For this assignment, you will be writing a paper that combines two elements: Description and Comparing/Contrasting.
The assignment can be done one of several ways. Choose one of the 3 prompts below, depending on how you want to write your essay:
Prompt One: Black and White, Good and Bad, Hero and Villain
The news media often uses description to create "good guys" and "bad guys" out of public figures. Choose two different public figures who are portrayed by the media in drastically different ways. (Example: Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie) Compare and Contrast the ways that each figure is described, making an argument about what you think the comparison says about the media's attitude towards celebrities/public figures. How do the descriptions you encounter boil very complex humans down into simple notions of "good" and "bad"? How does the media use description to forward the idea that there are heroes, villains, and nothing in between?
Prompt Two: Damned if you do, Damned if you don't
Catch hypocrisy! Often, we are critical of public figures no matter HOW they appear. In this essay, you can choose 1 public figure who is portrayed in two conflicting ways (ex: George W. Bush) or two different figures who are portrayed the same way, despite being very different people (ex. Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton). Compare and contrast their portrayals. Why do you think we are able to take the same material and interpret it in completely different ways? What underlying ideas cause these types of hypocrisy?
Prompt Three: People in Our Lives
The media is not the only place where people are described in conflicting ways. Choose a figure from your own life who is seen in 2 completely opposing ways. (ex. a teacher that some students love and some hate) How do the "pro" and "con" teams use description to forward their views on the person? What types of details do they choose to focus on to make their audience believe THEIR version of the story? How does each side spin the SAME details DIFFERENTLY to tell a different story?
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