Advertising and Male Violence Lesson Plan

Body Image
Gender Representation
Marketing & Consumerism
Online Marketing
Violence

Level(s): Grades 11 - 12

Author: MediaSmarts

media representationcommunity engagementmaking and remixingmedia health

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

To make students aware of the ways in which male violence is used and promoted in advertising.

Learning Outcomes

Know: Students will learn the following essential domain knowledge:

  • Media representation: Stereotypes of men and masculinity represented in advertising
  • Consumer awareness: How commercial considerations influence stereotyping in ads; how to complain about stereotyped ads
  • Making and remixing: Ad techniques that communicate gender stereotypes
  • Media health: Effects of advertising images on self-perception and relationships

Understand: Students will learn the following key concepts/big ideas:

  • Media have commercial considerations: Advertisers appeal to gender stereotypes to reach consumers
  • Media have social and political implications: Representations of gender and relationships in media influence how we see the world
  • Each medium has a unique aesthetic form: Advertising uses symbolic shorthand and emotionally resonant to appeal to consumers

Do: Students will access media to find examples of advertising; use tools to create a parody media work; understand how media images communicate ideas about men, masculinity and violence; and engage with the representation of masculinity and male violence in advertising

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) are available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.

Lesson Kit