what they hope to gain from an operation.

a)  Using the Internet, research what is involved in various cosmetic surgeries, including liposuction.   Make note of the cost, the risks, recovery time and any other information provided. 

b)  Compare this information to the messages conveyed through advertising for cosmetic surgery.  Deconstruct one ad, paying attention to the models used, the setting, colour, the camera angle and type of shot, and the overall impression that is constructed. What information is the consumer given in cosmetic surgery advertisements?  What information is left out?  Who benefits as a result? 

c)  What advice would you give Katie, the 20 year old considering liposuction?

PART 5 - Expectations, Reality and the Truth

19. Visit the website for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre at www.nedic.ca and the Girls, Women + Media Project www.mediaandwomen.org   

Investigate the organizations using the following questions as a guide:

a)  Summarize the goals of these organizations.

b)  What actions or campaigns have they been involved in?  Explain whether or not these actions have been successful or helpful for young men and women. 

c)  What advice do they give young people regarding media images of men and women?  What action is it possible for young people to take?

d)  What resources and support do they provide or recommend for young men and women?

20.  What is the advice that the students interviewed throughout the video have to offer?  Based on this video and your discussions with your peers, what advice would you give young men and women today about media literacy and the images of men and women in the media?  Develop a guide for viewers your own age that will help them “watch carefully and think critically”.

BIOGRAPHY

Carolyn Wilson is a teacher, author, consultant and President of the Association for Media Literacy in Ontario, Canada.   Co-author of the best selling textbook, Mass Media and Popular Culture, Version 2, Carolyn has been invited to speak at conferences around the world by such organizations as UNESCO and UNICEF.

In 2005, Carolyn received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence for her pioneering work in media literacy and global education.

She is a seconded instructor at the Ontario Institutes for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.

For more information about MuchMusic’s educational programming – or to give us your feedback – please contact:

Kim Rapagna
Manager, Public Affairs
CTVglobemedia Inc.
krapagna@ctvglobemedia.com