Media literacy education applications: Twilight and Grey's Anatomy as anti-feminist media

Abstract

This study is a content analysis of two forms of current media: The New York Times bestselling book Twilight and the Emmy award winning series Grey's Anatomy. The female characters in both formats are analyzed using a feminist lens and a focus on social role development as the characters are incorporated into the plot. The findings of this study are that there are negative images of females in media that could be bad examples to young girls. Several TV tropes were identified as characters, including the damsel in distress, the bitch, the hysterical woman, and the slut. Although one character was a moderate archetypal character, overall there were more negative than positive images. Media literacy education implications include the need for schools to incorporate these elements into the curriculum in order to help students evaluate media in a healthy way.