Talking Mass Communication Perspectives - "Muted Group Theory in Pixar Animation" Artwork

Special Topics in Media

Special Topics in Media Studies is a lecture-based podcast that tackles media history one artifact at a time. Each season of the series we will investigate a different mass media theme, medium, or programming genre. While our focus is educational (it is an academic podcast after all), we tailor our conversations toward a broad audience of media enthusiasts.

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Special Topics in Media

Talking Mass Communication Perspectives - "Muted Group Theory in Pixar Animation"

July 01, 2025 • Garret Castleberry • Season 13 • Episode 3

Welcome to the "Talking Mass Communication Perspectives" season of Special Topics in Media. This week Garret Castleberry and Season 13 guest cohost Annabeth Fehrle discuss Muted Group Theory and how it can be interpreted within the narrative framework of a trio of Disney-Pixar animated feature films: Brave (2012), WALL-E (2008) and The Incredibles (2004).

Reading Reference: Bruce W. Finklea & Sally Bennett Hardig. "Seen but Not Heard--Exploring Muted Group Theory in The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Brave". In Communication Theory and Millennial Popular Culture: Essays and Applications. Roberts, K. G. (Editor). New York: Peter Lang, 2016.

Host: Garret Castleberry, Annabeth Fehrle

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

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