Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Guidos And Grenades: Shaming Discourses In Mtv’S Jersey Shore, Mackenzie K. Mickavicz Ms., Aubree A. Herman

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

MTV’s Jersey Shore, launched in 2009, reached nearly 9 million viewers at the peak of its popularity. Inspired by the language used by the show’s male cast members to criticize a woman’s weight and appearance, such as “grenade” and “atomic bomb,” this study applies social congitive theory and reality television framework to analyze instances of shaming on Jersey Shore. Through a mixed-methods analysis, this study identifies the various forms of shaming depicted and explores how gender dynamics and character relationships affect these interactions. Findings reveal the most frequent forms of shaming, shame targets, and shame initiators as well as …

Language Attitudes Towards Drag And The Lgbtq+ As Influenced By American Theater, Kj Myke

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This paper examines the relationship between theatrical drag portrayals and American social perception of LGBTQ+ through an analysis of drag characters in theater. This inquiry discusses whether these portrayals influence language towards LGBTQ+ in American culture. Two cases—Knock ‘Em Dead and Kinky Boots—reveal differing attitudes: one being more stereotypical and inauthentic, while the other offers more authentic nuances to queer experience. Findings indicate that the context in which shows are created heavily influences which language attitudes get adapted by the show and advertised to audiences.

Star Wars And Gender In 1980s America, Melissa Ulmer

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This research paper examines the role of gender in the franchise Star Wars. With the first installment of the trilogy released in 1977, many expected this film would turn out like many before. However, the world that George Lucas created was an instant hit and continues to be today. This paper focuses on how the franchise was set apart from other science fiction films based on a defiance of typical gender roles that were prevalent in the late twentieth century, specifically focusing on the two leading roles, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and employing analysis of the films, cast …

From Prometheus To Pygmalion To Pandora: Teaching Greek Mythology With Frankenstein’S “Dark Brides”, Kyle William Bishop

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

As Mary Shelley unambiguously informs readers on the title page of her 1818 novel Frankenstein, her tale of Victor’s discovery of the secret of non-biological reproduction represents the Promethean myth, a morality tale warning against the usurpation of divine authority. In Shelley’s novel, Victor ultimately recognizes the dangerous path he has discovered, and he refuses to create a female companion for his hideous progeny, risking his own life to protect the world from a potential race of monsters. In the cinematic tradition, however, this unrealized “bride” often has been created, and these fantastic narratives realize the Pygmalion myth, that …

Star Wars: Andor – An Abolitionist Study Guide, Marcelo Garzo Montalvo, Isaac Ginsberg Miller

Feminist Pedagogy

This study guide provides a set of activities for teaching abolition through Season 1 of the speculative fiction TV series Star Wars: Andor (2022). Through the practice of critical literacy (viewing, reading, and analysis), we offer various ideas on how to engage Andor as a relevant pedagogical tool for studying and teaching abolitionist movement histories and methodologies. By guiding students through a critical analysis of this widely-circulated, mainstream cultural text, we seek to activate an abolitionist pedagogical lens that can be applied across various genres and media – making tangible connections between popular culture and political struggles writ large. These …

Opening The Door Of The Celluloid Closet, Melissa Hernandez

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

While watching the documentary, The Celluloid Closet, I was instantly intrigued by how queer people and cinema mixed. Going as far back to the black and white, silent films era, queer people have been used as comedic relief, but not in an appealing way. Constantly being the butt of the joke, disregard for queer people became so normalized that certain tropes started popping up in cinema. One trope that we can still see be used frequently in today’s films is the “bury your gays” trope (also known as the “dead lesbians syndrome”) where queer characters in cinema are not …

Prostitution In Video Games: Stigma, Violence And Male Pleasure, Laura Aguilera-Ávila, Lara Escobar Hernández

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Prostitution has traditionally been framed in society as a space significantly determined by patriarchal hierarchies, in addition to being affected on many occasions by stigmatisation and violence. The representation of prostitution and of those who practice it in the media is a topic of special interest, since the discourses and messages disseminated by the media play a fundamental role in socialisation. Video games are not exempt from this debate: with millions of players worldwide and a special reach among young people, they are among the most influential media outlets today. This qualitative research analyses a series of titles, both AAA …

Pepita Pardell: Paradigma De La Invisibilización De La Mujer En El Cine Animado Español, Marta Pardell Carretero

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Pepita Pardell i Terrade (Barcelona 1928 – 2019) es pionera del cine de animación. Participó en la primera película que se rodó en España, Garbancito de la Mancha (1945), que también es el primer film hecho en Europa con la técnica del acetato (Pagès, 2018), así como en las principales producciones que se rodaron hasta 1993. Es también la primera mujer en codirigir cine de animación en España y en ser animadora jefe de un estudio. Su trayectoria es singular, inusual y vertebra la historia de la animación hecha a mano en nuestro país. Sin embargo, su trabajo no …

Diseño Visual, Identidad De Género Y Diversidad Cultural En La Animación Contemporánea: El Caso De Raya And The Last Dragon, Elisabet Fonts González

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

En los últimos años, la animación ha evolucionado hacia representaciones más inclusivas de género y diversidad cultural. Raya and the Last Dragon (López Estrada & Hall, 2021) destaca como un caso significativo de esta transformación, integrando elementos visuales, narrativos y simbólicos que reconfiguran los arquetipos femeninos tradicionales. Este estudio adopta un enfoque cualitativo centrado en el análisis visual, narrativo y simbólico de los personajes Raya, Namaari y Sisu. Basándose en fuentes primarias del proceso creativo y marcos teóricos de la animación y los estudios de género (Furniss, 2017; Lauretis, 1987; Wells, 1998), presta especial atención al diseño de personajes, la …

Elena Asins Y Las Afueras Del Canon: Animación Computacional Y Resistencia, Maria Mar Garrido Román

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Este artículo examina las animaciones generadas por ordenador producidas por Elena Asins, analizando cómo su práctica artística moviliza el pensamiento lógico-matemático, la programación y la experimentación visual. A través de una revisión de su metodología, contexto de producción y resultados formales, el estudio explora la incorporación de procesos algorítmicos en su obra, que generan imágenes con extensión temporal y la consolidan como una figura clave en la historia del arte digital y la animación experimental en España.

La investigación se basa en el análisis de fuentes primarias y, con el objetivo de situar su producción en un marco internacional, establece …

Entre La Sombra Y El Lienzo: Clea Dessendre Como Modelo De Personaje Secundario Complejo, Lydia Huijbregts Jaen, Antonio Horno López

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Introducción: Este artículo analiza a Clea Dessendre en Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, explorando su versión real y la pintada en el lienzo, y su impacto en la narrativa del juego. Metodología: Se aplicó un análisis narrativo, psicológico y ludológico, integrando teorías de duelo (Kübler-Ross), socialización (Baumrind) y comunicación (DiSC) vinculadas con la jugabilidad. Resultados: Clea-Real encarna disciplina y perfeccionismo; Clea-Pintada, una proyección maternal. El gameplay conecta su psicología con la experiencia del jugador. Discusión: Las identidades paralelas muestran cómo traumas y expectativas moldean personajes complejos. Conclusiones: Clea evidencia cómo la narrativa y la mecánica se fusionan para crear …

Una Animación Propia. Discurso Emancipador Desde El Cine De Animación Independiente, Elisa Martínez, Damià Jordà

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Introducción: A pesar de la temprana incorporación de las mujeres a la industria de la animación, sus roles fueron históricamente relegados a labores mecánicas, limitando su capacidad de decisión creativa. Este artículo analiza cómo el cine de animación independiente del siglo XX funcionó como un espacio esencial para las directoras que buscaban un control artístico que permitiera desarrollar discursos emancipadores. Se parte de la hipótesis de que el circuito independiente propició que las animadoras desarrollaran técnicas y narrativas alternativas que rompieron con los cánones plásticos y los preceptos ideológicos dominantes en la industria. Metodología: Mediante una metodología cualitativa, …

Animación Por Mujeres Colombianas: La Potencia Expresiva Del Trabajo Hecho A Mano, Daniela Posada Sarmiento

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Este artículo busca situar el trabajo de tres mujeres animadoras colombianas dentro del campo de investigación sobre el género y la animación, evidenciando la escasa presencia de sus aportes en la investigación académica. Se pretende demostrar la hipótesis que sostiene que: existen obras de animación contemporánea desarrolladas por mujeres colombianas que contienen aportes formales, conceptuales, estéticos y poéticos significativos para la investigación en torno a la animación. En primer lugar, se desarrolla un Estado de la cuestión con enfoque crítico, que permite identificar cómo se ha ignorado la participación de mujeres colombianas en los estudios sobre animación. Posteriormente, se caracterizan …

Representando El Buen Queer-Er: Otras Miradas Para Romper La Cisheteronorma En La Animación Infantil-Juvenil, Delicia Aguado Peláez, Patricia Martínez García

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Este artículo explora la ruptura de los estereotipos de género y la representación de la diversidad en series de animación infantil y juvenil creadas por mujeres y disidencias. Partiendo de un análisis de contenido cualitativo desde una perspectiva interseccional, examinamos la construcción de personajes, las dinámicas sexo-afectivas y las relaciones de poder que se encuentran en cuatro producciones: Star vs. Evil Forces (Daron Nefcy), Steven Universe (Rebeca Sugar), She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (ND Stevenson) y The Owl House (Dana Terrace). Todas ellas comparten una serie de características: ofrecen modelos alternativos de feminidad y masculinidad, más allá de …

Colaboración, Discurso Y Técnicas: La Resistencia Simbólica En El Sueño De La Sultana (Isabel Herguera, 2023), Nerea Cuenca-Orellana

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

La película El sueño de la sultana (Isabel Herguera, 2023) reinterpreta el cuento utópico homónimo de Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1905) realizando una exploración visual que combina animación, archivo y testimonio. El presente trabajo propone un análisis de la obra desde cuatro puntos clave e interrelacionados: la autoría colaborativa y femenina, los discursos visuales, los lenguajes y técnicas, y las formas de resistencia simbólica con el objetivo principal de establecerla como un caso práctico de diseño feminista contemporáneo.

En primer lugar, se examina el proceso de creación de la película como práctica colaborativa transnacional, donde la animación se convierte en un …

Aging And The Screen: Toxic Commodification Of The Female Body In The Substance (2024), Damlasu Uyug Sengun, Tuncer Mert Aydın, Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Representations of the aging female body have increased in media, but their presence is still shaped by social norms and market-driven ideals. On the contrary, The Substance (2024), an absurd, postmodern body horror, provides us a provocative critique of contemporary society’s obsession with youth and beauty and the way our culture defines and commodifies aging, especially in relation to women’s bodies and identities. Our review of The Substance incorporates consumer culture theory with Julia Kristeva’s concept of the abject (1982), Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze (1975), and Barbara Creed’s notion of the monstrous-feminine, (1993) to explore the toxic …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

From "Pata Pata" To Come Back, Africa: Miriam Makeba And Her Fight Against Apartheid, 1953-1990, Maddie Heiser

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Perhaps one of the most notorious periods in African history was that of Apartheid – a system of racial, political, social, and economic discrimination placed upon the non-white majority of South Africa. Beginning in 1948 and lasting until the early 1990s, Apartheid marked a significant transformation in not only African liberation movements but also those happening across the globe, including the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. While the efforts to overcome Apartheid and empower the overall messages of African liberation and solidarity are well-documented, there are several methods of achieving these goals that have been unfortunately overlooked. Figures …

(Ba)Ding, Ang Bato!: Queering Duterte's Drug War In Jun Lana's Big Night! (2021), Jenno Roquero

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

Though there are studies around Duterte’s war on drugs and human rights violations, scholarship focusing on the relationship between Duterte’s politics and gender, particularly queerness and kabaklaan, is limited despite his frequent derogatory use of bakla, gay, or homosexual to demean rivals and critics. This article analyzes Jun Lana’s Big Night! (2021) through the Filipino concept of batak—intoxication, being forcibly dragged, and musculature—to examine the intersections of queerness, state violence, and survival in Rodrigo Duterte’s “War on Drugs.” Through close readings of key scenes, the article maps how batak operates as a framework for understanding the bakla’s shifting position: …

Reading-As-Lesbian And Desiring-As-Lesbian: The Commodification Of Kilig And Coming-Of-Age In Samantha Lee’S Billie And Emma (2018), Reya Mari S. Veloso

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

In 2018, Samantha Lee’s second movie Billie and Emma was screened in the QC International Film Festival. I watched it during the pandemic and had since been arrested by its portrayal and narrative of lesbian and queer teens. In this paper, I argue that Samantha Lee’s Billie and Emma (2018) offers a subversive narrative of lesbians by using kilig as affect enveloped in a coming-of-age narrative. By deploying Wilton (the lesbian as subject position) and Berlant (fantasy/desire), I will discuss how Billie and Emma (2018) subverts the lens of heterosexuality/heteronormativity seen in most lesbian films both in the western …

Quasi-Feminism And Identity Exploration In The Film Laapata Ladies, Dr. Bharat Dhiman, Nausheen Khan

Journal of Religion & Film

The film Laapata Ladies (2024), directed by Kiran Rao, is a social commentary revolving around misogyny and the socio-cultural barriers faced by women in rural India, serving as a brilliant ode to womanhood and conveying its message effectively without any melodrama, thereby reflecting social realities at a ground level. The film explores the protagonists’ inner dilemmas, constraints, struggles, and hardships, advocating the cause for inclusivity from a quasi-feminist perspective, poignantly urging us to re-examine our perspectives and stirring conversations around the need for women to establish their own identities, away from the standard kaleidoscope of the male gaze.

Decomposition And Excavation Of War Memories And Massacres In Na Hong-Jin’S The Wailing, Grace Jung

BCES: Faculty Publications

This chapter examines Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing (2016) as an allegory of South Korea’s unresolved colonial and Cold War traumas, arguing that the film’s deliberate ambiguity, cacophony, and generic instability reflect the difficulty of recovering histories of violence that have been suppressed, erased, or inadequately mourned. While scholarship on South Korean zombie cinema has frequently interpreted the zombie through neoliberal capitalism, economic crisis, contagion, and social alienation, this chapter locates the Korean zombie within a longer history of civil war, massacres, sexual violence, and authoritarian state repression. Drawing on Heonik Kwon’s concept of Cold War “decomposition,” the zombie …

Make It Pink: Superman, Pink Kryptonite, And Fandom, Tom Ue, Kristofer Starzomski-Wilson

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper explores several representations of pink kryptonite. In Doug Murphy’s animated short film True Colors (2017), Superman (Jason J. Lewis) transforms into a woman when he’s exposed to this substance. This short, as we have shown elsewhere (2025), offers a useful lens for examining the perpetuation and the critique of gender stereotypes in superhero media: Superman may be equally capable regardless of his sex, but the film pokes fun at, rather than celebrates, his transformation. Pink kryptonite rarely appears in the canon. A single panel in Supergirl (2003) has received perhaps the most sustained attention. Tom Ue’s archival work …

The Monstrous Other: Exploring Negative Representations Of Queerness In Genre Cinema, Mark Gambino

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

The following literature review is an extract from my SAE University College Masters thesis, Disrupting negative representations of queerness in genre cinema, conferred in September 2024. The project explored representations of the queer Other in film horror, through artefact-exegesis, with the creative artefact, horror film Shadows, interrogating the coding of trans / queer characters as the ‘monstrous Other’ in the horror film genre, and how this notion can be subverted and transcended.

Film Review: Motherhood And Mathematics: Hegemonic Femininity And Deviance In Shakuntala Devi (2020), Bharat Dhiman

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

A Queer Feminist Response To The Racist Reception Of Halle Bailey’S The Little Mermaid: Misogynoir And Anti-Fan Facebook Users In Vietnam, Trung M. Nguyen

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay examines the ways anti-Blackness is manifested in Vietnam through Facebook anti-fans’ reactions to Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023) starring Halle Bailey, a Black American actress, in the role of Ariel. Analyzing the racist and colorist remarks within Facebook users’ comments and posts about the movie and utilizing misogynoir as the main concept of critique, the author demonstrates the phenomenon of anti-Black misogyny in Vietnam and focuses on the “I’m not racist, but…” trope. Uncovering the queer history of Hans Christian Andersen’s work, this essay adopts a queer feminist lens to defend the filmmakers’ choice to depict Ariel as …

The Absence Of Female Representation In Film Bambang (2022): The Male Gaze And Lacanian Objet Petit A, Brigitta Winasis, Rias Antho Rahmi Suharjo

International Review of Humanities Studies

The discourse of the male gaze in popular culture constructs ideal standards of femininity deemed attractive based on traits and physical appearances that are desired by men. The film Bambang (2022) is an example of media that employs the male gaze as an exclusive tool to present female characters. By applying the mise-en-scène analysis method in film studies, this article explores the problem of female characters representation that is reduced to be desired objects through the concepts of Laura Mulvey's male gaze and Lacanian objet petit a. This article finds that Bambang (2022) utilizes objectifying dialogue by the two …