DBC Pierres "Vernon God Little" and the Influence of Mass Media

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Koblenz-Landau (Anglistik), course: Teaching Literature: Adolescence, language: English, abstract: This term paper deals with the topic of mass media in the novel "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre. It is particularly concerned with the question of through which techniques and in which ways the inhabitants of Martirio (the hometown of the protagonist Vernon) are influenced by mass media and news reports. It provides a topic analysis, which is divided into three sections: Firstly, the overall importance of media (especially TV) in modern societies is discussed, including how it influences peoples attitudes, values etc. Secondly, it depicts different problems in journalism and how exaggeration and lies potentially influence someones opinion and even the judicial system. Thirdly, the novel serves as one example of how true crime and the reporting of it is part of the public entertainment and how people make use of someone elses tragedy. The second part of this term paper consists of a didactic analysis of a lesson at a school or university. The aim of the lesson is to make the students aware of the importance and core issues of media literacy.