Cinema & Media Studies

Press pass on a table surrounded by paperwork.

Improving journalists’ access to public information records

A study by the Media, Inequality and Change Center and the Center for Media at Risk of Pennsylvania-based journalists, was conducted in order to highlight their experiences with Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, analyzing how journalists’ Freedom of Information requests have resulted.

Three people posing by a doorway with a cello and harp

Five events to watch for in August

BlackStar Film Festival, a special 12@12 at the Arthur Ross Gallery, and an alcohol-themed tour through Penn Museum stock up late-summer events in August.

An open laptop with many security cameras sticking out where the computer screen would normally be, indicating privacy concerns when searching online for pornographic content.

When you watch online porn, who is watching you?

A forthcoming study from the Annenberg School for Communication analyzed over 22,000 pornography websites and found that 93% of them were sending user data to at least one third party.

Disney cast the Little Mermaid as a black woman. Why that unnerved some is the same reason others rejoiced

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas of the Graduate School of Education discussed the casting of a black woman as Ariel in the upcoming “Little Mermaid” remake. “Whether it’s seeing people of color traveling faster than the speed of light, or as superheroes, dragons, or even mermaids, when we see ourselves in these roles, even as kids we believe we can do anything,” she said. “These images shape our minds on a subconscious level.”

Virtual reality comes to the classroom

Peter Decherney of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the virtual-reality films he creates with students. “In an immersive experience, you have to give up a lot of control. I compare it to a museum visit,” he said. “Spectators have to become more active in the process.”

A colorful artist's rendering of a river with people fishing with a barge in the background and a drawing of an old map on the horizon

A sense of place on shifting shores

Roderick Coover, whose work merges cinema, science, and history, is the 2019 Mellon Artist-in-Residence for the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH). His recent film “Toxi-City: A Climate Change Narrative” screened at PPEH’s “Teaching and Learning with Rising Waters” event.

Tapestry held by two people blows in the air

Five events to watch for in May

Happening around campus this May: the second-annual Sachs Grant Awards, the Philadelphia Children’s Festival, and the screening of a 1930s Hollywood B-movie.

john jackson speaking at a film screening

The future of Annenberg, with John L. Jackson Jr. at the helm

Under his leadership, the school is poised to further engage in the pressing cultural, political, and ideological conversations happening in today’s unprecedented media landscape.

Five events to watch for in April

Happening around campus this April: an appearance by “Sorry to Bother You” director Boots Riley, a talk from Inquirer critic Inga Saffron, and the 10th annual West Craft Fest.

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