Deck 3: The Economics of the Media Industry

Question 1

Speaking her mind about what should now be said, or not said, about her sexuality, Ellen successfully encodes the media ritual of dancing, later to appear on Ellen as ______.

A) a performance of queerness that expresses meaning where words have been found to fail
B) a performance of celebrity identity that downplays meaning where words have shown too much expression
C) a rehearsal of physical expression that shows comprehension where words have not shown understanding
D) an act of queerness that reveals authentic individual values, while failing to use words shows an ability to communicate nonverbally

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The most obvious and significant change in media comes from the proliferation of _________ that has/have fragmented the means of content production and distribution once controlled by a handful of multinational corporations.

A) digital technologies
B) Internet platforms
C) electronic news
D) print media

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The majority of resistance against misogyny and violence in rap music thus far has been constructed as a "gendered" issue, instead of a civil rights agenda. By denying the possibilities of empowerment for both Black men and women in rap, we ignore the ______.

A) political nature
B) economic opportunities
C) social obligations
D) cultural commentary

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The normalization of maleness and Whiteness contributes to these working-class subjects being constructed as ___________, which lends itself to hegemonic narratives of rugged individualism, the suppression of class consciousness, and the maintenance of White male supremacy.

A) neutral individuals
B) authentic individuals
C) masculine figures
D) nonconforming personalities

Question 5

Ellen DeGeneres escapes being such a "convenient screen" for hate-mongers or bearing the responsibility of being a spokesperson for all of gay America, while she still maintains a televisibility of queer identity. She does this through which methods?

A) She performs queerness through stand-up comedy and through the ritual action of her interview sequence.
B) She performs gender expression through what implicitly "exceeds" her stand-up jokes and sit-down talk.
C) She performs queerness through what implicitly "exceeds" her stand-up jokes and sit-down talk and, physically, through the ritual action of her daily dance sequence.
D) She sometimes expresses queerness through the ritual action of her daily dance sequence but often comes across as gender-neutral.

Question 6

Acting similarly as a facilitator for straight women in their fantasies, DeGeneres's play act has a distinct difference from Rosie O'Donnell's: ______.

A) DeGeneres's queerness is a secret--a secret the audience is aware of--and she plays on this knowledge to make her interaction entertaining
B) DeGeneres's homosexuality is not a secret and she openly expresses herself on her show, which makes the show bland, but fun
C) DeGeneres's homosexuality is a known secret--a secret the audience knows in an iconic way--and she trades on this knowledge to make her interaction funny
D) DeGeneres's dance routine is an expected part of the show--a part the audience knows in an iconic way--and she performs with this knowledge to make her dance engaging and even more iconic

Question 7

According to Kitwana, when it comes to the mainstream and commercial portrayal of rap music and its stars, what is often highlighted are those aspects of rap that reinforce ______.

A) negative ideas of class politics
B) aspects of society that are often not discussed
C) negative stereotypes about Blacks
D) positive aspects of musical diversity

Question 8

Rome's in-group language and his unique interaction (or lack thereof) make his radio show distinctive. His "survival of the fittest" format is responsible for ______.

A) the public's perception of Rome as a political outsider
B) the show's reputation as a center for pop culture entertainment
C) the public's idea of the show as a sports-centric "boys club"
D) the show's reputation as the sports version of hate-speech radio

Question 9

As Stuart Hall suggests with his theory of articulation, ______.

A) there is no necessary link between economics and class
B) there is a link between income and political alignment
C) economics is entirely dependent on class, race, and income
D) there must be a link between economics and class

Question 10

__________ are a loose collection of media activists who are rebelling against the hegemony of the messages promoting global capitalism.

A) Muckrakers
B) Culture jammers
C) Authoritarians
D) Feminists

Question 11

According to the article, rural or "redneck" masculinity is considered ______.

A) the least authentic form because it is too far removed from mainstream culture
B) only partially authentic because it does not always include many aspects that some consider "masculine"
C) authentic but only as far as the individual person is concerned
D) the most authentic in current mainstream U.S. discourse because it is commonly associated with "real men"

Question 12

Many scholars posit some version of accessible, public, substantive, rational conversations among numerous and diverse participants as the prerequisite for a(n) ______.

A) subversive dictatorship
B) healthy patriarchy
C) anarchy
D) healthy democracy

Question 13

Rome's show, although it may be influenced by traditional gay and lesbian identity politics, is ______.

A) not a queer space
B) welcoming to queer audiences but attracts a less diverse audience
C) an openly queer space
D) open to queer audiences but alienates Black and Asian audiences

Question 14

Jonathan Gray (2003) suggests that The Simpsons has turned on its family sitcom brethren, situating its action within ______.

A) an anti-suburb that is depicted as racist, isolationist, and homophobic
B) a suburb that is depicted as utopian, welcoming, and open-minded
C) a town that is obsolete, worn, and close to expiration
D) an anti-suburb that is depicted as xenophobic, provincial, and narrow-minded

Question 15

It is evident that the most prevalent images of Black womanhood in rap are not of successful, assertive, female rappers, but instead, of near naked, unrealistic, back-up dancers used to enforce the masculinity and sexual prowess of those male rappers for whom they dance. In formulating a critical dialogue about rap music and feminism, what does the author say we must ask?

A) Whose womanhood is being oppressed by entertainment, and is this oppression limited to music?
B) What kind of femininity is being sought by audiences, and what is being seen in the public sphere?
C) Whose Black womanhood is being brought to the public sphere and is this womanhood truly female defined?
D) Are Black women being brought to the public sphere authentically, and are they represented thoroughly?

Question 16

Brilliantly parodying the traditional family sitcom neighborhood, The Simpsons' town of Springfield ______.

A) is clearly a metaphor for Washington,
D)C., politics
B) satirizes and challenges rather than extols the American Dream
C) challenges the ideas of the normal "nuclear family"
D) forgoes progressivism and reverts to older ideals of family values

Question 17

The show Duck Dynasty discursively configures rednecks as authentically masculine and yuppies as feminine, which therefore implies the superiority of the former over the latter in this patriarchal context. Although the term yuppies commonly refers to young (White) urban professionals, family patriarch Phil Robertson applies the term to ______.

A) people of color or nonconforming gender identities
B) anyone who does not embrace his lifestyle of hunting and fishing
C) only young urban professionals as the term is intended
D) people who live in urban areas

Question 18

According to the author, Jon Stewart can operate stealthily by ______.

A) engaging audiences with news information and political commentary
B) feigning ignorance and constantly insisting that The Daily Show is only for laughs
C) pretending he is not aware of the effect The Daily Show has
D) feigning understanding and insisting that The Daily Show is only for news information

Question 19

Class awareness is a(n) __________, produced in a political sense only when individual experiences are articulated as a "political force," enabling subjects to enter the stage as historical agents.

A) political force
B) economic foundation
C) power device
D) social construct

Question 20

As the author makes clear, The Jim Rome Show reflects ______.

A) a discomfort with modern radio shows and how they are presented
B) a growing cultural trend in the United States--sports talk radio
C) a nostalgia for the radio programs of the past, which leads to a generally older audience
D) a disinterest in radio as an entertainment source, with fewer and fewer listeners each year

Question 21

As the author makes clear, it is crucial to not fall victim to ______.

A) media propaganda and political ideologies
B) technological determinism and accept the myth of the digital panacea
C) authoritarian rhetoric and utopian ideologies
D) none of these

Question 22

Today, many gay men sport beards, army fatigues, work boots, and so on. They build up their bodies or are "busy arraying themselves in these castoffs and becoming cowboys, truckers, telephone lineman, and football players." This is not new: feminization, at least to a small and symbolic degree, seemed a necessary initiation into gay life.

Question 23

How are postfeminism and post-racial discourses similar?

Question 24

How is culture jamming a counterhegemonic strategy?

Question 25

In the United States, women's mass entry into the workforce is often attributed to the second wave of the women's movement.

Question 26

Discuss the tension of social class and economics.

Question 27

The activist voice that social media and digital technologies amplify pushes profit-centered media institutions to pay attention to ______.

A) pop culture, entertainment news, and celebrity updates
B) representations of minorities in television and film
C) challenges of politics, campaigns, and global politics
D) issues of police brutality, mass incarceration, and the white supremacist criminal justice system