–Use phones/PCs to find media (images, sound, etc.) to share on the blog.
–Show how to post content using the “Media Analysis” category.
—In addition to posting media, identify a contradiction, conflict, or enigma in this media and develop a series of discussion questions (2 or more) connecting to it. No “Yes-No” questions or questions you already know the answer to.
–Discuss 1 person’s post.
–Write brief responses to that person’s post.
A model piece of writing for this assignment is Jerry Salz’ description of a selfie by Kim Kardashian:
The bizarre side of the mirror is Kim Kardashian’s now-famous picture of her ass and side-boob [7]. The pose is utterly banal; she’s like millions of others admiring themselves in mirrors, trying to show some part of their body to best advantage. Kardashian goes a step further. As she gets everything to show just right while admiring her own image in the phone, the third meaning that pops out is not her body. It’s how weirdly stage-managed the scene is. Her body is blatantly visible while her décor is carefully blocked off by Japanese screens. Her ass-crack is intentionally outlined, but she doesn’t want us to see her sofa. Kim has even authored four rules for the perfect selfie: “Hold your phone high [as you shoot]; know your angle; know your lighting; and no duckface!”
Equally idiotic winds of third meaning blow through other recent celebrity selfies. Seventy-year-old Geraldo Rivera’s selfie shows him gazing at his own stomach muscles in a bathroom mirror [8], naked but for a low-slung towel.
