Author: CarrieLynn D. Reinhard
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Representations of Women in Japanese and American Pop Culture
(From a 2004 paper on a cross-cultural examination of the superheroine) In their article on children and role models, Anderson and Cavallaro (2002) say that superheroes are “larger-than-life symbols of American values and ‘maleness’.” (p. 162). From a socialization point of view, is there reason to be concerned about…
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Singin’ About a Simulacrum
(From a 2007 class assignment) I can remember rather vividly when I first saw Singin’ in the Rain. Gene Kelly had just passed away and my father was aghast that we had never seen what he considered the best musical of all time. And while I still have favorites that supersede this musical, Singin’ in…
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Teenagers Using Media Texts for Sexual Identity Exploration
What turns me on, turns me off?: Usage of media texts by adolescents for sexual identity exploration. (A graduate school psychology final paper, edited for posting, with link containing the full paper.) When the audience for the media and its content is children, research into the mass media typically focuses on two mediated “sins”: violence…
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The Whats versus Hows of Film Spectatorship
[What follows is a 2007 paper I wrote for a graduate level course on film studies. It was this paper that started me thinking about what I’ve come to term minutia reception studies. I’ve edited the paper for length, and I’ve included a picture of the reception worksheets my brother filled out as part of…
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Visions of the Unconscious: An Analysis of “Juliet of the Spirits”
Did Sigmund Freud realize the impact he would have when he first proposed the idea of the unconscious mind as a reservoir for a person’s dreams, memories and thoughts that may be too violent or too sexually explicit for the conscious mind to handle? When he wrote about the animalistic id battling the angelic superego…
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Television Showrunners & Their Fans: Does the Internet Make Them Friends?
Dan Harmon has been replaced as the showrunner for the NBC sitcom Community. The replacement came on the heels of the series being given a fourth, and final, half-season order to let the show wrap-up it’s ultimate question of: will the Greendale Seven actually ever graduate from their community college? Harmon is being replaced by two…
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That Whole Abortion Thing? Just Kidding!
When Buffy Season 9 Issue 6 came out, I applauded it. I even wrote a whole essay on why I think the story and Buffy’s decision worked. I defended Buffy’s decision to get an abortion as it reflected the struggle modern women have to balance family and career, and I defended Whedon’s decision to have…
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