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Analyzing Point of View in Media
Every media message (news story, song, television show, and so on) has a point of view. Point of view refers to the perspective of the person who created the message. Whenever you receive a message, you should think about the sender's point of view and any missing perspectives. A missing point of view may make a message untrustworthy.
Your Turn Think about your favorite TV show. Analyze it by answering the following questions:
- Who or what is featured in the show?
- Who is presented positively? Who is presented negatively?
- What genders, ethnicities, and cultures are represented? Are they represented fairly and equally?
- What characters' perspectives are left out?
- Whose point of view do you wish the show would address more fully?
Your Turn Analyze the packaging for "Fresh Surf" men's body wash.
- Who or what is included in the message?
- What type of person is the reader invited to identify with?
- What gender is represented? Is it represented fairly and equally?
- Is another perspective needed to fully understand the subject?
- What do the missing points of view reveal about the message?
Analyzing Point of View in Media by Thoughtful Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at k12.thoughtfullearning.com/minilesson/analyzing-point-view-media.