
Camera Looks, Laugh Tracks, and TV Comedy
Michael Z. Newman / University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Dr. Newman explores how the use of camera looks in sitcoms like Abbott Elementary serves as a comedic device that establishes a direct connection with the audience, blending old and new traditions of comedic performance to invite viewer participation and emotional response.
Read moreAdvertising, AI, and the Political Economy of Media and Communications
Matthew Crain / Miami University
Matthew Crain argues that advertising’s integration into AI-driven media technologies, such as Perplexity’s AI search engine, is not driven by natural market tendencies. Instead, it results from systemic commodification and political-economic forces, as analyzed through the Political Economy of Media and Communications (PEMC) framework.
Read more Silicon Valley’s Human Shields
Gerald Sim / Florida Atlantic University
Gerald Sim critiques Big Tech’s lobbying strategies against antitrust legislation, arguing that companies use technoliberal narratives, racialized imagery, and nationalist rhetoric, such as the “China Argument,” to manipulate public opinion, obscure exploitative labor practices, and maintain dominance.
Read moreFair Payment in the Film and Television Industries
Roderik Smits / Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr. Roderik Smits explores various factors affecting what constitutes “fair pay” in the film and television industries.
Read moreWelcome to Wrexham and Representations of Management in Football (Soccer) as a Product of the “Media Sports Cultural Complex”
Dr. Andrew Stubbs-Lacy / University of Staffordshire
Andrew Stubbs-Lacy explores the representation and construction of management in football with a focus on Welcome to Wrexham.
Read moreWork Songs: Tiny Desk Concerts Reimagines Music Video and Public Radio
Eric Harvey / Grand Valley State University
Eric Harvey examines the shifts in live music consumption with a focus on the evolution of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
Read moreStreaming Power: How Netflix and Amazon are Reshaping Global Geopolitics
Swapnil Rai / University of Michigan
Swapnil Rai explores how streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon shape diplomacy, narratives, and policy, positioning themselves as cultural power brokers beyond national borders in an era of digital media dominance.
Read more Across-the-Line: The Invisible Labor and Cultural Mechanics of Hollywood’s Entry-Level Workforce
Kiah Bennett / Muhlenberg College
Bennett examines the production culture from the perspective of across-the-line workers at the entry level.
Read moreJust Pretend: Elvis Girlies, Social Media and Embodied Play
Eleanor Patterson / Auburn University
Eleanor Patterson explores how Elvis Girlies “play around” with history.
Read more“What Sort of Dreams Should We Be Making?”: Pixar Creative Culture and the Crisis of Disney+
Ben Rogerson / Texas Tech University
In this column, Rogerson offers a textual and industrial analysis of the self-reflexive Disney+/Pixar series Dream Productions and the animation unit’s short-lived approach to streaming series.
Read moreThe Return of Global Sisterhood? The Transnational Journey of the 4B Movement on TikTok
Jinsook Kim / Emory University
Kim explores the 4B movement as a transnational form of feminism that has been cultivated through digital platforms.
Read moreOver*Flow: Effort is Overrated: The Dissonance of AI Integrations with the 2024 Olympic Games
Kathryn Hartzell / University of Texas at Austin
Kathryn Hartzell examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the 2024 Summer Olympics and how this endeavor clashes with values surrounding sports, performance, and equality.
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