Honors Presentations
HOPE JEANETTE BIDDLE
The Biddle BookTalk
Have you ever found yourself looking forward to a movie adaptation of a book, only for the adaptation to disappoint in the theater? The Biddle BookTalk podcast delves into the study of adaptations as a whole by looking specifically at the world of Panem from the best-selling series and box office success, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The primary co-host, Hope Biddle, explores what it means to keep the heart of a series while bending it to fit the medium of film, analyzes the threat of losing important political themes when adapting a novel, and navigates through the idea of “success” by looking at how literature and film as mediums impact each individual experience of The Hunger Games. With scholarly texts interspersed throughout all four episodes, The Biddle BookTalk creates a bridge between various areas of study and makes space for new ways of academic analysis. The secondary co-host, Caitlin Biddle, who has only seen the films, and guest, Christopher Biddle, who has only read the novels, are introduced to each other’s viewpoints with Hope Biddle acting as a mediary throughout discussions and, at times, are left questioning if their own experiences were as well rounded as they could have been.
EDEN BATYA WEIL CHANKO
"From Fashion to Celebrity Culture: A Review of Journalistic Representations of the Met Gala from its Founding to the Present"
This study focuses on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute fundraiser, the Met Gala, centering on how the gala has been covered in print media over the course of its nearly 75 year history. Using The New York Times, Vogue, and Women’s Wear Daily to conduct my research enabled me to explore how and why this event was originally established and examine whether there has been a transition in how the gala is portrayed in these popular and fashion trade media outlets. How the Costume Institute developed its curation style over the years aligns with the evolution of how the gala shifted from a fundraising-focused event, to becoming the red carpet for the fashion world. The Costume Institute exhibits adapted to be visually seductive, incorporating elements from other entertainment industries, to help illustrate garments’ importance and relevance in popular culture. This study shows that the gala has become a nexus for the intertwining of fashion, publicity, and celebrity culture. While the museum is a public institution meant for all to enjoy, the privatization of the event boosts public interest, making the gala a business in and of itself through the use of strategic marketing.
SUSANNAH MOORE LIST
"'Stop Pretending Like You Know What They Need And Just Ask': Representations of Police Brutality and Reform in The Rookie"
This thesis explores the representation of police brutality and reform in The Rookie, examining how the show discusses and depicts the material through themes both continuously and linearly, taking into account the social identities of the characters, and how the show’s approach is more nuanced and complex than the stereotypes of the cop genre. This analysis of The Rookie is contextualized with the foundational history of depictions of policing and police brutality in fictional television shows and how they have shifted and developed over time. Additionally, an examination was done of the diversity of the cast as well as the producers’ and writers’ approach to writing episodes on police brutality. Using textual analysis on a purposive sample of 12 episodes spanning the show’s five seasons, I conclude that The Rookie’s portrayals of brutality and reform are more nuanced and complex than the cop genre, incorporating ambiguity and lack of resolution. While it does not entirely align with the genre, perhaps for the purpose of maintaining viewership or avoiding cancel culture, it is making strides towards having difficult conversations about real societal issues, through a fictitious and popular format.
ALEXANDRA WILLHOUSE
"#Sponsored: Native Advertising and Surveillance Capitalism on TikTok"
Native ads, or advertisements that fit the structure and format of the surrounding content including the social engagement features of social media platforms, are becoming increasingly popular on sites like TikTok. Through a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis, this research identifies how native advertisements on TikTok frequently appear on the “For You” page, assesses how features of the platform behave as mechanisms of surveillance capitalism, and critiques the FTC disclosure practices for native advertisements. Throughout the sampling process, 50 native advertisements were collected by scrolling through the “For You” page on the mobile app while screen recording. The data was sorted into three different categories of native ads that fall along a spectrum: influencer, brand as influencer, and in-feed native ads. The spectrum ranges from user-generated content to traditional advertising, with influencer native ads being most closely related to user-generated content, brand as influencer falling in the middle, and in-feed native ads closest to traditional ads. This work sets a foundation for what the evolving forms native ads take on social media platforms like TikTok.
