Study Questions 8: Th Feb 27: Analyzing "Visible and Invisible" Production

1. According to Stabile, what were the "sneaker wars" and what were the positions of the key players in these "wars"? What was the nature of Nike's campaign aimed at ghetto youth?

2. How does the "Horatio Alger rags-to-riches myth" get retold by Nike and companies like it?

3, What does Stabile's analysis imply about the limits of using only a "textual" approach in pop analysis?

4. According to Stabile and the excerpts from "No Sweat," what efforts have been made to bring the "hidden abode of production" out of hiding? What kinds of groups have been involved? What have been their concerns? What have been their tactics?

4. According to Steinam, in what ways did advertisers subtly and not so subtly seek to reshape her magazine? In what ways did the magazine seek to resist these pressures?

5. Speculate on how advertisers might seek to impact cultural content in other magazines, and other forms of mass media. How pervasive do you think the practice Steinam describes is?

6. What alternative did Ms. come up with, and how successful was it?

7. How does the process of advertiser influence on production illustrate the concept of "hegemony"?