Women in Popular Culture:
Write an essay of approximately 1000-1500 words on one of the following topics. In your essay, refer to at least three sources from the required readings to support your arguments.
1. How do postmodern theories of society and culture influence feminist study of the intersecting issues of class, race, sexuality and gender? Use examples from television and film culture.
2. How are Fiske’s concepts of the audience related to feminist re-valuing of popular cultural art forms aimed at women audiences, such as romance novels and daytime dramas.
3. Van Zoonen explains feminist cultural studies of media as focusing on “what do women do with media” (see unit one). Describe a feminist cultural studies approach to one genre of television programming and demonstrate what women do with this genre.
4. Consider Press’s theory of post-feminism with regard to gender discourses involving heroism, violence and sexuality in television and romance novels.