This volume offers critical insights into contemporary mass-market entertainment across various geographical and cultural contexts, blending theoretical reflections with empirical case studies.
The contributors examine cultural phenomena and objects from both Western and non-Western perspectives, analyzing representations, production, and consumption practices. By highlighting the interplay of identities, power dynamics, and digital transformations, this work deepens your understanding of entertainment as both a cultural phenomenon and an ideological apparatus. It emphasizes the need for ongoing critical engagement with mass-market entertainment in our rapidly changing world.
Contributors include: Stéfany Boisvert, Mélanie Bourdaa, Hélène Breda, Elena Cabanillas-Mallenco, Emek Çaylı, Omar Cerrillo Garnica, Vincenzo Cicchelli, Christiana Constantopoulou, Deepa Mary Francis, Aleena George, Charo Lacalle, Dimitra Laurence Larochelle, Céline Morin, Katharina Niemeyer, Eleonora Noia, Sylvie Octobre, Jimmyn Parc, Eléana Sanchez, Christine Thoër, Mónica Tovar-Vicente and Michele Varini.
Dimitra Laurence Larochelle is an Associate Professor at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. She is the co-author of the book Video Mapping: Heritage in Lights (Video Mapping European Center Editions, 2023) and has written numerous articles in English, French, and Greek.
Publication date: July 1, 2026
Acknowledgements ix
List of Figures and Tables x
Notes on Contributors xi
Introduction: Unpacking Global Trends and Critical Perspectives
in Mass-Market Entertainment 1
Dimitra Laurence Larochelle
Part 1: The Politics of Representation and Mass Market Entertainment
1 Media Representations of Gender: Lessons from Functionalism
to Postfeminism 17
Céline Morin
2 Fighting Rape Culture, One Episode at a Time: a Feminist (R)evolution
in the Depiction of Sexual Assault in Netflix Serialized
Teen Dramas 38
Hélène Breda
3 Old Prejudices in New Clothes: the Figure of “Witch” in Contemporary
Mythic Representations 67
Christiana Constantopoulou
4 Depiction of Fat Female Bodies: a Study of Malayalam Movies 81
Aleena George and Deepa Mary Francis
5 Imaginaries in a (Not So) Imaginary Land: the Representation of the
Body in the Virtual Environment
Challenges and Perspectives of Investigation 97
Eleonora Noia and Michele Varini
6 When the Belgian Artist Àngele Sings and Tells: Feminism and the
Anti-gender Representations behind Her Music Videos 117
Mónica Tovar-Vicente and Elena Cabanillas-Mallenco
7 Corridos tumbados: Shifting the Macho Style in Mexican
Regional Music 148
Omar Cerrillo Garnica
Part 2: Markets and Audiences in the Era of Globalization
8 The Personal Is Scientifical: the Case of the Centre for Contemporary
Cultural Studies (1964–1988) 177
Eléana Sanchez
9 Hallyu as an Aestheticized Global Pop Culture: a Monographic
Approach 199
Vincenzo Cicchelli and Sylvie Octobre
10 The Delusion of ‘Netflix Quota’ and ‘Netflix Tax’: What Do the
Experiences of Europe and Korea Tell Us? 221
Jimmyn Parc
11 Television in the Multi-platform Era: Challenges and Opportunities
Faced by the Audiovisual Industry and Its Audiences 239
Christine Thoër, Stéfany Boisvert and Katharina Niemeyer
12 Television Entertainment in Spain: the End of an Era and the Beginning
of a Post-pandemic Renewal 262
Charo Lacalle
13 The Individual vs. the Collective: Being a Fan in a Community
of Fans 278
Mélanie Bourdaa
14 Between Homeland and Hostland: Turkish Migrant Women’s
Engagement with Turkish and Swedish TV Series 299
Emek Çaylı
Concluding Remarks 322
Dimitra Laurence Larochelle
Appendix 1: Best Movies World Box Office 325
Appendix 2: 22 Best Fantasy TV Series of All Time 326
Appendix 3: Plots of Popular Fantasy Films 327
Appendix 4: Summaries of the Ten Most Popular Series’ Plots 334
Index of Names 339
Index of Subjects 343