Using the cultural prism of race, this book critically examines the images of African Americans that exist in media of the twenty-first century. Further, the authors assess the ways in which media focused on gender, religion, and politics in framing perceptions of the President and First Lady of the United States during the Obama administration. The text draws on a wide range of textual and critical strategies to interpret, criticize, and deconstruct media artifacts.

Being Mara Brock Akil: Representations of Black Womanhood on Television examines the body of work of Mara Brock Akil, the showrunner who produced Girlfriends, The Game, Being Mary Jane, and Love Is__. The contributions to this volume are theoretically anchored in Patricia Hill Collin's Black Feminist Thought, with a focus on how Brock Akil's shows intentionally address Black humanity and specifically provide context for Black women's lived experiences and empathy for Black womanhood by featuring woman-centered characters with flaws, strength, and complexity. Shauntae Brown White and Kandace L. Harris have compiled a volume that analyzes themes that define Black womanhood and examines audience reception of and social media interaction with Brock Akil's work.

Narratives of Storytelling Across Cultures demonstrates how meaning found within interpersonal communication is not universal across all cultures. Miscommunication can occur when the foundations of cultural meaning within stories, as told socially and within media, vary among different cultures. Positioned within the communication and media field, this book connects issues of societal tension and political battles to media portrayals, social communication events, and power dynamics that result when people with different meanings systems attempt to negotiate "truth" among their competing narratives. After establishing the theoretical foundation of the book, contributors provide specific case studies that demonstrate underlying cultural components and complexities that lead to these issues. Tony R. DeMars and Gabriel Tait have assembled contributors with research, experience, and understanding of intercultural communication challenges in different social groups, allowing the book to take on a broader scope of intercultural communication. Scholars of communication, conflict resolution, political science, sociology, and media studies will find this book particularly useful.

Race, Gender and Image Restoration Theory: How Digital Media Change the Landscape explores themes that are relevant to the socio-political landscape of twenty-first-century America, including race and gender representation, social media and traditional media framing, and image restoration management. This book provides a comprehensive discussion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Image Restoration Theory (IRT) to establish a baseline for a conversation on celebrity image restoration tactics used on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook as well as traditional media platforms. Case studies offer a broad overview of politics, sports and entertainment image management and restoration. Recommended for scholars interested in public relations, crisis management, Image Repair Theory (IRT), and representations of race and gender in mass media.

Race, Gender and Image Restoration Theory: How Digital Media Change the Landscape explores themes that are relevant to the socio-political landscape of twenty-first-century America, including race and gender representation, social media and traditional media framing, and image restoration management. This book provides a comprehensive discussion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Image Restoration Theory (IRT) to establish a baseline for a conversation on celebrity image restoration tactics used on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook as well as traditional media platforms. Case studies offer a broad overview of politics, sports and entertainment image management and restoration. Recommended for scholars interested in public relations, crisis management, Image Repair Theory (IRT), and representations of race and gender in mass media.

Being Mara Brock Akil: Representations of Black Womanhood on Television examines the body of work of Mara Brock Akil, the showrunner who produced Girlfriends, The Game, Being Mary Jane, and Love Is__. The contributions to this volume are theoretically anchored in Patricia Hill Collin's Black Feminist Thought, with a focus on how Brock Akil's shows intentionally address Black humanity and specifically provide context for Black women's lived experiences and empathy for Black womanhood by featuring woman-centered characters with flaws, strength, and complexity. Shauntae Brown White and Kandace L. Harris have compiled a volume that analyzes themes that define Black womanhood and examines audience reception of and social media interaction with Brock Akil's work.

Narratives of Storytelling Across Cultures demonstrates how meaning found within interpersonal communication is not universal across all cultures. Miscommunication can occur when the foundations of cultural meaning within stories, as told socially and within media, vary among different cultures. Positioned within the communication and media field, this book connects issues of societal tension and political battles to media portrayals, social communication events, and power dynamics that result when people with different meanings systems attempt to negotiate "truth" among their competing narratives. After establishing the theoretical foundation of the book, contributors provide specific case studies that demonstrate underlying cultural components and complexities that lead to these issues. Tony R. DeMars and Gabriel Tait have assembled contributors with research, experience, and understanding of intercultural communication challenges in different social groups, allowing the book to take on a broader scope of intercultural communication. Scholars of communication, conflict resolution, political science, sociology, and media studies will find this book particularly useful.

From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, & Gender traces the roots and fruits of comedy over the centuries to analyze and offer insights into the intersections of race, gender, and politics in humor that is by, for, and/or about black people.

From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, & Gender traces the roots and fruits of comedy over the centuries to analyze and offer insights into the intersections of race, gender, and politics in humor that is by, for, and/or about black people.