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Need help
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Posted by: _Chimaera_
I come from norway, and i have English in school. in one week i am going to hold a lecture on how the american society is represented trough cartoons and why this is a popular way of highlighting and debating social issues.
Anyone wanna help me??
I am mainly gonna use simpsons, family guy, south park, etc. to demonstrate this....
Posted by: P0nix
sounds like you got it under control, you don't need help America rules! Huh huh huh, come to butt-head.
Posted by: pdnielsen
The scary thing is that some issues highlighted by Bloom County during the Reagan Administration are coming back. The result? Yahoo has it listed as "Classic Bloom County" in its cartoon list! 
Posted by: Gunslinger
If you're 'holding a lecture' in 1 week, and your research isn't done (a lecture usually implies some sort of academic overtone) by now, you're up shit creek.
That being said, if you're going to use cartoons as a representation of American society, you had better go a lot further back than The Simpsons. How about the plethora of "Looney Toons", Merrie Melodies type stuff, etc, that is chock full of social, political, and racial commentary. Our cartoons are a little less blunt with those messages today (perhaps with the notable exception of South Park), but they can still be found. It would be wise of you to go to the source.
South Park, Family Guy, etc, are all good choices and should not be ignored. But these cartoons are really following a trail that was blazed many decades ago by others. Better to cover all your bases.
Just a thought.
Here's some help to start you off:
20th Century Fox
Universal
Columbia
Paramount
Universal
Warner Bros.
Disney
Hanna-Barbera
P.S. Who says all cartoons have to be animated? Let's not forget Archie Comics.
As I'm sure you can see, you have a pretty big topic for only 1 week of research.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
Thanks for the tip!
Seems like you really know what you are talking about!
And yes, i'm truly knee-deep in shit...
it's supposed to last 45 minutes, but i'm gonna use a lot of powerpointing to fill in a lot.. :P
OTS ftw
Posted by: Gunslinger
The problem with using PP to fill in time is, well, that it doesn't fill in time. You can't just throw up a slide and let the audience read it while you stand silent. Also, you can't throw up a slide and read the contents of the slide to them. I mean, they can do that on their own.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
True. But i was thinking more of showing clips from episodes and such.. If i can find any relevance... I think i might show something from south park.
Another thing, should i go trough the whole thing cartoon by cartoon, or just how the various things comes to display in the different cartoons, and compare a bit?
Atm i'm trying to show how the various stereotypes are presented in The Simpsons.
Got about 1 page on that...
Posted by: redwench
dont try to do everything. pick a specific topic, like how various cartoons address stereotypes, OR how the simpsons reflects american culture. then feel free to show clips to support any assertions you have.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
The thing is that i already have told my teacher that i have chosen that topic :P
Well, think i have somewhere around 10 minutes now, including some short clips illustrating some of the various sub-topics.
Just 30 minutes to go xD
Posted by: redwench
im pretty sure your teacher wont notice or object to you narrowing your focus, as long as it falls under your previous concept.
Posted by: Gunslinger
She does make a good point, that I left out. The topic you presented and the information I gave you could be packed into an entire course and still not cover everything that is highly relevant. I know that because the guy who taught the course I took on the subject said as much. He lectured for an hour every time the course met and didn't cover that much information over 16 weeks.
So, narrow your focus or perish, I'd say.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
Wow, you people are true pro's when it comes to knowing stuff and giving advice!
Anywho, when i consulted my teacher about the topic i had chosen, he said it was perfect and would make a fine lecture :S (Btw, i may have been a bit hasty when i used the word lecture. A verbal presentation would be better to describe my assignment)
I don't think he knew what he was talking about.
I'm doing better now anyways, have about 2k words or something, and more ideas on stuff to write down just pops up all the time
Think i may have it all in box before the presentation.
Man, i love OTS....
(btw, im attaching what i have so far (well, not the pp) so feel free to tell me what you think of it. But have in mind that this is still a work in progress, so some of the flaws you notice is something that i am aware of and I mean to get fixed. Some parts are just pasted in, and meant to be dealth with soon)
Posted by: Gunslinger
I'll preface my response with a question that you don't necessarily have to answer: What is the title of this course, and what level is it being taught at.
Now, a couple things about writing papers/oral presentations (both of which I've done more than I ever cared to). First, it's vital (the point of a paper really) that you clearly address your topic. Excerpting from your paper, I'm gathering that to be "How the American society is represented through animated cartoons, and why this is a popular way of highlighting and debating social issues in the modern American society."
Now that you've written it, it would behoove you to read over your paper carefully and decide for yourself if you were convincing, or if you even addressed the topic at all (I think it's debatable on both counts).
Second, your conclusion has to either confirm or refute your original idea.
I will address one point of your idea specifically: "...and why this is a popular way of highlighting and debating social issues..."
Keyword: Popular.
For something to be popular it stands to reason that "everyone is doing it", to use a cliche. All I'm seeing in your paper is how The Simpsons do it. Also, I won't point these out specifically (that's your job), but you're making a lot of assumptions in your paper. Assumptions are bad, unless you can back it up. It just so happens that I would agree with a fair number of them, but that isn't the point. Most people (see, beware of assumptions and language that suggests them) are quite adept at spotting bullshit. The only difference between bullshit and commonly accepted fact is empirical evidence to support the latter.
There's more I could say, but I think you get the idea. At this point, the opening question is important. How much of these paper-writing tactics are really important in this scenario. In reality, the teacher may be pleased with your presentation merely if you're able to present it verbally without falling all over yourself. That's for you to decide.
P.S. Citing Wikipedia isn't such a good idea. I love the site and it's a great repository of information. But that's important: it's a repository but not necessarily a trusted source. I will draw your attention to the "further reading" section of the Simpsons wiki that you linked. Just reading the titles of those books, they seem to be right up your alley. Just a thought.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
I'm 18 yrs and from Norway. The course is just called "English". The scientific level this presentation is expected to hold, is probably far lower than you think. The only problem might be that the teacher has got high expectations for me... Changed my topic to "How the American society is represented through The Simpsons, and how they are a popular way of highlighting and debating social issues in the modern American society". Think that may suit what i have written a lot better.
All the things you wrote have been taken notice of, and found extremely useful.
Btw: The conclusion that was written, does not represent how I am intending it to be when im done writing.
Also, my sister is coming over today, and she teaches english at the same level as i am learning, so hopefully she will be able to help me a lot :P
Thanks for taking the time to review my work!
Posted by: Gunslinger
Cool man. Sounds like you're on top of it.
Posted by: _Chimaera_
So this is my finished work.
Not been graded yet, but i'm hoping for something good =P
Could have sent the powerpoint too, but.. nah =P
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