To start with, you are to identify how the group you have chosen has been represented in both films, and how those representations have or have not changed over time.
Please focus not only on the cultural stereotypes about the group in question, but on the entire discursive systems that allow such stereotypes to exist in the first place. This means thinking about the political, economic, and social forces that give rise to those images – as well as the forces that have (or have not) led to changes in how the group you are focusing on, has been represented.
Please remember that this is still a film review – so please write simply and clearly. Generally speaking, it will be more effective if you do not try to write about too many different aspects, but rather use one or two topics as focal points for making larger general observations and analyses. Below are some questions to think about as you watch the films and write your review:
‐ What have been the main stereotypes about __ in American popular culture?
‐ How have those stereotypes been part of a larger discourse about ___ prevalent in American popular culture?
‐ What particular segment of the dominant culture has each stereotype benefitted?
‐ What role have systems of economic and political power have played in generating and changing those systems of representation?
‐ What roles have changing popular genres and changing technologies played in supporting and/or undermining those stereotypes?
‐ What have been major continuities and the major changes in how __ have been represented over time?
‐ In what ways have older stereotypes survived in subtler, or altered ways into the present representational system?
‐ What new stereotypes and images have emerged in recent years? How have things might not have improved over the years?
‐ What similarities and differences do you see between representations of __ and representations of other culturally marked groups in the United States?
