For this essay, students will be asked to watch Super Bowl XLI.  Most of you have watched a Super Bowl before, but, other than what we have discussed in class, it is not necessary to have any knowledge of the Super Bowl or NFL football to complete this assignment. Whether you have watched the Super Bowl before or not, I want you to watch it this year in a way you never have before.  I want you to “observe” the game and attend to its various circumstances, its production, its context, its lead-up, the people you watch it with (if any), etc.  I want you to apply your  imagination, your critical perspective, and your burgeoning knowledge of popular culture analysis through which by now you should be able to apply a critical look at the sport (race, gender, commercialization, production, technology), the spectacle (as a “Cathedral of Consumption?”) and the behavior and responses of the people who watch it—including yourselves.  You should also be able to analyze the event in terms of meaning/pleasure/artistry/celebration/form/play that sport, and popular culture, can contribute to human life.

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                   Example 1 click HERE
                   Example 2 click HERE
                   Example 3 click HERE

In this essay, I want you to give me a report of what you have observed and reflect on your response to the game—including your behavior, your emotions, your interest, your investment, etc.  You could discuss a myriad of things in your essay.  I don’t want to put too many constraints on it because you will all see and feel things a bit differently, so, in general, I want you to develop an analysis of the event in a well constructed essay.   I want you all to develop your own analysis in whatever creative, critical and innovative ways you choose.  However, in your essay, you should, at minimum:

-Develop both a critical perspective and a perspective that tends to the meaning and pleasure of sport.

-Discuss the event in terms of “spectacle,” drawing from and referring specifically to, the Ritzer reading,

-Discuss “pleasure,” drawing from and referring specifically to the Whannell reading.

-Discuss gender as it plays out in the event.

-Summarize the game itself, a brief sports report of key events, strategies, competition, outcomes, etc. 

-Discuss the context in which you watched the game (some may have more interesting things to say here than others, as they may have watched the game in more “active” situations, with a lot of people, for instance, or with their families as part of that family experience.  However, even if you watched the game alone, you can comment—perhaps there was a bit of a sense of being “left out?”).

These specifics should be addressed at minimum, but you should integrate and expand beyond these requirements as you craft your insightful and informed analysis of Super Bowl XLI.  The essay should be 2-3 single-spaced pages and, as always, be in good form. Please let me know if you have any questions about this assignment. Good luck, and appreciate the “game” in new light.