The Media Zone

How the media make sense and nonsense of the world

Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. is Senior Editor of the Journal of Media Psychology and Emeritus Professor of Media Psychology at Cal State, Los Angeles. See full bio

August 7, 2008, Politics

Comments on "Pop Culture Quizzes and the Royal Road to Candidates' Murky Truths"

Pop Culture Quizzes and the Royal Road to Candidates' Murky Truths

By Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. on August 7, 2008 in The Media Zone

The questions were asked. The answers were given. The truths we sought through listening closely to positions on issues are finally revealed through the simple mind-window of popular culture preferences. Read More

EW feeds the 24 hour news animal

Submitted by Alan Bloom on August 7, 2008 - 11:04pm.

I first saw this Entertainment Weekly story on the MSNBC show Hardball. Here was one of the "Big Three" cable news outlets taking a puff piece and framing it as real news. Let's see if the right wing blog-o-sphere and other news outlets pick it up and try to do as you've pointed out, give this non-story the gravity of serious news.

I'm No Candidate, but...

Submitted by Shamrock on August 8, 2008 - 1:01pm.

First movie I remember seeing is "Snow White." I didn't cry during the movie, and in fact didn't cry during any movies until I got into high school and started practicing instant crying for theatre class (which subsequently caused me to cry during any movie, cute commercial, etc.) Last movie I watched was The Black Knight. Hmmm...you're right, neither of those says much about my personality.

crying

Submitted by Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. on August 9, 2008 - 6:34am.

Your comments bring to mind the incredible number from A Chorus Line when Priscilla Lopez, as somoene auditioning for a part in the show (within the show), talks about her first acting class at the NY High School of the Performing Arts (I think)and, after endless humiliations from the teacher and the class about not being able to feel things,leaves and goes out on her own. A few years later, she recalls, news of the teacher's death reaches her. She reaches deep down inside to see what she feels about it and discovers that she feels...nothing. What does it mean? Who knows? But I will do a blog on something called Cinematherapy which may dispute what both of us are saying. Stuart

Cinematherapy?

Submitted by Alan on August 10, 2008 - 3:35pm.

Wow, "Cinematherapy" is a term I haven't heard in almost thirty years. Is it stlll being practiced?

cinematherapy

Submitted by Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D. on August 11, 2008 - 6:55am.

Yes, it's alive and well and growing more popular and more systematically applied, both in individuals and in groups. And tomorrow I will post an short discussion of the discipline and a interesting case study of its application.

Thanks for the query, Alan.

Stuart