How NFL protests were covered by various media
MEDIA MYTHS AND THE RISE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

New media represent an enormous change within the historical system of mass culture and mass
communication. Media historian Henry Jenkins claims in Convergence Culture that “When people take
media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for
everyone involved.” Today Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and other media have
become tools of political and social revolution. Write an essay in which you support Jenkins’s assumption
and weigh the outcomes to decide which one is more likely.
In order to this, I would like you to choose a single current event of the past three years and research how
social and other media were used. Examples of popular past current events are: The Florida School
Shooting/Gun Control (2018) Women’s March (2017); President Trump’s Executive Order on refugees
(2017); 2016 Presidential Primary/Election coverage; the Orlando Shooting (2016); the Terrorist Attacks
in Paris (2015); Caitlyn Jenner’s coming out as transgender (2015); shooting of Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Missouri (2014); Ebola Virus Breakout (2014); ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (2014); Edward
Snowden NSA leak scandal (2013); etc.
NOTE: Your essay must explore how the story was (or currently is) covered on TWO social media
platforms and on ONE traditional news source (CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Fox News, etc.). You must
include online research for both.

Assignment;
Consider the following questions: Did the mainstream media largely cover the coverage of your chosen
event or was it user-generated content that eventually exploded online? How do you reconcile the fact that
users create and actively build their own virtual spaces, but they do so on sites that are owned by huge
corporations and that are maintained for profit? Do you think that online “conversations” create access to
information that professional journalists have ignored? Or do think people’s ability to customize the news
and entertainment to be problematic? Please reflect on your own experience with social media and
consider when/how you heard about the current event you’ve selected.
REQUIREMENTS:
• In addition to the Jenkins essay, you must reference TWO of the pieces that we have read for this
unit. These essays include “Our Future Selves” by Erica Schmidt and Jaren Cohen; “Growing Up
Tethered” by Sherry Turkle; “Cybersexism” by Laurie Penny; “Inequality: Can Social Media
Resolve Social Divisions?” By Danah Boyd; “The Loneliness of the Interconnected” by Charles
Seife; or “Precognitive Police” by Hedrick Karolisyzn.
• By March 9th, you must decide on a news story and clear it with me.
• As always, you must include a works cited page with your final draft. Please consult our handouts
and A Writer’s Reference for questions regarding citations.
Make sure your paper has a clear thesis and specific examples from social media outlets that demonstrate
your claims. Your opinions and ideas form the essence of this paper. Use quotes from the readings to
support your assertions; do not just summarize others.
FINAL NOTE: You are encouraged to use first person in this essay.
GRADING CRITERIA:
• Clear thesis reflecting original thought
• Detailed analysis of the thesis
• Paragraphs structured in an appropriate manner (do you skip all over or develop your views in an
organized, coherent, effective way)
• No irrelevant information (and no unnecessary repetition)
• Compelling, creative work that reaches out in some way to its audience
• Stylistic sophistication (correct grammar, how you use language, syntax, and punctuation for
emphasis and refinement)
• Consistent tone
• Paper does not resemble a list but instead actively analyzes and synthesizes material
• No unwarranted generalizations about every human being or “society” etc.
• Paper actively analyzes course reading
Note: An “A” paper is not only competent but commands attention, is insightful, persuasive,
sophisticated, compelling to read, and responds to the texts at hand in a mature and thorough manner.
Passing level papers (C or above) also follow the format on the syllabus and cite page numbers correctly.

Sample Solution

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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