English 098Bellah
The Boob Tube
AudienceYour audience will be your sensitive and intelligent classmates who occasionally go to the movies or watch television but who have read Wine's, Mayer’s and Hamill’s essays and now have doubts about their ability to enjoy these pastimes in the future.
ContextBill Wine, in his "Rudeness at the Movies," humorously describes the thoughtless actions he frequently encounters in movie theaters, from loud talking to "malodorous perfume." He laments the decline in audience etiquette in our time and puts the blame on the television watching experience, which isolates people in their homes and makes them unprepared for the more social environment of the theater. Hamill and Mayer also point fingers at television, but in their articles they accuse it of dumbing down people and making them anti-social and passive.
TopicsChoose one of the following:
1) In spite of the distractions that Wine mentions in his essay, people still go to the movies. Why? In a short paper of approximately 500 words, explain why people still pay to see movies in theaters instead of - for example - staying home and watching television or watching movies through their DVD players. One possible reason for going out to the movies is to get out of the house for a change. Think of others to add to your paper's analysis.
2) Hamill and Mayer claim that television watching is inferior to reading because it does the thinking for the viewer, suggests the appropriate emotional response, and emphasizes surface appeal over depth, conflict over analysis. Is television really so damaging to viewers? In a short paper of approximately 500 words, discuss the positive aspects of television watching over, say, reading a newspaper or magazine article, a novel, or a poem?
Writing Strategies
Both topics require short papers that involve analysis. The first asks you to identify and discuss the reasons people still go to movie theaters; the second topic asks you to identify and then discuss the reasons that television may be superior to other media in delivering information or entertainment. Each paper, therefore, requires you to analyze a subject for reasons.
In the opening paragraph of your paper you should introduce the subject and assert the main point of your analysis. You might state something like, "In spite of the rude behavior of most audiences, there are several reasons why people still enjoy going to the movies." Or you might state, "Television, not books or newspapers or magazines, is the better source of information and entertainment.” Whatever your main idea might be, it must be expressed in a single sentence near the beginning of your paper.
The paragraphs following your opening then identify the reasons or causes you've discovered and explain or discuss them. Devote one paragraph to each reason. Identify your reason in the first sentence. Offer explanations and examples of it in subsequent sentences to complete each middle paragraph.
The paper should have at least three paragraphs, but the length depends upon the number of reasons or causes you identify and the fullness of each example's development.
Presentation and Due Dates
Your finished paper, typed, double-spaced, and originally titled, must be turned in on ______. It must be submitted in a pocket folder accompanied by all drafts and peer-editing forms. The mandatory peer-editing session is scheduled for ______. No incomplete or late papers will be accepted. Papers without the required peer-editing or improperly formatted will be returned ungraded. No arrangements for peer-editing outside of class will be allowed.