This study critically interprets Luketic's (2001) film "Legally Blonde" to uncover the explicit as well as implicit curricula that the film advances. While some claim that the film presents a positive depiction of a strong female protagonist who overcomes educational barriers, this message is undercut by problematic constructions of gender, race,…

C.M. Condit (1986) has pointed out that audiences regard characterizations as the most salient feature of any text. The power of identification or "the result of all the components in the rhetorical act" (K. Burke, 1945, 1950) is compelling. The power generated by viewers' responses to character-centered films can be harnessed in the…

Studied violence on children's television in Britain. Found 39% of children's programs examined contained violence, primarily involving shootings and physical assault committed for negative purposes and rarely followed by painful consequences. The fast pace of such programs is also a significant factor. Results pose wider implications for those…

Provides suggestions for developing a successful concert. Covers aspects of the performance such as literature selections, the sequence of the songs within the concert, the needs of the audience, appearance of the students, and appropriate concert length for all grades levels. (CMK)

A member of the Canadian Aboriginal women's vocal ensemble Asani describes how the group's songs, words, and performances address and deconstruct Aboriginal stereotypes. These stereotypes include misconceptions of how Aboriginal people should look and dress, the status and accomplishments of Aboriginal women, the extent of their education and…

Shares the observations of an educator visiting a high school classroom. Comments on how planning can support students' initial responses and their deeper thinking. Argues that teachers of literature can be both intuitively planful and planfully spontaneous in providing students with powerful language tools for shaping personal meaning. (MG)

Examines issue-learning outcomes in three intra-party political debates during the 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Finds significant viewer learning about the issue positions of each participating candidate, about most issues, and among all categories of viewers. (KEH)

Describes the experiences of a junior high English class as they read Larry McMurty's novel "Lonesome Dove" and watched the television miniseries based on the novel. Discovers that the relationship between the reader and the written word is similar to that between the viewer and the film. (RS)

Explores the response of a Vietnam veteran to the film "Platoon." Notes that the film combines two voices, the veteran as journalist-critic and as priest, which mystify rather than explain the Vietnam experience. Argues that this form of priestly rhetoric serves an enduring hierarchy of power and knowledge. (KEH)

Replicates a study by O'Donnell and O'Donnell (1978) to determine changes in the portrayal of sex roles in television commercials from 1978 to 1988. Examines gender and occupation of the person representing each product. Explores which sex is shown in more professional roles. Findings indicate conventional sex role stereotypes persist. (JS)

Examines television viewers' interpretations of a particular narrative from the British soap opera "Coronation Street" after they had watched it unfold over some time in natural viewing circumstances. Identifies and discusses the interpretations of four clusters of viewers ranked in terms of their relative allegiance to the characters.…

Compares three television networks' treatments of "A New Beginning" (a Reagan campaign film shown at the 1984 Republican National Convention) and examines the effects on viewers of one network's critical preview of the film. Assesses the uses and limitations of rhetorical criticism in television coverage of political campaigns. (SR)

Relates a classroom teacher's observations of how students, working in pairs, help each other to move forward in the writing process. Describes the experiences of an English teacher using journals to teach writing to inner-city teenagers. Outlines the teacher's expectations, the steps of journal writing, and goals for becoming a better teacher.…

Explores the implications of the interrelationships that exist among the narrative paradigm, children's television, media deregulation, epistemology, and education. Pays particular attention to the concept of narrative fidelity and the impact of television's "first stories" upon the evolution of that concept in children. Addresses…

This study surveyed the effects of cable television on Israeli parents' mediation of their childrens' viewing. Results indicate the introduction of cable television changed strategies of parental control and mediation and parents' assessment of television's influence on children. Active parental mediation was closely related to the attribution of…