Communication, Entertainment, and Messages of Social Justice
Abingdon: Routledge (2025), xix, 323 pp.
Contains index
ISBN 978-1-04-034799-7 (ebook); 978-1-03-279805-9 (pbk)
"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. Further, through case studies on topics including transphobia, indigenous comedy and drag performance, the 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." (Publisher description)
SECTION I: PROVIDING A FOUNDATION
1 Appreciating Oscar, Emmy, and Tony: Employing Theoretical Thinking to Understand Communication, Entertainment, and Social Justice / Richard West, 3
SECTION II: RACE, SEXUALITY, ETHNICITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ENTERTAINMENT
2 Abbott Elementary and Paratextual Social Justice / Robert Brookey and Betsy Pike, 25
3 Leguizamo, Laughter, and Learning via Latina/o/x Critical Communication Theory: An Analysis of Latin History for Morons / Claudia Evans-Zepeda, Sonya M. Alemán, and Mari Castañeda, 36
4 Eric Monte: The Godfather of Social Issues in Black Entertainment Television / Jasmin M. Goodman and Taryn K. Myers, 57
5 Queer Love in Africa: Cinema and the Imagination in the Struggle for Social Justice / Stefanie Knauss, 72
6 Digital Memory and Social Justice in South Korea: The Jeju´s Massacre in Interactive Format / Antonio Cesar Moreno Cantano and Jose Antonio Moya Martinez, 89
7 Problematizing Recent Popular Education Films (PEFs): Coopted Voices, Rescue Fantasies, and Subjugated Identities / Gordon Alley-Young, 106
8 Grounded Labor Music as an Expression of Labor Justice: Awakening Class Consciousness Through Songs in China / Chunyu Zhang, 125
SECTION III: SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES, POLITICS, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ENTERTAINMENT
9 Examining the Dynamics of Social Justice Through the Lens of Maid / Anthony Esposito and Ronald Raymond, 143
10 Ageism and Anti-Ageism on Social Media: From Memes to Movements / Deanna Vervaecke and Brad Meisner, 159
11 “The Color of Blood, Which Defines Us”: The Handmaid in Contemporary Protest / Roseann M. Mandziuk, 180
12 Changing the World, One Play at a Time / Michelle Miller-Day and Noreen Raja, 195
13 Exploitation, Legislation, and Unmet Expectations: The Complex Legacy of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit / Able Fenwick, 213
14 The Communication of Social Justice Plotlines in Truth Be Told: A Rhetorical Analysis / Jennifer L. Walton and Sandra L. French, 229
15 Only One Thing Can Save Us, Only the Young: Popular Music, Generation Z, and the 2022 Midterm Election / Amy B. Becker, 242
16 Halfway Happy: Eleven and the Liminal Feminism of Stranger Things / Tara Fredenburg, Jill Fredenburg, and Taylor Abrams-Rollinson, 261
17 Parasocial Relationships and Social Change: Examining Summer House, Below Deck, and The Traitors / Maryl Roberts McGinley, 277
18 Madam Secretary: Exploring the Role of Social Justice in the Reception of a Political Drama / Natalie Le Clue, 288
1 Appreciating Oscar, Emmy, and Tony: Employing Theoretical Thinking to Understand Communication, Entertainment, and Social Justice / Richard West, 3
SECTION II: RACE, SEXUALITY, ETHNICITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ENTERTAINMENT
2 Abbott Elementary and Paratextual Social Justice / Robert Brookey and Betsy Pike, 25
3 Leguizamo, Laughter, and Learning via Latina/o/x Critical Communication Theory: An Analysis of Latin History for Morons / Claudia Evans-Zepeda, Sonya M. Alemán, and Mari Castañeda, 36
4 Eric Monte: The Godfather of Social Issues in Black Entertainment Television / Jasmin M. Goodman and Taryn K. Myers, 57
5 Queer Love in Africa: Cinema and the Imagination in the Struggle for Social Justice / Stefanie Knauss, 72
6 Digital Memory and Social Justice in South Korea: The Jeju´s Massacre in Interactive Format / Antonio Cesar Moreno Cantano and Jose Antonio Moya Martinez, 89
7 Problematizing Recent Popular Education Films (PEFs): Coopted Voices, Rescue Fantasies, and Subjugated Identities / Gordon Alley-Young, 106
8 Grounded Labor Music as an Expression of Labor Justice: Awakening Class Consciousness Through Songs in China / Chunyu Zhang, 125
SECTION III: SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES, POLITICS, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ENTERTAINMENT
9 Examining the Dynamics of Social Justice Through the Lens of Maid / Anthony Esposito and Ronald Raymond, 143
10 Ageism and Anti-Ageism on Social Media: From Memes to Movements / Deanna Vervaecke and Brad Meisner, 159
11 “The Color of Blood, Which Defines Us”: The Handmaid in Contemporary Protest / Roseann M. Mandziuk, 180
12 Changing the World, One Play at a Time / Michelle Miller-Day and Noreen Raja, 195
13 Exploitation, Legislation, and Unmet Expectations: The Complex Legacy of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit / Able Fenwick, 213
14 The Communication of Social Justice Plotlines in Truth Be Told: A Rhetorical Analysis / Jennifer L. Walton and Sandra L. French, 229
15 Only One Thing Can Save Us, Only the Young: Popular Music, Generation Z, and the 2022 Midterm Election / Amy B. Becker, 242
16 Halfway Happy: Eleven and the Liminal Feminism of Stranger Things / Tara Fredenburg, Jill Fredenburg, and Taylor Abrams-Rollinson, 261
17 Parasocial Relationships and Social Change: Examining Summer House, Below Deck, and The Traitors / Maryl Roberts McGinley, 277
18 Madam Secretary: Exploring the Role of Social Justice in the Reception of a Political Drama / Natalie Le Clue, 288
