Media Analysis Assignment – Critical Assessment of Healthcare-Themed Television 1

Media Analysis-Assignment Solution

The class name is Sociology of Health and Illness

Textbook=Segall A. and Fries C. J. (2017). Pursuing Health and Wellness: Healthy Societies, Healthy People Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press

This assignment requires that you complete an 8-10 page (approximately) critical examination of a dramatic television program that focuses on the healthcare system. The programs you may choose from are, quite literally, too numerous to list but include for example: The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Chicago Med, The Resident, Nurses, The Transplant, etc. Note that the programs listed above represent only a very small sample of the plethora of healthcare-themed television programs widely available on broadcast television and from specialty channels. It does not matter whether the programs are current (they may be of any age you choose) or in what country they are based. You must watch a minimum of three episodes (assuming episodes are approximately one hour) of the program. If you are in any doubt about whether a program is acceptable, check with your instructor.

Media Analysis

The primary objective of this assignment is to critically assess the program’s portrayal of the healthcare system within which it is set. Students examining health programs set in other countries should be aware that they are required to note where aspects of the healthcare system in the program differ significantly from the Canadian system. Students examining an “old” program would need to note whether any aspects of the system in the program differ from the present-day system.

The body of the paper will consist of three main sections corresponding to the three episodes you are analyzing (use headings). For each episode, first provide a brief summary (2 or 3 sentences only) of the relevant health system plot elements. Then, assess the nature and accuracy of the program’s portrayal of the healthcare system based upon the knowledge you have gained through the lectures and readings from this class. That is, be sure to draw on specific concepts and ideas from the textbook, the lecture, and class discussions. Also, keep the following questions in mind during your analysis (these are simply examples to assist with your analysis – you don’t have to answer all of them): Media Analysis

â–ª _How does the program, in general, portray health, wellness, and illness? Is it more sympathetic to some persons (e.g., doctors, patients, specialists) than others? Explain.

â–ª _Does the program have a medico-centric bias? Explain.

â–ª _Does the program portray a pathogenic or salutogenic health system? Explain Media Analysis.

â–ª Does the program discuss any social determinants of health? Explain.

▪ _Do you think the program has an underlying political or ideological agenda? That is, does the program seem to “take a side” in health care issues and arguments? Explain.

â–ª _You may also critically examine the show from a sociological paradigm (i.e., structural-functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionist, feminist, sociology of the body).

Media Analysis

The paper you submit must be double-spaced, have standard margins & borders, and use a 12-point Times New Roman font. It is to be written in essay format (i.e. introduction, body, and conclusion), and must be written in an “academic style.” That is, it must be written formally and objectively, and include a title page and a reference page (not included in total page count). Citations must be provided for any course materials or other reference materials consulted, using APA referencing style. The title page must include the course name & number, instructor’s name, your name & student number, date, and an informative-yet-non-stupefyingly-mundane title.>>Media Analysis-Assignment Solution