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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This arrangement of "That Old Black Magic" is from the Louis Prima/Keely Smith record lip-synced here in a 1959 Sam and Friends www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGLU...

youtube.com

sam and friends old black magic

YouTube video by muppetsandpvzfan 102801

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

RIP Jaye P. Morgan, very special guest star of The Muppet Show episode 218 www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdHr...

youtube.com

Muppets - Jaye P Morgan & the Electric Mayhem - That Old Black Magic

YouTube video by GrownUpKidsChannel

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Tarantino being who he is, the speech in Pulp Fiction is itself taken from another source, a Sonny Chiba martial arts movie www.reddit.com/r/FanTheorie...

reddit.com

From the FanTheories community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the FanTheories community

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I wrote an essay in 2014 about how circulation of Pulp Fiction quotations have made the film an internet-age classic. Pete Hegseth delivering Jules' "great vengeance" speech as a call to war is a bonkers addition to these. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Abstract
Pulp Fiction, as a film classic of the Internet age, circulates through a culture of online quotation. Fans of the movie repeat bits of dialogue such as ‘royale with cheese’, share images from the film such as the shot of Jules and Vincent aiming their guns, and recreate scenes such as the dance scene with Mia and Vincent. This paper historicizes classic films through the example of Pulp Fiction fans who share expressions of their fandom in YouTube videos and Tumblr postings of images and GIFs. It looks at these quotations as evidence of audiences' interpretive work, which produces ideological meanings about the film. These meanings speak of dominant structures of knowledge and understanding that come from the broader society and its unequal relations of power. Meanings about race and gender, and to a lesser extent class, are especially important in the film's circulation. Some examples of moments and characters of Pulp Fiction analyzed in this paper are Jules and Vincent's interracial hit-man partnership, Mia and Vincents twist at Jack Rabbit Slim's, Jules as an icon of a certain ideal of black masculinity, and Mia's revival after her near-fatal drug overdose. Sometimes these quotations are straightforwardly appreciative, and sometimes they are parodic remixes and mashups. This paper also considers the importance of an absence of certain parts of the film from quotation culture that can be regarded as threatening to dominant conceptions of masculinity, such as the dungeon rape scene.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Check out my former UWM colleague Aims McGuinness on the often misunderstood idea of "sewer socialism," Milwaukee history, and the interconnection of local and international politics. dissentmagazine.org/article/more...

dissentmagazine.org

More Than Sewers - Dissent Magazine

The pragmatism of the Milwaukee socialists was inseparable from the international world of socialism that they inhabited and helped to shape.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Gotta appreciate good news when it comes along. Long live the 111 year-old Downer.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

"This is such a dad car" -- stinging remark I remember from the late 90s (it was my dad's early 90s Taurus).

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Retargeting advertising today is selling me both editions of my own book.

screenshot of a retargeting advertisement for both editions of The Media Studies Toolkit

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Here's a discount code for The Media Studies Toolkit 2e www.routledge.com/The-Media-St... or ask your university library to acquire it

SAVE 20% USE CODE 26SMA1 at routledge dot com on The Media Studies Toolkit

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Thanks for writing the book! I am ambivalent about calling TV shows long movies, but analogies are useful and you're pretty persuasive.

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

New work: a review of After Mass Media by @drtvlotz.bsky.social in Continuum. Important book for TV studies, lots to learn from it. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

After mass media: storytelling for microaudiences in the twenty-first century

Published in Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies (Ahead of Print, 2026)

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I could also kvetch about some other details, such as Rowlf and Kermit appearing in the same scene (reminding me that Jim H isn't performing either one of them) and a lack of bad puns, but the episode was generally a pleasure to watch so check it out if you like Muppets.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I liked the new Muppet Show and am glad they made it but I'm gonna be really nitpicky and complain that there should not be extra human beings in this show including Seth, Maya, and the lucky folks sitting in the audience. A guest star is the only human in the Muppet Theatre. Sabrina C was perfect.

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Zack Furness @punkademic.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

This is a great text for teaching

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Michael D. Dwyer @michaelddwyer.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

I started using the 1st edition of this book in my intro class a few years back, can't recommend it enough

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

I wrote this book to be as accessible as possible to students at any level, including students whose first language isn't English, to be a good starting point for newcomers to studying media or to readers from other fields looking for guidance. Check it out or ask your library to acquire it.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

I'm grateful for the endorsements from colleagues I really admire who have assigned the book in their courses. Means a lot. Also grateful to an editor at Routledge who solicited these on my behalf (doesn't always work that way any more). Everyone there has been really great to work with.

endorsements for The Media Studies Toolkit

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Much of the updating was more adding or subtracting a paragraph or a sentence, and I did my best to get rid of every possible mention of Twitter. I replaced a discussion of Hamilton as problematic representation with some points about the Sabrina Carpenter record cover controversy from last summer.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The table of contents shows two added sections: an in-depth analysis of Jaws as an example of ideology critique of a popular text, and a glossary of terms.

screenshot of table of contents for The Media Studies Toolkit

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

For this edition, I got feedback from reviewers who have been assigning the book, including (I'm pretty sure) readers from different countries and academic backgrounds (the cultural studies and more mass comm sides of the field). I followed a lot of their excellent suggestions.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The Media Studies Toolkit, 2nd edition, dropped this week. I'm excited for this refreshed, updated, and expanded version to reach students and instructors of introductory courses in media studies. www.routledge.com/The-Media-St... A short thread about what's inside.

book cover of Michael Z. Newman, The Media Studies Toolkit, 2nd ed., Routledge, 2026

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Bruce Springsteen @brucespringsteen.net · 28/01/2026

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

youtu.be

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Yeah, I heard about this in a podcast just today and was like, you mean Netflix is television?

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

incredible work (though I love Cream City and don't care what anyone thinks)

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I tried to delete as much of this stuff as possible and use other examples for 2e. No Bluesky mentions, though.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I just sent in the proofs and index to the 2nd ed. of The Media Studies Toolkit, coming soon. Added index entries for 2e include: Beyoncé, Carpenter, S., The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spielberg, S., Swift, T., Wednesday, X (social media).

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Walter Bernstein, Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist (172). Where do we find ourselves now? (This is from next week's course readings in my Media and Society class.)

excerpt about the blacklist and red scare from Bernstein's book. "They were really after the New Deal and the welfare state and panty-waist liberals and the civil rights movement and militant unions and the traitors in the State Department..."

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Thanks so much for sharing this, Michael. Glad to hear!

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

New Toolkit edition coming in February 2026 www.routledge.com/The-Media-St...

Book cover of The Media Studies Toolkit Second Edition (Routledge)

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

New Toolkit edition coming in February 2026 www.routledge.com/The-Media-St...

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Book recs: all four of Alison Bechdel's memoir/essay/novels (Fun Home, Are You My Mother?, The Secret to Superhuman Strength, and Spent) which I read over the past few weeks. I would take your recs of more books like these but I guess there will be none until Alison writes another.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

RIP Cleo Laine, very special guest star of The Muppet Show ep 219 with an Irving Berlin/salad prep Swedish Chef duet www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIuo...

youtube.com

Muppet Show. Swedish Chef, Cleo Laine - You're Just In Love

YouTube video by aarnis

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

This reminds me that he wrote a book about riding his bike around different cities!

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

The banality of wrongness when using Google seeking basic information -- of course there isn't a BFI classics book on this film even though the AI says there is. You know you're talking to a bullshit engine.

google result incorrectly stating that there is a Film Classics book about The Jazz Singer

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

This was not covered by Kelly M? Interesting to see it come to light in this opinion piece. I also didn't know about it.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

RIP Loretta Swit, very special guest star of Muppet Show episode 502 (Muppets+Sondheim!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVkl...

youtube.com

Muppet Songs: Loretta Swit - Side by Side

YouTube video by Muppet Songs

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Contemporaries at Post45 @atpost45.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

New cluster!! post45.org/contemporari... ❣️ 📺 ⌨️ 🥰 Edited by @dfmorgan.bsky.social ! "My So-Called Life at 30" features essays on intimacy, literacy, fan studies, mobility, migration, dance, beauty culture, teen dramas, Winnie Holzman, diaspora and fandom, narratology, over-analysis, & more!

post45.org

Contemporaries - Post45

Post45 seeks to reinvigorate the erstwhile convention of academic critics not only describing past traditions but also actively intervening in current tastes. It provides a forum for writers to conver...

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Such a thrill to write about My So-Called Life and Winnie Holzman for @atpost45.bsky.social!

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

The last time I had screenings some people didn't show up and some people didn't pay attention, so 🤷‍♂️

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

I think it depends? In my most recent Intro to Film Studies course most of the students seemed to be watching everything carefully and attentively and it was great. I've polled a couple of classes and they were about 50/50 in their preferences. I'm not sure it makes a big difference.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

I've been giving up on in-class screenings and assigning film/TV either for streaming on Swank (library access) or as video ripped from DVD uploaded to the LMS. YouTube also works for some content. Trying to eliminate any cost to students.

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Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

[Bracket City] May 11, 2025 www.theatlantic.com/games/bracke... Rank: 🔮 (Puppet Master) 🎹 Total Keystrokes: 70 🎯 Minimum Required: 70 Total Score: 100.0 🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪

theatlantic.com

Bracket City

The Atlantic covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more, through its articles, podcasts, videos, and flagship magazine.

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Reposted by Michael Newman

Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Strong final episode (before a bonus ep!) of Making: Stories Without End. So happy I got to explain my beef with the "OJ killed the soaps" narrative, one of my pet peeves www.wbez.org/making/2025/...

wbez.org

TV wouldn’t be TV without soap operas

Soaps once brought in 75% of a TV network’s revenue, says author Elana Levine. “Soaps were a legitimate kind of pop culture sensation.”

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