This book offers a systematic study of media education in Latin America. As spending on technological infrastructure in the region increases exponentially for educational purposes, and with national curriculums beginning to implement media related skills, this book makes a timely contribution to new debates surrounding the significance of media literacy as a citizen's right. Taking both a topical and country-based approach, authors from across Latin America present a comprehensive perspective of the region and address issues such as the political and social contexts in which media education is based, the current state of educational policies with respect to media, organizations and experiences that promote media education.

- Constitutes the first textbook the field, written specifically in relation to sound design - Contributors are world-leading researchers in their fields and come from a variety of countries and institutions. - Marries the theoretical with the practical, by offering concrete examples and case studies throughout

Between Habit and Thought in New TV Serial Drama: Serial Connections is a consideration of some of the key examples of serial television drama available via transnational streaming platforms in recent times. Through the individual works examined, the book exemplifies the ways in which aesthetics, technology, and capitalism weave a complex social fabric around the production of the respective television series, thus presenting this type of serial drama as a finely engineered cultural production. Taking Bernard Stiegler's notion of an "image warfare" as its starting point, the author critically investigates the strategies deployed by the shows' producers to navigate this dynamic, shaped by the "new spirit of capitalism". With creativity intrinsic to the process, on the one hand, and a highly efficient drive for capturing and fixing attention driven by algorithm and economic logic, on the other, the author maps the processes at work in the production of high-value serial drama and considers how, despite this tension, they manage to present meaningful insights into the experience of being in this world: A world shaped by trauma, a desire for justice, and a search for systems of belief that can offer a way through the vicissitudes of contemporary life. Framed by a detailed analysis of the multiple processes that shape these works is a sustained analysis of the serials Mr Robot, Billions, The Leftovers, Rectify, and Westworld, and the dynamics of despair and hope that ripple through them. As such, it will appeal to readers of film and television studies, cultural theory, and those interested in furthering a critical aesthetics for our time.

In this edited volume, contributors explore an essential element of the influential television series Twin Peaks: the role of music and sound. From its debut in 1990 to its return to television in 2017, Twin Peaks has amassed a cult following, and inspired myriad scholarly studies. This collection considers how the music and sound design not only create the ambience of this ground-breaking series, but function in the narrative, encouraging multiple interpretations. With chapters that consider how music shapes the relationship of audiences and fans to the story, the importance of sound design, and the symbolism embedded in the score, this book provides a range of perspectives for scholars of music and film studies, while giving fans new insight into an iconic television show.

Given the limitless freedom of animation, why would anyone use it to make a sitcom about a struggling family-owned burger place? And why would audiences embrace this greasy fantasy, not just by tuning in but by permanently decorating their legs and arms with images from the show and writing detailed backstories for its minor characters? This book-length critical study of Bob's Burgers examines the moments in which the animated sitcom exposes the chasms between generations, explores gender and sexual identity, and allows fans to imagine a better world. Essays cover how the show can be read as a series of critiques of Steven Spielberg's early blockbusters, a rejection of Freudian psychology, or an examination of the artificiality of gendered behaviors through the cross-casting of characters like Tina and Linda. By tracing the ways that the popular reception of Bob's Burgers reflects changing cultural attitudes, the essays provoke broader questions about the responsibility of popular entertainment to help audiences conceive of fantasies closer to home: fantasies of loving and accepting parents, of creative, self-assured children, and of menus filled with artisanal puns.

Is media changing the way we see transgender people or is it the other way around? In the past twenty to thirty years, transgender people have gradually appeared in films and television shows with more and more frequency. However, more visibility does not always translate to a higher degree of acceptance of trans people. Authors in this book studied the most popular programs and movies of all times to see how much (and how little) media portrayals have changed when it comes down to trans folks. Although in recent years openly transgender celebrities and fictional characters have broken into the mainstream to challenge hegemonic understandings of this population, productions such as Transparent and Orange Is the New Black fall victim to commonplace portrayals, repeating the negative tropes they were trying to resist. Nevertheless, nuanced interpretations and thorough analyses from this collection show evidence that movies and programs with transgender people make progress from total erasure or invisibility. Transmedia and Public Representation: Transgender People in Film and Television is as complex and diverse as the authors, productions, and characters in it. It is a must-have, must-read book for anyone who studies or works in areas related to media, social sciences, and LGBTQ studies and activism. But it is also an appealing invitation to understand the current media landscape through the eyes and voices of trans and queer people, their relatives, and their allies.

Is media changing the way we see transgender people or is it the other way around? In the past twenty to thirty years, transgender people have gradually appeared in films and television shows with more and more frequency. However, more visibility does not always translate to a higher degree of acceptance of trans people. Authors in this book studied the most popular programs and movies of all times to see how much (and how little) media portrayals have changed when it comes down to trans folks. Although in recent years openly transgender celebrities and fictional characters have broken into the mainstream to challenge hegemonic understandings of this population, productions such as Transparent and Orange Is the New Black fall victim to commonplace portrayals, repeating the negative tropes they were trying to resist. Nevertheless, nuanced interpretations and thorough analyses from this collection show evidence that movies and programs with transgender people make progress from total erasure or invisibility. Transmedia and Public Representation: Transgender People in Film and Television is as complex and diverse as the authors, productions, and characters in it. It is a must-have, must-read book for anyone who studies or works in areas related to media, social sciences, and LGBTQ studies and activism. But it is also an appealing invitation to understand the current media landscape through the eyes and voices of trans and queer people, their relatives, and their allies.

This book argues that recent developments in contemporary comedy have changed not just the way we laugh but the way we understand the world. Drawing on a range of contemporary televisual, cinematic and digital examples, from Seinfeld and Veep to Family Guy and Chappelle's Show, Holm explores how humour has become a central site of cultural politics in the twenty-first century. More than just a form of entertainment, humour has come to play a central role in the contemporary media environment, shaping how we understand ideas of freedom, empathy, social boundaries and even logic. Through an analysis of humour as a political and aesthetic category, Humour as Politics challenges older models of laughter as a form of dissent and instead argues for a new theory of humour as the cultural expression of our (neo)liberal moment.

Students will find this book interesting and relevant as it offers the most up-to-date accounts of the Korean Wave examples and interdisciplinary analyses, including the 2019 film Parasite, the Korean boy band BTS and recent TV dramas, such as Kingdom (2019, 2020), Crash Landing on You (2020) and Mr. Sunshine (2018). With it's coverage of film, TV and popular music, this collection will have interdisciplinary appeal and can be used on courses in Korean and Asian studies as well as film, media, and cultural industries. Includes scholars from a range of disciplines and a series of case studies from Asia, the USA, Europe and the Middle East.

Students will find this book interesting and relevant as it offers the most up-to-date accounts of the Korean Wave examples and interdisciplinary analyses, including the 2019 film Parasite, the Korean boy band BTS and recent TV dramas, such as Kingdom (2019, 2020), Crash Landing on You (2020) and Mr. Sunshine (2018). With it's coverage of film, TV and popular music, this collection will have interdisciplinary appeal and can be used on courses in Korean and Asian studies as well as film, media, and cultural industries. Includes scholars from a range of disciplines and a series of case studies from Asia, the USA, Europe and the Middle East.

This book explores how British culture is negotiating heroes and heroisms in the twenty-first century. It posits a nexus between the heroic and the state of the nation and explores this idea through British television drama. Drawing on case studies including programmes such as The Last Kingdom, Spooks, Luther and Merlin, the book explores the aesthetic strategies of heroisation in television drama and contextualises the programmes within British public discourses at the time of their production, original broadcasting and first reception. British television drama is a cultural forum in which contemporary Britain's problems, wishes and cultural values are revealed and debated. By revealing the tensions in contemporary notions of heroes and heroisms, television drama employs the heroic as a lens through which to scrutinise contemporary British society and its responses to crisis and change. Looking back on the development of heroic representations in British television drama over the last twenty years, this book's analyses show how heroisation in television drama reacts to, and reveals shifts in, British structures of feeling in a time marked by insecurity. The book is ideal for readers interested in British cultural studies, studies of the heroic and popular culture.

Accolades such as "the best TV show of the twentieth century" or "the longest-running scripted series on American prime-time television" have elevated The Simpsons to the pop culture pantheon, while also suggesting the very vintage character of the program. But the label "The Simpsons" refers not just to a show that seems to belong to a bygone television era, it implies a rich narrative universe, including a set of iconic figures, familiar across continents and generations. Through the lens of transmedia studies, Understanding The Simpsons traces the franchise's trajectory, exploring how one of the most popular comedy series of all time has redefined the intersections between corporate media and participatory culture, as the kernel of its cult meaning.

Renowned for its unique visual style, Homicide: Life on the Street fundamentally changed the police procedural genre. The show broke records, featured memorable characters, and launched careers--most notably that of David Simon, whose own nonfiction book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, inspired the series, and who went on to create both The Wire and Treme. Homicide was an anomaly in the 1990s for its honest and open portrayals and discussions of race, and in this TV Milestone, Lisa Doris Alexander uses Critical Race Theory as a lens to highlight how the show illustrated the impacts that racial politics can have on policing. Homicide is one in a long line of police procedurals that date back to the early days of broadcast television, with series such as Dragnet (NBC 1951-59), Hawaii Five-O (CBS 1968-80), and Columbo (NBC 1971-78). But because Homicide takes place and was filmed in the majority-Black city of Baltimore, it makes sense that many of the main and supporting cast are Black. This differentiated it from the other shows of its genre and time. Chapter 1 discusses the Black-starring roles on Homicide in terms of being non-stereotypical and both written and performed as well-rounded, complex characters. Chapter 2 focuses on issues of race and racism and their impact on policing. Chapter 3 looks at other power dynamics, such as class, political clout, and social standing, and how those dynamics intersect with race and the criminal justice system's perceived neutrality. In many regards, Homicide was ahead of its time. Alexander argues that Homicide reflects the politics of the Black Lives Matter movement, which in turn highlights the fact that the issues brought up by the movement are long-standing and that the series affirms the critiques BLM activists make about the criminal justice system. This book shows that the series' oftentimes unflinching commentary on the systemic flaws within the criminal justice system not only feels more at home in today's television and political landscape than it did in the 1990s but is just as relevant. Fans of the works of David Simon, as well as students and scholars of television studies and Critical Race Theory, will enjoy this enlightening book.

What do druglords, corrupt politicians, failed states and distopias, mental disorders, scamming practices and feminism have in common? They all are actors and products of the complex intersections between money and crime that not only permeate our daily lives, but also produce worlds and narratives within their respective cultural products. From Hollywood dystopias to Netflix and TV series about Wall Street and Brazilian and Mexican politics, to fetishism and conspiracy to mental disorders in the workplace, the contributions to this volume explore the complex relations of neoliberalism and crime. The main objective of the publication is to examine such cultural and medial productions in order to differentiate the discourse about them and to enable a concrete picture of the underlying constituents.

The contributors to Media Crossroads examine space and place in media as they intersect with sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, class, and ability. Considering a wide range of film, television, video games, and other media, the authors show how spaces-from the large and fantastical to the intimate and virtual-are shaped by the social interactions and intersections staged within them. The highly teachable essays include analyses of media representations of urban life and gentrification, the ways video games allow users to adopt an experiential understanding of space, the intersection of the regulation of bodies and spaces, and how style and aesthetics can influence intersectional thinking. Whether interrogating the construction of Portland as a white utopia in Portlandia or the link between queerness and the spatial design and gaming mechanics in the Legend of Zelda video game series, the contributors deepen understanding of screen cultures in ways that redefine conversations around space studies in film and media. Contributors. Amy Corbin, Desiree J. Garcia, Joshua Glick, Noelle Griffis, Malini Guha, Ina Rae Hark, Peter C. Kunze, Paula J. Massood, Angel Daniel Matos, Nicole Erin Morse, Elizabeth Patton, Matthew Thomas Payne, Merrill Schleier, Jacqueline Sheean, Sarah Louise Smyth, Erica Stein, Kirsten Moana Thompson, John Vanderhoef, Pamela Robertson Wojcik

The 1960s (a.k.a. the 60s) remains a terrain of contemporary politics-with the values of the period embraced or rejected, as well as differently interpreted. Popular culture (movies, television) is an important means to understand and analyze the political issues and controversies surrounding the 60s-egalitarianism, equality (civil rights, feminism), as well as anti-communism (including the American war in Vietnam). In important and key instances popular culture (especially Star Trek [1966-1969]) was at the forefront of the progressive politics of the 60s. This book engages and analyzes the ongoing 60s through popular culture. The 60s is a pivotal period in American and world history-as the United States during this time turned away from white supremacy as official ideology. Also, the American public decidedly soured on U.S. military adventurism-as evidenced by broad public opposition to a military draft. Additionally, women (as a result of the feminism of the era) gained greater access to the public sphere and increased personal autonomy-non-discrimination (and anti-harassment) rules, abortion rights, and no fault divorce. Popular culture is philosophically significant because it allows people to cogitate reasons in the world-especially in the social, political realm. The creators of popular culture will often seek to offer the public authentic art, and much of the public seeks out authentic art. This makes American popular culture (in its finer forms) a viable source material about reason in the world. In this book the author doesn't seek to deconstruct popular culture; instead, he seeks to identify and analyze the reasons in the world depicted in it.

This interdisciplinary and international volume offers an innovative and critical exploration of the impact of motherhood on the engagement of women in media and creative industries across the globe. Diverse contributions critically engage with the intersections and overlap between the social categories of worker and mother, and the work of media production and maternal caregiving. Conflicting ideas about, and expectations of, mothers are untangled in the context of the working world of radio, film, television and creative media industries. The book teases out commonalities between experiences that are evident across a number of countries, from Hollywood to Bollywood, as well as examining the differences between class, religion, maternal status and cultural frameworks that surround working mothers in various nation states. It also offers some possibilities for ways forward that can improve the lives of women workers who are also mothers. A timely and valuable contribution to international debates on equality, mothers and motherhood in audiovisual industries, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of media, communication, cultural studies and gender, programmes engaged with work inequalities and motherhood studies, and activists, funders, policymakers and practitioners.

Even as the major superhero film franchises appear to be exhausting their runs The Umbrella Academy demonstrates that the superhero genre is still extremely effective at creating role models with lasting psychological resonance and allegories with extraordinary emotional impact. These essays give a voice to the misunderstood family members of The Umbrella Academy in the comic book series and its highly popular Netflix adaptation. They explore different forces like individualism, identity, family, and feminism. One of the most striking features that unites these concepts is the linkage between violence with voice, as well as violence's aestheticized depiction.

The image of the nurse is ubiquitous, both in life and in popular media. One of the earliest instances of nursing and media intersecting is the Edison phonographic recording of Florence Nightingale's voice in 1890. Since then, a parade of nurses, good, bad or otherwise, has appeared on both cinema and television screens. How do we interpret the many different types of nurses-real and fictional, lifelike and distorted, sexual and forbidding-who are so visible in the public consciousness? This book is a comprehensive collection of unique insights from scholars across the Western world. Essays explore a diversity of nursing types that traverse popular characterizations of nurses from various time periods. The shifting roles of nurses are explored across media, including picture postcards, film, television, journalism and the collection and preservation of uniforms and memorabilia.

Over the last decade Spain and Mexico have both produced an extraordinary wealth of television drama. Drawing on both national practices of production and reception and international theories of textual analysis this book offers the first study of contemporary quality TV drama in two countries where television has displaced cinema as the creative medium that shapes the national narrative. As dramatized societies, Spain and Mexico are thus at once reflected and refracted by the new series on the small screen.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Islamic Republic of Iran's approach towards human rights in the media. It looks at the state-owned and state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), employing content analysis and multimodal critical discourse analysis to explore its underlying strategies in portraying the international rights norms. The book also features analysis of surveys and interviews of recent Iranian migrants to determine the extent to which the Iranian public is aware of human rights principles and their views on whether and how the international rights norms are portrayed on IRIB.

This book explores vampire narratives that have been expressed across multiple media and new technologies. Stories and characters such as Dracula, Carmilla and even Draculaura from Monster High have been made more "real" through their depictions in narratives produced in and across different platforms. This also allows the consumer to engage on multiple levels with the "vampire world," blurring the boundaries between real and imaginary realms and allowing for different kinds of identity to be created while questioning terms such as "author," "reader," "player" and "consumer." These essays investigate the consequences of such immersion and why the undead world of the transmedia vampire is so well suited to life in the 21st century.

This unique book investigates the tug-of-war between the free market economy and authoritative state regulation in Chinese culture after 1989. Contextualizing close textual readings of cinematic and television texts, both officially sanctioned and independently made, Wing Shan Ho illuminates the complex process in which cultural producers and consumers negotiate with both the state and the market in articulating new forms of subjectivity. Ho examines the types of Chinese subjects that the state applauds and aggrandizes in contrast to those that it condemns and attempts to eliminate. Her focus on the socialist spirit exposes inherent contradictions in the current Chinese project of nation-building. This comparative study shines a harsh light on these cultural products and on much more: the confluence between commerce and politics and popular culture, the interaction between state and individuals in popular culture, and the complexity of governmentality in an era of globalization.