LGBTQ+ and the Media

LGBTQ+ and the Media, also known as COMM 380, satisfied the aesthetic expression perspective and the Cormier Honors College requirements. This course explores and examines the history of the LGBTQ+ community and its interaction with popular culture, but it is also a film-making course. The first half of the LGBTQ+ and the Media course focuses on developing an understanding of the LGBTQ+ community and its impact on popular culture in television programs and films. In contrast, the second half of this course focuses on collaborating with peers to create a short film revolving around LGBTQ+.

Before taking this course, I did not know what to expect, but I was excited to learn about the LGBTQ+ community and its interaction with popular cultures. While I assume I know some background knowledge about LGBTQ+ and its community, this course disproved my assumptions. With this course, I learned about different individuals and historical moments that make the LGBTQ+ community resilient, such as the Stonewall Riot, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Vito Russo. While learning about these historical moments and individuals, I explored how LGBTQ+ interacts with popular cultures and diving deep into how the television program and films I have encountered portrays LGBTQ+ characters, their impact within the storyline, and the message they send to the audience. The nerve-racking aspect of this course was creating a short film because I have limited experience with film development, but it was good to work with my peers to create a story that focuses on LGBTQ+. With this collaboration, we bounced ideas off each other, communicated about the assignments we needed to complete, and worked together to develop the final film to present to our classmates and professor. LGBTQ+ and the Media was an exciting and exciting course, and I am glad to learn about another community and how it interacts with popular culture.

The artifact I selected to showcase the work I have done in the LGBTQ+, and the Media course is the television presentation. This assignment focuses on exploring LGBTQ+ characters and the tropes, the common or overuse, of their respective show. For this assignment, I chose Gail Peck from the ABC show Rookie Blue. I analyzed her narrative as a character, the trope associated with her character, and the LGBTQ+ connection or historical moment associated with the selected television show. Following this presentation, I included discussion questions for my peers to answer as they review my presentation. It was interesting to watch and learn about the different LGBTQ+ characters my peers selected and how they tailor to the storyline of their respective shows.  This assignment allowed me to think deeper about the characters and how their roles in the show impact the storyline and the message these characters express to the audience. I have included my television presentation below: