Media Stew

Pop culture through the lens of TV, movies, and games.

Tim Delaney teaches sociology at SUNY Oswego. Author of such books as Simpsonology: There's A Little Bit of Springfield in all of Us! and Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld. See full bio

July 30, 2008

The Dark Knight: Neither Superhero or Antihero

During the past few months the film industry has brought us a superhero (Iron Man) and an anti-hero (Hancock). Now we have a Dark Knight (Batman) who is not quite either. Read More

July 24, 2008

ESPN's Title Town, USA: And the Winner Should Be...

If you are an avid sports fan, undoubtedly, you watch ESPN's SportsCenter. Reflecting its primary focus on entertainment, rather than sports, the folks at ESPN are conducting yet another unscientific and haphazard fan voting contest-Title Town, USA. Read More

July 20, 2008

No Michele, There is No Santa Claus

During this past weekend's (July 17-20) State Farm Classic LPGA Tournament, Michele Wie was disqualified for violating one of golf's inane rules governing when and where the players sign their scorecards. Upon finding out she had been disqualified, Sue Witters, the LPGA's director of tournament competition commented that "She (Wie) was like a little kid after you tell them there's no Santa Claus." Read More

July 14, 2008

Hancock: An Examination of the Anti-(super)hero

Will Smith remains as the hero of Fourth of July movie debuts with his most recent film, Hancock. However, in an interesting twist, the superhero Hancock, that Smith portrays, is actually an anti-hero. Read More

July 9, 2008

An American Japanese Game Show: What Took So Long?

Japanese game shows have been satirized by a variety of long-running American television shows such as "The Simpsons" and "Saturday Night Live." Americans found these parodies to be amusing despite little knowledge of actual Japanese game shows. Finally, ABC decided to take advantage of this form of popular culture by airing "I Survived a Japanese Game Show." So, what took so long? Read More

July 2, 2008

Happy Independence Day

Independence. What a wonderful word. In 1776, the colonies declared their independence from the British Empire. As time progressed, the United States would become a world power. Read More

June 27, 2008

“Paparazzo Attacked by a Mob of Surfers:” Is this the Title of a Horror Movie Gone Bad?

The paparazzi seem to always be in the media, and for good reason. They are a part of the media. Celebrities scorn their aggressive behavior, while celebrity worshippers rely on their every photograph to quench their thirst for personal tidbits of information. Read More

June 23, 2008

Much More Than "Seven Dirty Words"

George Carlin passed away early this morning. He was truly a pioneer in observational humor and many of his skits will live on for years to come. Read More

June 22, 2008

How Happy Was Your Friday?

For many people, Sunday evenings mark the end of the weekend and a time to start thinking about the week ahead. So, how was your weekend? In particular, how was your Friday (June 20)? Read More

June 17, 2008

A True Story of a Male Maid of Honor

Traditionally, a bride marries a groom, the bride has a female best friend serve as "Maid of Honor" and the groom has a male "Best Man." Wow! How many of these scenarios are no longer the norm of marriage?! Read More

Media Basics

From the ever-expanding Googleverse to the snarky payoff of celebrity gossip, life is splintered and refracted in a million ways by contemporary communication tools. This media has a profound impact on how we perceive ourselves and our world.

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