A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
King Adkins calls attention to Mr. Robot’s aesthetic, thematic, philosophical, and moral filmic debts to The Matrix and The Third Man.
Children Playing in Hollywood
by: Judith Halberstam / University of Southern California
Let’s see how Little Children manages to sneak normativity into the plot as resolution for the problem of the community enforcement of …normativity!
Redefining Indecency
by: John McMurria / DePaul University
Television networks fearful of steep fines and consumer backlash rush to ensure decency standards are upheld. This article looks at indecency in myriad of ways, from the Superbowl pre-game and half-time shows to the funeral of Coretta Scott King.
Do Good TV?
by: Laurie Ouellette / Queens College, CUNY
ABC’s programming shifts toward “do-good” reality shows. What can explain ABC’s foray into the helping culture?
When Mullahs Ride the Airwaves: Muslim Televangelists and the Saudi Connection
by: Nabil Echchaibi / Indiana University-Bloomington
An examination of Irqa’ TV’s role in the promotion of Islam in a post-9/11 media landscape.
The Problem of Morality in Media Policy
by: Thomas Streeter / University of Vermont
Beyond Janet Jackson’s breast: an investigation of how to rethink the moral discourse of media reform.
Pass the Remote!
by: Natalie Cannon, Zak Salih, and Angela Nemecek
HBO’s Carnivale and the valorization of freak culture.
Belaboring Reality
by: Heather Hendershot / Queens College CUNY
In season one of The Simple Life, the apparently soulless Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton spend a month in rural Arkansas disappointing the Ledings, the humble, hard-working farm family that has agreed to take them in.
Right Turn: Talk TV and Contemporary Politics
by: Rhonda Hammer and Douglas Kellner
Talk television has become increasingly political in the past years.
Apology
by: Cynthia Fuchs / George Mason University
Apologizing is an art. And apologizing for TV is something else.
“Lost”
by: Allison McCracken / DePaul University
With a fall season marked by the popularity of programs entitled Without a Trace and Lost, the importance of loss as a televisual theme seems rather obvious.
The Audience Factor
by: Melissa Crawley / Lingnan University, Hong Kong
On The O’Reilly Factor on The Fox News Channel, host Bill O’Reilly introduces topics highlighted by recent news stories and spars with guests who represent each side of the issue.
