Below you will find some prompts that you might consider when constructing your essay, but

first lets take a look at our general task, the basic guidelines. Aside from the multimodal
elements of your essay (as explained in the Progression 2 Prompts handout) you will need to:

Take a lens or a combination of lenses: Some ideologyMarxism; Feminism; PostHumanism; or an ideology of your choice (this will require additional research).
Use this lens to explore a theme within the stories we are reading and viewing (Black
Mirror, Harrison Bergeron, Fox 8) as it relates to our lives and our world: Think about the
binariesMale/Female (gender); Public/Private; History/Memory; Equality/Inequality,
etc. If you have a theme you are interested in that we have not talked about, let me
know, I am unlikely to turn away your ideas.

In order to do this you will need to be able to recognize and identify not only the genres at play,
but the historical, political, and cultural contexts associated with the all of the texts (the stories,
the show, and the ideologies): remember that your analysis of the texts will make connections to
and explore these themes and ideas in relation to our own world, our own lives, to the human
experience in the 21st Century.
Remember that you will need a well thought-out and specific/explicit thesis: main idea + your
argument/counterargument + how it is important to the discourse/world.
Furthermore, you should focus on the rhetorical moves made by the texts (both visual and
written) and how they function to prove their thesis or argument, as well as how they further
your own thesis.
Remember to analyze thoroughly, always connecting everything back to your thesis statement.
Think quality vs. quantity. If you find yourself repeating information or going off on tangents,
check to see if you have analyzed your evidence fully, and that it engages with your thesis.
Finally, dont forget that you are going to put everything together as a multimodal essay,
supporting your arguments and those arguments made in the texts with images, audio,
hyperlinks, etc.
Now for the prompts:
1. Using a Post-Humanist lens, examine the Black Mirror episode Be Right Back, paying
particular attention to the idea that we are an extension of our virtual selves. You might
ask yourself: Does the memory we imprint on social media represent the real
historical you that exists in the world? Do you see technology as an extension of
yourself? Do you believe it is possible for humans to be replaced by cybernetic
organisms? How does the episode represent and explore the possibility of human
beings and technology merging? Are there any moral or ethical problems associated
with the cyborg/robot character? How does this episode compare and/or contrast with
our own world?
2. Using a Marxist lens examine the short story Harrison Bergeron in order to determine
whether or not you believe that absolute equality is obtainable without sacrificing
freedom and democracy. First you must give your reader some historical, political, and
cultural context: this means looking at opposing ideologies (forms of government such
as democracy vs. communism, and economic systems such as capitalism vs. socialism)

and then using textual evidence to support your claims. In addition to the text, you must
link your claim to the real and current world: how do real life conditions in the 21st
century support your claims about equality in general, and more specifically whether or
not absolute equality is compatible with humanity?
3. Using a Feminist and Post-Humanist lens examine the Black Mirror episode The Entire
History of You paying particular attention to the treatment of the sexes. How do the
characters genders and/or biology play a role in the episode? Is there anything
problematic in terms of how the characters genders are portrayed? Does the characters
technological enhancement make them cyborgs and does this othering allow for
some breaking down of gender roles? How do the devices alter the power relations
between the sexes? How does this episode compare/contrast with our own world?
4. Choose a Black Mirror Episode that we did not already watch for class, (but I advise you
not to watch season 1 episode 1, it is very graphic and shocking) and then compare and
contrast the themes being explored with one (or both) of the episodes that we watched
for class (Be Right Back and The Entire History of You) using any one, or any
combination of critical lenses (Marxism, Feminism, or Post-Humanism). Think about the
arguments being made in the episodes. Do you agree with those arguments? What
rhetorical strategies (ethos, pathos, logos) are used in order to make the arguments
effective? This paper will both summarize and analyze the episodes using the ideas we
have been exploring in class (the lenses). This means that you will need to take some
position within the conversation taking place between the episodes you are comparing
and contrasting. Do you agree with the points being made? Why or Why not? How can
you convince your reader that your position is the correct position?
5. Create your own prompt using the basic guidelines above: take one or more ideologies
and apply them to one of our texts. You will need to ask some vital questions in order to
discover your thesis statement which you will support using your selected texts (from our
required reading/viewing) along with your own research.