“We should be addressing whiteness less, and affirming blackness more”: Random Acts of Flyness, Afrosurrealism, and Quality Programming

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Forthun
Keyword(s):  
American Culture ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
Experimental Series ◽  
Historically White ◽  
Talk Show ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Art Forms ◽  
The Media ◽  
Quality Programming

Abstract Premiering on Saturday nights in summer of 2018, the barely-promoted Random Acts of Flyness (RAOF) was buried in HBO’s schedule. The highly experimental series combines many forms, including late night talk show, documentary, claymation, and sketch show, amongst many others. With stylistic techniques such as Afrosurrealism and self-reflexivity alongside discursive tools that heighten the series’ claim to “quality,” I argue that RAOF utilizes its surreal and distinctly black creative production to critically examine representations of blackness and whiteness in the media and American culture. I further contend that, for HBO, independent filmmaker and series creator Terence Nance’s pedigree fits the channel’s long-standing association with “higher” art forms, even as the series does not fit into historically white and affluent notions of “quality.” As the television landscape becomes broader and markers of “quality” become harder to pin down, the series’ incisive look at blackness proves to be an exceptional case study.

Remediating the Celebrity Roast: The Place of Mean Tweets on Late-Night Television

2019 ◽  
pp. 152747641989258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Kies
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Talk Show ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Hierarchical Position ◽  
History Of

This article uses the “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” segment on late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a case study in how television can remediate social media to maintain its dominant position in entertainment. The incorporation of tweets into television appears to demonstrate the power social media has over broadcast media, but a careful study reveals that television and film celebrities use television appearances to denounce “mean tweets” as an example of frenzied and cacophonous social media. Drawing on the history of the televised celebrity roast, I argue that contemporary roasts resemble Internet trolling while segments like “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” embody the spirit of historical roasts by granting celebrities the opportunity to laugh at jokes about themselves. Thus, the segment reiterates the hierarchical position of “old media”: television as a source of comfort and clarity, and the Hollywood celebrity as the epicenter of culture.

IMAGE OF THE REPUBLIC OF MORDOVIA IN THE MEDIA VOLGA FEDERAL DISTRICT (BASED ON CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NEWS PUBLICATIONS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
LARISA ZAITSEVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Information Content ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Information Space ◽  
Political News ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Number Of Publications

The territorial image is formed both purposefully by the subjects of image-making, and spontaneously-based on the influence of information content published in various media. The purpose of the research is to analyze the image of the Republic of Mordovia in the information space of the Volga Federal district. The image of the territory formed by external target audiences by means of news materials is studied using the method of case study and content analysis of publications: “Volga news”, “Federal Press” news of the PFD, “Pravda PFD”. The authors conclude that modern reality is perceived through the prism of the information field created by mass media. The media creates images filled with certain data, facts, colored by emotions, on the basis of which representations, opinions, judgments, and assessments are subsequently formed. The media play a significant role in shaping the territorial image, especially for external target audiences who are not familiar with the region and do not have their own assessment knowledge and experience. Most of the information content about the Republic in the studied media is related to the main thematic blocks: politics, economy, social sphere, culture (art, sports). Moreover, if in the publications “Volga news” and “Pravda PFD” mention of the region prevails in the economic block, then in the publications “Federal Press” and “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” - in the political one. The Volga news publication significantly dominates the rest in terms of the number of publications about Mordovia. The content of publications is mostly positive and neutral related to the issues of economic development of the territory and the preparation and holding of the world football championship. Pravda PFD mentions the Republic in the context of news from neighboring territories, most of the publications date back to 2018, but here the context is related to the Republic's positions among the regions of the PFD in various ratings. The publication “Federal-Press” forms a generally reflective image of the territory, focusing on the negative aspects of regional life. “Nezavisimaya Gazeta”, giving priority to political news, maintains a neutral and reflective context of publications, paying attention to the key problems of the territory. Thus, the desired image of the region is counter-dictated to the image broadcast by the media through various information channels, so it is necessary to constantly monitor the information space and timely correction of the broadcast materials.

Freedom of speech is not freedom from ethics: the 2019 Israel Folau media controversy as a case study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2199289
Author(s):  
Jay Daniel Thompson ◽  
Denis Muller
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Rugby Player ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
The Media ◽  
The One

This article examines how freedom of speech is framed in the media controversy surrounding the Australian rugby player Israel Folau’s April 2019 Instagram post. A content analysis and framing analysis of newspaper reportage reveals that the controversy has been largely discussed in terms of whether or not Folau’s speech was being curtailed and whether this curtailing indicates a broader, ideologically motivated censoriousness. This discussion is problematic in that it says little about the actual substance of Folau’s post. This article argues that debates surrounding freedom of speech such as the one involving Folau could and should be enriched by an engagement with ethical principles. This engagement is premised on a commitment to the free exchange of views, while acknowledging that ‘speech’ is not always inherently beneficial for democracy, nor worth defending.

scholarly journals Protection of Children in Difficulty in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Ning Zhu ◽  
Juha Hämäläinen
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Protection System ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Child Protection Services ◽  
The Media ◽  
Professional Systems ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study investigated the resilience of the Chinese child protection system in responding to the special needs of children in difficulty under the specific circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study applied qualitative document analysis of child protection administrative documents, in-depth interviews with 13 child protection professionals, and an in-depth case study of 14 children living in difficulty, complemented by relevant information available in the media. The results indicate that there are good policies in China’s child protection services but the organizational and functional fragmentation complicates implementation, suggesting a need for the development of bottom-up practices. The essential conclusion supported by these results is that the child protection system should be regarded and developed as a systematic project combining the legal, policymaking, and professional systems of child welfare services as well as governmental and non-governmental forces. As the COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness of the need to develop the field of child protection holistically as an integrated system in terms of social sustainability in China, an international literature-based comparison indicates that the pandemic has also raised similar political awareness in other countries.

The prince and the pauper: Journalistic culture and Paralympic games in the Spanish print press

Journalism ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1713-1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Solves ◽  
Sebastián Sánchez ◽  
Inmaculada Rius
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
The Media ◽  
Spanish Press ◽  
Motor Sports ◽  
Paralympic Games ◽  
The Olympic Games

The Paralympic Games are one of the world’s most important multisport events, maybe second only to the Olympic Games. However, research conducted to date shows that the media do not devote as much space to them as would accordingly be expected. This article proposes, through a case study, a new way of approaching this hypothetical discrimination by comparing the attention that the London Paralympic Games received from the Spanish print press with the attention that other sports received (football, basketball, tennis, cycling, motor sports and other minority sports) while those Games were being held. The main finding of our study is that over the period analysed, the Spanish press devoted less space to the Paralympic Games than to any other sport.

The Strategies of Television Broadcast During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study on Indonesian Television

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256
Author(s):  
Gammara Lenggo Geni ◽  
◽  
Rizki Briandana ◽  
Farid Hamid Umarella ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategy ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Media Management ◽  
Television Industry ◽  
Television Station ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Media

This study aims to analyse the media management strategy of Indonesian television stations during the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2020, an outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia affected the operations of broadcasting offices, which forced people to work from home. This situation affects the operations, strategy, and content of the television industry. The object of research is Kompas TV, one of the largest media companies in Indonesia, which was the first to implement a digital concept for its customers. The concepts of planning, organising, actuating, and controlling are used to analyse the strategies media utilised. The methodology employed for the current research takes the form of a case study by adopting the qualitative approach through an in-depth interview and observation. The results showed that Kompas TV, through its digital platform in the form of websites, YouTube channels, and social media, achieved an increase in the number of viewers, users, and engagement during the pandemic. In particular, the digital aspect does not only appear in communication, but also in the implementation of the Kompas TV strategy. The results of the study also revealed that strategies carried out on Kompas TV can be used as a model for other television in Indonesia to emulate, in order to sustain its business in times of crisis. Keywords: Strategy, broadcast management, Indonesia television station, pandemic Covid-19, qualitative research.

Anthropocene nostalgia for the 1980s in Netflix’s Stranger Things

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Relidzyńska
Keyword(s):  
American Culture ◽  
Significant Alteration ◽  
Reconstructed Image ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
The Past ◽  
Distinctive Type

Expressions of nostalgia for the 1980s in contemporary American culture are diverse. The most interesting of them go beyond a wistful longing for the past. A complex ‘nostalgia trip’ offered by Netflix’s Stranger Things serves as a notable case study of a distinctive type of this sentiment. Instead of yearning for the restoration of previous times, it plays with past aesthetics in a critically articulate manner, effectively demythologizing the depicted decade. I argue that this significant alteration of the traditional sentiment stems largely from the recent acknowledgment of the Anthropocene and its irreversibility. This article aims to examine the peculiar, self-aware, paradoxical nostalgia, which is coloured by the current, Anthropocene-induced fears for the environment and, thus, our future. The analysis of Stranger Things – its thematics, genre, visuals and the meticulously reconstructed image of the presented era – draws parallels to the techniques employed by the ‘novel nostalgia’: bitter, ironic depiction of the past and references to natural phenomena. The study thus investigates the show at the intersection of contemporary nostalgia for the 1980s and the cultural repercussions of the Anthropocene. In so doing, it will unravel the innovation in the programme’s discourse on the 1980s decade in American culture.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document