This paper outlines the predominant aesthetics of American public television's contributors and viewers. These aesthetic perspectives are elaborated in relation to specific historic, institutional, and political trends in American society. The paper traces public television usage and support as the product of confusing and sometimes contradictory…

The popular art of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody--lithographic posters advertising his Wild West Show and depicting the Indians who performed in it--created the visual image of the American Indian that we have come to know as the Siouan stereotype. By contrast the artists' images of the American Indian were inaccessible to the general…

Media literacy encourages critical thinking about the news media, advertising, and popular culture. Media education of American Indian students challenges mass media's stereotyped aboriginal representations and the mainstream values of egotism and consumerism. Integrated across the curriculum at all grades, media education is empowering and…

Historicized images of First Nations women ("princesses" and "squaws") and related narratives are deeply entrenched in North American popular culture. These appropriated, commodified representations circulate in the politics of difference and influence the identities of Native women. But their mothers' and grandmothers'…

Exploring the idea that urban culture has changed food sharing practices and, in effect, produced a cultural "advertisement" in the marketing and selling of the fast food franchise, this paper discusses the commercial replication of community and the communion of food sharing in this new fast food culture. Following an introduction that…

In all educational settings, electronic media are pervasive and increasing in popularity because of the speed of transmission and searching of information files. However, in the case of popular media--such as magazines, books, and newspapers--little importance is placed on the speed of transmission, and conversion to electronic books or magazines…

At the center of the social construction and interpretation of education sits the fourth estate. Through ideological media "voices," in part, education's meaning and the social reality in which schools reside are constructed for and with the community. This study looks at one vehicle of popular and influential communication overlooked by…

This article reports the results of a content analysis of the debut season of the reality television show, "The Apprentice." All 15 episodes were examined to determine the role that communication competencies played in competitors' success or elimination. Results indicate that the ability to persuade effectively was most critical to winning tasks,…

This book explores the potential of U.S. movie theaters as an important national asset. Each of the 4,000 movie palaces constructed during Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as the countless smaller theaters modeled after the grander showcases, has a role to play in the life of today's cities. The first section of the book explores the social and…

Notes that news media use has declined in recent years, particularly among young people. Offers a critical review of research on the changing role of journalism in political socialization. Evaluates calls for popular alternatives to conventional forms of news and for a postmodern conception of citizenship and the public sphere. Concludes that more…

Examines rap music's origins as street music and poetry in the early 1970s and as an expression of Black youth experience. Discusses rap groups, women and Whites in rap, Christian rap, copyright disputes, and distribution difficulties. Rap is an informal educational medium that affects adolescents' values and attitudes. (JB)

Explores the exercise of institutional and ideological power over rap music and fans, how artists and fans respond to that context, and the complex relationships between rap's political economy and the sociologically based crime discourse that frames it. Rap's poetic voice is a political expression of the Black experience. (JB)

Two films, the fictional "Thunderheart" and the documentary "Incident at Oglala," demonstrate that Hollywood can sometimes portray the ethnic conflicts of Native Americans accurately. Both explain the ambivalent relationship with the dominant society that Native Americans have chosen through their refusal to be patronized. (SLD)

This book is designed as a springboard for teacher educators and students working together to engage in thought and dialogue about what it means to be a teacher in American society. Chapters are grouped into four sections, each of which ends with a section of suggested activities for discussion, writing, and research opportunities. Part 1 consists…

The extensive media use common today among children and adolescents requires no special literacy skills. Television, video, film, and popular music can also be viewed or listened to without acquiring new skills. Without purposefully teaching the skills to decode the meanings behind the media, however, we leave students, as well as ourselves, in…