Television Criticism

Writing Assignment 7

Due April 23

Television Commercials as Moral Theology

(Note: There are two assignments, one reading and one writing)

Analysis Assignment 6:  Read this article *and answer these questions:

1. Postman claims that we should pay more attention to TV commercials because they are something like little moral lessons.  What do you think of this idea?

2. What are the three "acts" or sections of a parable, according to Postman?

3. What is the meaning of his expression, "media change is ecological, not additive..." in the preamble?  Can you think of media changes that support or refute this position?

* Background:  The commercial Postman describes is similar to this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3N_skYSGoY in which a housewife is humiliated by a waitress who points out that her husband's collar is dirty. Later in the article, he refers to an American Express Travelers Checks commercial in which a couple is stranded in some undefined Eastern European country because they used the wrong travelers checks.  The essay is from Conscientious Objections (1998) by Neil Postman.  

Writing Assignment 7:  Using Postman's essay as a model, write an essay on a single television commercial as a parable.  

Reminder:  Expectations for all writing assignments