Intro + Methods

Introduction
Mainstream media ― from books to movies and everything in between ― once ruled by
heterosexual white able-bodied men, has, in recent years, begun considerably increasing the
representation of minority groups such as women, people of color, queer individuals, and those
with disabilities. In order for this representation to continue, though, the majority group must
approve of the minority presence. While the media may be more diverse than ever, it is still very
much controlled by those heterosexual white able-bodied men. Many of these men do not believe
diverse representation to be important, and several others present diversity in an unfortunately
negative and minimalistic way.
I believe that diversity is an intrinsic part of popular media as well as something that should be
sought out for reasons other than fulfilling a quota that the creators do not care about anyway.
The media should allow every-day diversity to infiltrate its historically prejudiced content in a
way that is neither forced nor the butt of a microaggression. So many people look up to fictional
characters in film and writing, and it is so discouraging to never see someone like you in the
media but so much of one type of person that you’re nothing like. Representation in the media
should be common and natural.
Methods
Participants: Students from the University of Iowa Honors Rhetoric (RHET:1030:0049) class and
students from the University of Iowa All-In LLC partook in a survey while several members from both
were interviewed.
Procedure: Those who took the survey answered questions that determined whether they themselves
were part of the majority or minority then responded to questions regarding their stance on minority
representation in the media. Those who were interviewed discussed their personal experiences with
media diversity in more detail.
Data Analysis: The answers of those who were part of the majority were separated from those who
were part of the minority and converted into charts for easier comparisons. The essay-question answers
and interviews were then compared to the charts.

Comments

  1. Grace CarrOctober 30, 2019 at 7:49 AM

    The importance of your topic is clearly justified; however, make sure to include sources in your introduction. On the same note, I think you might need to further articulate the gap in knowledge. The language is clear and concise, and the tone is formal and scholarly. Make sure to clearly state your research question and hypothesis in the introduction. Your methods section is very good: it uses clear headings, clearly discusses participants, procedures, and how the data is analyzed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Topic Proposal

Problem: Lack of accessibility of University of Iowa buildings and classrooms. Why is it a problem? Because everyone deserves and needs and education in order to live a good life, and if the building or classroom you're trying to get to is inaccessible to you and only you, you will not be able to achieve that education. At the University of Iowa, several buildings and classrooms are either totally inaccessible or just incredibly difficult to access. Take, for instance, the EPB, the very building you're all in right now. Who knows where the elevator is? I don't mean the wheelchair lift that only goes from the back of the building to the basement level; I mean an elevator that will take you from the basement to the top floor. Because I definitely don't know where it is. *examples of other buildings with this same problem, testimonials from those who use things like elevators/ramps/lifts/bionic bus/etc.* But why should the abled care? Why does it matter if another pe...
Read more

Sample Proposal Arguments

Course Requirement: Extortion 1. Good statistics 2. Convincing argument 1. Use more sources 2. Use some personal anecdotes Off-Campus Purchases 1. Good examples of proposal working elsewhere 2. Good use of anecdotes 1. Use more statistical analysis 2. Don't admit to lack of knowledge Nuclear Power 1. Stated opposition 2. Offered something 1. Didn't really offer a way to fix the problems 2. Not compelling
Read more
Image
Diversity in the Media: Is Representation Important? Alex Franolich University of Iowa Abstract While there have been several studies on the effects of diversity in the media on various minority groups, there have been much fewer studies done on those in the majority (white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied Americans). This study’s goal is to rectify that. A survey was sent out with questions regarding the surveyed’s ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, and able-bodiedness as well as their stance on representation in the media. These responses were split into two groups: the majority (white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied) and the minority (anything else), then their responses were evaluated accordingly. Overall, the study found everyone to agree that diversity in the media is good. Whether or not diversity was handled well was up to debate between a “Yes” and a “Sure” for both groups. This shows that the majority’s mindset truly has changed within the pas...
Read more