Hunter College

Jessie Daniels, PhDSOC101

Worksheet for VIDEO: “Digital Nation”

(available via PBS)

SYNOPSIS. DirectorRachel Dretzin created “Digital Nation” in an effort to give our viewers a chance to come together to share what is becoming an increasingly common feeling: that technology is changing us, or -- put less controversially -- that with technology, we are changing. As you are watching the film, reflect on readings and lecture (slides) about social theories of interaction in everyday life.

  1. In the lecture slides and in readings, you learned about symbolic interactionism, including Goffman’s dramaturgy. How would you use dramaturgy to explain the rising importance of screens in our interactions with each other?
  1. In your lecture slides and assigned reading, you learned about Durkheim’s functionalist theory of society. In the film, do you see any evidence of the way that the use of digital technologies helps maintain social connection?
  1. In your lecture slides and assigned reading, you learned about Marx’s theory that “the ideasof therulingclass are in every epoch theruling ideas.” In the film, do you see any evidence of the way that financial interests of the ruling class shape people’s interactions with each other?

Media Literacy Questions:

Everything you see in a film (or any form of media) represents an intentional choice by the director, editor or cinematographer. Since we get most of our information about the world from media, it’s important to understand how to make sense of media images. Use these questions to help you make sense of these images.

4. What are the physical qualities of the documentary (check where applicable):

____ Music
____ Narration
____ Special effects
____ Color
____ Live action
____ Background noise / ____ Animation
____ Dramatizations
____ “Talking Heads”
____ Historic Footage
____ Subject Interviews
____ Newspaper Headlines

5. What is the central message(s) of this documentary? How do you think the filmmakers wanted the audience to respond?

6. What information do you gain about this event that would not be conveyed by a written source? Be specific.

7. Documentaries are often criticized for using too many “talking heads,” that is experts on the subject of the film who shown talking. Different filmmakers have come up with a variety of ways to solve the problem of “talking heads.” How does the filmmaker address that problem in this film?