Flip the Script on Plastics

In collaboration with Plastics Pollution Coalition, we examined popular TV shows from the 2019-2020 season in the first-ever analysis of the portrayal and prevalence of single-use plastics and reusable alternatives in scripted TV.

The Social Dilemma

In a study of the 2020 documentary, The Social Dilemma, we found that viewers of the film were more knowledgeable about persuasive design techniques employed by social media companies and had greater support for design changes and government regulation.

Poverty in Pop Culture

In an expansive cultural audit, we examine poverty and wealth narratives in popular culture. To what extent do mass media perpetuate stigmatizing, individualistic narratives about poverty?

Narratives of Health Equity

We explore how media narratives impact audiencesโ€™ understanding of health and well-being, disparities and solutions; and how entertainment might play a key role in shifting mindsets toward equity and social justice.

Are You What You Watch?

The Lear Center's Media Impact Project polled some 3,000 Americans on their opinions about U.S. and world affairs as well as their favorite entertainment and news preferences. We found some interesting correlations.

Change the Narrative, Change the World

In the second study with Define American, we find that TV shows with nuanced immigrant characters and immigration storylines can shift attitudes and inspire people to real-life action.

Normalizing Injustice

Conducted with Color of Change, we looked at depictions of the criminal justice system on American TV. The crime TV genre advances distorted depictions of crime, justice and race. For people of color, this can lead to real-life consequences.

Trigger Warning: Gun Guidelines for Media

Trigger Warning: Gun Guidelines for the Media is a new resource guide created by Hollywood, Health & Society to help TV and film creatives better understand the presence of gun use in the entertainment industry.

Climate Change in Entertainment

In an analysis of more TV and film scripts, only 2.8% mentioned anything about climate change. And an accompanying survey of 2,000 Americans found that few can identify a fictional TV or film addressing the climate crisis.

Charitable Giving in the Media

Through a mixed-methods study, we analyze narratives about giving conveyed through mass media, as well as what types of media content are consumed by potential donor audiences.

For Writers:

Hollywood, Health & Society partners with organizations to create resources for writers and producers on a wide variety of topics:

Africa in the Media

This study illustrates how Africa and Africans are depicted in U.S. media and entertainment in the hopes of generating a deeper understanding of the mediaโ€™s impact on opinions and attitudes toward Africa and U.S. engagement with the continent.

Pop Culture for Social Change

With support from the Pop Culture Collaborative, we created this network mapping survey of the Pop Culture for Social Change field, serving as an essential, data-informed baseline for mapping, understanding the evolution of the PCfSC field.

Gun Safety and Prevention on TV

We analyzed 250 episodes of scripted TV dramas and found limited depictions of gun safety and gun violence prevention measures. But when gun safety portrayals do appear, they can have a substantial impact on viewers.

Science Journalism Impact

With support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we identified and studied best practices for achieving impact through science journalism, focusing on local climate change coverage through the Pulitzer Centerโ€™s Connected Coastlines series.

Spotlight on Domestic Workers

We partnered with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to study the history of domestic worker representation across scripted film and TV through both a frequency and content analysis.

Publications

Featured Research

Our study with Gold House dives into depictions of Asian characters in scripted streaming. There is progress in casting Asian actors beyond tokenized characters, but these roles emphasize proximity to whiteness over authentic cultural specificity.

Read the report

Asian Representation on
Streaming

Shifting Narrative Change into High Gear

Funders interested in narrative change often ask variations of the question: How do we really know what strategies are working? Our latest report distills 25 best practices that make narrative change efforts more likely to be successful.

End of Life Depictions on TV

We collaborated with End Well to study end-of-life depictions on television. Through a character and keyword analysis, we found that scripted TV skews heavily toward violent death, with over 80% of television deaths caused by violence.