My name is Julianna Kowlessar, I am a research assistant for Dr. Anne F. MacLennan at York University. We are working on her SSHRC research grant "The Role of Entertainment Media in the Persistence of Canadian and American Poverty". We are facilitating focus groups and looking for participants. If there is anyone in your department who would be interested in participating in a focus group, please let us know. We will be asking people about the way poverty is treated and stigmatized in film, television, and music. The questions and format are attached (below).
We are not on a deadline for the end of the year but are hoping to facilitate all groups between January and April 2026. Our project is fully funded, and I have attached the required informed consent form for any interested participants as well as the questions for the focus group (see links below).
Focus groups will be on the following movies/tv shows:
The Hunger Games (2012)
Parasite (2019)
The First Purge (2018)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
If these movies/tv shows aren’t applicable to you, we have a list of many more on our website!
For more information about us, our team, and our research, please take a look at our website: https://www.yorku.ca/laps/research/poverty-in-entertainment-media/.
Sincerely,
Julianna
On behalf of Anne MacLennan and “The Role of Entertainment Media in the Persistence of Canadian and American Poverty” Grant