The refashioning of popular cultural resources has become a salient strategy for the construction of "hyper-real" spaces of cultural consumption worldwide. Taking Lefebvre's triadic model of space as the anchorage, this study proposes an analytical framework to examine the affective production of space. Ethnographic fieldwork was…

Although mounting evidence in Western nations indicates that entertainment media influence young people's sexual socialisation, virtually no research has addressed the topic in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study employed 14 focus groups of Ugandan high school students to identify media through which they were exposed to sexual content, how they…

The Native American Renaissance has generated a number of excellent discussions of tribal humor, including Vine Deloria's "Custer Died for Your Sins." In the book's pivotal chapter, "Indian Humor," Deloria reminds readers that humor is often simultaneously entertaining and an essential aspect of survival. These discussions of tribal humor are…

In this article, the author discusses how contemporary popular culture influences religious meaning of people in pluralistic society. One such powerful media that influences religious beliefs is the television. Meaning making about faith, how people make meaning, and the nature of those meanings are central concerns of religious education and…

Even though television scholar Herbert Zettl singlehandedly created the term "television aesthetics" by proclaiming that TV is an art, television studies are still excluded from the respectable divisions and disciplines of knowledge. Television is considered the epitome of mass culture/kitsch, and the very idea of a TV…

Discusses how changes in public school students and the culture that produces them have affected the teaching of history. Examines aspects of MTV's success for clues to the source of students' view of history as irrelevant. Attributes the view to the blurring of differences between the sacred and profane, connections between cause and effect, and…

Journalistic practice in the United States has gone through a number of changes in recent history, much of it because of television. The significance of these changes might be better understood with a theory on the social function of news and its relationship to the postmodern culture. News is considered in some way as the ground material of…

Describes the most recent phase of the long-range research called "Cultural Indicators" which yields an annual television violence profile. This report stresses methodology, current findings on the distribution of power in the world of television drama, and some behavioral correlates of viewing. (JMF)

Discusses television's influence on today's youth culture and examines measures that may be taken to limit or change the nature of that influence. Warns that efforts to control television programing will continue to fail until educators understand that television is an integral part of the youth culture, not just an influence.(KO)

This paper begins by discussing the difference between genre and gender, defining the former as the study of a systemic totality, and the latter as the split in the totality, reversal, upturning, and break-up of any systemic logic. Also discussed are (1) the difference between nature and culture, and the quarrel between essentialist and…

This paper examines the ethos-centered crusade in which the evangelist, not a doctrine or a political/social issue, becomes the reason the audience attends to the message. The paper analyses how the Billy Graham crusades fit this definition--the fame of the evangelist extends beyond any individual crusade, the message preached by the evangelist…

Traces the barrel in history through language, literature, poetry, music, art, and architecture. Includes examples and anecdotes of barrels in movies, television, and recreation. Illustrates the impact of the barrel on U.S. culture. Emphasizes that the importance of such an example of technology cannot be adequately measured. (DK)

This paper examines the impact of film and television stories on prospective teachers and the ways in which popular culture has influenced ideas formed about teaching roles and schooling. Questions about teachers' beliefs and how teachers see the practice of schooling are integral to curriculum planning and reform in preservice teacher education.…

A study investigated the effects of U.S. mass media on three dimensions of Thai society: lifestyles, social problems, and value conflict. A total of 100 two-part questionnaires were distributed to Thai students at southwestern public universities in the United States. Forty males and 28 females, whose lengths of stay in the United States varied…

Describes the efforts of authorities to respond to the burgeoning youth culture of the 1950s. Details the censorship efforts aimed at those aspects of youth culture (comic books, rock and roll) that were viewed as dangerous and subversive. Identifies these effort within the corresponding social, political, and cultural climate. (MJP)