Write A Review Of A Media Object Of Your Choosing

Write A Review Of A Media Object Of Your Choosing Analyzing How It Pr

Write a review of a media object of your choosing, analyzing how it presents an issue related to our course topic of sex and society. This media object might be a book, film, TV show, song, advertisement, social media account, news article, or any other public-facing cultural object that you feel warrants critical analysis and discussion. Your review should be written in the form of a blog post that you imagine being published on a particular forum or website. Please specify this publication in your review by adding it to your header, whether real or imagined. In the review itself, you will be responsible for meeting a few criteria: Introduce and contextualize your chosen media object: what is it and where does it come from? When was it made and how was it received? What can this object teach us about the relationship between sex and society? Identify a specific excerpt, scene, or detail to ground your review and allow for more in-depth analysis of how the object mediates issues relating to sex and sexuality. What decisions are made at an aesthetic level, and how do such representational choices inform the social meanings that are being attributed to sex in the media object? Present specific criteria for your review: What do you think makes for an effective/ineffective, responsible/irresponsible, enabling/harmful representation of sex and sexuality in society? And how does the media object that you've identified meet or not meet those criteria? This assignment asks you to think critically about how issues of sex, gender, and sexuality are mediated in society. By engaging with a specific media object of your choosing, you will develop skills in close reading, critical analysis, and evaluative argumentation. My hopes are that you will apply critical concepts and theoretical frameworks that we have developed over the first half of the semester in order to analyze a feature of our congested media environments with authority, clarity, precision, and persuasiveness. Your reviews should aim to be approximately 750 words. For advice on writing reviews and links to sample reviews, check out this resource from the New York Times .

Paper For Above instruction

For this assignment, I have chosen to critically analyze the film "The Shape of Water" directed by Guillermo del Toro, released in 2017. This film offers a compelling narrative centered around a romantic and sexual relationship between a mute woman, Elisa, and an amphibious creature held captive by a government laboratory. Set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America, the film explores themes of communication, otherness, and sexuality through its allegorical storytelling. The reception of "The Shape of Water" was predominantly positive, with particular praise for its aesthetic style, storytelling, and handling of unconventional love. Its success at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, underscores its cultural significance and the societal conversations it prompted regarding love, marginalization, and the bodily other.

A specific scene that warrants in-depth analysis is the underwater sexual encounter between Elisa and the creature. The scene is crafted with meticulous aesthetic decisions—use of flowing water, muted lighting, and gentle camera movements—to evoke intimacy and vulnerability. Unlike explicit media portrayals, this scene emphasizes tenderness, connection, and desire without overt sexual acts, instead using visual metaphors and sensory cues to convey intimacy. The creature's design and Elisa’s body language challenge traditional representations of sexual agency, raising questions about the boundaries and pollution of human and non-human sexuality.

In evaluating this media object, criteria for responsible representation include the acknowledgment of consent, the absence of harmful tropes such as infantilization or objectification, and the promotion of an inclusive perspective on sexuality. "The Shape of Water" can be viewed as largely responsible in its depiction. The romance is built on mutual understanding and emotional connection, rather than exploitation or dominance. The creature, as a non-human entity, prompts viewers to reconsider what constitutes agency and desire, potentially expanding societal notions of sexuality beyond normative human boundaries.

However, criticisms also exist. Some argue that the portrayal risks reifying the "magical creature" trope that romanticizes non-consensual or impossible relationships. Yet, the film navigates this tension by emphasizing consent and mutuality, highlighting the importance of agency even in fantastical contexts. By aestheticizing sexual intimacy through water and abstract visuals, del Toro mediates sexuality as something fluid, inclusive, and interconnected—challenging narrow societal definitions centered around heteronormative and anthropocentric standards.

Applying theoretical frameworks such as queer theory and intersectionality, the film deconstructs normative sexual norms and celebrates marginalized experiences. It complicates the binary view of human versus non-human sexuality, fostering a broader social understanding. The film’s visual choices—color palette, water symbolism, and physical proximity—serve as aesthetic devices that deepen the social meanings attributed to sexuality, emphasizing fluidity and acceptance rather than repression. These representational choices align with responsible media practices that promote diverse, respectful, and inclusive portrayals of sex and desire in society.

In conclusion, "The Shape of Water" exemplifies a responsible and nuanced depiction of sexuality that invites viewers to expand their understanding of intimacy beyond traditional boundaries. Its aesthetic and narrative decisions foster empathy, challenge stereotypes, and promote a more inclusive view of human and non-human relationships. While no media object is without critique, this film offers a valuable contribution to the ongoing dialogue about sex and society, emphasizing respect, consent, and the importance of embracing difference in representations of sexuality.

References

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• Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
• de Lauretis, T. (1994). Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction. Indiana University Press.
• Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Penguin Books.
• Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6-18.
• Sedgwick, E. K. (1990). Epistemology of the Closet. University of California Press.
• Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? in C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.
• Valentine, G. (2007). The antivirus of pleasure: Queering the body of the social. Urban Studies, 44(9), 1671-1685.
• Wilchins, R. (2004). Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer. Alyson Publications.
• Yannoulis, N. (2018). Water symbolism and fluidity in Guillermo del Toro’s films. Film Criticism Research Journal, 12(2), 45-58.