Filtyp
In 2002, ABC aired the first season of its new reality TV dating show, The Bachelor. Almost 20 years later, The Bachelor franchise has become a cultural phenomenon that is integral to the popular culture zeitgeist. With that popularity came a lot of criticism about many elements of the franchise but one stood out more than others and that is the lack of diversity in casting and the under/misrepres
The master thesis "Produce Wu Lei: a National Icon or a Product? - A Case Study on National Identity and Sports Media in China" studies the news coverage of a Chinese professional footballer - Wu Lei, by conducting a multi-method qualitative case study to analyze the representation of him in Chinese media. This thesis aims to understand the interrelation between football, media and natio
This research employs qualitative methods to look at the audience site of veganism documentary What The Health. Through semi-structured interviews with 13 participants (6 non-vegetarians and 7 vegetarians), the thesis attempts to understand the self and individual response to veganism portrayal, truth claims and how viewers learn from the documentary. Exploring audiences’ media practices enables r
The thesis explores online knowledge production around a subject that has been considered taboo and inappropriate through history – sexual, reproductive and genital health for people with female genitals. Therefore, it also examines the political potential of coming together to openly discuss such “delicate issues”. The focus of the study is the Swedish Facebook-group “Fittlife – underliv och häls
How audiences engage with news has not always gotten a lot of attention in academic and industry research; and, even then, it is often studied in terms of exposure and interaction. This does not fully capture the dynamism and multidimensionality of this phenomenon; and industry attempts to apply market principles to engagement risks depoliticizing and reducing it to economic values. Rather than po
Media literacy has been described as the ability of a citizen to access, critically analyze, and produce media content for specific outcomes. It also involves an awareness of the impact of media in the society and an understanding of media processes. More so, there are scholarly views that suggest that media literacy is a foundational skill for democracy. Here, the focus is not only on a media lit
This thesis explores hate speech on social media from the individual perspective of the bystander audience. Four qualitative group interviews with three participants each were conducted to understand in what ways they experience and engage with hate speech comments on social media platforms targeting German politicians. The debate in Germany surrounding hate speech has risen in the last year, as a
Older women have long been invisible and marginalized in society and culture at large because of the ‘gendered’ ageist stereotypes towards them. Especially, ageist stereotypes towards older women have been reinforced by their invisibility and stereotypical portrayals in traditional media. However, with the rise of social media, elderly women have become visible in society bypassing the gatekeepers
This research focuses on the extreme case of when the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Combining media study with a spatial perspective, it aims to reveal how the Wuhanese diaspora use and engage with the media to relate back to Wuhan while they are geographically absent. This study reflects on how they form a sense of place towards both their home
This thesis sets the goal to contribute to the field of diaspora studies from media and communication studies perspective by focusing on the neglected migrant group of highly educated refugees and their media use. This thesis aims to explore how highly educated refugees utilize digital media in their everyday life after their migration. It also investigates how digital media use enhances and under
In this paper we examine TikTok trends relating to the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and the series about him, ”Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Brennan, Murphy 2022). Interest lies in how the fans and anti-fans of the series express themselves through video and text, as well as the role TikTok-creators play in the democratization of the media landscape. Naturally there is also an inter
Since Russia initiated their war in Ukraine February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj went from being a national celebrity to becoming a global phenomenon. With international news media reporting on his every move, the representation of Zelenskyj has become central to how distant audiences make sense of the war, gaining immense popularity among Western audiences particularly. For Ukra
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) has been a contentious disorder for years and incorrect beliefs and assumptions about the disorder are still common both in the medical community and the public’s perception. Previous research has exemplified this by demonstrating that the representation of ADHD in traditional mass media consists of few depictions and homogenous stereotypes. In recent
This study examines the social phenomenon of Naked Attraction and its significance in our society, rather than its relationship to established parameters in our society. The approach in this thesis is to try to understand Naked Attraction from the perspective of our civilization's attitudes towards public nudity. The study is based on a qualitative case-study method with analytical theories of
Hamilton tells the story of the life and career of Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant who came to America at a young age and grew up to be a founding father as well as the first Treasury Secretary of the United States of America and the face of the US ten-dollar bill. Since premiering in 2015, the hip-hop-musical grew into a popular culture phenomenon, resonating with people all over the world while
Public libraries are not warehouses for books but education supporters, social justice and inclusion promoters and socialising providers by virtue of their comprehensive and well-organised media resources and the space of library buildings. Based on the social impacts mentioned above, public libraries play a significant role in social integration and cohesion, which is one of their responsibilitie
