Behind+the+Scenes

The primary purposes of this assignment are to (a) further develop critical thinking skills; (b) give students a better understanding of how to critically assess a text, including considerations of the target audience, the motives of the text, and the various ways to interpret a given text; (c) encourage creativity and collaboration; and (d) continue building upon concepts and skills previously discussed in class. The first task the students must complete is at least one journal writing session in which they write their immediate reactions, general observations, thoughts and ideas. The purpose of this exercise is to help students begin the writing process and to serve as a "tickle file" that serves as an idea pool for the related tasks. By journaling about the commercial on the front end, they provide themselves with not only a starting place, but also a reference point that they can refer to when completing the later assignments.

By writing the story of the commercial (i.e., writing the dialogue), the students can further develop narrative writing skills while simultaneously becoming more aware of the impact of visual texts. For example, students will perceive that the product advertised is not only a drink, but an energy drink, by interpreting the visual clues. The high energy of the commercial, the use of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the image of his hyper-muscular arms are visual clues that point them toward this conclusion, even if they don't understand the Japanese language of the commercial. Other students, however, may disagree and believe the product is a protein drink. The students' perception of the exact product is not important; what is important is how they come to that conclusion. The goal is to help students become more aware of how they interpret media, awaken their critical thinking skills as consumers of mass media, and understand how media presents themselves in order to appeal to certain audiences or to assert certain ideas. The exercise should also raise awareness about how mass media can manipulate audiences to believe their claims. If students are challenged to analyze how media messages and images affect them, then they can become more aware of how, as writers, they can affect their audiences -- and how, as consumers, they may be unknowingly susceptible to questionable claims and images. Furthermore, since the students will not be able to understand the language of the commercial, they can analyze the importance of language in writing the story. Does it take away from the meaning of the commercial if we cannot understand what is being said? What is the relative importance of visual clues versus language clues? What aspects of the message are universal, even without understanding the words?

The second project builds off of the first one: The students, now more aware of how presentation affects the audience, are required to put this knowledge to use. Working collaboratively with a group as members of an "advertising team" allows the students to brainstorm and collaborate for a specific result. With the students working together to figure out how to adapt the commercial so it might be fit for an American audience, they can accomplish several goals. First, by working as a group, the students can become aware of how the commercial affected others differently and why. This assignment requires the students to question stereotypes and consider the media project in terms of a cross-cultural experience. The students must decide which elements of the commercial are distinctly Japanese and which are American, which then opens the floor for discussion about stereotyping and why the students think what they think -- and whether their assumptions and perceptions are accurate and fair. This type of discussion also can help develop critical thinking skills, because the students must examine and probe their own reasoning to complete the assignment successfully. The scenario requires the application of knowledge, removing the possibility for students to simply "put something down on paper." It forces them to contemplate the issues under discussion. Another benefit is that the assignment forces them to identify a specific audience (consumers of energy drinks, and who its members might be) and to achieve specific goals: to use the text to sell more energy drinks, to increase profits for the beverage maker, to increase brand and name recognition of the product, and -- not unimportant to an ad agency -- to retain the energy drink client and produce additional commercials for that account in the future.

The students also may be asked to explore the literary elements of the commercial. For example, the facilitator can introduce juxtaposition and ask the students if they see juxtaposition at work within the commercial. The sierra-colored background juxtaposed to the action and color of the foreground can serve as a starting point for other points of juxtaposition and contrast within the text. Then students then can analyze the effects that juxtaposition brings to the overall message of the commercial. The facilitator may point out that juxtaposition is a literary device used to emphasize a certain point or idea. By comparing the background and the foreground, the students can see how, in this case, juxtaposition serves to place emphasis on the action in the foreground and how it relates to this commercial's implications that the advertised energy drink livens up everyday life.