Andrew Suk

ENGW 104 Swindell

Final Draft
The Media Requirement
Wheaton College has an extensive general education requirement for all of the
undergraduate students. This requirement ranges from the study of life sciences to the analysis of
the readings of Plato and Aristotle. The reason behind this general education is to produce wellrounded and versatile students who will contribute positively to the society we live in today.
Even though a general education course may have nothing to do with ones declared major, there
are certain skills and tools learned from these classes that can be applied to ones desired field.
Wheaton College has about 60 hours of general education required; however, are there any more
classes that should be required as a part of this general education? In my opinion, a media studies
and production class is highly beneficial for any student and should be required at Wheaton
College. What does a media studies and production course entail? This class will be a semester
long course that will incorporate both the study and production of media. In order to earn the
four credits, students must gain a basic understanding of media and its effects and learn
elementary skills of how to produce videos, pictures, or music that convey a message. The class
will be divided in two parts: the first quad will focus on the study of media and the second quad
will begin the media production part. I believe that a media studies and production class should
be required as a general education requirement because it allows a student to develop leadership
and management qualities, analyze different themes and messages more efficiently, and view
various cultures and ideas in a different matter.
The media production aspect of this course develops leadership and management skills
that can be used in any field. Even though Administrators from traditional academic

departments perceive media production as too expensive and not central to the goals of liberal
arts (Edwards 1), producing media teaches students more valuable lessons than merely shooting
and editing a video. Emily D. Edwards from the University of North Carolina wrote an article,
Liberal Education & Personal Growth through Documentary Production", that
shows the benefits of learning film production in a liberal arts setting. She
states, through learning about and participating in the media production process, students
develop critical thinking, leadership and management abilities (Edwards 2).
Leadership is key to film production; without good management, the making of a film
can quickly fall into chaos. The process of making a film is complicated and is in need of precise
organization. Most people think that the director is the manager of the film; however, this is a
very common misconception. Every single job within a film crew has to manage their own part
in order for the film to be produced smoothly. For example, the camera- man, otherwise known
as the cinematographer, does not only follow orders from the director. Instead, the
cinematographer takes the directors instructions and executes them by ordering his/her camera
assistants and lighting crew to setup the shot. The cinematographer uses leadership to set up the
shot his director ordered him or her to do. The process of making a film is like a conversation in
that no one job takes full control over the whole crew; instead, each part of the group has a
specific task that they are in charge of. Within that specific task, the group holds full control, but
when it comes to another part of the film, that same group must comply and listen to what the
new group in charge says. While working on a film, one may notice that communication is key in
efficiently shooting a movie. Miscommunication can result in disastrous movie shoots that
require the shoot to start all over from scratch. Film encourages students take leadership because
they must efficiently communicate and listen to others in the crew.

This leadership quality is not only essential in filmmaking but in other fields as well. For
example, corporate jobs involving finances and investing require leadership and personal
initiative. To successfully convince a group of executives to invest in a certain company requires
a sense of confidence and effective communication skills. Even though these executives may be
the authority, in this case, ones presentation must capture their attention; one must exemplify
leadership over the situation in order for these executives to trust the investment. Film and media
production can develop a certain confidence in ones ability to lead a crew to produce a movie.
This skill of managing a group of people can also be relevant to fields that have nothing to do
with the production of media.
Another important benefit that comes from taking a media production and studies class is
the ability to read and interpret messages. Communication is essentially the transfer of messages
between individuals, groups, and societies. Wheaton does have a public speaking requirement for
general education but it is a recent trend in current culture for visual communication to be the
standard. This media production and studies class would teach visual communication skills to
help students effectively read and interpret messages.
One may argue that literature is a way for students to analyze and interpret messages.
Why need this media class when literature is already required for graduation? Brad Smilanich
and Nicole Lafreniere wrote the article, Reel Teaching = Real Learning: Motivating Reluctant
Students through Film Studies to show that the use of film is a much more effective study than
merely reading text and written books. They found that some students have a hard time analyzing
books and articles while the same students can pick out very obscure themes and motifs from
films and movies (Smilanich 604-5). This research shows that studying film is a very essential
part of learning; in order for students to grasp more complicated ideas, media studies can help

extract complex messages from these types of media. The reason why media studies courses are
often looked down upon is because the administrators of the institution assume that the class is
only for watching movies. However, instead of merely watching movies, students in these media
studies classes will learn to analyze and form new ideas from the films they view. This process of
extraction of hidden messages is a very valuable skill that any liberal arts student should possess.
Lastly, this media production and studies class will allow one to view issues, conflicts,
and even the world differently. Ramona Curry talks about what students learn about different
cultures through film and other media in her article Connecting Film/Media Studies to Student
Experiences. Many students are familiar with the way cultures are portrayed by Hollywood;
however, these portrayals are not always the whole truth (Curry 5). Stereotypes are huge in the
current media industry; one may argue that it is the main source of entertainment in media.
However, it is because of media that these stereotypes are reinforced and even still exist. For
example, the classic action movie usually involves an American hero and the Russian villain.
Why Russian? Because during the Cold War in the mid-1900s, Russia was dominated by the
Soviets and there was a constant fear of Soviet attacks towards the U.S. Therefore, Russians are
usually always the villains in American films. As we all know, Russia is not considered the
Soviet Union anymore and this reputation of the scary Soviets is not true at all. However,
Americans still have that image in their mind because the media constantly reinforced the
stereotype. By studying international films or television, students can find out more of the truth
of different cultures. Students will realize that the Russians have much more culture than just
trying to kill Americans. In a sense, studying media closely will make students more openminded and accepting of other cultures.

The purpose of general education is to make students well rounded in their studies. In
order to achieve a more comprehensive and useful general education, I believe that a media
production and studies class should be required. The skills learned when producing and studying
media would allow one to gain leadership and management qualities, the ability to read and
interpret messages, and an open mindedness to different cultures. The world today is immersed
with media and it is essential for every student to be prepared and ready for this new media
dominated world.

Works Cited:
Curry, Ramona, et al. "Connecting Film/Media Studies to Student Experiences." Cinema Journal
39.4 (2000): 81. Print.
Edwards, Emily D. "To be rather than to seem: Liberal Education & Personal Growth through
Documentary Production." Journal of Film & Video 53.1 (2001): 9. Print.
Smilanich, Brad, and Nicole Lafreniere. "Reel Teaching = Real Learning: Motivating Reluctant
Students through Film Studies." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 53.7 (2010): 604-6.
Print.