Mar. 17th, 2004
Now Showing, "Spirituality": How Media & Popular Culture Affect Teens
Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D. Professor, CU School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Author

Interface Host: Lois Mabari


About the Presentation:
Now Showing, "Spirituality": How Media & Popular Culture Affect Teens

The local priest or pastor might not like being upstaged by Keanu Reeves. But to teenagers, films and television programs such as The Matrix: Reloaded, Harry Potter, and the recently-concluded Buffy the Vampire Slayer series may offer deeper opportunities for spiritual reflection than conventional churches, according to Lynn Schofield Clark, author of "From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural".

Television programs and films that raise intriguing questions about the realm beyond - especially things that remain unexplained by science - become particularly interesting in the current situation, when an increasing number of young people grow up with little or no experience with formal religion. Research grounded in in-depth interviews with teens and their families enables Clark to offer insights into how the entertainment media are playing a role in shaping contemporary ideas that in turn shape cultural practices and institutions

About the Presenter:

Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D., is Assistant Research Professor at the University of Colorado's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Director of the Teens and the New Media @ Home Project, and author of From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural (Oxford University Press, 2003), and is co-author of Media, Home, and the Family (Routledge University Press, 2003). A former television producer and marketing professional, Clark has volunteered with young people in various capacities for almost two decades.

Additional Resources:

http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~clarkl

5/31/03 Daily Camera feature Article


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