Elayne Antler Rapping is a nationally known critic and analyst of popular culture and social issues. She is the author of several books covering topics such as media theory, popular culture, women's issues, and the portrayal of our legal system on television. As a regular contributor to such publications as The Nation, The Progressive, and The New York Times, she has written on a wide variety of cultural issues including film and movie reviews.
Born in Chicago, Elayne Rapping began her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, then earned her masters and doctoral degrees in English at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1967, she received the Andrew Mellon Fellowship.
As an educator, Rapping was a Professor of English and Director of Women's Studies at Robert Morris College from 1970 to 1990, Professor of Communications at Adelphi University from 1991 to 1998, and Professor of American Studies at State University of New York Buffalo until 2009.
Rapping is the author of several books which address a range of topics from popular culture, television and society, gender issues, to media theory. Her first book, The Looking Glass for Nonfiction TV, published in 1987, is an examination of how newscasts, sports programs, game shows, made-for-TV movies, MTV, commercials and other nondramatic forms of TV programming are derived from and influenced by our cultural values, economic forces and the evolving technology of video broadcasting.
A collection of her essays and articles, Media-tions: Forays into the Culture and Gender Wars, was published in 1994. In these varied articles, Rapping takes up such pop culture artifacts as soap operas, Madonna and Amy Fisher to set forth a new paradigm of feminism's interface with the media.
In 1996, Rapping published The Culture of Recovery, a book based on her personal investigations into the self-help groups for women. Her 2003 book, Law and Justice As Seen On TV, examines the significance and political impact of law-related television programming beginning with courtroom dramas in the 1940s up to the crime shows of the present. In his review of Law and Justice, Political Science Professor Austin Sarat stated that Rappings's work "shows how valuable the analysis of popular culture can be in illuminating some of the most important legal and social issues of our time."
As a journalist, Rapping has written extensively for a number of national publications including The Nation, The Village Voice, Cineaste, Jump Cut, and The Progressive where she was a regular columnist for many years.
"Liberation in Chains: The Woman Question in Hollywood," Cineaste, vol.17, no.1 (1989), p. 4-12.
"The Future of Motherhood." In: Class and the Feminist Imagination, edited by Ilene Philipson and Karen Hansen,Temple University Press, (Fall 1989), p. 339-427.
"Hooked on a Feeling: The Sociology of Self-Help" Nation, (November 1989).
"Gender and Media Theory: A Critique of the Backlash Model," Journal of Social Philosophy, (Summer 1994), p. 7-22.
"Karal Ann Marling's As Seen on TV," Journal of Communication, (Summer 1995), p. 211-215.
"The Jane Austen Thing" The Progressive (July 1996), p. 37.
"The Movie of the Week: Law, Narrativity, and Gender on Prime Time." In: Feminism, Media, and the Law, edited by Martha Fineman and Martha McCluskey. Oxford University Press US (1997) (ISBN 0-19-509629-0)
"Ellen Comes Out: Media Events as Political Happenings," Z Magazine, (July-August, 1997).
“Television and the Rise of the Victims’ Rights Movement,” New York Law Review, (Summer 1999).
"Textual Travel and Translation and an Age of Globalized Media," Journal of Social Philosophy, (Fall 1999).
"Gender, Melrose Place and the Aaron Spelling Legacy." In: Mediated Women, edited by Marian Meyers. Hampton Press (1999).
"What the Men Don't Know: Secrets of the Daytime Gender Ghetto." In: The Pleasures of Television, edited by Stanley Aronowitz and Patricia Clough. Minnesota UP. (1999).
“Justice and Ideology on Prime Time TV,” Studies in Law, Politics and Society, vol. 21, (2001)
"Daytime Talk Shows and the Gendered Public Sphere." In: Women's Politics and Communication, edited by Liesbet van Zoonen and Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi. Hampton Press, (2001).
"Aliens, Nomads, Mad Dogs and Road Warriors: The New Face of Criminal Violence on Tabloid TV." In: Mythologies of Violence in Postmodern Media, edited by Christopher Sharrett, Wayne State University Press, (2002).
"Daytime Utopias: If You Lived in Pine Valley, You'd Be Home." In: Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture, edited by Henry Jenkins, Tara McPherson and Jane Shattuc. Duke University Press (2002) p. 47 (ISBN 0-8223-2737-6)
“The Changing Face of Criminal Violence on Television.” In: Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture, edited by Laurie Ouelette and Susan Murray, NYU Press. (2005).
“Feminism and Daytime Soap Operas.” In: Mediated Women, 2nd ed., ed Marian Meyers, Hampton Press. (2007)
“The Magical World of Daytime Soap Operas.” In: The Media/Cultural Studies Reader, edited by Douglas Kellner and Rhonda Hammer, Peter Lang Press (2009).
“Media, Law and Celebrity,” St. Louis Journalism Review, (Winter 2009).
"Room For Debate: Do We Need Network TV?" New York Times, (February 27, 2009).
"Room For Debate: What Does Broadcast News Do Right?" New York Times, (November 9, 2009).
“TV Lawyers through History.” In: Lawyers on Television: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, edited by Michael Asimov, forthcoming, ABA Press (2009).
