...This chapter uses audience studies and focus groups to examine viewers' ability and willingness to decode racial subtexts in Ugly Betty. The findings suggest that while audiences do react positively to the Latino/a main characters, they were unable or unwilling to recognize...

... Chicken Soup The Brothers McMullen Burns Edward The Fitzgerald Family Christmas Keeping the Faith The Big Sick Peace after Marriage Irish American Jewish Film Marriage Movies Representation Romance Hollywood Characters When the short silent film Becky Gets a Husband...

... extravaganza. The period saw an increase of queer characters, both as regular characters and walk-ons in broadcast television. This “up-marketeering,” however, is not the only class story in queer visibility. Market-authored media images also borrow liberally from the class fantasies of everyday life...

...This chapter analyzes the “new buddy movement” that pairs black female characters in supporting roles with white female leads in two Disney Channel shows, Shake It Up (2010–) and Good Luck Charlie (2010–). It suggests that Disney presents diversity in such a way...

... popularity of black characters and themes, both at home and abroad. As American television brokers increasingly seek revenues abroad, their assumptions about saleability and audience perceptions directly influence the global circulation of these programs, as well as their content. This book aims to reclaim...