Cultural Critique Essay

  For this assignment, you will write a 500-750 word reflection paper on a documentary or interview that looks at the issues of character and/or culture. Turabian Bibliography style format.  Interact with the film and materials and write a reflection paper on something you saw or heard in the film that grabbed your attention and warrants a response.   please include a discussion of if or how the principles and leadership practices you have learned in this course were or were not reflected in the film. 

The Books used in this class are: Christian reflections on Leadership challenge by Kouzes Posner, Questions of Character by Joseph Badaracco, Culture making by Andy Crouch and How Christianity changed the world by Alvin Schmidt  

1. 

DISCLAIMER: Contains content that some may find offensive. If you are concerned that this may be a “stumbling block” to you, please select one of the other options.

Thanks to social media, today’s teens are able to directly interact with their culture–artists, celebrities, movies, brands, and even one another–in ways never before possible. But is that real empowerment? Or do marketers still hold the upper hand? In Generation Like, author and FRONTLINE correspondent Douglas Rushkoff explores how the perennial teen quest for identity and connection has migrated to social media–and exposes the game of cat-and-mouse that corporations are playing with these young consumers. Do kids think they’re being used? Do they care? Or does the perceived chance to be the next big star make it all worth it? The film is a powerful examination of the evolving and complicated relationship between teens and the companies that are increasingly working to target them. 

2. 

Can true happiness and success be measured by material possessions? What is the personal and global impact of our consumer culture? Is there an alternative? Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things examines the many aspects of the growing “minimalist” movement that is challenging compulsory consumerism and seeking a different path. It takes viewers on a road trip across America that reveals the core ideas behind minimalism and meets people who share their transformational stories. 

3. 
In this interview on the Charlie Rose program on PBS, the co-chairs of President Barack Obama’s Bipartisan Deficit Reduction Commission highlight the unsustainability of our nation’s financial situation and explain how the current political climate makes it impossible to remedy the structural problems that underlie the debt crisis.

Select one of these videos and watch in its entirety.