This post identifies a couple of key tensions that emerge in trying to reposition Islam as a global brand through marketing Islamic superheroes The 99 as global cultural commodities.
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Archive for April, 2012
Is It a Camel? Is It a Turban? No, It’s The 99! Marketing Islamic Superheroes as Global Cultural Commodities
What Are You Missing? April 15-28
Ten (or more) media industry news items you might have missed recently.
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“I Transcend Race, Hombre”: Hegemonic Masculine Whiteness in Eastbound and Down
Eastbound and Down’s primary character Kenny Powers is the ultimate in camp masculinity. Kenny’s character reeks of white masculine power, and as cultural critics, we need to ask how this type of supremacist rhetoric functions in America’s “postracial” political climate.
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Why Public Media Matters for Media Studies
Do public spaces increase democratic participation through public discourse and visibility? Does a mediated non-profit ‘public forum’ help to promote the ‘promise’ of American democracy? These questions still provide grounds for healthy debate over the purpose of media studies, as well as a coherent logic for media research.
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Who (does HBO hope) is watching Girls?
After two episodes of trying to decide how I feel about the show, I started to wonder: Who does HBO hope will watch Girls? Girls’ small initial audience suggests that its audience “isn’t easily defined.”
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Which Direction?: The Homoerotic Masculinities of the Modern Boy Band
Whether you saw their performance on Saturday Night Live, heard the insanely catchy “What Makes You Beautiful” playing over a mall sound system, or just happen to know a 12-year-old girl, it’s possible you’ve already encountered One Direction, the first truly viable boy band of the current musical era.
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What Are You Missing? April 1-14
Ten (or more) media industry news items you might have missed recently.
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Mediating the Past: Mad Men’s Sophisticated Weekly Get Together
While this media surge contributed to this season’s premiere becoming Mad Men’s highest rated episode ever, ratings are not really the point. Mad Men sustains AMC's brand, providing a specific and prestigious visibility that extends beyond those who actually watch. Mad Men also offers viewers the opportunity to feel simultaneously nostalgic for and superior...
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Jewpacabra
Last week’s South Park episode, “Jewpacabra,” is just the latest in the program’s intermittent efforts to use their medium to introduce otherwise silenced elements of society and culture into the public sphere. Though packaged in exactly the sort of silliness and Jew jokiness that the title implies, the episode actually features one...
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On Radio: Ira Glass, Radio Star
Ira Glass' iconic voice seems to be everywhere, and offers insight into contemporary radio culture and stardom.
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The Google+ Assignment—Evaluation
Using Google+ for student assignments in a TV genre class would, ideally, link learning with social technologies students are already using, and spur students to consume social media more critically. As with all experiments there was some success and some failure.
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Imported by Justin Bieber: Carly Rae Jepsen and Transnational Stardom
Carly Rae Jepsen's Justin Bieber-supported breakthrough offers a case study for how difficult it is for stardom to remain transnational when moving into the U.S. market.
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What Are You Missing? March 18-31
Ten (or more) media industry news items you might have missed recently.
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