Portrayal of the LGBTQ community in animated children's films

Brian Spagnoli, a Communications--Media Studies major in the Verrazano Honors Class of 2018, talks about how research impacted his life.

My time at CSI was turbulent to say the least. There were moments of pure excitement inspired by professors and the people I’ve met at the school, but the research project in which I worked with Professor David Gerstner and my great friend Lauren McKenna led to the culmination of some of my favorite people and work. If you had asked me when I had first started my academic career at CSI, I would have never thought I would have even begin to openly identify under the LGBTQ umbrella nor would I have thought I would have invested a significant part of my time as a student researching and studying so many social issues in America.

Brian posing after being told to "look like a smart person."

In fact, I never entirely intended on pursuing this research myself. It was a day like any other when Lauren had come up to me and said “I put your name down to work on a research project with me and Professor Gerstner.” At the time I had spoke to Dr. Gerstner maybe once or twice, but I didn’t have any idea of what I was getting in to. I just said “sure.” That sort of became my identity over my last two years at CSI -- saying yes to the little projects and endeavors that people had asked me to get involved in. This “little project” turned out to be a bit more than that.

We didn’t have a clear thesis from the get-go. All I knew, is that Lauren and I were in similar situations with how we were sexually identifying, and being able to invest our time into researching why LGBTQ people have certain stigmas and stereotypes was something that tied incredibly well into our interests. Eventually, after literally weeks of deliberation on what our thesis should be -- and a few times being rejected by Dr. Gerstner for being “too broad” -- we settled on researching how animated films have perpetuated gay stereotypes. Specifically, we examined children’s films, because people are socialized at a very young age on what to expect from the greater society. We spent nearly two months researching LGBTQ history and watching animated Disney films highlighting when LGBTQ stereotypes could be construed by an audience and how that influences other films and audiences. The expectations for where gay people were “allowed” to be in films became clear as patterns and trends began to form.

It was almost exciting to find real ideas and concepts related to the grander scheme of LGBTQ representation that weren’t exactly uncovered in the way we were uncovering them. It felt new, and while our research was preceded by others, we found new ways to integrate these concepts with other concepts. This was the only undergraduate research project I had gotten involved in, and part of me even regrets not doing more of them. I got closer with Dr. Gerstner and Lauren because of it, and gave me life-long academically-inclined friends that shared many common interests with me.

Looking at the science behind marketing

Joanna Karpen, a business marketing major in the Verrazano Honors Class of 2018, is intrigued by the intersection of psychology, technology, and marketing.

Joanna Karpen earns Honors in her major!

My name is Joanna Karpen, I am a fourth year Verrazano student, from the Class of 2018. Upon starting my capstone, I was confident I knew exactly where my research would lead me. It seemed so simple. Psychology of Advertising? There was a whole class dedicated to it only a couple years ago! I figured it would be straight forward and a piece of cake. Then I started researching. Then I was lucky enough to take the Verrazano Capstone class. This is where my research really began to develop and change into what it has finally become. Within the class, the other students would share ideas in their respective majors. I, being a business major, am not as computer savvy or knowledgeable in science as some of my peers are. I learned so many new things I never even thought about before. Together, we learned about the “Internet of Things” from a fellow Verrazano student, I didn’t know it at the time, but by learning about this new form of technology, would help shape and move my research into a direction that can influence and change the way the advertising industry functions. My faculty mentor is a seasoned professor as well as professional in the marketing industry. The advantages of having him as a mentor led to insight on the workings of an advertiser and how an advertisement is really made. The amazing thing is how little advertising has changed in the last couple of decades. Have you ever watched Mad Men? That show encapsulates the true renaissance of modern day advertising. Today’s Era is beginning to change all that we as advertisers have learned and mastered. The Internet of Things is what is transforming advertising! It takes someone who understands this complicated new technology to understand how it will affect advertising. If it weren’t for learning about the Internet of Things from my fellow Verrazano students, I would have overlooked this great development. Products that are now becoming common in the American household such as Amazon’s Alexa, are having a huge impact on how company’s reach their consumer as well as how a consumer purchases products. This will create a whole new approach for advertisers.

It is so important, as a marketer, to understand these devices and how they are used. By being on the cutting edge along with the Internet of Things, the advertiser whom develops with the technology will hold the upper hand, for the consumer won’t even know what hit them. It’s amazing how everyday a new piece of technology is released with such great impact on our lives. To be honest, after doing my research technology scares me a little, it’s wild how much these devices learn about us in such short periods of time and without our conscious knowledge of it! My advice from all this: technology is good; as long as you understand it! Learn about it! It’s pretty interesting what you will find out when you do.