Date of Award

Spring 5-2018

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Mass Communication and Journalism

First Advisor

Loren Coleman

Advisor Department

Mass Communication and Journalism

Abstract

Media representation plays a huge role in how people form their views about certain groups of people. Even when one has particular personal experiences with said group, images in the media can reinforce those views or help to shape new ones. Social media are more recent when compared to other forms of media such as television, magazines and even music videos. Social media are fast paced and always advancing, and therefore, provide more opportunities to analyze a certain group’s media representation. In this thesis, I will discuss the media representation of Black women on Twitter. Specifically, I will look at Leslie Jones during the release of Ghostbusters. Understanding how Jones was discussed on this social media platform will provide a better understanding of the traits associated with Black women as well as the language used to discuss them on Twitter.

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