FILM, TELEVISION, AND MEDIA STUDIES 2021 | Chapter Showcase LEXINGTON BOOKS An Imprint of Rowman & Littlefield LEXINGTON BOOKS CHAPTER SHOWCASE FROM THE EDITOR In my time at Lexington Books over the last few years, I have seen our offerings in the field of communication grow and diversify to include compelling titles on film, television, and media studies. In early 2020, our editorial team decided that, in order to continue adding to these valuable fields of scholarship and give them the best possible home at Lexington Books, we would be establishing film, television, and media studies separately from the communication offerings. Having worked with our communication scholars closely since 2018, I am so glad to continue working with many of them on interdisciplinary titles, and I look forward to focusing on the growth of our media, film, and television titles. Over the course of this year, I have been pursuing new projects in game studies, film and philosophy, formative figures in film and television, trends and consequences of social media, and representation of marginalized communities in media. With a continued presence (virtual or otherwise) at conferences such as SCMS, NCA, and AEJMC, I look forward to meeting with more scholars conducting innovative and timely research in these areas and others. The chapters included here highlight the wide diversity of our titles in our quickly- growing collection of film, television, and media studies books. From an edited volume that sheds light on the representation of minority women in Western media to a monograph that breaks down the intricacies and trends of binge watching television shows, our innovative film, television, and media studies publications inspire readers to think deeply, engage with new ideas and theories, and critically think about how different forms of media affect our society on both a small and large scale every day. Moving into 2021, it is a priority of mine to give authors a platform to discuss diverse subjects and give voice to underrepresented topics, perspectives, and communities by inviting them to publish with us. We publish monographs, edited collections, and revised dissertations by both emerging and established scholars, including interdisciplinary, and specialized areas of focus. Lexington Books offers an expedited decision-making process, peer review, and a streamlined production process to ensure that your research is published in a timely manner. We publish high-quality books with full-color covers in a variety of styles and market our new titles aggressively around the globe. Our titles are regularly reviewed in scholarly journals and have received significant awards and honors for academic scholarship. Our editors are committed to working closely and in collaboration with our authors in order to make your book the best it can be. To submit a proposal for a book project, please review our submission guidelines and email a full prospectus to Jessie Tepper at [email protected]. Or, if you would prefer to discuss your project first, just send me an email and I’d be happy to set up a call by phone or Zoom at a time that works for you! I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, JESSIE TEPPER Associate Acquisitions Editor Film, Television, and Media Studies LEXINGTON BOOKS contents 4 - 19 Maha Bashri, “Inclusion, Exclusion, and Belonging: Media Representations of American Muslim Women (The Case of The New York Times 2007–2017)” in Minority Women and Western Media: Challenging Representations and Articulating New Voices Edited by Maha Bashri and Sameera Ahmed 20 - 41 Ronda Mariani, “Evaluation of Brand-Sponsored Influencers and Tactics Across Industries” in Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Brand Communication Edited by Brandi Watkins 42 - 60 Ishani Mukherjee and Maggie Griffith Williams, A“ Borrowed Identity: Religious and Ethnic Relationships in an Israeli High School” in Migration, Mobility, and Sojourning in Cross-cultural Films: Interculturing Cinema 61 - 79 Jennifer Daryl Slack and Stefka Hristova, “Why We Need the Concept of Algorithmic Culture” in Algorithmic Culture: How Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Are Transforming Everyday Life Edited by Stefka Hristova, Soonkwan Hong, and Jennifer Daryl Slack 80 - 90 Arienne Ferchaud, “Audience Motivations for Binge Watching Behavior” in Binge and Bingeability: The Antecedents and Consequences of Binge Watching Behavior The pagination of the original chapters has been preserved to enable accurate citations of these chapters. These chapters are provided for personal use only and may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Maha Bashri, “Inclusion, Exclusion, and Belonging: Media Representations of American Muslim Women (The Case of The New York Times 2007–2017)” in Minority Women and Western Media: Challenging Representations and Articulating New Voices. Edited by Maha Bashri and Sameera Ahmed (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020), 1–16. Series: Media, Culture, and the Arts. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 Inclusion, Exclusion, and Belonging Media Representations of American Muslim Women (The Case of The New York Times 2007–2017) Maha Bashri INTRODUCTION While there are many conflicting realities in the world, the media has the power to advance one reality over another. Moreover, the media plays a significant role in fostering inclusion and understanding within a nation (van Dijk 2000). While it does not necessarily determine citizens’ thoughts and opinions, it does play a significant role in defining who does (or does not) belong to a nation (Henry 1997). The visual and textual representations of nationhood in media shape the perception of belonging. Minorities and women are two groups that tend to be underrepresented and or misrepresented, or altogether neglected in Western media coverage. American Muslim women come from different backgrounds and varied life experiences. Yet, for the most part, news frames in American media have failed to humanize their life experiences (Haddad et al. 2006). Media in the United States may not intentionally seek to create a reductive Orientalist rep- resentation of American Muslim women, yet the prevalent news frames have failed to transcend this paradigm (Wilkins 1997; Bullock and Jafri 2000). The past decade (2007–2017) has seen the largest growth in the Muslim population living in the United States. The number of Muslims has risen from 2.35 million in 2007 to 3.45 million in 2017 (Pew Research Center Report 2017). This is largely attributed to immigration and high fertility rates. This study aims to explore if Muslim women’s identities and narratives are excluded or included in the construction of “real” American women. The 1 4 Lexington Books Film, Television, and Media Studies Chapter Showcase Bashri and Ahmed_9781498599856.indb 1 15-06-2020 10:31:36 2 Maha Bashri media not only set the agenda for “public discussion but more importantly they strongly suggest how readers should think and talk about ethnic affairs” (van Dijk 1991, 245). The New York Times was chosen for this study because it is a newspaper of record that has a trickle-down effect on regional and local US media. Its broad circulation as well as the demographic makeup of its readership indicate its ability to influence a segment of the American popula- tion that is likely to be politically engaged. Furthermore, The New York Times tends to be progressive in its coverage of immigrants, minorities, and women. The study examines news frames found in the coverage of Muslim women in the United States as well as the presence of shifts (or static) in them as numbers of Muslim women in the United States grew in the last decade. It is assumed that an increase in the numbers of Muslim women will lead The New York Times to portray different narratives and life experiences, transcending the limited Orientalist paradigm. AMERICA- A MELTING POT? The past decade (2007–2017) has seen the largest growth in the Muslim population living in America. The number of Muslims has risen from 2.35 million in 2007 to 3.45 million in 2017 (Pew Research Center Report 2017). This is largely attributed to immigration and high fertility rates. The Muslim community in the United States is a heterogenous group that is very diverse in many respects. This diversity is clearly depicted in countries of origin for those not born in the United States as well as racial and ethnic diversity. The Pew Center estimates that 58 percent of American Muslims were born in another country. Second-generation Muslim Americans, those born in the United States but have at least one parent who is an immigrant, account for 18 percent of Muslim Americans. A quarter (24 percent) of American Muslims come from US families that have been in the United States for three genera- tions or longer (Pew Center 2017). However, despite all this diversity, American media, while not all mono- lithic, fall into a trap of simplistic coverage that is non-nunanced in its approach. Modood’s research into British Muslims (2003, 2005) suggests that the category Muslim is as internally diverse as other group categories such as British or Christian. Yet media representations of British Muslims are monolithic and negative for the most part (Modood et al. 1997, 2005; Fekete 2002; Cottle 2006). American media has not been any different. Although the media does not appear to actively aim to vilify real life Muslims, there is a lack of any major representations of Muslims doing good things or simply being ordinary members of American society. The major representations of Muslims casts Lexington Books Film, Television, and Media Studies Chapter Showcase 5 Bashri and Ahmed_9781498599856.indb 2 15-06-2020 10:31:36 Inclusion, Exclusion, and Belonging 3 them predominantly as sinister, scary, and threatening sorts of Muslims, rep- resenting only the narrowest margin of Muslim experience (Jackson 2010; Alam and Husband 2013; Karim 2014).