This edited collection explores the contemporary interplay among three pivotal areas found in cultures around the world: communication, entertainment, and messages of social justice. Each chapter centralizes communication as instrumental in creating mediated messages pertaining to social justice, usually resulting in a more educated audience.
Using an accessible writing style, the contributors investigate both classic and contemporary social media, television, film, stage, radio, and podcast productions by employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Furthermore, through case studies on topics including transphobia, indigenous comedy and drag performance, this book assesses key issues and themes portrayed in contemporary entertainment education. It provides a foundational framework for analysis by utilizing a broad range of theoretical models to explore representations of race, class, gender, advocacy, and pedagogy among others as well as their communication implications.
This book will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of Communication Studies, Popular Culture Studies, Media Studies, Theatre Studies, Social Justice Studies, Sociology, and Psychology.
Edited by:
Richard West (Emerson College USA),
Christina S. Beck (Ohio University,
USA)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 640g
ISBN: 9781032798059
ISBN 10: 103279805X
Pages: 324
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface About the Contributors Section I: Providing a Foundation 1. Appreciating Oscar, Emmy, and Tony: Employing Theoretical Thinking to Understand Communication, Entertainment, and Social Justice Section II: Race, Sexuality, Ethnicity, and Social Justice in Entertainment 2. Abbott Elementary and Paratextual Social Justice 3. Leguizamo, Laughter, and Learning via Latina/o/x Critical Communication Theory: An Analysis of Social Justice Potential of ""Latin History for Morons"" 4. Eric Monte: The Godfather of Social Issues in Black Entertainment Television 5. Queer Love in Africa: Cinema and the Imagination in the Struggle for Social Justice 6. Digital Memory and Social Justice in South Korea: The Jeju´s Massacre in Interactive Format 7. Problematizing Recent Popular Education Films (PEFs): Co-opted Voices, Rescue Fantasies, and Subjugated Identities 8. Grounded Labor Music as an Expression of Labor Justice: Awakening Class Consciousness Through Songs in China Section III: Socioeconomic Issues, Politics, and Social Justice in Entertainment 9. Examining the Dynamics of Social Justice Through the Lens of Maid 10. Ageism and Anti-Ageism on Social Media: From Memes to Movements 11. “The Color of Blood, Which Defines Us”: The Handmaid in Contemporary Protest 12. Changing the World, One Play at a Time 13. Exploitation, Legislation, and Unmet Expectations: The Complex Legacy of Law and Order: SVU 14. The Communication of Social Justice Plotlines in Truth Be Told: A Rhetorical Analysis 15. ""Only One Thing Can Save Us, Only the Young"": Popular Music, Generation Z, and the 2022 Midterm Election 16. Halfway Happy: Eleven and the Liminal Feminism of Stranger Things 17. Parasocial Relationships and Social Change: Examining Summer House, Below Deck, and The Traitors 18. Madam Secretary: Exploring the Role of Social Justice in the Reception of a Political Drama Name Index Subject Index References
Richard West is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Emerson College, USA. He has served as President of the National Communication Association and the Eastern Communication Association. Christina S. Beck is a Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University, USA. She has served as President of the National Communication Association and the Central States Communication Association.
