Entertainment Studies 2006 Abstracts
Entertainment Studies Interest Group
Black and White on the Silver Screen: Representations of Interracial Romance in American Film of the Post-Civil Rights Era • Carole V. Bell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Although socially taboo, interracial sexual involvement has been a source of recurring fascination since the silent era. With an eye towards tracking evolving social norms and conceptions of race, this paper investigates how interracial relationships have been depicted in popular American film in the post-segregation era, exploring how these representations have changed over time and how they remain the same.
Ancient Rome and Las Vegas: Communicating Entertainment as Diversion • Gregory Borchard and Anthony Ferri, University of Nevada-Las Vegas • This study analyzes the entertainment productions of ancient Rome and contemporary Las Vegas relative to media employed by both cultural centers to communicate a sense of presence, interpreting the roles of theatre and architecture as constructs for projecting participation in events on artistic and experiential levels. The study is significant for media and communications scholars because it illustrates the roots of contemporary themes and trends relative to historic institutions, juxtaposing modern entertainment with ancient institutions.
Network News Coverage of Celebrity Trials during 2004:A Study of Source Use and Reporter Context • Serena Carpenter, Stephen Lacy and Frederick Fico, Michigan State University • A study of network news in 2004 found the reporting of celebrity trials (Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, and Martha Stewart) differed from other big stories. Morning network news carried the bulk (83 percent) of celebrity trial stories when compared to evening news. The morning celebrity trial stories had more transparent and female sources compared to other big stories, while celebrity stories were more likely to have only one viewpoint and contain anonymous sources.
Master of This Domain: Audience and the Reality of Dis-identification in Seinfeld • Phil Chidester, Illinois State University • The enduring popularity of Seinfeld as a media text, coupled with the patent inability of any of the program’s core actors to carry that popularity over to more recent television products, presents an intriguing critical problem: To what inherent quality – or set of qualities – might we assign the show’s historic appeal? Further, how does Seinfeld’s rise to prominence relate to a contemporary explosion of interest in reality TV fare?
Women Wrestling Fans: Claiming Feminine Power in the 1950s • Chad Dell, Monmouth University • This study demonstrates how women in the 1950s used professional wrestling to maintain their gendered identity in the face of societal attempts to renegotiate the meaning of femininity in conservative, domestic terms. The fan club bulletins these women produced stand as evidence of their challenge to changing definitions of feminine roles, representing an important step women took in the direction of the second wave of feminism that would emerge in the decades to come.
Playing Online: Motivations for Fantasy Sports Use • Lee Farquhar, University of Iowa and Bob Meeds, Kansas State University • Approximately 15 million people participate in online fantasy sports. Using Q-Methodology, we apply a Uses and Gratifications framework to examine types of online fantasy sports users and their motivations. Five types of players emerged, with casual players, statisticians, and isolationist thrill-seekers being the three most common types. Differences among types were primarily associated with two motivations– arousal and surveillance, while entertainment, escape and social interaction motivations were judged to be less important motivations.
Reality Trek: The Colonialist and Xenophobic Ideologies of International (and Intergalactic) Relations Portrayed in Star Trek • Howard D. Fisher, Ohio University • Star Trek portrayed the Federation as the United States and the Klingons as the Soviet Union in a galaxy-wide Cold War. Recent incarnations of Star Trek portray a different ideology of human interaction with aliens – analogous to United States’ international relations. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) continued the colonialist attitudes that marked the first series, while Enterprise (2001) showed a Star Fleet skittish of alien encounters and more afraid of any “other.”
A Historical Examination of the Representation of Media Messages and Social Issues in ABC Afterschool Specials, 1972-1981 • Amanda Hall Gallagher, Texas Tech University • Theoretically grounded in cultural studies and supported by a historical framework, this paper explores media messages and social issues as represented in ABC Afterschool Specials from 1972-1981. Through textual analysis, thirteen specials were analyzed. Some key themes which emerged from this analysis include the lack of diversity in individual characters and family structures, the presence of young characters in traditional, patriarchal gender roles, and the non-controversial treatment of important, key social issues.
Motive Differentiation Among Viewers of Reality Television Subgenres: A Uses and Gratifications Approach • Jill Griffith and Vincent F. Filak, Ball State University • This study examined the gratification-seeking behavior of reality television viewers (n=327) based on the subgenre of their favorite reality show. Survey results demonstrated that viewers of certain subgenres reported higher levels of specific gratification satisfaction when compared to viewers of other subgenres. The outcomes of the study codifies previous work that argued reality television should not be viewed as a homogenous genre and provides support for the individualism postulates of uses and gratifications theory.
Thirty Years Locked in Pandora’s Box: Weirum v. RKO • Mark D. Harmon, University of Tennessee • Weirum v. RKO (15 Cal. 3d 40, 1975; 539 P.2d 36, 1975) is an exceptional entertainment law case. A radio station was held liable for a promotional campaign that encouraged young listeners to be the first to locate a traveling disc jockey. One such motorist forced another driver off the road, leading to that driver’s death. The author tracks efforts to expand the Weirum media precedent, and demonstrates how those cases have both clarified and limited the Weirum precedent.
The Images: A Content Analysis of Celebrity Photographs in Three Celebrity Magazines • Elizabeth M. Hendrickson, University of Missouri-Columbia • The American publishing industry has recently witnessed a proliferation of celebrity weekly magazines. This paper is a content analysis of the photographic images in three celebrity weekly magazines during three months in 2005. This research examines the photos in terms of age, race and sex. Attention is given to both the cultural significance of celebrity and the magazine readership experience.
Tour de Lance: An Investigation of Lance Armstrong as a Celebrity Endorser of the ‘LiveStrong’ Campaign • Andrea M. Holt, University of Alabama • Very little research in the mass communication field has been done on athletes and health campaigns; therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the power and influence of celebrities endorsed campaigns. Specifically, the study will examine such characteristics using the “Live Strong” campaign. Additionally, this study will look at parasocial interaction and celebrity worship of Lance Armstrong, in terms of his effectiveness as a spokesman for the campaign and connection with the public.
Parental-Peer Mediation and Children’s Perceptions of the Television World: Influence of Mediation and Exposure on Perceived Reality of Family • Seok Kang, Arkansas Tech University • This study considers multiple features of parental-peer mediation in examining their influences on children’s perceived reality about family. This study also examines children’s viewing of family programs on their perceived reality. The data were collected from 184 families (184 parents and 184 children) by asking their mediation styles, television viewing behaviors, and perceived reality. Results show that peer mediation is a compelling contributor to children’s construction of social reality about family.
Can Shows Be on Top When Mom’s Not?: The Portrayal of the Sitcom Mothers from the 1950s to the 1990s • Kyun Soo Kim, Jon Mills and Brett Morris, University of Alabama • This study content analyzed the comedic events that include mothers to explore a typology of humor and representation of women in family sitcoms over the last decades. The study found that slapstick has been the most prevalent humor type over time. The study also found that romantic and sexual topics were common themes in family situation comedies over the last decades.
Chief Executive Officers: An Examination of Mediated Portrayals of Male and Female American Presidents in West Wing and Command in Chief • Christine A. Kleck, Penn State • West Wing and Commander in Chief are both award-winning situational dramas that showcase the office of the President of the United States. A content analysis of several episodes of both series was conducted to study portrayals of gender in the media. The data yielded four interactions of statistical significance (p<.05). These answered questions concerning representation of gender and presents an update of the perceptions of women in the media.
The Entertainment Experiences of Iron Chef • Shu-Yueh Lee and Naeemah Clark, University of Tennessee • This paper attempts to examine why a Japanese cooking show, Iron Chef, successfully attracts American audiences. A questionnaire containing 45 items was designed to investigate viewers’ motivations and pleasures. First, the most successful feature is the competitive nature of the program. Second, respondents noted the most enjoyable aspect of the program is the creativity of the chefs.
A Social Cognitive Approach Towards Understanding the Effects of Popular Poker Television Shows on College Students • Marc Londo, University of Central Florida • Tournament poker shows have become a leading ratings draw on American television. Since ESPN and the Travel Channel began airing their innovative poker shows in 2003, the game has reached a new following, particularly among college students. There are unique and psychologically significant factors that characterize the college population that make students particularly receptive to popular characterizations in media.
Maintaining Friendships: A Content Analysis of Rituals in Friends • Lisa Marshall, Bowling Green State University • The purpose of this study is to examine how the characters in Friends use friendship rituals to maintain their relationships with one another and suggest a relationship between the series and changing social patterns in society. This research adapts Bruess and Pearson’s (1997) ritual types and found that the cast both exhibit the six friendship rituals defined in literature and that they don’t increase, but are shared and maintained over the course of the series.
Twirty Is as Twirty Does: The Consumer Community of Shesheme.com • Rachel Davis Mersey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Running under the tagline “happiest girls are the prettiest girls,” shesheme.com, a NC-based Web site offers a weekly newsletter-meets-diary targeted at twirties—women in their twenties and thirties who are perplexed by work, love, and life. Shesheme.com’s positioning as a self-help tool meets consumer guide offers an interesting forum for study.
A Comparison of the Logical and Emotional Impacts of the Citizens’ of Houston and Dallas Toward Their City’s NFL Teams • Jennifer Miller, Texas Tech University • This study applies Aristotle’s theories of logos and pathos to the connections citizens have with the sports team in their city. Focus groups and in-depth interviews are used to determine the differences between the logical and emotional impact the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans have on their fans and the cities they are a part of.
This Is Next Year: Myth and Ritual in Four Films about the Boston Red Sox • Heather Muse, Temple University • This paper will examine the narratives created in four recent films about the Boston Red Sox. It draws upon theories of structuralism, collective memory and cultural studies to determine how these films portray the Red Sox, the team’s fans and the city of Boston. The films had several mythological qualities that illustrated that the narrative of sport victory transcends filmic genre and that identification with the team is stronger than with any specific player.
The Brand Appearance Typology: Going Beyond Product Placement to a Broader Understanding of Brands in Primetime • Anne C. Osborne, Louisiana State University • This paper presents a qualitative analysis of one night of primetime programming across six networks. The result is a new typology of brand appearances. Unlike other efforts to categorize product placement, this typology outlines how brands appear within television rather than how the brands get on television.
Active Mediation, Rule Making, and Cosurfing: Can Traditional Parental Mediation Strategies be Applied to the Internet? • Erin L. Ryan, University of Georgia • This paper examines and defines the three well-established parental mediation strategies (active mediation, rule making, and coviewing), outlines the effects of such strategies when used with traditional media, and applies these strategies to one of the most popular new forms of child-focused entertainment: the Internet. It is the goal of this research to contribute to the emerging body of research about parental mediation of the Internet in the new media environment.
Attitudes Toward Will and Grace: A Comparison of Heterosexual and Gay/Lesbian Viewers • Tracy Tuten Ryan, Virginia Commonwealth University and David W. Glascoff, Western State College • Using Rusbult’s Investment model as a theoretical base, this study compared the attitudes of heterosexual viewers of the television program, Will & Grace, with those of gay/lesbian viewers. Sexual orientation was relevant for understanding differences in viewer attitudes, but viewer satisfaction, entertainment alternative quality, and investment size was predictive of program commitment regardless of sexual orientation. Thus, application of the Investment model is an appropriate framework for understanding commitment to television programming.
A Test of Flow and its Potential Moderators as Predictors of Video Game Enjoyment • Barry P. Smith, University of Alabama • Flow has been proposed as a theoretical framework for explaining enjoyment obtained from playing video games. This paper describes the results of a study designed to test this proposition. Flow was found to significantly predict the level of enjoyment of video game. Additionally, self-consciousness, video-game self-efficacy, and need for cognition were shown to moderate the occurrence of flow and resultant enjoyment in a statistically significant manner.
Print friendly
