Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The new edition of this widely adopted book reveals how the popular media contribute to widespread myths and misunderstanding about cultural diversity. While focused on the impact of television, feature film, and popular music, the authors reach far beyond media to explore how our understanding, values, and beliefs about race, class, gender and sexual orientation are constructed. They analyze how personal histories, combined with the collective history of oppression and liberation, contribute to stereotypes and misinformation, as well as how personal engagement with media can impact prospects for individual and social freedom. Along with updated media examples, expanded theories and analysis, this edition explores even more deeply the coverage of race in two chapters, discusses more broadly how men and boys are depicted in the media and socialized, and how class issues have become even more visible since the Great Recession of the 21st century and the Occupy movements. Special activities and exercises are provided in the book and an online Instructor's Manual is available to adopters.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of Special Features and Activities (p. xi)
• Preface (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. xv)
• 1 The Connections: Life, Knowledge, and Media (p. 3)
• Personal Experience (p. 4)
• Reconstructing Knowledge (p. 10)
• The Process of Socialization (p. 13)
• Social Cognitive Theory (p. 14)
• The Social Self (p. 15)
• Liberation Theory (p. 15)
• Cultural Competence Theory (p. 17)
• The Fabric of Oppression (p. 21)
• The Cycle of Socialization (p. 26)
• Entertainment Media (p. 29)
• Entertainment Assessment Theories (p. 31)
• The Processes of Selection (p. 31)
• Media Literacy (p. 33)
• Cultural Studies (p. 34)
• Analysis of Media Production and Economy (p. 41)
• Cultural Indicators Analysis (p. 42)
• Entertainment Assessment Tools (p. 45)
• Character Investigation (p. 45)
• Examination of Themes (p. 50)
• Chapter Summary (p. 52)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 54)
• Reflection, Summary, and Analysis (p. 55)
• Instructions (p. 55)
• Study Questions (p. 56)
• Bibliography (p. 56)
• 2 Gender: In Pink and Blue and Vivid Color (p. 59)
• Personal Experience and Gender (p. 59)
• Reconstructing Knowledge and Gender (p. 66)
• Definitions (p. 68)
• Gender and U.S. History (p. 69)
• The Women's Movement and Feminism (p. 72)
• Education: What You Know and How You Know It (p. 75)
• Gender Disparities in Employment, Income, and Occupational Status (p. 81)
• Gender Identity and Self-Esteem (p. 82)
• Gender Theory (p. 84)
• Consequences of the Socialization of Men and Women (p. 89)
• Gender and Entertainment Media (p. 92)
• Prime Time Television Content Analysis (p. 94)
• Television as a Tool of Culture (p. 97)
• Prime-Time Television: Employment and Economics (p. 110)
• Gender Ideology in Entertainment Media (p. 111)
• Film (p. 113)
• Gender and Popular Music (p. 125)
• The Complexity of Gender Targeting (p. 130)
• Gender Diversity and Social Power (p. 131)
• Chapter Summary (p. 133)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 133)
• Reflection, Summary, and Analysis (p. 135)
• Instructions (p. 135)
• Study Questions (p. 135)
• Bibliography (p. 136)
• 3 Is the United States a Classless Society? (p. 140)
• Personal Experience and Class (p. 140)
• Reconstructing Knowledge and Class (p. 147)
• Early U.S. History (p. 150)
• The Twentieth Century (p. 152)
• The Great Depression (p. 154)
• Post-World War II (p. 156)
• Indicators of Class in the United States in the Mid- to Late Twentieth Century (p. 157)
• The Twenty-First Century (p. 159)
• Causes of the Great Recession (p. 159)
• A Snapshot of the Consequences of the Great Recession (p. 163)
• The High Cost of Being Poor (p. 164)
• The American Dream (p. 170)
• From Invisible to Visible: Class and the "Occupy" Movement (p. 174)
• Entertainment Media and Class (p. 177)
• Prime-Time Television and Class (p. 178)
• Popular Film (p. 193)
• A Brief History of Class in Feature Films (p. 196)
• Music and Class (p. 211)
• Audience Segmentation Through Radio and the Internet (p. 211)
• Musical Genres (p. 213)
• Popular Music (p. 213)
• Chapter Summary (p. 220)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 221)
• Reflection, Summary, and Analysis (p. 223)
• Instructions (p. 223)
• Study Questions (p. 223)
• Guidelines for Question 7 (p. 225)
• Bibliography (p. 226)
• 4 Racing in America: Fact or Fiction? (p. 230)
• Linda's Story (p. 234)
• Leon's Story (p. 236)
• Meeting at the Crossroads: How Our Stories Converge (p. 238)
• The American Racial Discourse: Then and Now (p. 240)
• Reconstructing Knowledge and Race (p. 241)
• Theories and Constructs of Race (p. 242)
• The Social and Psychological Impact of Race (p. 244)
• The Science and Pseudoscience of Race (p. 246)
• Stories and Counterstories: Decoding the Master Script (p. 248)
• Stories of Race, Racism, and Resistance in the United States (p. 249)
• American Indians (p. 251)
• African Americans (p. 258)
• African Civilization and the European Slave Trade (p. 260)
• The Enslaved Family (p. 262)
• Contemporary Conditions for African Americans (p. 265)
• Latinas/Latinos or Hispanics (p. 269)
• Mexican Americans or Chicanos (p. 272)
• Puerto Ricans (p. 275)
• Cuban Americans (p. 276)
• Asian Americans (p. 277)
• Chinese Americans (p. 278)
• Japanese Americans (p. 280)
• Southeast Asians (p. 282)
• Multiracial Americans (p. 283)
• European Americans or Whites (p. 288)
• Becoming White in America (p. 290)
• White Privilege, Internalized White Supremacy, and the Benefits of Being Considered White in the United States (p. 292)
• White Allies (p. 297)
• Chapter Summary (p. 298)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 299)
• Reflection, Summary, and Analysis (p. 303)
• Instructions (p. 303)
• Study Questions (p. 304)
• Bibliography (p. 305)
• 5 Stories of Race in Popular Culture (p. 309)
• Entertainment Media and Race (p. 309)
• American Indians in Entertainment Media (p. 314)
• Prime-Time Television and American Indians (p. 314)
• American Indians and Film (p. 316)
• Asians and Pacific Islanders in Entertainment Media (p. 320)
• Asians and Pacific Islanders and Popular Music (p. 323)
• Asians and Pacific Islanders and Film (p. 325)
• Asians and Pacific Islanders and Prime-Time Television (p. 331)
• LatinaslLatinos in Entertainment Media (p. 334)
• Latinas/Latinos and Film (p. 335)
• Latinas/Latinos and Television (p. 346)
• African Americans in Entertainment Media (p. 356)
• African Americans and Film (p. 356)
• African Americans and Popular Music (p. 373)
• African Americans and Prime-Time Television (p. 379)
• Chapter Summary (p. 395)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 396)
• Bibliography (p. 399)
• 6 Sexual Orientation and the Fabrication of "Normal" (p. 403)
• Personal Experience (p. 403)
• Linda's Story (p. 407)
• Leon's Story (p. 410)
• Reconstructing Knowledge and Sexual Orientation (p. 416)
• Terminology and Its Evolution (p. 416)
• Theories and History of Sexual Orientation in the United States (p. 422)
• Sexual Orientation in U.S. History (p. 426)
• Before World War II (p. 426)
• After World War II (p. 432)
• Stonewall and Its Aftermath (p. 434)
• Developments in the Twenty-First Century (p. 440)
• Religion and Sexual Orientation (p. 443)
• A Framework for Discussion (p. 445)
• Protestant Perspectives on Sexual Orientation (p. 446)
• Catholic Perspectives on Sexual Orientation (p. 448)
• Jewish Perspectives on Sexual Orientation (p. 450)
• Islamic Perspectives on Sexual Orientation (p. 451)
• Summary of Reconstructing Knowledge (p. 452)
• Sexual Orientation and Entertainment Media (p. 453)
• The Popular Media Industry and Sexual Orientation (p. 453)
• Prime-Time Television and Sexual Orientation (p. 454)
• Popular Music and Sexual Orientation (p. 461)
• Sexual Orientation and Film (p. 465)
• Chapter Summary (p. 476)
• Glossary of Key Terms (p. 476)
• Reflection, Summary, and Analysis (p. 480)
• Instructions (p. 480)
• Study Questions (p. 481)
• Bibliography (p. 481)
• Acknowledgments (p. 487)
• Index (p. 495)
• About the Authors (p. 534)