by Keith Moser   Abstract In the context of the transdisciplinary philosophy of Edgar Morin and Jean Baudrillard, this essay delves into the gap between image and reality that has further problematized the elusive quest for love and companionship living in a technologized world. Both thinkers persuasively maintain that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the postmodern subject to establish any kind of meaningful affective … Continue reading Has True Romance Disappeared in Consumer Society? A Morinian and Baudrillardian Reflection of the Acute Crisis of Simulation

Valenzano III, Joseph M. and Erika Engstrom. New York: Peter Lang, 2019. 162 pp.ISBN: 978-1-4331-5280-1   Communications Studies professors and English academics approach writing about visual pop narratives very differently. The former relish linking communication theories to films in an effort to reveal hidden meaning and manipulation—for instance, applying Uncertainty Reduction theory (when people rely on the initial interactions that occur before actual communication plays … Continue reading Religions Across Television Genres: Community, Orange Is the New Black, The Walking Dead, and Supernatural

by Debra E. Jenson Abstract “Space at the Con” explores the motivations and goals of individuals who participate in discussions at Comic-Cons and conventions centered on diversity and representation of marginalized groups (women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people of color, people with disabilities, and more) in popular culture. Comic-con-style events occur across the United States and around the globe, showcasing movies, television, comic books, and even online … Continue reading Space at the Con: Conversations About Representation in Popular Culture at Comic Conventions

by Richard Logsdon   “…we have no hope, and yet we live in longing.” Canto IV, Dante’s Inferno   Abstract Set in the fictional French village of Villefranche, Mathieu Missoffe’s Black Spot offers both a contemporary version of Dante’s Hell and a microcosmic, Gothicized caricature of contemporary Western society. Upon a first viewing, the episodes of this televised crime drama may seem randomly arranged. However, … Continue reading Dante, the Gothic, the Abject, and the Grotesque in Mathieu Missoffe’s Thriller-Crime Drama Black Spot

William M. Kirtley and Patricia M. Kirtley   Abstract It is easy to trivialize a supermarket tabloid that titillates, provokes, and focuses on human foibles, but the National Enquirer influenced the 2016 election and continues to unravel the present administration. This paper details its development into a celebrity gossip newspaper, analyzes the magazine’s readers, treatment of Donald Trump, and the anatomy of campaign finance felonies … Continue reading Fake News and Failed Friendships: An Analysis of Trump, Pecker, and the National Enquirer

by Alana N. Seaman   Abstract While ties to literary works and the authors who penned them are capitalized on to attract tourists, justify preservation and revitalization efforts, request funding, and gain historic and protected status, the role of literature in tourism experiences at these places is poorly understood. Utilizing electronic word of mouth (eWOM) data and a deconstructive approach, the purpose of this study … Continue reading What’s lit got to do with it? Deconstructing the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site