The Hollywood Connection: The Influence of Fictional Media and Celebrity Politics on American Public Opinion

(Hardback)

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The Hollywood Connection: The Influence of Fictional Media and Celebrity Politics on American Public Opinion is one of the first edited volumes offered in the political science discipline on the effects of fictional media and celebrity on public opinion, and synthesizes many niche areas of research into single text. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of acknowledging a shift in academic focus away from the lateral interactions between celebrities and politicians (and in some cases celebrities becoming politicians) toward research that engages the American audience, as consumers of media, as a critical political component. The volume offers a collection of diverse research on questions treating the effects of fictional media on consumer audiences and the larger implications for American politics. This research collection offers both qualitative and quantitative data sources and showcases a variety of methodological approaches (experimental design, public opinion survey analysis, content analysis, etc.), robust theoretical applications, and encompasses a variety of conduits, ranging from television sitcoms to horror films to the action drama 24, that make it both compelling and timely.

Reviews

The past few decades have seen an increase in celebrity engagement with politics, symbolized in the election of Donald Trump. At the same time, commentators such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have also generated controversy through repeated assertions that fictional films and television shows might be delivering ideological messages to us or our children. This volume successfully connects the celebrity politics and fictional media literatures with eleven theoretically and methodologically diverse essays that greatly advance our understanding of Hollywood's impact(s) on American political behavior. Together, these studies 'set the agenda' for the celebrity politics and fictional media literatures for years to come. -- Jeremiah J. Castle, Central Michigan University
I think this a fantastic text for students and researchers alike.It is an extensive treatment of the state of the research in politics and entertainment media. The variety of theoretical and methodological approaches used by the researchers in this volume really show students of politics and media how much opportunity there still is for discovery in this growing and important field. -- Jeffrey M. Glas, University of Georgia
Drs. Yates and Hills volume adds important nuance to the entertainment and politics literature. Looking at several components of this complex research area, the authors assembled here use a variety of methodological tools to deal deftly with issues like corporate ownership, issue framing effects, and the implications for celebrity on politics and political attitudes. Anyone who studies entertainment politicsor even has an interest in understanding how popular media affect American politicsshould own this book. -- J. Benjamin Taylor, Kennesaw State University

Author Bio

Timothy G. Hill is professor of political science at Doane University. Heather E. Yates is assistant professor of political science at the University of Central Arkansas.