Film and Media Studies Commons^™

How To Help When It Hurts? Think Systemic, Corey L. Wrenn Ph.D.

Corey Lee Wrenn, PhD

To resolve a moral dilemma created by the rescue of carnivorous species from exploitative situations who must rely on the flesh of other vulnerable species to survive, Cheryl Abbate applies the guardianship principle in proposing hunting as a case-by-case means of reducing harm to the rescued animal as well as to those animals who must die to supply food. This article counters that Abbate’s guardianship principle is insufficiently applied given its objectification of deer communities. Tom Regan, alternatively, encouraged guardians to think beyond individual dilemmas and adopt a measure of systemic reconstruction, that being the abolition of speciesist institutions (The …

Feed: State Transparency Amidst Informational Surplus, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster

The Heroic Transformation Of Dexter Morgan, Killer Of Killers, S. S. Diaz

Scott T. Allison

Harry Potter And The Hero’S Journey: An Analysis Of A Wizard’S Transformation, Andrew J. Graham

Scott T. Allison

Sectumsempra: An Analysis Of The Heroic Transformation Of Severus Snape, Jake C. Cardwell

Scott T. Allison

Wocmes 2018: "I Am The Entertainer": Embodying Entertainment In The Egyptian Film Poster, Roberta L. Dougherty

Roberta L. Dougherty

No abstract provided.

Wocmes 2018: "I Am The Entertainer": Embodying Entertainment In Egyptian Film Posters (Slides), Robin Dougherty

Roberta L. Dougherty

No abstract provided.

Critical Animal And Media Studies: Expanding The Understanding Of Oppression In Communication Research, Nuria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman

Carrie P. Freeman

Controversial Heroism: Media Martyrdom And The Inspiration Of Kanye West, Matthew B. Vandini

Scott T. Allison

What's Up Doc? A Review And Analysis Of English Language Documentaries On Contemporary Graffiti And Street Art, Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D., Ronald Kramer

Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Sources: Inspired By True Events: An Illustrated Guide To More Than 500 History-Based Films, Robin Imhof

Robin L. Imhof

No abstract provided.

Surfing The Revolutionary Wave 2010-12: A Social Theory Of Agency, Resistance, And Orders Of Dissent In Contemporary Social Movements, Athina Karatzogianni, Michael Schandorf

Athina Karatzogianni

But Will It Play In Grand Rapids? The Role Of Gatekeepers In Music Selection In 1960s Top 40 Radio, Len O'Kelly

Len O'Kelly

Exploring The Political Dimensions Of Information Literacy Through Popular Film., Robert Detmering

Robert Detmering

Certain popular films contextualize the access, use, and interpretation of information within a political and social framework. As a result, these films function as alternative pedagogical sites for analysis and critique, facilitating critical thinking about information beyond the library and the classroom, and leading students to a deeper understanding of the fundamental need for information literacy. A conceptual basis for the consideration of film in politically engaged information literacy instruction is provided, supported by a discussion of three relevant films: Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking (2006), Joel and Ethan Coen’s Burn after Reading (2008), and Oliver Stone’s W. (2008).

Dog Movie Stars And Dog Breed Popularity: A Case Study In Media Influence On Choice, Stefano Ghirlanda, Alberto Acerbi, Harold A. Herzog

Harold Herzog, PhD

Fashions and fads are important phenomena that influence many individual choices. They are ubiquitous in human societies, and have recently been used as a source of data to test models of cultural dynamics. Although a few statistical regularities have been observed in fashion cycles, their empirical characterization is still incomplete. Here we consider the impact of mass media on popular culture, showing that the release of movies featuring dogs is often associated with an increase in the popularity of featured breeds, for up to 10 years after movie release. We also find that a movie’s impact on breed popularity correlates …

The Digital Dionysus: Nietzsche & The Network-Centric Condition

Dan Mellamphy

No abstract provided.

Human Trafficking And Film: How Popular Portrayals Influence Law And Public Perception, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

No abstract provided.

Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Laborers' Dirty Work, Sarah T. Roberts

Sarah T. Roberts

In this chapter from the forthcoming Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online (Noble and Tynes, Eds., 2016), I introduce both the concept of commercial content moderation (CCM) work and workers, as well as the ways in which this unseen work affects how users experience the Internet of social media and user-generated content (UGC). I tie it to issues of race and gender by describing specific cases of viral videos that transgressed norms and by providing examples from my interviews with CCM workers. The interventions of CCM workers on behalf of the platforms for which they labor directly contradict …

Peak Oil And Transition: The Making Of A Documentary Video, John A. Duvall

John Duvall

Many scientists and academics have raised serious concerns regarding the depletion of fossil fuels—especially the peaking of oil production—and its impact upon society. According to these researchers, oil for transportation and production will soon become expensive and scarce, and known alternative sources of energy will be insufficient to make up the difference within the required time frame. Therefore, world civilization (and the United States in particular) will soon undergo a crisis in energy supply that will have significant impacts on the structure of community life, economic wellbeing, political organization, and individual lifestyles. One response to these threats is to attempt …

Public And Relational Communication Ethics In Political Communication: Integrity, Secrecy, And Dialogue In ‘The Contender’, Jon A. Hess, Joy Piazza

Jonathan A. Hess

There is no denying the omnipresence of media in the twenty-first century. One form of media that is particularly influential is film. Unlike print forms of entertainment, in which age and reading ability dictate accessibility, movies are accessible to virtually everyone. And, regardless of the producer's purpose for making the film, all movies provide an insight into our culture and the individuals who reside within it. Some movies are produced solely for entertainment value, but others seek to convey some type of message or to stimulate thought on the part of the viewer (Good & Dillon 2002; Kupfer 1999; Lipkin …

The Geography Of Reception: Why Do Egyptians Watch Turkish Soap Operas?, Necati Anaz

Necati Anaz

No abstract provided.

The Psychology Of Abandon (Leveller's Press, 2015), Kirby Farrell Prof

kirby farrell

The download is a description of my new paperback, The Psychology of Abandon: Berserk Style in American Culture. The book investigates language and imagery of thinking that throws off inhibitions in pursuit of uncanny resources.

The Decline In Average Weekly Cinema Attendance, 1930-2000, Michelle C. Pautz

Michelle Pautz

Since the beginnings of the motion picture industry, with the one small Edison studio in New Jersey in the early 1900s, America has fallen in love with films. One could argue and debate the reasons, employing everything from sociology to psychology to economics; but one thing is certain: This love affair has changed over the years. This change is perhaps most evident in the decline in the percentage of the United States population that goes to the cinema weekly. One interesting aspect of cinema attendance is that during the Great Depression, which swept the United States in the 1930s, a …

Pretty Woman: 25 Ans De Mensonges Au Sujet De La Prostitution, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

No abstract provided.

The “Babe” Vegetarians: Bioethics, Animal Minds And Moral Methodology, Nathan Nobis

Nathan M. Nobis, PhD

Here I discuss the role the film “Babe” has played in helping people address these challenges and make this moral progress. It is thought that a significant number of young people (mostly girls, now young women) became vegetarians due to their seeing “Babe.” These people are often called “Babe Vegetarians,” influence by what has been called “The Babe Effect.” Many of their stories are found on the internet.

Graffiti Goes To The Movies: American Fictional Films Featuring Graffiti Artists/Writers And Themes, Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

Since the early 1980s, in addition to the increase in graffiti and street art in many urban contexts, a number of movies have been made that have either examined this phenomenon and the people who engage in this activity, or used graffiti and street art as a backdrop to tell a story. This article briefly reviews the scholarly literature that examines movies that portray criminals and criminal actions, and then analyzes seven American-produced fictional (drama) films using graffiti writers/artists as major characters and then draws generalizations about them. Although this is not a semiotic analysis of the films, to the …

Digital Prometheus: Wikileaks, The State-Network Dichotomy And The Antinomies Of Academic Reason, Athina Karatzogianni, Andy Robinson

Athina Karatzogianni

Student-Directed Blended Learning With Facebook Groups And Streaming Media: Media In Asia At Furman University, Tami Blumenfield

Tami Blumenfield

Furman University prizes itself on being an engaged learning, liberal arts institution with extensive faculty-student interaction. 96% of students live on campus, leading some to question whether reducing face-to-face instructional time makes any sense pedagogically. Coming from a different institution that encouraged faculty to create hybrid courses, and seeing the creativity and freedom that offered, I wanted to experiment with the format in this new institutional environment. Would it still be effective? What adaptations would be necessary, and how would students react to this different course format? In Fall 2013, I taught a carefully designed blended learning course that met …

New Master's Degree In Media Literacy And Digital Culture Announced, Lori Bindig

Lori Bindig

Sacred Heart University is announcing a new master’s degree in media literacy and digital culture expected to launch in the fall of 2015.

Bridging The Political Deficit: Loss, Morality And Agency In Films Addressing Climate Change, Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond

This article examines the emotional rhetorical strategies of three films – The Day After Tomorrow (2004), An Inconvenient Truth (2006) and The Age of Stupid (2009) – which attempt to create engagements with the “post-political” problem of climate change. In all three films the experience of personal loss, the potential for future loss, and the emotions associated with loss are fundamental to affective engagement. The emotional loading of representations of environmental problems derives partly from concerns about human political agency and subjectivity. It is not so much that emotional or moral appeals are simply added on in order to bolster …