SPECIAL EP: Leftist Teen Drama In Conversation with Kelly Diaz

In our first ever Special Episode of Leftist Teen Drama, Maria introduces Kelly Diaz, who recently defended her dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania entitled “Lights, Camera, [Social] Action!: The Goals, Messages, and Impact of Youth Activism on Television.” (Maria—and Leftist Teen Drama—were featured in the dissertation!) Maria and Kelly delve into the project, unpacking everything from Kelly’s motivations to undertake the topic to the studies she carried out with screenwriters and young adult TV viewers. The results and insights shared will be of interest to anyone who cares about political organizing/activism and young TV characters!

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ABOUT US:

MARIA DIPASQUALE (she/her; host/editor) is a Brooklyn-based union communicator and writer who watches too much TV. Follow Maria on Twitter @Maria_DiP26, IG @mdzip, and tiktok @marialovesunions. 

KELLY DIAZ (she/her; recurring guest) is an adjunct instructor of media studies at City College New York. She has a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania where she wrote her dissertation on depictions of youth activism on television. She loves to analyze and discuss the intersection of pop culture and politics and is passionate about the role entertainment plays in social justice movements. She has a dog, Matilda "Tillie," who is named after the magical, brilliant, and justice-serving character!  

JEFF MCHALE (he/him; producer) is an extremely online guy who plays games, streams sometimes, and loves talking old TV.

Logo art by Maddy Wiryo

Maria and Jeff’s good union cats CLARENCE and VINNY may make an appearance and/or be mentioned. 

intro song: Stomping the Room by Delicate Beats

All opinions shared on this show are that of individuals and do not represent the views of any organization we may be affiliated with.

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SOURCES DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE: 

• Bandura, A. (2018). Toward a psychology of human agency: Pathways and reflections. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 130-136.  
• Beaumont, E. (2010). Political agency and empowerment: pathways for developing a sense of political efficacy in young adults. In L. Sherrod, J. Torney-Purta, & C. Flanagan (Eds.), Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth (pp. 525-558). Hoboken: Wiley.  
• Hollywood Health & Society 

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SUGGESTED FURTHER READING:

• Cooper, E. (2015). “Teens win”: Purveying fantasies of effortless economic mobility and social attainment on rich teen soaps. Popular Culture, 48(4), 731-746.  
• Griffin, R. A., & Meyer, M. D. E. (Eds.). (2018). Adventures in shondaland: Identity politics and the power of representation. Rutgers University Press. 
• Hall, A. E. (2020). Audience responses to diverse superheroes: The roles of gender and race in forging connections with media characters in superhero franchise films. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000363 
• Hirmer, K. (2013). Female empowerment: Buffy and her heiresses in control. In B. Brodman and J. E. Doan (Eds.), Images of the modern vampire: The hip and the atavistic (pp. 63-75). Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.  
• Hoewe, L. & Sherrill, A. (2019). The influence of female lead characters in political TV shows: Links to political engagement. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 59-76. 
• Johnson, B., & Faill, D. (Eds.) (2015). Glee and New Directions for Social Change. Youth, Media, and Culture 
• Jones, C. W. & Paris, C. (2018). It’s the end of the world and they know it: How dystopian fiction shapes political attitudes.” Perspectives on Politics, 969-989. 
• Klein, B. (2011). Entertaining ideas: Social issues in entertainment television. Media, Culture & Society, 33 (2), 905-921. 
• Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2016). “Decreasing world suck”: Harnessing popular culture for fan activism.
• In Jenkins, H., Shreshthova, S., Gamber-Thompson, L., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., & Zimmerman, A. By any media necessary: The new youth activism (pp. 102-148). New York University Press. https://doi-org.proxy.library.upenn.edu/10.18574/nyu/9781479829712.001.0001
• Marghitu, S. (2021). Teen TV. Routledge.  
• Moore, S., Hope, E., Eisman, A., & Zimmerman, M. (2016). Predictors of civic engagement among highly involved young adults: Exploring the relationship between agency and systems worldview. Journal of Community Psychology, 44(7), 888-903.   
• Moyer-Gusé, E., Chung, A. H., Jain, P. (2011). Identification with characters and discussion of taboo topics after exposure to entertainment narrative about sexual health. Journal of Communication, 61(3).  
• Mutz, D. & Nir, L. (2010). Not necessarily the news: Does fictional television influence real-world policy preferences? Mass Communication & Society, 13, 196-217.