The Elon Journal
One of the nation’s only undergraduate research journals in mass communications
Spring 2024 Issue
Volume 15, No. 1
Love, Revenge, Ambition, and Scorn: A Content Analysis of the Portrayal of Women in Telenovelas and American Soap Operas
Alexandra Borda
Only three American soap operas remain on U.S. broadcast television, but telenovelas – soap operas produced or primarily watched within Latin America – are the most popular non-English scripted form of television entertainment, with 6 million viewers weekly. Within these forms of serialized television, female protagonists often take center stage. Using qualitative content analysis, this research analyzed six different programs – three telenovelas and three American soap operas – that featured female protagonists over the last 20 years and were identified as some of the top serialized programs. A total of 20 female characters were identified and classified into different roles. Findings from the research show themes of love triangles, scorned ex-lovers, ambitious women, and vengeance. These findings indicate that these television characters were consistently portrayed in stereotypical roles associated with women. Additionally, this research found that the portrayal of women in telenovelas has drastically strayed away from the “stereotypical” Hispanic woman. These findings have implications for female consumers of serialized dramas and their perceptions of the changing dynamic of female representation in contemporary television.
Mentor: Dan Haygood
Beyond the Finish Line: An Analysis of Formula 1 Qualifying and Points Systems on Worldwide Audience Engagement
Heath Foster
Formula 1 dominates the hierarchy of professional racing as the pinnacle of speed, driver talent, and engineering. The multi-billion-dollar industry, with hundreds of millions of unique viewers, is partially dependent on the public’s perception of competitiveness during the racing season. This study analyzes 82 Formula 1 Grands Prix from 2019 through 2022 to determine how outcome uncertainty, as defined by race-specific qualifying times and final driver and constructor point totals, impact global Formula 1 viewership. Through an analysis of constructor’s point data, correlations emerge indicating that as the point differentials between teams increase, viewership counterintuitively rises. Fans also do not typically exhibit a significant preference for more competitive qualifying sessions or overall seasons. Additionally, findings suggest that in the short to medium term, a decline in outcome uncertainty—assessed by the mentioned variables—has minimal impact on viewership. This study provides valuable implications for Formula 1 stakeholders aiming to optimize global audience engagement and sustain interest in the sport over time.
Mentor: Jessalynn Strauss
Hashtag Havoc: Unmasking Young Women's Reactions to Health, Fitness, Food, and Disordered Eating Content on TikTok
Ava Girardi
With more than 1 billion downloads, TikTok offers global connectivity through short-form videos for creative self-expression. Females are the platform’s largest demographic segment and the most frequent users. The purpose of this research was to explore young female users’ comments to the top-liked videos that use hashtags related to fitness, health, eating habits, and weight loss. Specific hashtags were selected for a thematic content analysis, identifying the top related videos. The research identified themes including body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, disordered eating, and fixation on food and health. Female users expressed concern about content promoting low-calorie counts, often justifying their own body shapes by judging creators’ appearances. They eagerly consumed such content, demonstrating the adoption of disordered eating habits, with criticism being harsher towards plus-size creators. Users even desired more content, admired fit creators, and expressed vulnerability about weight loss and body image.
Mentor: Dan Haygood
Profanity and Power: A Conversation Analysis of Dialogue in Succession
Ellie M. Schmidt
Profanity can be a powerful linguistic tool for exercising control and power in social relationships. While the use of profanity in media and pop culture has been widely studied, researchers have rarely investigated the relationship between profanity-related linguistic tools and conversational power dynamics in screenwriter-scripted television dialogue. This study uses qualitative conversation analysis to examine excerpts of dialogue from the HBO television series Succession to analyze those relationships in personal and business contexts. Results show that although profanity usage strongly indicated a character’s intent to assert power, it often had limited conversational effect. Instead, profanity acted as an accessory to more successful power-related linguistic strategies, such as interruptions, topic control, and preferred responses. This research highlights the complex ways screenwriters can create valuable exchanges of power within profane dialogue.
Mentor: Brooks Fuller
Frames of Death: The Rhetorical Goals of Official Social Media Posts in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Miles B. Vance
The prevalence of social media in daily life has made a substantive impact on the fields of propaganda and population manipulation. This phenomenon has manifested most significantly to Western audiences in the context of the 2016 United States presidential election, where Russian misinformation campaigns were used to promote the efforts of eventual president Donald J. Trump. Additionally, in recent conflicts around the world, social media propaganda has been used alongside traditional propaganda as part of a mental warfare campaign. The most recent example of this can be seen in the ongoing phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War, beginning after Russia invaded the east of Ukraine in February 2022. This research examined examples of social media content posted by Russian, Ukrainian, and Wagner-affiliated social media channels and analyzed the content for rhetorical goals and devices. The study employed the analysis of two videos from each side for three different events: the fall of Bakhmut, the Kerch Bridge explosion, and the one-year anniversary of the invasion. This leads to a total of 18 individual posts, with an additional two images analyzed concerning the advent of drone video posts. The results of this study show that the most common themes of social media content were legitimization, deflection, humor, and violence. All three sides appear to use similar tactics, although Russian channels often deign to engage in posting directly violent content. The motivations of these channels are to engage the viewer and either uplift or dismay them.
Mentor: Dan Haygood
Giving Traditional Marketing Communications the Bird: A Content Analysis of Duolingo’s Brand Communications on TikTok
Sadie Wiswall
Duolingo, a language learning platform, has strategically embraced TikTok, garnering 8 million followers and 176 million likes since its first video, posted in February 2021. This research study uses content analysis to investigate Duolingo’s unique approach to TikTok, which emphasizes entertainment over traditional promotion and harnesses TikTok native content. With TikTok’s rising global influence and Duolingo’s distinct popularity on the app, this research examines the formula behind Duolingo’s brand communications success on the platform. Analyzing 135 TikToks from January 1 to October 1, 2023, the study unveils Duolingo’s effective communication strategy, offering insights for brands navigating TikTok’s dynamic landscape. While Duolingo’s approach enhances brand visibility, questions persist about its conversion of social media engagement into tangible results.
Mentor: Bill Anderson