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Full-Text Articles in Critical and Cultural Studies
Lisa And Phoebe, Lone Vegetarian Icons: At Odds With Television’S Carnonormativity, Carrie P. Freeman
Lisa And Phoebe, Lone Vegetarian Icons: At Odds With Television’S Carnonormativity, Carrie P. Freeman
Carrie P. Freeman
In this chapter, I examine how human privilege operates by studying the characterization of ethical vegetarianism as an alternative lifestyle and comedic fodder in primetime television. The rebellious dietary choices of Lisa on "The Simpsons" and Phoebe on "Friends" provide an opportunity to analyze the construction of animal rights identities and how that is perceived and negotiated by the meat-eating (carnistic) mainstream. I articulate how, and to what extent, these smart and strong vegetarian females serve as a challenge to the hegemony of carnism, an ideology that psychologist Melanie Joy (2010) says normalizes the practice of using and consuming certain …
Consuming Nature: Mass Media And The Cultural Politics Of Animals And Environments, Carrie Packwood Freeman, Jason Jarvis
Consuming Nature: Mass Media And The Cultural Politics Of Animals And Environments, Carrie Packwood Freeman, Jason Jarvis
Carrie P. Freeman
The commercially-driven mass media package human identity and all our surrounding environment for daily consumption in the public sphere. It is of critical importance whether media choose to ignore humanity’s responsibility toward the natural world and simply have us consume it as a product, or whether they actively cultivate ecological responsibility and newfound respect toward animals as fellow sentient beings. This chapter explores the necessity, potential, and challenges of relying on the media (journalism, television, advertising, film, radio, internet, etc.) to inspire the social change needed to reverse the destructive behaviors and beliefs that are contributing to our global ecological …
This Little Piggy Went To Press: The American News Media's Construction Of Animals In Agriculture, Carrie Packwood Freeman
This Little Piggy Went To Press: The American News Media's Construction Of Animals In Agriculture, Carrie Packwood Freeman
Carrie P. Freeman
This textual analysis examines the representations of farmed animals in national print and broadcast news discourse in over 100 stories published from 2000-2003. Findings show these American news media largely support the speciesist status quo by favoring elite viewpoints and failing to provide balance. Although exceptions are provided, news media often objectify nonhuman animals discursively through: 1) commodification, 2) failure to acknowledge their emotional perspectives, and 3) failure to describe them as inherently-valuable individuals.