Entertainment Studies 2011 Abstracts
Growing Up Biased: Character Body Shape and Attractiveness Assessments in Popular Children’s Entertainment Programming • Mary Katherine Alsip, University of Alabama; Kim Bissell, University of Alabama • Anti-fat bias is a pervasive attitude found in the population at all ages. This bias can result in poor healthcare and a lower quality of life for those who are overweight. One potential explanation for this bias is the amount of anti-fat messages found in the media. Until recently, most anti-fat bias studies focused on adult television programming, but very little is known about the characters in programs that children watch. Additionally, most of the research done on children’s programming focuses only on pre-school and elementary-school age children, ignoring the visual messages that older children receive. A content analysis of twenty-seven programs and 130 characters by a group of thirteen coders indicated that even at an early age, children are exposed to characters who are average to underweight with little to no representation of overweight characters. This analysis also indicated that as target age increased, the average size of characters decreased, demonstrating that as children develop, they are exposed to thinner characters.
Film Families: The Portrayal of the Family in Teen Films from 1980 to 2009 • Mark Callister, Brigham Young University; Caroline Clark, Brigham Young University; Sarah M. Coyne, Brigham Young University • Adolescents as group watch more movies than any other group of the population, yet little research has been done on what is shown in teen movies. Media portrayals of the family serve an important socializing function for young viewers. While there has been a vast amount of research looking at the family as portrayed on television shows, there has been little research done on film families. More specifically, there has not been an examination of the family as seen in movies targeted towards the teen audience. This study reviews three decades of families as depicted in teen films, focusing specifically on family structure and parent portrayals. Ninety of the top-grossing teen movies made during the 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s were analyzed, for a total of 151 different film families. Results indicate increased diversification in family structure and occupational roles over the three decades. In addition, parents are portrayed in a relatively positive light in terms of parenting style and competency. The results of this study are compared to findings of past studies regarding television families and U.S. census data. The implications of the results of this study are discussed through the lens of cultivation theory.
Ryan Choi is Dead: Ideological Representations of Asians and Asian Americans in American Superhero Comics • Bryan Carr, The University of Oklahoma • This paper uses the theory of ideology to explore the portrayal of Asians and Asian Americans in superhero comics. The paper places these comics in the context of other media to explore how stereotypes and images of Asians and Asian Americans perpetuate distorted perceptions. A historical overview of Asian portrayals in superhero comics and examples of modern characters and depictions is included to provide comparative context. A content analysis of the best-selling comics over a three-month period found that Asian characters comprised 3.8% of the prominent character appearances surveyed, and were more likely to play a supporting or non-superpowered role than a lead role. This data is used to illustrate that certain ideological structures do exist in the portrayal of Asian and Asian American characters. Specifically, the sample shows that Asian characters were underrepresented and generally played supporting roles, and that attempts to diversify character lineups have not extended to the best-selling titles. However, at a qualitative level, the sample showed more positive portrayals of Asian characters and focused less on their ethnicity as a sole source of identification.
What Are We Laughing At? A Phenomenological Study of Tyler Perry Fans • Teddy Champion, University of Alabama • This study involves a phenomenological look at fans of Tyler Perry, one of the most successful black filmmakers and television producers in history. A focus group consisting of young African Americans from the South who considered themselves fans of Perry was selected to give opinions about both his content and his success. They also addressed potential controversial issues, such as criticism that Perry uses stereotypes in his portrayals of black characters. Analysis demonstrates that fans embrace the overt moral agenda that Perry includes in most of his work, they believe the humor works on several levels, and they dismiss criticism that old stereotypes apply to Perry’s characters.
Mood Management and Highly Interactive Video Games: Examining Emotion Change in Relation to Arousal, Involvement and Enjoyment • Yen-Shen Chen, Florida State University • The purposes of this study were to examine the role of interactivity within video games on the emotion change process, and the association among enjoyment, arousal, involvement and emotion change. The researcher predicted that highly interactive video game players would experience more arousal, involvement and enjoyment than low interactive video game players, and thus a greater emotion management effect would be found with the highly interactive video game than the low interactive video game. Furthermore, enjoyment would be associated with involvement and arousal in the highly interactive video game condition. Gaming performance was assumed to be correlated with enjoyment and emotion change. The 165 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the three interactivity conditions (Wii gaming, Flash gaming, and DVD watching). The results demonstrated that 1) interactivity within video games influences the overall emotion management effect, 2) only highly interactive video gamers can simultaneously increase positive affects and decrease negative affects, 3) highly interactive video games produce the greatest arousal, involvement and enjoyment out of the three conditions, 4) two affect-related components, arousal and involvement are correlated with an increase in positive affect, 5) enjoyment is correlated with an increase in positive affect.
Violent Words, Violent Acts, and Weapons: A Content Analysis of Print Advertisements and Internet Trailers for Video Games • Sarah Beth Combs, University of Alabama; Erin Ryan, Kennesaw State University • This analysis examined violent content in video game advertisements and trailers. Whereas video games are difficult to analyze due to their fluid nature, ads and trailers provide insight into key game content. Print ads were selected from two popular video game magazines between 2007 and 2010, and the trailer for each game was downloaded. The sample included 347 print ads and 260 trailers (N = 607). Content was broken into four categories: violent words, violent acts, presence of weapons, and overall violence. Results indicated violence is prevalent; 78.9% of games included violent content. Game genre and rating were significantly related to weapons, violent acts, violent words, and total violent content. Trailers contained significantly more weapons, violent acts, and violent content than print ads, but there was no significant difference in violent words used. Results are discussed in the context of the General Aggression Model, Social Learning Theory, and Cultivation Theory.
The Learning Environment Provided by a Successful, Violent Video Game: The Roles of Story, Sexism, Collaboration, and Immersion in Resident Evil 5 • J.J. De Simone, University of Wisconsin – Madison • This case study analyzes a dyadic play experience of a survival-horror, cooperative video game in order to discern the qualities that foster or inhibit a learning environment from which effects can be generated. Using education/literacy scholars’ language (video games as inherent learning mechanisms) as my base, I discovered cut scenes, immersive elements, and collaboration contributed to the game’s learning environment. Existing sexist feelings by the players inhibited the game from providing a great learning atmosphere.
Does Cooperation Decrease State Hostility? An Exploration of Cooperative Play in a Violent, War-Themed Video Game • J.J. De Simone, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Karyn Riddle, University of Wisconsin – Madison • Although the effects of violent video games on aggression are well documented, researchers have only recently begun to explore the social nature of violent video game play. The present research adds to this growing literature by examining the role of cooperative violent video game play on state hostility, enjoyment, and presence. An experiment was conducted in which male college students played a violent video game either alone or in a cooperative dyad. The results show that cooperative dyads exhibited lower state hostility after playing compared to solo players. Furthermore, the data suggest that enjoyment and presence are not responsible for the decreases in state hostility. The role of player motivation is discussed in the context of the General Aggression Model.
Pixar’s “New Man”: A Textual and Thematic Analysis of Masculinity in the “Toy Story” Trilogy • Bruce Finklea, University of Alabama • This textual analysis of Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy examined messages presented about masculinity. Themes that emerged are: (a) alpha males have difficulty expressing non-violent emotions before their “New Man” transformation; (b) the emotions expressed most often are anger and frustration; (c) “New Men” ask for help, (d) are natural leaders, (e) want love, (f) and cannot control their sexuality; (g) females value males’ strength and physicality; (h) effeminate males are ridiculed by other males.
Narrowly Scripted: A Content Analysis of the Sexual Scripts Present in Popular R&B and Hip-Hop Songs • Stacey Hust, Washington State University; Kathleen Rodgers, Washington State University; Weina Ran, Washington State University • Listening to music, specifically popular genres like Rap and Hip-Hop, is the second most popular media activity among youth. There is growing concern about the sexual and violent content present in this music, however. This study includes a content analysis of the sexual content present in 100 R&B and Hip-Hop songs. Overall, results indicate the lyrics provide a limited traditional sexual script, which is hegemonic and manipulative, for both young men and women to follow.
The Author on YouTube: Confronting a Crisis of Authorship Through the Amateur Documentary • Mark Lashley, University of Georgia • This paper looks at user-produced YouTube video through the lens of Michel Foucault and his detailed analysis of the “author function.” Using a textual study of popular YouTube documentary series “The Shaytards,” along with a consideration of the “produser” (as popularized by Axel Bruns), this paper examines the way in which the author functions as a new and novel kind of subject in the YouTube environment, and probes Foucault’s question, resituated for the contemporary mediascape: “What is an author?”
“But You Don’t Make Games!”: Conflict and Crisis Between Core Game Developers and Casual Gamers • Kristin Lindsley, Indiana University • The incredible success of social games on the cluttered new media market has created an uneasy conflict within the world of game development. Independent game developers, long accustomed to making games for a core gaming audience, resent and disdain casual game developers for diluting the pool of games with unimaginative, simplistic gameplay designed for new gamers rather than an experienced audience. This paper examines the economic and social forces at play in the recent success of social games, and critiques the resistance to the social game model by many in the gaming industry.
The New Celebrity: Kim Kardashian and Twitter • Amanda McClain, Holy Family University • This paper explores the contemporary interaction of celebrity and new media through a discourse analysis of Kim Kardashian’s Twitter usage. Since 2007, Kardashian has skyrocketed to fame and is now a ubiquitous media presence. Moreover, her embrace of new media, particularly the social media outlet Twitter, has helped sustain her fame and fortune. On Twitter, Kardashian is immensely popular; according to The New York Times, she is ranked sixth in popularity and ninth in influence. As of April 1, 2011 Kardashian had over 6.9 million Twitter followers. From January 1, 2011 to March 31, 2011, Kardashian generated 921 individual tweets. This discourse analysis determined each tweet fit into one of six categories: personal tidbits, lifestyle, fan interaction, celebrity interaction, traffic, and promotional/publicity. Personal tidbits and fan interaction convey supposed normality and authenticity, while lifestyle and celebrity interaction affirm and legitimize her celebrity status. The traffic and promotional tweets urge followers to consume sundry products and engage followers. In fact, as evidenced throughout all six categories her followers are more than active or interactive—they are a part of Kardashian’s brand. On Twitter, followers collaborate with her and advocate for her. Each audience member is an individual consumer/producer/distributor and noticeably an endorser, approving her product ventures, working in tandem with Kardashian to bolster her celebrity, brand, and economic interests. By smart, interactive media use and “being herself,” Kim Kardashian revamps banal social media use into character-constructing building blocks of celebrity, brand, and profits.
“As long as you live under my ocean, you’ll obey my rules”: A Content Analysis of the Portrayal of Authority Figures in Disney Animated Films • Tina McCorkindale, Appalachian State University • While most research concerning Disney animated films has investigated gender inequality, little research has examined interpersonal communication between authority figures and “others.” Results from a quantitative analysis of 72 interactions in six animated Disney films indicated the power of most authority figures was legitimate, indicating few actually earned their positions. Typically, when women were authority figures they were often portrayed as villainesses. Also, most characters complied with the authority figure’s requests whether they agreed with them or not, and more than half of the interactions were negative. Based on social learning theory, these findings may affect modeling behaviors in children. Suggestions for future research are included.
“Fatties Get a Room!” An Examination of Humor and Stereotyping in Mike & Molly • Cynthia Nichols, Oklahoma State University; Bobbikay Lewis, Oklahoma State University; Mary Katherine Alsip, University of Alabama • The purpose of this study is to examine the use of humor and stereotyping—both traditional and non-traditional—in the CBS program Mike & Molly. The sample for this study was determined by examining jokes in five randomly selected episodes of the first season of the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly (n = 646). To serve as a control for a typical sitcom, jokes in four episodes of Mad Love (n= 499)—a sitcom with similar characteristics, but without obese main characters—were also coded. A total of 1144 jokes were coded for the character that made the joke, who the joke was targeting, the tone, the topic of the joke, the type of joke, and whether the joke was self-deprecating. The findings showed that Mike & Molly was more likely to have jokes relating to weight issues and food than the typical sitcom. Results also indicated that obese characters—specifically the obese male lead—are targeted for jokes more often than non-obese characters, and were more likely to use self-deprecating humor.
Fake Forensics, Real Effects?: Testing the Cultivating Power of Crime Drama • Emily Ogilvie, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill • On one channel, the forensic heroes of CSI gallantly pour silicone into a victim’s fatal knife wound to create a perfect, inculpatory cast of the blade. On the next, politicians exchange heated words in endless debates over stem cell research, climate change, and the teaching of evolution in schools. But what are viewers taking away from such media messages? Central to cultivation theory is the premise that television’s recurrent narrative, visual, and ideological patterns cultivate viewers’ (mis)constructions of the real world in a manner positively correlated with the amount and types of exposure. This study tested that premise by examining the relationships between and among crime drama viewing, perceptions of the effectiveness of the U.S. criminal justice system, and scientific literacy via an analytical web-based survey of 1365 undergraduate students. Contrary to the cultivation thesis, few significant and no strong associations emerged between or among any of the study’s main variables; in other words, little evidence of cultivation effects or processes was manifest in the data.
Prisoners and Guards: Bob Dylan’s Contribution to the Popular Memory of George Jackson • Theodore Petersen, Florida Institute of Technology • After hearing of the death of black revolutionary George Jackson in 1971, folksinger Bob Dylan wrote and released a musical tribute to the man. The song’s thesis was clear: George Jackson was assassinated for his political beliefs. In this case, Dylan’s song was more than entertainment; it contributes to the way we remember these events. This paper analyzes the coverage of Jackson’s death by four sources: the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Defender, and Bob Dylan. The result is that Dylan’s version didn’t stray dramatically from what the others said, but his version has a longer shelf life, and therefore contributes more to the public memory of Jackson’s death.
Message Board Use and the Fantasy Sport Experience • Brody Ruihley, University of Southern Indiana; Rob Hardin, University of Tennessee • Fantasy sport joins competition, sport knowledge, and socialization into one interactive activity. The purpose of this study is to analyze socialization, and specifically, message board use in fantasy sport. Under Uses and Gratifications framework, this analysis addresses overall satisfaction in fantasy sport, return intentions, and reasons why FSUs use message boards. The results further empirical research in the areas of sport communication, fantasy sport, and message boards in sport.
GLEE: Masculinity in the Sub-Basement • Jennifer Safreno, Washington State University • This study investigated the first season of the show GLEE. Framing of masculinity through male student interactions was researched. Research questions examined the context of these interactions and how they framed or emphasized/overlooked specific masculinities. Framing literature and Social Cognitive Theory were used to understand the results. Results followed Connell and Messerschmidt’s (2005) hegemonic, complicit, subordinate, and marginalized masculinity types. Themes were bullying, equating Glee club to gayness, and exerting hypermasculinity to reinforce hegemonic masculinity.
The Sound of Hate: Exploring the Use of Hatecore Song Lyrics as a Recruiting Strategy by the White Power Movement • Andrew Selepak, The University of Florida; Belio Martinez, University of Florida • This study examines “hatecore” song lyrics that spread white supremacist ideology. Results point to the portrayal of ethnic and religious minorities, and homosexuals as inferior. Lyrics describe Jews, the government and liberals as responsible for eroding white power. Lyrics recruit poor whites by highlighting their disenfranchisement and by promoting white racial pride. Power is a central organizing concept in “hatecore” song lyrics, defining the problem, identifying the causes, and prescribing solutions for white America.
“I Play The Road” Reexperience: Phenomenology of the Zac Brown Band • Sarita Stewart, The University of Alabama • The Zac Brown Band (ZBB) is one of the hottest country bands in the U.S. This study explores how consumption factors figure into the phenomenon of musical stardom. The three-revenue stream model provides an understanding of elements key in the band’s success. A textual analysis data collection technique was used to pull fan commentary from the band’s Facebook and fan club. A phenomenological approach identified top consumption themes prevalent in both social media arenas.
Beverly Hills Bullies and Gossiping Girls: The Portrayal of Bullying on Teen Television Dramas • Kimberly Walsh, University of Massachusetts, Amherst • This content analysis examines how the portrayal of bullying on teen television dramas has changed from the 1990s to the 2000s. Results based on a sample of 40 episodes and 305 characters suggest that recent teen dramas depict more emotional and physical bullying, show more female involvement in bullying, and demonstrate less harm to bullying victims than older teen dramas. Drawing from media effects literature, the possible problematic implications of these findings are discussed.
“Everybody’s Doing It”: Framing Analysis of “Rehab” on Celebrity News Blog • Erin Willis, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Margaret Duffy, University of Missouri School of Journalism • This study used framing analysis to explore “rehab” in relation to excessive drug and alcohol use by celebrities as depicted on celebrity news blog, PerezHilton.com. In recent years, the word “rehab” has become Hollywood’s mea culpa. No matter the behavior, entering a rehabilitation facility is thought to be a “fix” to the problem but also offers public repentance for celebrities gone wrong. PerezHilton.com mocks celebrities’ repeated attempts at sobriety and misuse of rehabilitation programs; although rehab is to be taken seriously, as most of these stars have serious addictions. Three themes were found including warning, mockery, and cheerleading as ways of communicating “rehab.” Although celebrity bad behavior means big business to PerezHilton.com, the blogger uses celebrity bad behavior as lessons for his Generation X audience members.
Bad Pleasure and/or Good Comedy?: A Textual Analysis of Television Stand-up Comedies in South Korea • Kyung Han You, The Pennsylvania State University • By offering the concept “sociality of laughter,” the present study explores the power relationships between dominance and resistance, as they intervene in pleasure and the sociality of laughter in television comedies. From a textual analysis of television stand-up comedies in South Korea, the present study found that stand-up comedies represented a dominant structure that weakens resistance inherent within the texts and limits the audience’s ability to deviate from cultural norms which was structurally involved in reinforcing existing value systems. The implications of the study were discussed.
2D or 3D? The Effects on Viewers’ Sense of Presence and Enjoyment • Cui Zhang, University of Alabama; Shuhua Zhou, University of Alabama; Charles Meadows, University of Alabama • This study investigates the effects of depth of field cues in movies and dimensionality on viewers’ sense of presence and enjoyment. Participants were shown 4 movie clips in either 2-dimensional or 3 dimensional viewing conditions. The findings indicate that depth of field cues and dimensionality have effects on viewers’ presence and enjoyment. Moreover, individual’s transportability influenced sense of presence and enjoyment. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
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