دانلود رایگان مقاله ایده آلیستی و تضاد: تصاویری جدید از کارشناسان روابط عمومی در فیلم

abstract

he profession of public relations is often portrayed negatively in popular culture. Cultivation theory suggests that these negative portrayals are likely to affect public perception of the profession. Building on Miller’s (1999) study of public relations portrayals in the entertainment media, this study analyzed 10 recent films to determine how public relations characters were represented. The analysis was generally consistent with Miller’s finding that archetypical negative stereotypes of public relations professionals abound. The study also identified two new portrayals of the professionals in popular film, idealistic and con- flicted. In light ofthis finding,theoretical and practical suggestions are offered to help public relations practitioners counteract these unflattering portrayals.

Definitions

The unit of analysis for this study was the character. Characters were included in the analysis if they practiced public relations and were important to the plot of a film. To determine whether or not movie characters should be considered public relations practitioners, the authors followed Miller’s definition (1999): characters that identified themselves or were identified by others as public relations practitioners, press agents, publicists, or with similar titles were included. Characters who received large amounts of screen time, or who were subjects of discussion by other characters even when they were off screen, were defined as major characters. Those who had limited screen time or who were not central to the plot of a story were defined as minor characters. Also, characters that appeared to have altruistic motives were defined as good, while characters with primarily selfish motives were defined as bad.