Example Outline I. Introduction A. Opening to capture interest B. Transition sentence that leads to thesis II. Body  A. Personal Perspective 1. Personal reflection on the topic B. Historical Perspective 1. Key point supported by research 2. Key point supported by research C. Technical Perspective 1. Key point supported by research 2. Key point supported by research D. Ethical Perspective 1. Key point supported by research 2. Key point supported by research E. Cultural Perspective 1. Key point supported by research 2. Key point supported by research F. Critical Perspective 1. Key point supported by research 2. Key point supported by research III. Conclusion A. Wrap up essay by summarizing or restating your thesis. Example Thesis Adapted from Visual Communicate Images with Messages, 4th edition by Paul Martin Lester "Reaction to a barely functional cartoon family is as varied as the life experiences and attitudes of the viewers who watch it. If you are a fan of animated films, the cartoon may be appealing because it reminds you of your childhood. If you grew up in a similar home, you may laugh about like situations involving your family. If you enjoy watching the symbols of popular culture being nudged off their pedestals, you will appreciate the humor of the program. But if you think cartoon characters should be reserved for children and their concerns, you probably will be offended at the many adult themes and jokes expressed during the half-hour." Running head: MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT 1 MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT 2 Media Analysis Project: Thesis Joshua LaFriniere Rasmussen College This paper was written on Monday, March 14, 2016 for Sara Weinstock’s MMC3407-02 Visual Communication in the Media online course. Part 1 My topic is that television content can be harmful or helpful. This is because the primary role of the television is to air information as it is and thus it is upon the viewer to decide whether the information will boost his knowledge or will jeopardize his personal principles. There is, therefore, a need to come up with an analysis that outlines a transparent understanding of concepts displayed on TV. The primary role of television is to deliver news in addition to creating content for discussion (Christine, 2013). Opinions are unbiased thoughts of everybody and are subject to consensual discussions. The analysis should ideally consider the stand of the viewers and the favorite entertainment pattern of the viewers. It is considered an important asset in boosting the educational mind in a manner that cannot be achieved by other media sources. TV avails the viewers with an option of understanding the whole scenario as it was the choice of the viewer to settle for the right entertainment from the variety. It is recommended for viewers to think before switching on their preferred Television channel. The thinking comprises of wha ...

1. Example Outline
I. Introduction
A. Opening to capture interest
B. Transition sentence that leads to thesis
II. Body
A. Personal Perspective
1. Personal reflection on the topic
B. Historical Perspective
1. Key point supported by research
2. Key point supported by research
C. Technical Perspective
1. Key point supported by research
2. Key point supported by research
D. Ethical Perspective
1. Key point supported by research
2. Key point supported by research
E. Cultural Perspective
1. Key point supported by research
2. Key point supported by research
F. Critical Perspective
1. Key point supported by research
2. Key point supported by research
III. Conclusion
A. Wrap up essay by summarizing or restating your thesis.
Example Thesis
Adapted from Visual Communicate Images with Messages, 4th
edition by Paul Martin Lester
"Reaction to a barely functional cartoon family is as varied as
the life experiences and attitudes of the viewers who watch it. If
you are a fan of animated films, the cartoon may be appealing
because it reminds you of your childhood. If you grew up in a
similar home, you may laugh about like situations involving

2. your family. If you enjoy watching the symbols of popular
culture being nudged off their pedestals, you will appreciate the
humor of the program. But if you think cartoon characters
should be reserved for children and their concerns, you
probably will be offended at the many adult themes and jokes
expressed during the half-hour."
Running head: MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT
1
MEDIA ANALYSIS PROJECT
2
Media Analysis Project: Thesis
Joshua LaFriniere
Rasmussen College
This paper was written on Monday, March 14, 2016 for Sara
Weinstock’s MMC3407-02 Visual Communication in the Media
online course.
Part 1
My topic is that television content can be harmful or helpful.
This is because the primary role of the television is to air
information as it is and thus it is upon the viewer to decide
whether the information will boost his knowledge or will
jeopardize his personal principles. There is, therefore, a need to
come up with an analysis that outlines a transparent
understanding of concepts displayed on TV. The primary role of
television is to deliver news in addition to creating content for
discussion (Christine, 2013). Opinions are unbiased thoughts of
everybody and are subject to consensual discussions. The

3. analysis should ideally consider the stand of the viewers and the
favorite entertainment pattern of the viewers. It is considered an
important asset in boosting the educational mind in a manner
that cannot be achieved by other media sources. TV avails the
viewers with an option of understanding the whole scenario as it
was the choice of the viewer to settle for the right entertainment
from the variety. It is recommended for viewers to think before
switching on their preferred Television channel. The thinking
comprises of what the viewer hears, sees and what he believes
in the mind. Long gone is the era in which TV programs were
aired without prior consideration for the fairness of the viewer.
The new trend is to make a relative comparison on what is seen
on television to what is happening in real life.
PART II
The television airs information of all kinds and it is upon the
viewer to decide what is good for his knowledge from what is
misleading. Therefore, television should be considered as a
visual medium in which viewers freely look for their preferred
programs in view of exposure to media and news. The article
aims at understanding the role of video quality in determining
the impressions on human mind.
The human thinking should be open-minded to television
behaviors to benefit fully from them. The image in television is
analyzed using the six perspectives of media analysis namely:
personal, historical, technical, ethical, cultural and critical
perspective. My focus is on a TV series called Arrow. Oliver
Queen is the main actor who returns home after getting stuck in
an island for five years to fight crime and corruption rampant in
his hometown of Sterling City. Dressed in a hood and face
painted, he forms a team of three to help him with tracking and
making the suspects own up to the police over their criminal
activities. Videos must meet the following criteria: the producer
must know the culture the message is intended for and the

4. culture must understand the symbols and language used by the
actors.
The personal perspective deals with an emotional, subjective
opinion. It invokes the thoughts of the viewer concerning the
picture. This perspective bears personal bias as it is the first
thing that crosses the mind of the viewer on seeing the video
(Glen, 2009). Words and phrases such as “good, bad, I like, I
despise” show that the viewer initially analyzed the image on a
superficial level. Personal perspectives are important in the
sense that they reveal the more about the character of the
viewer. However, their use is limited due to the fact that they
are just personal. A memorable video triggers strong personal
reactions that can be positive or negative and exposes the
culture it arose from. The viewer who jumps into a conclusion
on a personal basis denies himself the chance of understanding
the video in a unique way. When I first saw the scene of Oliver
stuck in the Island, I thought he was going to perish just like his
father. There was no sign of help forthcoming from the sea. To
make matters worse, he was faced with the menace of
marauding warriors who were capturing and killing defenseless
victims. My first view of the Queen’s business empire gave me
an impression of a successful woman out to make a living for
herself & family by working hard. It is only in the later stages
of the series that I learned the wealth was achieved through
corrupt dealings prompting her son to stand against her in court.
Officer lance is depicted as a stern parent who follows his kids'
every move. I thought of him as those parents who control all
aspects of their children's life making them unable to stand on
their own in future. This was, however, his resolution after he
realized that his daughter was associating with criminal
elements in the society, and he was just doing his responsibility
of protecting her. It is this close surveillance on her daughter
that made him rescue her from a nearby kidnap ordeal at her
home.

5. Historical perspective: Each medium of presentation ranging
from typography to networked interactive multimedia has a
unique history of circumstances that were set in motion and
perpetuated by people who had an interest in promoting the
medium. In view of typography, the history of writing goes back
to the beginning of recorded history. In relation to the
networked interactive media, the historical developments are
recent. In the island, the most common form of communication
was paperwork written in Chinese. The warriors communicated
mostly via the use of signals and facial expressions. However,
when Oliver returns home the communication becomes more
technical. He sets up a base that is operated by Felicity, an
Information Technologist. From this base, she is able to track
and tap the communication in the cell phones of these wealthy
politicians. The GPRS locations are sent to the phones of Oliver
and John, who are able to launch the attacks on them when they
are almost completing their dirty dealings. The police arrive at
the scene and arrest them with evidence in their possessions
(guns, forged papers, drugs & corrupt tenders). The knowledge
of the medium's history allows the viewer to understand
emerging trends in terms of their roots in styles and past
philosophies. Creative visual messages originate from the
consciousness about what previously existed, out of which
future applications will be innovated.
Technical perspective: The viewer must be in the position to
know how the medium of presentation operates. Knowledge of
image production will make the viewer be in a position to know
whether the production values are low or high, whether little or
great care was taken, or whether little or more money was
invested in creating the video. The hooded vigilante is well
dressed to camouflage him from attacks by his targets. The
costume designer initially availed forty masks out of which
Oliver chose a green one. The producer also chose music that
altered between romantic themes and actions. This was replayed
at various episodes as the two themes played out among the

6. characters.
Ethical perspective: Six ethical philosophies can and are used in
analyzing a picture. Categorical imperative deals with
unconditional situations hence do not require any justifications
for happening the way they did. Once a rule is established for a
proposed action or idea, behavior and opinions must be
consistently and always applied in accordance to it. For
example, Oliver is dressed in a hood and is set not to reveal his
face to his victims. He does this face hiding even to his
girlfriend Laura and the police who attempted to arrest him. His
method for capturing the criminal elements is shooting at them
using arrows. The police collect the arrows and agree they
originate from a single source though they have no clue.
Utilitarianism is the belief in the greatest good for the greatest
number of people. The vigilante believed that most people in
the city were suffering because the control of resources was in
the hands of a few corrupt individuals. The love for the people
is what drove him to begin restoration of the city by wiping out
the criminal elements. Here, most diverse bandwagon results of
an action are imagined and the outcomes that help people the
most are approved. The producer used disturbing scenes of
Oliver Queen stuck in the island, but it was the only way it
prepared him to fight against criminal elements in Sterling City.
He went ahead and took his mother to court over corruption
allegations, drug trafficking, and drug smuggling. Though this
is likely to be considered by most people as heartless, it opened
up employment opportunities to deserving citizens and united
families when he took over the management of the family’s
Queens Consolidated Company. The philosophy of hedonism is
concerned with pleasure. It states that people should fill their
minds with intellectual pleasures so that they are better
positioned to their personal lives through making the right
decisions and productive relationships. In the modern world, it
is expressed in phrases like: “live for today, don’t worry, be
happy.” Oliver used his intelligence to survive in the island

7. from the marauding warriors, and it is his ability to learn self-
defense mechanisms that saved him from captivity before he
masterminded his escape from the island back to his hometown.
His family is jubilant upon his return and holds a celebration
party. The golden mean refers to finding a neutral point between
two extreme views. For example, Laura was the girlfriend of
Oliver yet her father and Oliver were two opposing
personalities. Officer Lance was opposed to the vigilante's
sporadic methods of tracking down criminal elements in the
city. It got to a point where Laura had to compromise and take
both to court for prosecution over their opposing counter
accusations and brawls. The Golden Rule philosophy is that of
loving your neighbors as you love yourself. In the series, the
producer airs a close footage of the family embracing upon the
return of Oliver to Starling City. Oliver is displayed mourning
in the island after his father passed on when the series begins.
This shows the feeling of love he had towards those around him.
The veil of ignorance philosophy ascertains that all people are
equal. It is on the basis of this philosophy that Oliver, John, and
Felicity are on the mission to wipe out the wealthy criminal
elements in Glades that have been oppressing the poor.
Cultural perspective: The cultural analysis of a picture is
associated with symbols used in the image and determining their
meaning for the society as a whole. Characters may be
considered heroes or villains just by looking at the way other
characters talk about them in the movie.
Critical perspective: This is an all-round analysis of the
program that draws on the ability to study a particular video and
draw general conclusions about the medium, the culture in
which it was produced and the viewer. It gives the viewer the
opportunity to use the information learned from a medium to
postulate general comments about the society that accepts or
rejects the video and images. Therefore, the critical
perspectives re-define a person's initial personal perspectives

8. with regards to universal conclusions among human nature. The
series is a reflection of what happens in the society. It is human
nature to keep traveling from place to place in search of income
or recreation. Sometimes, accidents do happen, and it takes
more than our skill to survive to ensure we maneuver through
the challenges successfully. The society we live is tainted by
social evils such as corruption, drug trafficking, discrimination,
crime and political gimmicks. There is a need for a person to
stand up for all the disadvantaged groups within the society and
deliver them from oppression. In as much as the savior might
face resistance from well-armed cartels and individual elements,
strategy and the spirit of persistence will make sure that one day
all the good deeds prevail over the bad. At times, we might be
faced with difficult situations involving our loved ones. Some
of our relatives have broken the law in one way or another, and
we are covering them up. We need to emulate the spirit of
Oliver, who did not hesitate to sue her mother for crimes
against humanity, corruption, and drug trafficking. In the end,
our good deeds will reward us, and we will make the society a
better place to live in for all irrespective of race, class or
region.
Conclusion
Television has proved to be an important tool of analyzing the
society as it displays events happening in real life (Shepherd,
2012). The viewer must, therefore, take the time to reflect on
the impact that such information is going to have on his
immediate environment. A producer of the message must
possess deep understanding of culture of the audience and use
symbols that are comprehensible to them. This has the effect of
helping a viewer to understand, interpret and appreciate art.
REFERENCES
Shepherd, R. (2012). Elementary Media Education: The Perfect

9. Curriculum. English Quarterly, 25, 2-3
Christine, D. (2013). Putting the ME in Media Literacy. Middle
Ground: The Magazine of Middle Level Education, 6, 15-21
Luke, C. (2009). Media and Cultural Studies in America.
Journal of Adolescent and Cultural Literacy, 42, 623-645
Glen, M. (2009) Television Analysis, California, University of
California