Melissa A Click
Biographic Data
| ID | 289921 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melissa A Click |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melissa A |
| FAMILY NAME | Click |
| SIGNATURE | CLICK M A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Missouri |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2368-8963 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 91 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Democratizing publishing in communication/media studies: A case study of Communication, Culture & Critique
Purpose The pervasive inequalities in communication/media studies publishing include a significant underrepresentation of scholars in the Global South, as authors and as members of editorial boards in the field’s top-ranked journals. However, to date, there has been little published work on the implementation of strategies to address these disparities. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents discussion in this regard for the journal Commu…
The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom
She really gets my blood boiling: Moral Judgements, Dislike and Celebrities
Editors' reflections
Beyond Friendship: A Call for Research on Non-amicable Parasocial Relationships
Past research and anecdotal evidence suggests that many audience members are exposed to media figures they dislike. However, their relationships with these media figures are not well understood in parasocial research. Building on scholarly media and fan studies on anti-fandom, we argue that these seemingly negative experiences are diverse, complex, and nuanced—they are more than merely the opposite of positive parasocial relationships (PSRs). The…
Dislike-Minded: "Media, audiences, and the dynamics of taste," by Jonathan Gray
Jonathan Gray. Dislike-Minded: Media, audiences, and the dynamics of Taste. New York: New York University Press, 2021, paperback, $29.00 (259p) ISBN: 978-1479809981
Editor’s Statement
I am passionate about representing the breadth of critical/cultural scholarship in communication, and promoting Communication, Culture & Critique as a place for rigorous and impactful scholarship on identities, communities, power, social movements, technologies, and more. Thanks to the editors and co-editors before me, my term as editor begins with CCC in excellent health and with a strong future. To encourage CCC’s continued growth and innovatio…
Race talk, fandom, and the legacy of plantation culture in the NFL player protests
In August 2016, San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the United States’ national anthem. Throughout the National Football League’s 2016–2017 season, Kaepernick and other NFL players acting in solidarity maintained their refusal to stand for the national anthem. We explore NFL fans’ reactions to and feelings about the player protests inspired by Colin Kaepernick with interviews with 41 participants conducted be…
One Tough Cookie: Exploring Black Women’s Responses to Empire’s Cookie Lyon
The premier of Empire in January 2015 drew 9.8 million viewers and became FOX's highest-rated series debut in three years. In this episode, we are introduced to the terminally-ill CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), who must decide which of his three sons will inherit the family business. To further complicate the decision, his ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), is released from prison after 17 years. The strength of the…
Industry
Methods and Ethics
Technologies and practices
Race and transcultural fandom
Futures
Identities
Futures of fan studies
As we noted in the introduction of this collection, fan studies is a field of study undergoing rapid development and diversification. This collection has, in both form and content, endeavored to survey some canonical topics within fan studies (identity, technologies and practices, and industry), while remaining attentive to underdeveloped sectors of the field (methods, race, and transcultural fandom). Similarly, in this conclusive conversation, M…
The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom
During the summer of 2014, Vulture published an interview with The X-Files (FOX, 1993–2002; 2016) creator, Chris Carter, in which he confirmed that conversations had been held with Fox about a reboot of the series. Speculation among fans was rife, particularly given the emphasis placed on the term ‘reboot’. Would the original cast members return? Would the series continue from the end of the 2008 film? Or would a new series “begin [the] franchise…
“I Can’t Think of a More Unlikely Rock Star than Me”: Representations of “Averageness” in the Myth of Rock
Media texts introduce individuals to “the myth of rock” and define rock’s members and possibilities. Although any individual can theoretically tap into the power of rock, these texts construct “ordinariness” and “averageness” as requirements for access to the supposed meritocracy of American rock. Through analysis of eight episodes of Behind the Music and five Hollywood films about rock, we demonstrate that, despite the myth of rock’s assertions …
The twilight of youth: Understanding feminism and romance in Twilight Moms’ connection to the young-adult vampire series
Twi-dudes and Twi-guys: How Twilight’s Male Fans Interpret and Engage with a Feminized Text
The Twilight franchise, based upon the popular Young Adult vampire romantic series, is, unquestionably, female-driven. However, the series' romantic themes and enthusiastic female fans, as well as the public disdain they have received, have overshadowed the male fans of the series. To explore male fans' interest in Twilight, how they reconciled their masculine identities with their attraction to a feminine text, and what they learned from Twiligh…
You’re born to be brave’: Lady Gaga’s use of social media to inspire fans’ political awareness
Through interviews with 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explore fan identification with Lady Gaga’s interest in and messages about politics and philanthropy, Gaga’s influence on fans’ attitudes toward activism, and the role activism plays in the Little Monster community. Our findings suggest both that fans can be deeply impacted by celebrities’ political values and actions, particularly when expressed through social media, and that the onli…
Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture
Spreadable Media:Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture Online Roundtable on Spreadable Media, by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, with participants Paul Booth, Kristina Busse, Melissa Click, Sam Ford, Henry Jenkins, Xiaochang Li, and Sharon Ross. Moderated by Lousia Stein, Book Review Editor Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. New York University P…
Let’s Hug It Out, Bitch”: HBO’s Entourage , Masculinity in Crisis, and the Value of Audience Studies
Media scholars have begun to examine how masculinities function in the media through exploration of a variety of texts and personas; however, most have sought to do so by using textual analysis. We argue that this emphasis on textual analysis has overshadowed scholarship on media audiences, limiting opportunities to understand how audiences’ gender identities are affected by mediated masculinities. Through interviews with viewers of HBO’s Entoura…
Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, and Social Media
Like her chart-breaking musical success, Lady Gaga's relationship with fans, built by her messages of self-acceptance and by her intense engagement with fans through social media, is unprecedented. Through one-on-one interviews with an international sample of 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explored this unusual fan-celebrity relationship and found that Lady Gaga's re-articulation of the negative connotations of "monster" enabled fans to us…
Saving Food: Food Preservation as Alternative Food Activism
The renewed interest in sustainable agriculture suggests we are in the midst of a food revolution. However, food movements' focus on individual, instead of collective, action has opened food activism to critiques that it is too focused on consumer politics and lacks the force necessary to make substantive changes in the global food system (e.g., Delind, 2006; Hassanein, 2003). Our examination of the practices of and motivations for food preservat…
The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom
During the summer of 2014, Vulture published an interview with The X-Files (FOX, 1993–2002; 2016) creator, Chris Carter, in which he confirmed that conversations had been held with Fox about a reboot of the series. Speculation among fans was rife, particularly given the emphasis placed on the term ‘reboot’. Would the original cast members return? Would the series continue from the end of the 2008 film? Or would a new series “begin [the] franchise…
Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, and Social Media
Like her chart-breaking musical success, Lady Gaga's relationship with fans, built by her messages of self-acceptance and by her intense engagement with fans through social media, is unprecedented. Through one-on-one interviews with an international sample of 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explored this unusual fan-celebrity relationship and found that Lady Gaga's re-articulation of the negative connotations of "monster" enabled fans to us…
You’re born to be brave’: Lady Gaga’s use of social media to inspire fans’ political awareness
Through interviews with 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explore fan identification with Lady Gaga’s interest in and messages about politics and philanthropy, Gaga’s influence on fans’ attitudes toward activism, and the role activism plays in the Little Monster community. Our findings suggest both that fans can be deeply impacted by celebrities’ political values and actions, particularly when expressed through social media, and that the onli…
We Do Babies! The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Pregnancy and Parenting in the Academy
The most awkward moment at that faculty meeting occurred when a certain senior colleague in the department replied, Well, when my wife was pregnant, she gave birth during spring break and didn't miss a day of class. Despite backstage reassurances that these were unrealistic expectations, those who were pregnant experienced an unspoken pressure that failure to minimize the interference of impending parenthood on their careers threatened public imp…
Let’s Hug It Out, Bitch”: HBO’s Entourage , Masculinity in Crisis, and the Value of Audience Studies
Media scholars have begun to examine how masculinities function in the media through exploration of a variety of texts and personas; however, most have sought to do so by using textual analysis. We argue that this emphasis on textual analysis has overshadowed scholarship on media audiences, limiting opportunities to understand how audiences’ gender identities are affected by mediated masculinities. Through interviews with viewers of HBO’s Entoura…
Reflections on a Century of Living: Gendered Differences in Mainstream Popular Songs∗
The study of popular music developed in part to correct the elitist dismissal of the popular and to validate popular music as a legitimate object of inquiry. Despite this, there is little popular music research that focuses on the most mainstream popular music. In this study we call for a return to the examination of the most mainstream popular songs and music videos through a preliminary investigation of two concurrent hits from the Adult Contem…
One Tough Cookie: Exploring Black Women’s Responses to Empire’s Cookie Lyon
The premier of Empire in January 2015 drew 9.8 million viewers and became FOX's highest-rated series debut in three years. In this episode, we are introduced to the terminally-ill CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), who must decide which of his three sons will inherit the family business. To further complicate the decision, his ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), is released from prison after 17 years. The strength of the…
The twilight of youth: Understanding feminism and romance in Twilight Moms’ connection to the young-adult vampire series
Twi-dudes and Twi-guys: How Twilight’s Male Fans Interpret and Engage with a Feminized Text
The Twilight franchise, based upon the popular Young Adult vampire romantic series, is, unquestionably, female-driven. However, the series' romantic themes and enthusiastic female fans, as well as the public disdain they have received, have overshadowed the male fans of the series. To explore male fans' interest in Twilight, how they reconciled their masculine identities with their attraction to a feminine text, and what they learned from Twiligh…
Reflections on a Century of Living: Gendered Differences in Mainstream Popular Songs∗
The study of popular music developed in part to correct the elitist dismissal of the popular and to validate popular music as a legitimate object of inquiry. Despite this, there is little popular music research that focuses on the most mainstream popular music. In this study we call for a return to the examination of the most mainstream popular songs and music videos through a preliminary investigation of two concurrent hits from the Adult Contem…
We Do Babies! The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Pregnancy and Parenting in the Academy
The most awkward moment at that faculty meeting occurred when a certain senior colleague in the department replied, Well, when my wife was pregnant, she gave birth during spring break and didn't miss a day of class. Despite backstage reassurances that these were unrealistic expectations, those who were pregnant experienced an unspoken pressure that failure to minimize the interference of impending parenthood on their careers threatened public imp…
Saving Food: Food Preservation as Alternative Food Activism
The renewed interest in sustainable agriculture suggests we are in the midst of a food revolution. However, food movements' focus on individual, instead of collective, action has opened food activism to critiques that it is too focused on consumer politics and lacks the force necessary to make substantive changes in the global food system (e.g., Delind, 2006; Hassanein, 2003). Our examination of the practices of and motivations for food preservat…
Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, and Social Media
Like her chart-breaking musical success, Lady Gaga's relationship with fans, built by her messages of self-acceptance and by her intense engagement with fans through social media, is unprecedented. Through one-on-one interviews with an international sample of 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explored this unusual fan-celebrity relationship and found that Lady Gaga's re-articulation of the negative connotations of "monster" enabled fans to us…
Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture
Spreadable Media:Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture Online Roundtable on Spreadable Media, by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, with participants Paul Booth, Kristina Busse, Melissa Click, Sam Ford, Henry Jenkins, Xiaochang Li, and Sharon Ross. Moderated by Lousia Stein, Book Review Editor Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture by Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. New York University P…
Let’s Hug It Out, Bitch”: HBO’s Entourage , Masculinity in Crisis, and the Value of Audience Studies
Media scholars have begun to examine how masculinities function in the media through exploration of a variety of texts and personas; however, most have sought to do so by using textual analysis. We argue that this emphasis on textual analysis has overshadowed scholarship on media audiences, limiting opportunities to understand how audiences’ gender identities are affected by mediated masculinities. Through interviews with viewers of HBO’s Entoura…
You’re born to be brave’: Lady Gaga’s use of social media to inspire fans’ political awareness
Through interviews with 45 self-described Little Monsters, we explore fan identification with Lady Gaga’s interest in and messages about politics and philanthropy, Gaga’s influence on fans’ attitudes toward activism, and the role activism plays in the Little Monster community. Our findings suggest both that fans can be deeply impacted by celebrities’ political values and actions, particularly when expressed through social media, and that the onli…
“I Can’t Think of a More Unlikely Rock Star than Me”: Representations of “Averageness” in the Myth of Rock
Media texts introduce individuals to “the myth of rock” and define rock’s members and possibilities. Although any individual can theoretically tap into the power of rock, these texts construct “ordinariness” and “averageness” as requirements for access to the supposed meritocracy of American rock. Through analysis of eight episodes of Behind the Music and five Hollywood films about rock, we demonstrate that, despite the myth of rock’s assertions …
The twilight of youth: Understanding feminism and romance in Twilight Moms’ connection to the young-adult vampire series
Twi-dudes and Twi-guys: How Twilight’s Male Fans Interpret and Engage with a Feminized Text
The Twilight franchise, based upon the popular Young Adult vampire romantic series, is, unquestionably, female-driven. However, the series' romantic themes and enthusiastic female fans, as well as the public disdain they have received, have overshadowed the male fans of the series. To explore male fans' interest in Twilight, how they reconciled their masculine identities with their attraction to a feminine text, and what they learned from Twiligh…
Futures of fan studies
As we noted in the introduction of this collection, fan studies is a field of study undergoing rapid development and diversification. This collection has, in both form and content, endeavored to survey some canonical topics within fan studies (identity, technologies and practices, and industry), while remaining attentive to underdeveloped sectors of the field (methods, race, and transcultural fandom). Similarly, in this conclusive conversation, M…
The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom
During the summer of 2014, Vulture published an interview with The X-Files (FOX, 1993–2002; 2016) creator, Chris Carter, in which he confirmed that conversations had been held with Fox about a reboot of the series. Speculation among fans was rife, particularly given the emphasis placed on the term ‘reboot’. Would the original cast members return? Would the series continue from the end of the 2008 film? Or would a new series “begin [the] franchise…
Industry
Methods and Ethics
Technologies and practices
Race and transcultural fandom
Futures
Identities
One Tough Cookie: Exploring Black Women’s Responses to Empire’s Cookie Lyon
The premier of Empire in January 2015 drew 9.8 million viewers and became FOX's highest-rated series debut in three years. In this episode, we are introduced to the terminally-ill CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), who must decide which of his three sons will inherit the family business. To further complicate the decision, his ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), is released from prison after 17 years. The strength of the…
Editor’s Statement
I am passionate about representing the breadth of critical/cultural scholarship in communication, and promoting Communication, Culture & Critique as a place for rigorous and impactful scholarship on identities, communities, power, social movements, technologies, and more. Thanks to the editors and co-editors before me, my term as editor begins with CCC in excellent health and with a strong future. To encourage CCC’s continued growth and innovatio…
Race talk, fandom, and the legacy of plantation culture in the NFL player protests
In August 2016, San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the United States’ national anthem. Throughout the National Football League’s 2016–2017 season, Kaepernick and other NFL players acting in solidarity maintained their refusal to stand for the national anthem. We explore NFL fans’ reactions to and feelings about the player protests inspired by Colin Kaepernick with interviews with 41 participants conducted be…
Beyond Friendship: A Call for Research on Non-amicable Parasocial Relationships
Past research and anecdotal evidence suggests that many audience members are exposed to media figures they dislike. However, their relationships with these media figures are not well understood in parasocial research. Building on scholarly media and fan studies on anti-fandom, we argue that these seemingly negative experiences are diverse, complex, and nuanced—they are more than merely the opposite of positive parasocial relationships (PSRs). The…
Dislike-Minded: "Media, audiences, and the dynamics of taste," by Jonathan Gray
Jonathan Gray. Dislike-Minded: Media, audiences, and the dynamics of Taste. New York: New York University Press, 2021, paperback, $29.00 (259p) ISBN: 978-1479809981
Editors' reflections
Democratizing publishing in communication/media studies: A case study of Communication, Culture & Critique
Purpose The pervasive inequalities in communication/media studies publishing include a significant underrepresentation of scholars in the Global South, as authors and as members of editorial boards in the field’s top-ranked journals. However, to date, there has been little published work on the implementation of strategies to address these disparities. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents discussion in this regard for the journal Commu…
Sociology (20 works) · Media studies (14 works) · Media Studies and Communication (13 works) · Art (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Gender Studies (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Fandom (7 works) · Gender, Feminism, and Media (7 works)