PRISM: Student Abstracts

The media is everywhere and comes in many different forms. Today, a common form is film and television because it is visual. Adolescent females grow up in a society that sets an ideal body image. The media is affecting the way women perceive their own body image. When a norm is set through society, it sends fear though females if they are not comfortable with their own self. This is a serious issue that can trigger an even bigger problem: an eating disorder. In my paper, I will address the question: "What affect does film and television have on how young women perceive the ideal body image and how are women who develop eating disorders represented in dramas?" The media is not exposing realistic messages, causing negative affects on the young women who are vulnerable to these unrealistic images.

Ryan Fields

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Is Television Accurately Portraying African American Males?

This question is a hard to answer, since what we watch on TV illustrates our thoughts of a particular group. This topic is important because the society needs to reevaluate what they think of the particular African-American male. Since African Americans are becoming more dominant on television we need to understand the differences of television and the real world.

Wesley Flesher

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I am talking about Latin-American women, and how they are portrayed as being a stronger sex in television dramas and also film. My examples for TV shows are NYPD Blue and 3rd Watch. The Latinas are also represented as being stronger towards their co-workers in television dramas. They are also saying that they will not go down without a fight. In film, for example "white men can't jump" Rosie Perez is much smarter and stronger than her companion.

Matt Haas

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I will be discussing the evolution of the African American sitcom. I will be talking about how the sitcoms have changed throughout the years, and how Hollywood has chosen to portray characters on the shows.

Richard Klemczewski

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The representation of Arab Muslims compared to other groups

The war against terrorism is a topical subject for today's programming. Since the beginning of film, Arabs have often depicted as terrorists. But are we tougher on the depiction of Arab Muslims compared to other groups in the past? With media research from the 1940s to the present, I compare and contrast the content and see if we have learned from the past and improved in our representation of other ethnic groups.

Luke Lomax

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Sit and listen while Luke Lomax speaks on the involvement of African American men within interracial partnerships. By taking a look into both cinema and television Luke points out the teamwork or lack thereof, and the possible reasoning. He will examine partnerships such as Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 as well as examples from television shows like The Shield and NYPD Blue.

Matt Mumper

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African-Americans males have been treated differently than white males throughout the years. African-Americans have endured being segregated, the civil rights movement, and the stereotypes associated with living in the projects. How have African-American directors portrayed African-Americans throughout these different eras of African-American history? I will examine Ten Minutes to Live and Go Down Death from the 1930s and 1940s, which are associated with the segregation times. Shaft and Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song will be looked at from the 1970s, after the civil rights movement. Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society from the 1990s, where the 'gangsta' image became prominent. The films Bamboozled and Training Day will be examined from modern times.

Jonathan Pinnick

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The Representation of Gay Characters Throughout Dramas

A growing number of shows on major networks are focusing on gay characters. Shows such as Ellen on ABC and Will and Grace and ER on NBC, have had major characters in the show, if not the main character(s) portrayed as gay or lesbian. My paper discusses the differences of representation of gay characters in different types of dramas. The primary shows I will be focusing on are ER, NYPD Blue, and Queer as Folk.

Adam Trent

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Representation of the Mentally Retarded in Film

Film serves as a major public information source, regardless of accuracy. Repetition of images on screen serves to establish values and ideas in the American public. Through the use of eight basic stereotypes film inaccurately labels the mentally retarded, which only serves to further biases against them. After the analysis of popular films a distinct pattern emerges: the mentally retarded are not only seen as obviously stereotyped, but emerge as racially homogeneous.

Brad Underwood

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The Evolution of Asian Representation in Film and Television

Since Charlie Chan was introduced to the American public in the 1930’s, Asian men and women have appeared in many roles of various backgrounds in the film and television industry. This paper will dissect various films like Deer Hunter, Twin Dragons and television series such as Kung Fu, along with a legendary detective named Charlie Chan. From the 1930’s to the present, Asian characters in film and television have outgrown stereotypes and portray a more positive image.

TCOM 307

Jennifer Cox

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The Traditional Family in Sitcoms

This paper discusses the traditional family in sitcoms, considering how they have changed and stayed the same. The paper examines family oriented sitcoms from the 1950s to the present. Shows like Leave it to Beaver, Happy Days, The Wonder Years, and Home Improvement are discussed. The paper answers the question, "How much or how little has the traditional family in sitcoms changed through the decades?" The result is that even though there have been many changes, the basic structure, feeling and support system is the same.

Nick Cunningham

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Playmakers

The paper examines relationships and behaviors of professional football players through the artifact of ESPN's new drama, Playmakers, answering the question, "Does Playmakers represent the same male bonding that occurs in professional football and do the characters of Playmakers represent professional athletes with drug issues?" The paper supports Playmakers' representations of male bonding and professional athletes with drug issues to an extent.

Joe English

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The Expanding Role of Law Enforcement Officer’s Personal Lives in Police Dramas

The paper examines police dramas with a focus on the portrayal of law enforcement officers’ personal lives. The artifacts used are Dragnet and NYPD Blue. The paper answers the question “Do police dramas from television’s past such as Dragnet, accurately depict police officers’ lives outside the precinct in comparison to present day dramas?” The result suggests that while officers’ personal lives are virtually nonexistent in early police dramas, present day dramas rely heavily on personal lives for plots and show the human error involved in police work.

Meagan King

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African Americans Reign in Television

This paper examines diversity in family oriented sitcoms, using “The Goldbergs”, “Amos ‘n Andy”, “Julia”, “Good Times”, “The Cosby Show”, “My Wife and Kids” and many others. Production of diverse family-oriented sitcoms has shown only one ethnic group at a time. This paper supports the belief that the majority of the diverse family-oriented sitcoms lack diversity.

Brian O'Boyle

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Police Representation on Television Police Dramas: Creativity or Reality?

This paper examines police dramas through such shows as Dragnet, Hill Street Blues, and The Shield to discover a direct correlation between the representation of police officials in such shows and society’s views on policing.

Brandon Peters

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Police Officer and Perpetrator Relationships

The paper examines TV police dramas with a focus on the relationship between the police officer /detective and the perpetrators from the 1950s to the present. The artifacts researched are episodes of Dragnet, Highway Patrol, Hawaii, Five-O, Ironside, ChiPs , Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, NYPD Blue, and The Shield. The question asked is, “From where did the gradual disrespect between police partners derive? The result is to push the limits of television to attract viewers by fulfilling their desire to see more violence and adult-oriented crimes.

Chris Ryan

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Analysis of Playmakers

This paper examines sports programming through the television show “Playmakers”. The paper tells us how accurately family life and family structure on a professional football team are portrayed. The results show that “Playmakers” does a good job of representing certain family issues that affect football players. Also, it depicts a family structure within the team that is similar to that of a real professional football team.

Dustin White

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Non Traditional Families in Television Sitcoms

This paper discusses family sitcoms with an emphasis on nontraditional families. Shows analyzed are The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch, Who’s the Boss, Full House, and Friends. The question this paper answers is “What does TV tell us about nontraditional families?” Results suggest nontraditional families work just as well as nuclear families.

Justin Zukowski

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Police Partnerships

Partnerships in television police dramas changed over the past five decades. This paper examines police partner relationships in Dragnet, CHiPs, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and The Shield, beginning with the focus on formality to today’s interpersonal relationships. This suggests that television writers have changed their focus since the 1950s.