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ABOUT


Welcome to the Media Writing Lab at DePauw University. This site features commentary and criticism written by students enrolled in Professor Kevin Howley's Media, Culture & Society course.

Throughout the semester, students organize and publish a weeklong series of thematic essays (500-600 words each) that address some aspect of media and popular culture. Modeled after the Media Commons project, In Media Res, this site promotes collaborative research, interactive learning, multi-modal writing.

The views and opinions expressed in the Media Writing Lab are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the instructor, the Department of Communication & Theater, or DePauw University.

 Instructor: Kevin Howley
Teaching Assistant: David Petrushka
Technical Assistance: Jin Kim

For more information regarding the Media Writing Lab write to us at: khowley@depauw.edu.

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Disney Princesses: A system of commodities?

Disney Princesses: A System of Commodities?  By Katharine McLean Growing up I loved all Disney Princesses, but Cinderella was my favorite by far. I envied her long blonde hair, admired her gorgeous gown, and wished for the day that my Prince Charming would show up on my doorstep with the glass slipper that would turn me into a princess. Now, at the age of nineteen, I cannot help but look back and wonder. . . have the Disney Princesses I’ve grown up with caused me harm? I argue that the stereotypical gender norms found in Disney Princess media and the capitalist nature of popular culture leads to a narrow-minded view of femininity. In Dustin Kidd’s book, Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media and Society , he defines popular culture in a myriad of ways, but one that stuck out to me was the idea of popular culture as a system of commodities. Kidd (2014) states, “popular culture is art, transformed into commodity, working double time as advertisement” (p. 69). This d...
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SINCE WHEN DID POLITICIANS BECOME CELEBRITIES?

By Katharine McLean I distinctly remember the day Donald Trump announced that he was going to be running for president. I was sitting at my kitchen table with my mother as the highlights of his speech came on the news. That is when my mom rolled her eyes and says, “Well, this will be pretty entertaining.” She wasn’t wrong. I argue that the mediatized age that we live in has caused politicians to integrate celebrity tactics that can threaten the integrity of our politics, turning politicians and politics into a form of entertainment. A study conducted by Matthew Wood, Jack Corbett, and Matthew Flinders finds that past and current politicians are “gain(ing) popularity by adopting strategies from within the world of entertainment” (2016). Their research finds that there are two types of celebrity politicians based on what celebrity tactics are adopted based on three categories-- media platforms, marketing techniques and performative roles. When looking at Donald Trump thr...
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ARE WE THE WEIRD ONES?

 By: Destiney Davis Eighteen-year-old Sam Gardner is your typical high school boy who loves his family, sports etc. except there’s one thing that makes him slightly different. Sam is on the autism spectrum (ASD). Atypical , it is a coming of age Netflix series that takes its viewers on a wild ride with Sam Gardner and his daily struggles with being a high school student with autism. The first season begins with what any teenage boy enjoys, girls. Sam Gardner begins asking advice from father about girls and dating and is welcomed with loads of advice from his father, Doug. But from his mother, Sam receives almost complete resentment and negativity when bringing upon the idea of dating. But why? Why is such a normal teenage action being turned down simply because of a mental disability? According to the National Institute of Health, about 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD. Disabilities are quite difficult to discuss whether it be in our own communities or the media...
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