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Full-Text Articles in American Studies

How A Psychopathic Serial Killer Becomes An American Favorite: An Analysis Of Dexter Morgan, Joanna Dunn Jul 2019

How A Psychopathic Serial Killer Becomes An American Favorite: An Analysis Of Dexter Morgan, Joanna Dunn

Augsburg Honors Review

In a society where the selling of serial killers' personal items is a profitable business and killers are the focus of many facets of entertainment such as biopics, crime novels, films, and the television network TruTV it is not surprising that a series about a killer debuting in 2006 would be the highest rated premiere of its home network Showtime, or that its viewership would increase by 84% between the pilot and season one finale. The series Dexter does, after all, follow the everyday routine of a serial killer, even giving the audience a glimpse into his innermost thoughts. However, …


Brrap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations Of Abortion In Adult Animated Television Comedy, Erika A. Byrnison Feb 2019

Brrap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations Of Abortion In Adult Animated Television Comedy, Erika A. Byrnison

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis documents and analyzes representation of abortion in American adult animated comedy, charging that it is under-examined and significant because representation on television in other genres has traditionally been absent or misleading. It covers theories on how pop culture communicates social norms, and posits that greater truthful representation of abortion in popular culture may be effective in reducing prevalent abortion stigma in the U.S. amongst the young by normalizing and more accurately representing the procedure. It reviews why our culture should be concerned about reducing abortion stigma in the U.S. It also identifies the “taboo ratings paradox,” wherein television …


A Matter Of Life And Def: Poetic Knowledge And The Organic Intellectuals In Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Anthony Blacksher Jan 2019

A Matter Of Life And Def: Poetic Knowledge And The Organic Intellectuals In Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Anthony Blacksher

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation unpacks the poetry, performances, and the production of Def Poetry Jam to explore how a performative art embodied and confronted racial discourses, including stereotypes and also, addressed the racism, patriotism, and imperialist discourses that circulated after 9/11. Def Poetry Jam contributes to the intellectual capacity of spoken word and performance poetry, and poets as intellectuals, where poets produce and disseminate knowledge, ideas, and data, in the form of narratives, that contribute to critical consciousness. The effectiveness of the series lay in the consistent blurring of entertainment, knowledge, anti-capitalism, and capitalism. This research demonstrates how Def Poetry Jam provided …