Many current models of television viewing regard viewers either as passive receptors, active participants, or addled dupes. A study proposed a more flexible model for television viewing research. The study used the television program "St. Elsewhere," an example of "meta-television" (television programming which contains hidden…

This paper examines young adolescents' involvement with popular music and the health implications of that involvement. Initial discussion explores three central concepts: music media, adolescence, and mass media effects. A summary of research on music media in adolescence is offereed in two sections discussing exposure to, and gratifications and…

The mythical community of Lake Wobegon, created by Garrison Keillor and presented each week through the public radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," is the place to which everyone wants to return. A town devoid of newfangled technology, where life goes on pretty much as it always has, Lake Wobegon offers respite to listeners who daily…

The Dynasty Project conducted an empirical analysis of the cross-cultural reception of the program for which it was named. Data were collected via two series of videotaped interviews which were carried out following a viewing of Dynasty episode 105 by a group of subjects together with the researchers. The subjects were 25 American viewers in Los…

In this paper the instructor of a course on contemporary fiction by women about women recounts her experiences with the dissonance that developed between her students and herself during the reading of one of the assigned texts. The instructor explores the reasons underlying the disparate perspectives between two audiences during the act of…

This empirical review of the relationship between Swedish youth and music begins with a brief overview of the place of music as a communications medium in Swedish society in general, and among Swedish youth in particular. An analysis of the findings of a large-scale, longitudinal study of media use by Swedish adolescents, the Media Panel study, is…

This report is the first in a series examining television's treatment of specific issues in women's lives. This report focuses on the way in which children and families are portrayed on television and how this relates to the reality of families' lives. In particular, the report examines family interactions, income level, race relations, and child…

This book is designed to develop the analytical and creative abilities that will enable an individual to discover and to counter the underlying biases in mass media entertainment. Chapters discuss the mass media's conflicts of interest, the establishment of personal values and viewpoints, the classification of political viewpoints, four basic…

This book surveys the important available books on mythologies of all parts of the globe and the cultural contexts from which the mythological traditions emerged. Written as a series of bibliographic essays, the guide opens with a description of major reference sources encompassing many cultures, as well as those tracing particular themes (such as…

The essays in this book focus on the role of the reader in textual interpretation. Specifically, they examine "open" and "closed" texts. The three essays in Part I deal with both verbal and nonverbal texts. The first considers musical compositions that leave considerable autonomy to the individual performer and also discusses…

This book surveys the essential elements of both the written and the oral traditions that have contributed to the literary background of China's children. Chapter topics include (1) Chinese literature and its transmission from early times; (2) myths, legends, and symbolism; (3) traditional education and the classics; (4) storytellers, puppets, and…

In the 1960s many teachers in the British secondary schools began a major effort to redefine their attitude toward the mass media in the light of certain social and cultural pressures. Changes in students made it necessary to provide materials of a less formal academic kind and to introduce literature, music, and art that would relate more…

The booklet offers a variety of suggestions for integrating a study of popular culture into the high school social studies classroom. Popular culture is described as those elements in society which have the primary function of entertaining or selling and which are becoming a familiar, recognizable, and identifiable entity for a large number of…

This paper presents a rationale for using popular music in the classroom and provides suggestions for teaching popular music lyrics in the poetry class. The question of whether pop music is an end in itself or a means to understanding traditional literature is also addressed. It is suggested that the teaching of the poetry of rock can be…

This article describes a workshop designed to give teachers an awareness of current music and the values expressed in its lyrics. (SJL)