Celebrity Doppelgänger Week on Facebook and the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair have raised questions about the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in Hollywood and US celebrity culture and remind us that visibility still matters.
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Archive for February, 2010
Celebrity Doppelgängers, Vanity Fair’s “New Hollywood” issue, and Visibility
Vampire Diaries: The Best Genre Television You’re Not Watching
A defense and explanation of teen melodrama Vampire Diaries.
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Lost Wednesday: Table Setting
One of my favorite television critics, Alan Sepinwall, ended his review of this week’s Lost with this spot-on reflection: Mainly, though, “What Kate Does” was a table-setting episode. I can see lots of things introduced here paying off interestingly down the road, maybe even as soon as next week, but there wasn’t enough meat...
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The Hogwarts Express Goes to Orlando
Universal Studios announced the arrival of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Super Bowl-watching muggles. What does this mean for the Harry Potter franchise?
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About the (w)hoopla: A few pedagogical thoughts about the Super Bowl ritual.
In an era of fragmentation it's the only media program left that has any kind of mass ritual component. Which, of course, is not only why so many debate its contents but why and how we , as scholars, should approach the program.
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A Tale of a Roux and a Rue
The CBS sports commentator who concluded, “Tonight the City of New Orleans embraced football,” doesn’t know the first thing about television reception. On Superbowl Sunday 2010, viewers saw how a football team has embraced a city and its culture for decades.
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Talk about a bait and switch. The Tebow Super Bowl ad left me hyped up for more hype.
After weeks of controversy and speculation, Focus on the Family's 30-second Super bowl spot featuring Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow was as decidedly uncontroversial as CBS claimed it would be.
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A Post against “post-“
Why the term "post-network" needs to be cancelled.
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Life Unexpected Not Up to Expectations
Life Unexpected isn't living up to my expectations. I plan on holding my breath for improvement, though--I am hopeful that the network and producers will figure out where they want to go and follow the natural lines of the premise of this story.
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Is There Room for Narrative Complexity in News about Politics?
Stewart praises Fox News for presenting a clear and simple narrative, and chastises Obama for his lack of the same. Citizens need stories, even in politics. But do they have to be so simple in an age of complexity?
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5 Thoughts on Teen Mom
Does it matter if Teen Mom, a documentary-style MTV series that completed its first season last week, provides an inaccurate picture of teen parenting in the U.S.?
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When Lost Said “Both”
Some quick thoughts about the season 6 premiere of Lost - spoilers abound!
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What Do You Think? The Oscar Nominees
Now that you've seen the list, what do you think of the idea of having ten nominations for Best Pic? Who was robbed? Who did the robbing?
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Hollywood Stars and the Death of the “Adult Drama”
Why are we currently experiencing what one filmmaker has called “the lowest point since cinema began”?
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Style Blogging and Retail Fandom
The women of the style blogging communities consciously use fashion to shape their identities, form connections with one another, and define particular iterations of contemporary femininity.
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