Lear Center conducts first-ever study of plastics use on TV
(Clockwise from top) Scenes from Superstore (NBC); The Good Doctor (ABC); Little Fires Everywhere (HULU); and You (Netflix) featured either single-use or reusable items.
Our Media Impact Project (MIP) examined portrayals of single-use plastics and reusable items on 32 popular TV shows from the 2019-2020 season. The study, Flip the Script on Plastics, found television awash in plastic pollution.
 
Can Hollywood help us imagine a future without plastic? MIP researcher Dana Weinstein recently joined actors Yareli Arizmendi, Fran Drescher and Kyra Sedgewick in a Plastic Pollution Coalition webinar to discuss how the entertainment industry can model solutions on set and in storylines.
Sentinel 2021: A Virtual VIP Affair
The 2021 Sentinel Awards were co-hosted by Hollywood writers/producers Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce and featured a guest appearance by Norman Lear. Administered by Hollywood, Health & Society, the awards gave a special honor for “Imagining a Culture of Health” to the third season of NBC’s medical drama, New Amsterdam.
 
Eleven other shows won Sentinel Awards, including Master of None, Euphoria, The Handmaid's Tale and Pose. Covering topics like Covid-19, abortion, mental health, addiction and racism, their storylines mirrored a tumultuous year.

Immigrant Depictions Matter
Define American's new best practices’ guide for telling immigrant stories in film and television includes findings from our recent collaborative impact study, Change the Narrative, Change the World. Our research found that nuanced immigrant characters and storylines can shift attitudes and inspire people to real-life action. The guide is a tool for creatives for telling accurate and humanizing immigrant stories.

More to My Story: Cancer & Fertility
Survivors and previvors of breast cancer are faced with difficult decisions about how their treatments can affect fertility, family planning and their future. Hollywood, Health & Society hosted a panel moderated by actor/comedian Tig Notaro (top left) and featuring (clockwise) Don S. Dizon, MD; TV writer Jessica Queller (Gilmore Girls, Felicity, Supergirl); and breast cancer survivor Jennifer Feldman and her husband Jay. More to My Story: Navigating Breast Cancer, Fertility and Family Planning shed light on an issue that weighs heavily on young women but is rarely discussed.

Learning Journalism Ethics from Pop Culture
When USC Annenberg Professor Joe Saltzman teaches journalism ethics, his examples come from TV and film. "I find that this approach dramatically helps students visualize, sometimes on a visceral level, the ethical problem under discussion," he writes in Media Ethics Magazine. Joe directs the Lear Center’s Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture project.  

Paying for Privacy
Cloud computing, social networks and web-based apps raise concerns about data sharing and privacy. What personal information should be shared and with whom? And who is responsible for protecting consumer privacy? Managing Director Johanna Blakley talks about the new business models and the dangers of privatizing public conversations in this summary report by Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures.

In the News
  • Lear Center Director Marty Kaplan is quoted in the Washington Post’s obituary of author Joan Didion.
  • Do COVID vaccines belong on TV? Hollywood, Health & Society Director Kate Folb discusses Hollywood's vaccine hesitancy (Wall Street Journal).
  • Norman Lear learns the impact of a seemingly small decision years later in this offering from The Moth.
Upcoming Event
Wed., February 9 | 5 PM PST
The Omicron surge pushed an already stretched medical system to the limit. CNN's Phil Mattingly moderates this virtual discussion with showrunners and medical experts exploring how TV can tell stories that support our healthcare workers.