*CFP* "MODERN TELETHON", FALL 2019 ISSUE, IN MEDIA RES JOURNAL

Ever since the first telethon in 1949, telethons and radiothons have been something of a staple in society. From yearly planned telethons to reactions to major catastrophes around the world, telethons spring up regularly. This history of charity media has bled into new media in various ways, from Games Done Quick events to streamer charity streams to Facebook charity requests for birthdays, there are numerous forms charitable endeavors are being carried out via the internet. This week In Media Res is seeking submissions on matters dealing with telethons and how they’ve changed for the modern media landscape.

Topics may include:

• Internet Charity Events 
• Modern Telethon Events 
• Charity Streaming 
• Fan Charity Fundraising & Events 
• Social Media Birthday Fundraisers

*CFP* "MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON MEDIA FANDOM", CHAPTER BOOK

Leisure time today is driven by fandom. Comic book movies dominate the box office. Sporting events are among the biggest draws on television. Gaming brings in the most money of any entertainment field. In the past, to be a fan was to be an outcast, a social pariah, a geek. Now the “fanboy” is the vanguard and demands study. But fandom is a coat of many colors. Sports fans, comic collectors, gamers, cosplayers – they are all part of that patchwork. Some fandoms are long-established and are starting to mutate. Gamers, for instance, have moved beyond the console and into darker realms where conspiracy theories, misogyny, and racism meld into a toxic brew. Some fandoms are being enriched. Consumer brands have always had fans, but now companies recognize the potential for such loyalists. Fans who not only buy a product, but who actually incorporate a product or a brand into their own identity are the most sought-after customers. Marketers are now working hard to make such meaningful connections. Some fandoms are still developing. Cosplayers (costume play), for instance, have moved from subculture oddity to headlining conventions. Research on these fandom trends is desperately needed. Other fandoms have been completely ignored. For instance, the secondary sports fan exists, but few studies have explored this topic. Many people identify a second team to follow or cheer for if their primary team is not available. Not every team makes it to the World Cup or the playoffs. But people often identify a favorite in such competitions beyond their primary teams. What are the motivations for such? The goal of this edited collection is to offer insight into these developments – insights that will prove both useful to researchers and will add to the existing body of knowledge for popular culture.

*CFP* "INFERTILITY IN MEDIA", FALL 2019 ISSUE, IN MEDIA RES JOURNAL

In Media Res is looking for curators that are examining the topic of Infertility in Media. Instances of infertility in media have been limited and restricted through the functions of humor, children’s narratives, and quick resolutions. Examples of this include Robin’s narrative arc on How I Met Your Mother, Disney’s Up, and Carla’s story in Scrubs. In Media Res is looking to explore how such instances have an impact on the social and cultural impacts, understandings, and performances of infertility. 

Curators can approach these related movements through a variety of lenses and methods including, but not limited to:

• Rhetoric of infertility 
• Stigmatization of infertility 
• Representations of infertility 
• Infertility and pregnancy as oppositional in media 
• Media as a support network 
• Infertility and marginalized groups

*CFP* “BTS (방탄소년단)”, MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS & MUSIC GLOBAL INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE PROJECT, AT KINGSTON UNIVERSITY

BTS (방탄소년단)

Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project

4-5 January 2020

Kingston University, Penryn Road, London

Keynote Speaker: Professor LEE Jiyoung (Sejong University) Author of BTS, Art Revolution

Korean boy group BTS are the first ever Korean act to perform at Wembley Stadium as part of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour. Debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment, BTS initially struggled to gain recognition in Korea as they didn’t come from one of the big three Korean entertainment companies. However, the last few years have seen BTS become the most internationally successful Korean act of all time, amassing not only domestic awards but prestigious US awards including The Best Duo/Group at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. Their recent sold-out concerts at Wembley clearly delineate BTS as a dominant force in global music and within popular culture.This inclusive inter- and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to examine the success and popularity of BTS from a variety of academic, practice, and fan-based perspectives.

*CFP* "ISN'T IT IRONIC?: RECEIVERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY IN POPULAR CULTURE", EDITED COLLECTION

The American writer David Foster Wallace once declared that irony would be the death of culture. In the so-called ‘post-truth’ era, marked by the obscene populist palaver of Brexit-day Britain and the ‘truthiness’ of Trump’s White House tenure, it is little wonder that he has been proven correct: saying something other than that which one means has become the rhetorical choice de jour of contemporary political society. It matters more, it seems, if something feels true than if it is factually accurate. One of the multitude of troubles that accompanies this ‘post-truth’ climate is our relationship to irony. For irony, of course, requires a foundation of a shared sense of what is ‘real’ and ‘true’ in the first place in order for this foundation to be effectively disrupted, subverted, and satirised.

As literary technique, irony is a dissimulative rhetorical act in which the tenor and vehicle of one’s language are often in deliberately playful conflict with one another for the purposes of emphasising paradox, incongruity, and humour. Examples abound in literary culture, from Shakespeare’s use of comical and tragical ironic techniques and Jonathan Swift’s most audacious example of verbal irony, A Modest Proposal, to the darkly parodic fictions of those such as Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and Zadie Smith. The common conception is that irony is hard to define, but that ‘we know it when we see it’. Of course, this is not always the case, as irony has so often been misunderstood. It is indeed ironic that the very irony of Alanis Morissette’s famous song ‘Ironic’ is that none of the lyrics are, in fact, ironic at all – a point compounded by the song’s popularity as a ‘dictionary definition’ of irony.

*CFP* "POPULAR DECONSTRUCTIONS", FALL 2019 ISSUE, IN MEDIA RES JOURNAL

Mystery Science Theater 3000 represents the perfect intersection of Gen X disaffection and cynicism, with the underlying affection and openness that the stereotypes belie. Modern iterations of the popular deconstruction, like podcast How Did This Get Made, attract audiences with varied perspectives. From true aficionados of cult and less-popular films who crave a forum to discuss the nuances of their favorites, to those seeking a takedown of a hated work, the opportunities afforded by (meta)commentary programs for analysis of otherwise dismissed films should be of interest to any media scholar.

Topics may include:

• Discussion of polysemic readings of unpopular films 
• Discussion of the Kickstarter-funded renewal of MST3K 
• Analysis of the industrial components of “bad” films 
• Analysis of industrial components of modern commentary programs

*CFP* "READING THE NEW GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION: ON CONTEMPORARY SERIES", ISSUE TROPOS: COMUNICAÇÃO, SOCIEDADE E CULTURA

We live in a new age of television series with more and more quality shows being produced every day (McCabe & Akass, 2007) not only for different channels (BBC, CBS, Fox, HBO, Showtime), but also for different (streaming) platforms (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime), not to mention the growing popularity of the web series. The current “Golden Age” of television is usually seen as having started in mid-to-late nineties/early 2000s until today, with series comprising longer episodes like The Sopranos (1999-2007), Six Feet Under (2001-2005), Downton Abbey (2010-2015), or the more recent phenomena of Game of Thrones (2011-2019), Narcos (2015-), Stranger Things (2016-), 3% (2016-) or Casa de Papel (2017); as well as shows with shorter episodes like The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019), Modern Family (2009-) or Black-ish (2014-). 

These represent just a small fraction of a major wave of sophiscated creations that rise in quality and in quantity, thus giving more options to viewers and also to directors, actors, producers and all those involved in those creations. For some, this may pose a problem (Jeffrey, 2018) since with the numbers of programs rising this also means that too many choices may overwhelm audiences. For others, this is a unique opportunity to see what television programs have to offer and how they challenge the viewer with their “ability to bring into focus elements of the existing world” and explore the contemporary and current affairs – political, cultural, social or others (Shuster, 2018).