Item Details

abstract

This thesis involves an analysis of media responses to Beyoncé’s Super Bowl 50 halftime performance of the song “Formation.” The first method is a qualitative thematic analysis that aims to answer two research questions: 1) What themes are presented within liberal and conservative media responses? 2) How are these themes and their dimensions framed within each type of response? I predicted that liberal sources favored the performance while conservative sources rejected it because of oppositional interpretations of two key elements: Beyoncé’s support of Black liberation movements and her insertion of political speech into American football. The second method is a rhetorical analysis via the concept of the rhetorical enthymeme. I argue that the conservative framings of themes within the media’s response utilize unstated assumptions that are rooted in the ideological principles of conservatism. These include a respect for law enforcement, an embodiment of patriotism and, ultimately, a connection to whiteness and racism. Because the conservative media author or speaker has an audience of media consumers who share a conservative worldview, he or she presents arguments (including the condemnation of Beyoncé’s performance) based on these unstated assumptions.

subject

contributor

Kokkonos, Kristina (author)

Von Burg, Alessandra (committee chair)

Canzona, Mollie R (committee member)

date

2018-01-17T09:35:17Z (accessioned)

2018-01-17T09:35:17Z (available)

2017 (issued)

degree

Communication (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/89867 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

title

"The Day Beyoncé Turned Black": An Analysis of Media Responses to Beyoncé's Super Bowl 50 Halftime Performance

type

Thesis