To analyze a case of discourse and social transformation, a study examined the 1950s coffeehouse movement and the "Beat Generation" which spawned the movement. While the coffeehouse/Beatism phenomenon was short-lived, the philosophical foundation of the movement was far more pervasive than is generally recognized. In addition to the…

What is currently happening in China is similar to what happened in the United States in the 1950s and the Soviet Union in the 1970s--television is quickly becoming a mainstay of popular entertainment and news. The Chinese government has made substantial efforts to provide television service to all regions of the country, with importance attached…

This paper analyzes the relationship between the press and professional wrestling. It examines professional wrestling as a business and the conflicting goals of the promoters and the press. The paper focuses on how the press covered the most widely viewed professional wrestling show of all time, WrestleMania III (looking at newspaper coverage…

The Magazines section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 15 papers: "'National Geographic Magazine' and the Vietnam War: Did We Just Get Pretty Pictures?" (John W. Williams); "Free Speech at All Costs: A Short History of 'The Masses'" (Chris Lamb); "Newspapers Locally Edited Magazines…

Reflects on the influence of popular culture and mass media on young people, and argues for a broader notion of literacy that includes verbal and visual literacy as well as all manner of other "texts," because the teaching of literacy has exploded right along with satellite technology and microchips. (SR)

Examines how Nathanael West's darkly critical text in his novel "Miss Lonelyhearts" was censored, through a series of demurrals and evasions, displacements and substitutions, even repression, to make it acceptable for the screen. Suggests that the resulting script illuminates the momentous cultural struggles underway in 1930s America--in…

Suggests that learning more about what draws adolescents to particular texts and practices can help teachers to facilitate literacy events that are meaningful to students. Concludes that, by allowing youth's ways of constructing meaning and identity to inform academic practices, play becomes a fruitful endeavor both in and outside of classrooms.…

Discovers two alternative teen magazines: "Teen Voices" and "Reluctant Hero." Shares her discussions she had with the editors of the magazines. Offers a reflective comment on conceptions of identity in these and other teen magazines. (SG)

The oldest of the mass communication technologies, books, needs to be examined in mass communication research. Accordingly a study analyzed the structure and format of the "New York Times Book Review" to identify its dual roles: evaluating books and providing information crucial to book marketing. Also explored was how the text of the…

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)

Examines the way alcohol use has been portrayed in films with particular emphasis on the western genre. Saloons, bar fights, and town drunks are all staple features of the genre, a genre that has contributed significantly to the prevailing image of masculinity. This paper argues that these images influence and shape contemporary attitudes about…

Within this paper the author examines the current nostalgia for a never-present past through critical analysis of images of the mid 20th century American classroom in media culture. The author uses theories of nostalgia and the history of the photographic image to trouble the numerous equity issues surrounding the unchallenged canonization of the…

Cartoons are generally regarded as "kids' stuff," unworthy of scholarly study. As an aspect of popular culture, television cartoons do not attract scholars who are interested in being part of the "critical elite." Some scholars believe, however, that less time should be spent discussing how TV might be used to teach children…

As with commercial stations, the underlying premise of the college radio station is to serve the community, whether it be the campus community or the community at large, but in unique ways often geared to underserved niches of the population. Much of college radio's charm lies in its unpredictable nature and constant mutations. The stations give…

Neil Postman describes the United States in the late 20th century as the only "technopoly" (a society that has totally surrendered to technology, information, and science) in the world, and he asks educators to resist technopoly by changing curriculum. In his book "Technopoly," Postman proposes that cultures may be classified…