Comp101

Unit One: Popular Culture

Feeder 1.1: A classmate with whom you haven't spoken for several years has unexpectedly contacted you by email: she now manages an up-and-coming band and is asking for your advice about how the group might better reach a wider—but target—audience. She has included a link to the band's MySpace page [instructor may provide selected MySpace pages for students to work with—students should not use a favorite artist]. Select one music video from the band's MySpace and compose a 500 word analysis of the video which explains what audience of music fans the band would most appeal to, and how successfully—or unsuccessfully—the music video works as a device for reaching out to that group of listeners. Elements to consider include song lyrics, narrative/storyline, setting/set design, color, clothing, actors, and so on. How are these elements used to appeal to a specific audience? Who is that audience (How old are they? What other music do they listen to, what shows do they watch, what clothes do they wear?)? Would they follow this band? Though your analysis should be detailed and descriptive, your report should offer a critical assessment of the video's elements, not mere description.

Feeder 1.2: The success of your input with your friend's band has led to some free-lance consulting work for several music websites which publish music news and reviews. You have been asked to analyze the home page of one of these sites [Possibilities: Pitchfork, Stereogum, or more pop culture-oriented sites like PopMatters and Vice Magazine] to assess the website's target audience. Elements to consider: visual style and arrangement of homepage, article and news topics, musical genre(s), advertisements, embedded media (video, images, audio), types of writing (interviews, blog entries, critical review), and tone. What kind of readers might frequent this website, and how might they define themselves by the aspects of pop culture that are showcased? Compositions should be 500 words in length. Web compositions should incorporate images (screenshots, etc.) and other media from the homepage into their analyses.

Unit 1 Project: Your freelance work has presented you with an astounding opportunity: your favorite band/musical artist has enlisted you to help prepare them for the promotion of their upcoming album and tour. They have asked you to prepare a 1200-1500 word report of the band's current promotional tactics and media resources which evaluates how successfully the band is connecting to both their fans and potential new listeners. Using the criteria analyzed in the previous feeder assignments, compose a detailed and critical assessment of the band's MySpace page, official website, music videos, interviews, album/poster art, merchandise, or other media (discuss at least three of these items), along with suggestions on how to revise this media to better reach their target audience. Web compositions should interweave audio, video, and visual elements if possible.