Discusses the inaccuracy of Revere's "Boston Massacre" print as a description of historical fact. Notes, however, that the print is still a description of truth, a correct understanding of the meaning and portent of the occurrence in a way that historical accuracy (rather than art) might well have distorted. (JMF)

Proposes and experimentally tests mood adjustment approach, complementing mood management theory. Discusses how results regarding self-exposure across time show that patterns of popular music listening among a group of undergraduate students differ with initial mood and anticipation, lending support to mood adjustment hypotheses. Describes how…

Traces changes in images of Native Americans over time, emphasizing the role of gender, and how Native-American men and women have become sexualized in relation to the "White gaze," an important component of colonial domination. Shows that the 1990s'"lovely princess" and "Native-American stud" may be more benign than…

Reviews Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson's history of Hollywood to 1960. Finds the book extremely strong, especially in its attempt to present a theoretical approach to film history in general and to the development of classical Hollywood conventions. (MS)

Discusses the development of characters in daytime serials in terms of love, marriage, and personal happiness. Considers how these developments are designed to fit middle-class values. (JMF)

Considers how race, gender, and fandom (appreciation and enjoyment of a popular culture star) of older adolescent audiences affect how they interpret two of Madonna's music videos. Finds that viewers differed dramatically in how they interpreted the videos and did not agree about even the most fundamental story elements. (RS)

Examines whether talk radio serves different purposes for listeners who phone in, compared to those who do not. Finds that talk radio provides callers with an accessible and nonthreatening alternative to interpersonal communication. (MS)

Outlines the work of the Mass Observation research movement. Calls for evaluation of the significance of Mass Observation's collection methods and results. Argues it was one of the most ambitious popular culture studies in this century. (MS)

Examines the motives, context, and outcomes of drinking portrayed on prime-time television situation comedies and one-hour dramas. Discusses the demographics and role characteristics of drinkers and disapprovers, the predominating purposes for drinking portrayed, and the effects of alcohol use on the drinker and on others. (JMF)

Examines the structural rules governing the presentation and resolution of problems that serve as premises for prime-time fictional programs. Offers demographic data on character types and matching problem types. (MS)

Examines the phenomenon of the cult film and the characteristics of the audiences of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." Suggests that the preparation, waiting, and finally the active participation in the viewing of the film itself appear to be part of a group ritual which characterizes the cult film as an event. (JMF)

Describes how values are portrayed on prime-time network television. Looks at the prominence of values incidents in a story line and at how fully the values are explained. Examines how values incidents are structured and linked. Concludes that values incidents play an integral, if not principal, role in television programs. (RS)

Explores the work of Innis, McLuhan, Dewey, Carey, Williams, and Habermas through their images of the cultural crisis and how they conceive of communication. (JMF)

Examines four recent books on the religious media: Ben Armstrong's "The Electric Church," James F. Engel's "Contemporary Christian Communications: Its Theory and Practice," Malcolm Muggeridge's "Christ and the Media," and Virginia Stem Owens'"The Total Image: or Selling Jesus in the Modern Age." Evaluates…

Argues that people are affected by the pervasive images of advertisers who use signs to imbue products with specific realities. Examines how people use this information about various consumer products in making judgments of other people. (MS)