Media Messages: What Film, Television, And Popular Music Teach Us About Race, Class, Gender, And Sexual Orientation; Author: Holtzman, Linda; Paperback

Author: Holtzman, Linda
Paperback; Halftones, Bibliography, Index
361 pages
Published: September 2000
M.E. Sharpe
ISBN: 0765603373

Do average Americans believe that what is portrayed on TV is more real that their own experience? This eye-opening book analyzes the kinds of messages about race, class, gender, and sexual orientation that are being conveyed in the entertainment media. The author examines the homogeneous images, characters, and themes that are offered on prime time television and in popular film and music, and their potential impact on the audience. She uses three main techniques -- reconstructing knowledge; personal experience; and entertainment assessment theory -- to illustrate media's view of the world and show how media stereotypes reinforce this view.People who watch more than 15 hours of television a day tend to believe what is portrayed is more real than their own experience. This text analyzes messages on race, class, gender and sexual orientation, conveyed by the entertainment media.