Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · 11d

I am so appreciating your Substack, Michael! I learn something new from it all the time and have been encouraging grad students to start reading it, too.

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Reposted by Elana Levine

Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · Sep 9

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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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Sep 7

😢 Still miss ours every day!

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jul 18

Disney cross-promoting Marvel and . . . General Hospital?! Another never thought I'd see it moment.

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jul 11

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jul 7

Got to do an interview about HER STORIES on the New Books Network podcast! newbooksnetwork.com/her-stories

Elana Levine, "Her Stories: Daytime Soap Opera and US Television History" (Duke UP, 2020) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

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Reposted by Elana Levine

Michael Mirer @michaelmirer.bsky.social · Jun 6

The state can easily allow UWM to make long-term investments by funding the university system properly.

Kathleen Gallagher: UWM's making a big mistake to cut engineering program at critical time

It’s a classic example of dumb decisions potentially accelerating the decline of an industry. In this case, at exactly the wrong time.

www.jsonline.com

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jun 6

They are actually still in school! But no school tomorrow + central time
zone

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jun 6

The best

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Jun 6

Gaggle of 15 year old boys in the house to watch the new Phineas & Ferb season. It’s a beautiful thing

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 29

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

Contemporaries at Post45 @atpost45.bsky.social · May 29

For @ehl.bsky.social, the voice of MSCL's creator, Winnie Holzman (who would go on to write the musical and film adaptation of Wicked), stands out. Holzman’s style has had an enormous & largely unrecognized effect on popular culture, especially on depictions of girlhood. post45.org/2025/05/the-...

The Voice of Winnie Holzman - Post45

My So-Called Life is full of Angela Chase’s voice. As the protagonist, the young teen’s thoughts — unfiltered, emotional, hilarious, self-involved — are threaded in voice-over throughout the series. T...

post45.org

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Reposted by Elana Levine

Contemporaries at Post45 @atpost45.bsky.social · May 29

For @ehl.bsky.social, the voice of MSCL's creator, Winnie Holzman (who would go on to write the musical and film adaptation of Wicked), stands out. Holzman’s style has had an enormous & largely unrecognized effect on popular culture, especially on depictions of girlhood. post45.org/2025/05/the-...

The Voice of Winnie Holzman - Post45

My So-Called Life is full of Angela Chase’s voice. As the protagonist, the young teen’s thoughts — unfiltered, emotional, hilarious, self-involved — are threaded in voice-over throughout the series. T...

post45.org

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 28

VERY excited for this one . . . coming Thursday!

Contemporaries at Post45 @atpost45.bsky.social · May 27

🗣️ *My So-Called Life* turned 30 (1994-1995) this year! We've got a cluster for you, stay tuned—

Ed. by @dfmorgan.bsky.social, & ft. @uncannydazzler.bsky.social, Steven T. Gravatt, @cmceleney.bsky.social, @elishacohn.bsky.social, @mythrijega.bsky.social, @ehl.bsky.social, @oliviastowell.bsky.social

portrait of young people distorted through a watercolor filter

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 28

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 23

It’s sooooo good!

David Kocik @davidkocik.bsky.social · May 23

My dissertation is live on ProQuest! Currently behind an instructional paywall, but if you'd like a copy lmk.

I'm so proud of my work and so grateful for my committee's guidance, especially my advisor @ehl.bsky.social!

Playing Across Borders: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in the Transnational Circulation of Japanese Video Games - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

www.proquest.com

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Reposted by Elana Levine

David Kocik @davidkocik.bsky.social · May 18

I graduated today! Can't thank my friends, family, and my advisor @ehl.bsky.social enough for all their support, joy, and care. Thank you all so much!

David poses with his mom and dad, Pete and Joanne

David poses with his BFF since 5th grade, KD!

David poses with his friends Matthew, Jess, Kristine, and Janelle

David poses with his advisor Elana Levine!

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 7

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/...

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.”

www.wbez.org

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 6

new piece on soaps with some thoughts from me www.ft.com/content/d4d8...

The great soap opera inheritance

The launch of the first new show in the genre in the US in 25 years shows the endurance of steamy melodrama

www.ft.com

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · May 1

I was told years ago by IRB that something we can call oral history does not need approval.

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Apr 24

The OG best

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Reposted by Elana Levine

Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · Apr 23

For Flow, I wrote this essay about the camera looks in Abbott Elementary and other comedies, and camera looks more generally going back to film comedian comedies and musicals. I connect these looks to the sitcom laugh track. www.flowjournal.org/2025/04/came...

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Apr 22

This week's episode of Making: Stories without End is a great look at the place of Black actors, writers, and viewers for daytime soaps, plus a bit on the history of Black characters and storylines. Good stuff! www.wbez.org/making/2025/...

Black actors don’t want to be your sidekick

Soaps have featured Black actors for decades, but Black writers and actors say they’ve had to push their stories to the foreground.

www.wbez.org

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Reposted by Elana Levine

Michael Newman @mznewman.bsky.social · Apr 16

This is a really good TV history podcast with a critical edge and lots of great audio clips.

Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Apr 16

If you need a respite from, well, all of this, check out episode 2 of Making: Stories without End, all about the soaps' attention to "women's issues." W/ great cover image of Erica Kane!
www.wbez.org/making/2025/...

In the world of soaps, women’s issues take front-burner status

Soap operas air five days a week. That frequency allows for — and demands — pioneering storytelling, especially when it comes to gender.

www.wbez.org

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Apr 16

I’ve been really happy with how they turned out!

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Elana Levine @ehl.bsky.social · Apr 16

If you need a respite from, well, all of this, check out episode 2 of Making: Stories without End, all about the soaps' attention to "women's issues." W/ great cover image of Erica Kane!
www.wbez.org/making/2025/...

In the world of soaps, women’s issues take front-burner status

Soap operas air five days a week. That frequency allows for — and demands — pioneering storytelling, especially when it comes to gender.

www.wbez.org

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