Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

The Student-Teacher Romance Film Genre: Hollywood's Historical Representation Of Abuse Of Power, Darby Gilliland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite vast literature analyzing films that depict romantic and sexual relationships between young students and their teachers, scholarship has yet to explicitly call this category of films and television a genre. The purpose of the present thesis is to define the student-teacher romance film genre and identify patterns that make it up as a means of illuminating the genre’s exploration of abuse of power in the classroom. I use a historical-generic methodology and gaze theory as a framework to conduct this analysis. I identify three distinct eras of the genre and analyze films from each time period. The first era …

A Simple Introduction To The Practice Of Ethnography And Guide To Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Brian Hoey

Brian A Hoey

In this article, I will provide a simple introduction to the practice of ethnographic fieldwork. Ethnographic approaches, while born of the work conducted by anthropologists over one hundred years ago, are increasingly employed by researchers and others from a variety of backgrounds and for a multitude of purposes from the academic to the applied and even the commercial. In this article, I will provide an introduction intended for those new to this approach but who have already had some basic experience or training. I also provide a discussion of the centrality of fieldnotes to the conduct of this very personally …

Why Don't I Look Like Her? The Impact Of Social Media On Female Body Image, Kendyl M. Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to understand and criticize the role of social media in the development and/or encouragement of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction in college-aged women. College women are exceptionally vulnerable to the impact that social media can have on their body image as they develop an outlook on their bodies and accept the developmental changes that occurred during puberty. This paper provides evidence that there is a relationship between the recent surge in disordered eating and high consumption of social media. I examine the ways in which traditional advertising has portrayed women throughout history, …

African American Women And Blogs: The Allure Of Culture-Specific Beauty Blogs, Kalari Flotree

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of this qualitative, multi-case study was to explore the identity-related dress and appearance management implications of culture-specific beauty blog readership. The study was informed by three research questions: (a) Why and how do African American women seek out culture-specific beauty blogs? (b) What roles do African American women assume while engaging with culture-specific beauty blog communities? (c). How do African American women use culture-specific beauty blog content to inform identity-related processes of appearance management and dress?

The sample of this multiple-case study included nine participants, each representing a distinct case. Data were collected through individual, semi-structured, in-depth interviews, …

Renegade Or Paragon?: Categorizing Narrative Choice In Video Game Storylines, Graham Oliver

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Choices made during video game gameplay set the stories told in that media apart from other media. Narrative-affecting choices have existed since the earliest games, from character creation in role-playing games to performance-based narrative changes in Metroid to morality-based choices in Ogre Battle. In the contemporary gaming landscape, some games derive a significant portion of their gameplay from character decisions: exploration, dialogue options, quick-time event reactions, etc. In this article, I give a history and breakdown of how choices have existed and evolved in gaming narratives since their inception. I then propose three categories for significant narrative choices: aesthetic, …

Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

This research explores cultural shifts in the popularity of the Disney princess in American culture, especially its postmodern resurgence, as well as the complex relationship between Disney’s recent representations of women in the 1990’s and post-feminist ideology. My project begins by analyzing the historic appearance of the Disney female in relation to the women’s movements. I also examine lingering anti-feminist backlash in representations of what I call “New Wave” Disney heroines. Finally, I examine the implications of post-feminist discourse and advertising for young female viewers.

香港流行文化與流行歌詞縱橫談, Minghui Liao

Dissertations from all years

本地文化與流行歌詞的關係

文化，就是指人類慣有的生活模式。它會因時代、地域、歷史、民族性等差異而有所不同。香港開埠已歷百餘載，但真正建立屬於"香港人"的文化，還只是近數十年的事。舊日歷史遺留的問題，令香港被視為無根的土地：加上其特殊的地理位置，香港自然成為東西方不同文化的交流點。香港的本土文化，就在強大的外來文化壓力下建立起來。

流行歌曲是流行文化的一個組成部分，亦能反映出時代變化。所謂 "流行" 是指一段時期內，大部分人熱衷於某種生活模式；時間一久，人們又轉而追求新一種生活模式。這種潮來潮去、乘時盛衰的表現，正是通俗文化發展的特點。值得注意的是，香港的流行歌詞或多或少沾有商業味道，而香港流行歌曲之所以發展蓬勃，亦有賴於 "經濟掛帥"；故此，仔細研究本地的流行歌詞，就像把弄著鏡子，不難照出香港獨特文化的真面目。

例如七十年代中期，香港經濟起飛，"大香港文化" 一時成為主流，許冠傑的通俗淺白的粵語歌曲大行其道；八九年六四前後，香港洋溢著一片愛國氣氛，遂於當時湧現了一批支持學運的歌曲。

由此可見，本地文化與流行歌詞的關係相當密切，歌詞反映的是六百萬香港人多年來的眾生相。本文以近三十年來粵語流行歌詞的演變作藍本，逐一細析香港這一時代的歌詞，並兼論三位具代表性的填詞人，探索他們的詞風在潮流漲退之下，如何產生變化。

Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese: A Case Study Of Glocalization Through Shanghai Disneyland’S Brand Narrative, Chelsea Michelle Galvez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2016, the Walt Disney Company launched Shanghai Disneyland--the company’s first theme park in mainland China. Entering mainland China poses significant political and cultural challenges for American companies. To address these challenges, Disney pursued a “glocalization” strategy -- it accounted for local norms and values in launching Shanghai Disneyland. This paper examines how Shanghai Disneyland constructed its brand narrative to negotiate tensions in this glocalization process. A semiotic analysis of two Shanghai Disneyland commercials illustrates the ways in which Disney tapped into culturally meaningful themes of harmonic balance and collective identity to produce the park’s brand narrative--“China’s Disneyland.” A thematic …

"I March To The Beat Of My Own Drum": A Critical Discourse Analysis On Mediated Construction Of Aaron Rodgers' Covid-19 Vaccination Disclosure, Patrick Crowe

Doctoral Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought suffering throughout society and disruption throughout the sports world. In the U.S., there have been politically polarized debates about the best course of action for handling the pandemic, including vaccinations and the appropriateness of other restrictive measures. Amidst the 2021 National Football League (NFL) season, in which the league imposed differing levels of restrictions based on a player’s vaccination status, former MVP and Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19. After his positive test, Rodgers, who had previously claimed he was “immunized” from COVID-19, revealed that his immunization protocol consisted of “alternate” drugs …

Laughter In Adversity: Exploring The Meaning, Motivations, And Social Uses Of Dark Humor Among Filipino College Students, Jermilen S. Murillo, Criztine A. Capin, Monica R. Mesa, Robyn Nicole A. Torres, Chrizelle M. Villanueva

Sinaya: A Philippine Journal for Senior High School Teachers and Students

This study explores how Filipino Generation Z college students in Metro Manila utilize dark humor as a coping mechanism for stress management, mental health resilience, and navigating social dynamics. Drawing on a descriptive phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews with nine students aged 21 to 23 years old revealed that dark humor operates as both an emotional outlet and a cultural expression rooted in Filipino values. Themes showed that its use is mindful and context-sensitive, shaped by pakikiramdam (emotional sensitivity) and pakikipagkapwa (relational empathy), allowing participants to reframe grief, ease emotional burdens, and build intimacy within trusted circles. These practices reflect pantawang …